Airbnb has made its way to the top of the vacation rental websites and finds itself among names like VRBO, HomeAway, and Booking.com. If you are not using this popular platform to list your property, you are missing out. Lucky for you, we are offering Airbnb 101 for you to understand why you should be using this renowned website to list your vacation rental.
Step 1 – Create an Account
First, you will need to sign up on Airbnb to create an account. Then, you will need to add your listing on Airbnb. You will be prompted to answer questions about your property, such as how many guests it will accommodate, the type of home it is, and where it is located.
As Airbnb prides itself on allowing owners to rent single rooms or the entire property, here is where you will choose the type of property you are renting. You have the option of choosing a shared room, private room, or an entire place.
Step 2 – Upload Pictures
You will want to upload the three best pictures of the property first. These three pictures will be featured on the listing as soon as a guest sees the listing, so you will want to make sure these pictures perfectly set the stage of your vacation rental property.
Step 3 – Describe the Property
Guests will want to read as many details as possible about your property. This is an important step to ensuring your guest goes from casually looking to actively booking. Give as many details as you can about the property, the amenities, and supplies that are included with the property. You will also need to make a title for your property at this point. Make sure it is something that catches your eyes but is easy for guests to read.
Step 4 – Rules and Requirements
Your guests will need to know the rules of the house before they make a reservation. If you do not allow pets or a certain amount of occupants, you will need to list these rules during this step.
You can also choose to request your guest submits a picture of their photo ID when the rental is booked during this step.
Step 5 – Pricing
You will need to set the rental price of your property at this point. Airbnb offers a tool called “Smart Pricing.” This tool will look at the calendar and study the trends of the area to determine the best pricing to apply to the calendar. This tool allows you to maximize the amount of money your property can make.
Step 6 – Publish the Listing
This is what it all comes down to. Your vacation rental listing is now live, and if you have followed each step, you should see your rental booked in no time.
How to Be the Host with the Most
With so many hosts on Airbnb to choose from, what can you do to set yourself and your property apart from the rest? These are some tips to keep in mind when offering your vacation rental home to guests.
Personalized Touches
Before your guest arrives, add a personalized touch to the property for a memorable first impression. Leaving sweet treats, bottled water, or coupons for your guest to enjoy can easily mean a new guest becomes a returning guest.
Airbnb allows you to chat with your guests before, during, and after their stay. In order to maximize the guests’ experience, communicate with guests personally to see if there is anything they need to enhance their stay.
Stock Up
The fewer items a guest has to purchase for their stay, the better. What may seem like small investments to you can be a lifesaver for a family on vacation.
If you know a guest with children is about to arrive, consider purchasing laundry detergent for the laundry room. This will be one less purchase the guest needs to make while they are on vacation.
Keep additional sheets, blankets, and pillows on hand, as well as consumable items like toilet paper, paper towels, and trash bags.
Superhost Status
This is a real thing. Airbnb offers a Superhost badge to the hosts who have provided guests with an exceptional experience. To qualify for Superhost status, a host must do the following:
- Complete 10 short-term trips or 3 long-term trips for a total of 100 nights
- Review rate at 50% or higher
- Response rate at 90% or higher
- No cancellations
- Maintain a rating of 4.8 out of 5
Airbnb will honor a Superhost with a badge without any extra effort on your part. You will not have to apply for a Superhost badge or notify Airbnb that you have hit these milestones. Airbnb will automatically add the badge to your host status.
The benefit of being a Superhost means the Superhost’s listing is shown more frequently, which can also increase more bookings. Airbnb will check the Superhost’s status every three months to ensure they qualify to remain a Superhost.
Review Your Guests
A guest may not be inclined to leave a review of the place they stayed, simply because there was nothing “worth mentioning.” Sometimes no news is good news, right? In the world of vacation rentals, no news can be detrimental, and Airbnb understands that.
This is why Airbnb has implemented a review system that encourages the host to leave a review of the guest as soon as possible. What will happen is the guest will receive a notification email or push notification through the Airbnb application on their phone that the host has left a review of their stay as the guest. The only stipulation is that the guest cannot read the review until they review the host and the property in which they stayed.
This system has prompted an increase of guests to leave reviews of their stay, simply because they want to read what the host had to say about them as a guest.
Leaving a simple review of your guest will cause the guest to leave a review of you and the property. These reviews of 4.8 or higher can add up to no time and help you gain a Superhost status badge!
