Airbnb Hacks Every Host Should Know

Whether you're just thinking about becoming an STR host or have already started hosting on Airbnb but want to make the process smoother, there are some Airbnb hacks that every host should know.

We've put together this list of short-term rental hosting tips and tricks to help you set yourself apart from the competition and succeed with your Airbnb business. If you follow these Airbnb hacks, you can make the hosting process a lot easier.

Airbnb Hacks: Productivity

Hosting on Airbnb can be a great source of extra income, but it also requires a significant investment of time and effort, so it can be rather challenging, especially if you have to balance it with a full-time job. Still, some productivity hacks can help you manage your Airbnb property more efficiently, save time, and ensure an excellent guest experience.

Reply as quickly as possible to guest messages

Communication with guests and potential guests is an essential aspect of being an Airbnb host, as it's key to the overall guest experience. A quick and clear response to your guest's question, complemented with an extra layer of information, will show them that you're a responsible host who really cares. It can make the difference between a positive and negative review.

You should stay in touch with guests before and during their stay and be prepared to assist them if needed. It's crucial to respond to their inquiries thoughtfully and quickly. Luckily, there are short-term rental management software tools like Hospitable that can help you streamline your communication process with guests from start to finish.

With Hospitable, you can automate your guest communication with the help of AI and ensure that they get the necessary information at the right time. Our system uses AI to send automatic pre-written replies to common guest questions. You can also use the Suggest with AI and Improve with AI buttons to quickly draft detailed responses to guest messages. Once the response is generated, you can review the message and edit it if necessary before sending it to your guest.

Optimize your Airbnb listing's furnishings

Soft, luxurious throw pillows all over your living area look aesthetically pleasing, but having unnecessary furnishings can add to your cleaning costs. If you have to do it frequently, cleaning can get rather expensive. It's better to use bedding materials, covers for sofas, and couch pillows. You can easily remove and wash them; they won't break the bank if there are a few stains.

When preparing your space for Airbnb, it's important to find a balance between comfort and durability. It makes sense to invest in hard flooring and durable furniture that are easy to clean and maintain. It can save you time and help reduce operational costs.

Download our guide on how to prepare your property for short-term rental and avoid unnecessary expenses.

Automate your routine rental management tasks

Being an Airbnb host means juggling many roles to ensure your business runs smoothly. You may feel stressed and overwhelmed with your daily responsibilities, such as messaging your guests, updating your calendar and pricing, and assigning tasks to your team.

However, you can be more efficient in managing your listing and save time on routine operations by using STR management software like Hospitable, which offers comprehensive features. With Hospitable, you'll be able to automate repetitive hosting processes, cut costs, and improve guest experiences.

Provide a formal written agreement

Ensure that your guests sign a rental agreement that outlines the terms and conditions of a stay at your Airbnb property. It'll help protect your assets and give you peace of mind because you'll avoid misunderstandings and disputes in the event of cancellations and damages.

Implementing rental agreements doesn't necessarily mean more administrative work. With Hospitable, you can automate this process. You can create agreement templates for each of your properties, and our system will automatically generate a new rental agreement for each reservation.

This functionality works not only for general rental agreements but also for extra services that you offer guest to add value to their stay, such as equipment rentals. Your guests can access a rental agreement through their Guest Portal and sign it digitally, ensuring they agree to the terms before their stay.

Watch the video to get a better understanding of how this feature works, and refer to our help article for detailed guidance.

Revenue-Driving Airbnb Hacks

Here are some Airbnb hacks that can help you maximize your earnings, all of which are easy to implement.

Be strategic with your pricing

Setting up an effective Airbnb pricing strategy can significantly impact your earnings. When you're new to Airbnb and have no or few guest reviews, you need to focus on building your reputation as a host. So, you should check your competitors' prices and consider lowering your nightly rates. That can help attract more travelers and secure more bookings, as well as garner the first positive reviews. And when your listing has been booked for a few weeks and you've racked up great reviews, you can increase your prices to earn more money.

Pro tip: The easiest way to get your pricing right is to use a dynamic pricing tool that helps ensure your rates are always competitive, allowing you to earn a good income. If you opt for Hospitable, you can take advantage of our built-in Dynamic Pricing solution, which is included in Host, Professional, and Mogul subscription plans at no additional cost.

Increase revenue with upsells

Offer unique services and hotel-level amenities for an additional fee to meet your guests' expectations and enhance the value of their stays. It's also a great way to generate additional income streams and boost your profits.

For example, you can offer your guests early check-ins, late check-outs, luggage storage, bike rentals, or an option to extend their stay at a discounted rate. Travelers are sure to appreciate your upsell offerings and are more likely to give you glowing reviews and high Airbnb ratings that will add credibility to your listing.

A smart approach is to automate the process—you can do it using Hospitable's Upsell feature. You can build a catalog of your offerings that your guests can purchase within their guest portal and share a guest portal link in messages.

Suppose your guests opt for an early check-in or an extended stay. In that case, Hospitable will automatically reschedule all automated messages, cleaning tasks, and smart lock code expiration, taking into account new timings.

Install smart thermostats

Smart thermostats provide an easy way to remotely monitor and adjust the temperature in your rental properties using your smartphone, ensuring comfort for your guests while minimizing energy waste. A smart thermostat can help you minimize energy use when your home is vacant, allowing you to save money on your utility bills. That means fewer expenses and more profits.

With Hospitable, you can automate smart thermostat management based on your booking schedule and optimize energy use in your property. Supported thermostats include models from Ecobee and Honeywell, with more brands to be added in the future.

Check out our help article to view the list of all thermostat models that we can connect to via direct integration, and watch this video to learn more about how everything works.

Optimize bookings during the slow season

If you have a large house, keeping the entire property booked during the slow season can be particularly hard. However, you can optimize bookings during these challenging times by renting out the entire house and listing it as two separate units with fewer rooms available.  

It's easy to rent out the whole house and smaller units simultaneously if you use Hospitable's parent-child feature. You can configure parent-child relationships between properties when a booking on one property blocks the calendar of a related property.

Assign the entire house as a parent and two smaller units with fewer bedrooms as its children. When the parent property is booked, the children properties are automatically blocked, and vice versa. You can also choose the scenario when a booking on a child property blocks the parent and all other children. Then, different groups of guests won't be staying at the property at the same time.

Airbnb Hacks to Enhance Guest Stays

It's your job as a host to ensure that every guest feels special and welcome. Try these Airbnb hacks to enhance the guest experience.

Surprise your guests

Adding small personal touches can make guests feel appreciated and cared for, making their stays more memorable. Here are some Airbnb hacks that can help create an excellent first impression on arrival, establish an emotional connection, and make travelers feel welcome:

• Impress your guests with a welcome basket
• Leave wine and homemade chocolates
• Arrange fresh flowers for each stay
• Leave a handwritten note with a friendly message

Use a smart lock

Smart locks are safer than traditional keys, and offering keyless access to your property is very convenient. With a smart lock, you won't have to worry about late check-in. Your guests can enter your property even if you're not physically there to let them in. Simply send a code to your guest via a message and update it when they check out.

Pro tip: You can automate messaging door codes to your guests with Hospitable. Our STR super app features integrations with popular smart lock systems, automatically creating and sending unique door codes to your guests shortly before check-in.

Add a sofa bed to accommodate more guests

Investing in practical, durable furniture and adding a double sofa bed will enable you to market your home to a wider audience, resulting in more bookings. With a sofa bed or a pull-out couch, you can turn your one-bedroom rental property into a two-bedroom and be able to accommodate larger groups of people.

With smart automation software, you can send sofa bed instructions only to those guests who actually need them.

Final Thought

Remember that great hosting is about care, consistency, and the right tools. Hopefully, these Airbnb hacks will help make your life as a host easier and ensure your guests have a great experience. Implementing them requires planning and effort, but you can be sure that your guests will have a memorable stay at your Airbnb property. And happy guests will be more likely to give you a 5-star review.

You may also want to check out our blog article, where you can find more tips on running Airbnb and best practices.