By The Hospitable Team
Airbnb is a very popular OTA website that connects travelers with places to stay and things to do around the globe. About 4 million Airbnb hosts in 220 countries provide their guests with the unique opportunity to live like a local while traveling.
If you consider offering up an extra room in your house or would like to put your entire apartment up for a share on Airbnb, this blog is for you. Learn how to become an Airbnb host to have the flexibility to earn extra income and meet new interesting people from all over the world.
How to Become an Airbnb Host
If you are interested in hosting guests, getting started on Airbnb is simple. But if you want to become a successful host, be prepared to put in some good old-fashioned hard work along the way.
Do Some Research
Depending on where you live, there might be legal restrictions to renting your home on a short-term basis. Be sure to do your research beforehand to make sure that short-term rentals are something you’re actually allowed to do in your neighborhood. Some cities may require you to obtain a business license or special permit, and violating local regulations can result in hefty fines.
Get to Know Airbnb Website
First, spend some time on the website to learn more about how it works. Explore the various features and look at some existing listings to find interesting ideas for inspiration. A very helpful place for new hosts is Airbnb’s Community Center. Here, you can find answers to commonly asked questions and practical tips from other hosts.
Create a Listing for Your Place
Create an Airbnb profile and list your property by entering basic information about your listing with easy-to-follow prompt questions. You’ll be asked for details like the location of your place, what type of property you’re offering, the number of bedrooms and bathrooms, and other details regarding amenities.
Make your Airbnb listing stand out by providing high-quality photos of your space. Be sure your rooms are clean, decorated, and inviting to give travelers the best idea of where they’ll be staying.
Write a detailed description of your listing. Give your place a catchy, exciting name to attract the attention of potential guests, explain all the details of your rental property that make it special, and let people know what there is to do in the neighborhood.
Set Your Prices
What you charge is always up to you, but we recommend looking up competitive pricing for Airbnb listings in your area and then creating your pricing strategy. Start low and increase your prices once you get a few positive reviews. Airbnb will suggest a price per night based on your location and the size of your rental property, but it’s up to you if you choose the suggested rate or not.
Establish Rules and Expectations
Add your Airbnb house rules to help guests understand your expectations. Include details about whether or not you’ll allow smoking, pets, and extra guests on the property. It’s important to set clear boundaries for your guests, but you should also make sure you don’t go overboard with rules.
What’s Next?
Now that you know how to become an Airbnb host, it’s time to decide whether it will be worth your time. If you invest more time in providing the perfect experience for your guests, you’ll get more bookings, and hopefully, more positive reviews, and a higher ranking. Then you’ll appear more often in people’s search results and will be able to get more bookings and more money.
So you’ll need to put more effort into your rental space to furnish and decorate it and make it as beautiful, functional, and comfortable as possible. And you’ll need to allot a lot of time to be available to respond to your guests’ concerns as quickly as possible.
Maintaining clear and prompt messaging with guests is time-consuming, but it’s critical for making them happy and becoming a successful host. And the good news is that you can automate this aspect of your business and many others with Hospitable.com and save tons of time.
Have conversations with your guests even when you sleep.
Airbnb Host Requirements
Being a host is a responsibility because it’s important to create comfortable, reliable stays for guests. And while almost anyone can become an Airbnb host, you need to do your best to meet the following Airbnb host requirements for each of your listings:
- Be responsive and reply to all inquiries and trip requests within 24 hours.
- Accept trip requests whenever you’re available to make guests feel welcome.
- Take cancellations seriously and try to avoid them because they’re a huge inconvenience for guests.
- Maintain a high overall rating because guests expect a consistent level of quality, no matter where they book.
Besides, hosts are also strongly encouraged to provide essential amenities in all their places. These are items that Airbnb guests consider important for a comfortable stay. They include toilet paper, towels, linens, pillows, and hand and body soap.
Want to learn more about the essentials you need to prepare to make your guests feel comfortable? Our Airbnb host checklist may be a great place to start.
Airbnb Rules for Hosts
Becoming a host can be a rewarding decision, but Airbnb sets some guidelines that you need to keep in mind. Every host is expected to follow Airbnb rules for hosts to ensure an excellent experience for their guests, and you should keep in mind that there are some things that they don’t allow.
- You can’t host without permission and/or the appropriate licenses. Airbnb requires that all hosts be authorized to host and comply with applicable laws.
- You should be responsive and willing to answer questions from your guests within a reasonable amount of time and follow any necessary steps from Airbnb to fix issues.
- You can’t create inaccurate listings. Your property, location, type of listing, privacy levels, and amenities should accurately reflect what was written in the description of your listing at the time of booking.
- You must ensure that every stay can be secured at the main entrance and provide guests with keys or access codes for all main entry points.
- It’s your duty to provide guests with the right information to access their stay at check-in. For example, you must provide proper access codes and clear directions if you offer them a self-check-in option.
- Your rental property must meet a high standard of cleanliness and be cleaned between stays. You can delegate this task to a cleaning company—just make sure to provide them with a cleaning checklist.
- You must make your rental space safe for your guests. Equip your house with a functioning smoke alarm and carbon monoxide detector. Ensure that stays are free from undisclosed safety hazards, such as risks of electric shock, blocked fire exits, and rat poison.
- Airbnb doesn’t allow animal exploitation, and hosts must meet Airbnb’s guidelines for animal welfare.
If you follow all Airbnb hosting requirements, it can be a great start to ensure that your guests will be satisfied. By providing accurate details, prompt communication, and a spotless listing, you’ll be well on your way to providing the great experience that guests expect.
But you should also be ready to go above and beyond to succeed as a host, and it will be easier if you opt for vacation rental software. With Hospitable.com, you can ensure you don’t miss out on anything important and keep control over your short-term rental business. Hospitable.com will help you seamlessly manage your listings across multiple platforms and streamline your operations.
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Bottom Line
Whether you’re going to rent out a single room in your apartment or an entire house, it’s important to treat your Airbnb not as a side hustle but as a profession. Hopefully, with our tips on how to become an Airbnb host, you should be able to start an Airbnb business and build an income with your vacation rental property.
And if you want to increase exposure for your property and get more bookings, you should list it on multiple vacation rental websites. So we also recommend you check out our Booking.com host guide for beginners.

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