Your top 10 stories of 2018

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Your top 10 stories of 2018

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From safety tips to product updates, the most popular stories from the past year continue to be helpful today. Check out all 10 articles. 

 

  1. Meet Els, an Open Homes host in Rome

Els, of Belgium, wanted to pay forward the hospitality she received when she moved to Rome, so she signed up for the Open Homes program on Airbnb. When she welcomed Fode, the experience transformed both of their lives.

 

  1. Home improvements with hosting in mind

Paint, personalize, and plenty of other home improvements—it’s time to get inspired. We gathered tips from hosts like yourself about how to upgrade a space without tearing up the house.

 

  1. Easy access to customer service

At the Global Host Q&A, an important concern came through loud and clear: hosts need easy access to support and quick solutions. We’ve created a new way for hosts to contact Airbnb Customer Service—exactly when they need it.

 

  1. Handle peak season like a pro

More bookings mean more check-ins and tighter cleaning schedules. Successful hosts share how they stay organized and efficient during the busiest times of year.

 

  1. Safe hosting tips

Here are ways to help ensure your hosting experience and make your guests feel welcome at the same time.

 

  1. We heard you: Update on essential amenities

Setting expectations and being accurate are keys to successful listings. Hosts told us Airbnb’s requirement to provide guests with amenities such as soap, towels, and other essentials was impacting success. So we answered: hosts can choose, but we strongly encourage hosts to include them.

 

  1. The lowdown on pricing

You asked: You’re constantly pushing me to lower my price—why? Well, part of it is demand.
As for the other reasons, we address those in our improvements to Smart Pricing tools.

 

  1. Decoding response and acceptance rates

What’s the difference between my response rate and acceptance rate? And how do these numbers affect me as a host? We have these answers, as well as advice on how to keep these rates high.

 

  1. Meet the new reservations page

We asked hosts how we could improve the Reservations List. Then we redesigned the page from the ground up, incorporating host feedback to make it easier to find, to improve calendar syncing, and more.

 

  1. Want more flexible pricing settings?

You’re in luck. The top story of 2018 shows you how to set different prices for stays longer than a week or month, and customize weekday vs. weekend pricing. We also have tips on how to apply fees for cleaning and additional guests.

32 Replies 32

I admire your outlook on life Ellen and try to abide by the same rules..."you get more with sugar than you do with salt"...i feel blessed by the guests i have had during my first 18 months as an Airbnb SuperHost and in turn they feel it as they are welcomed into my home...keep up the positive way about you and i will do the same...and good luck to you in all you do...John in Buffalo, NY

Mayra64
Level 1
Aguas Buenas, Puerto Rico

🎄Merry Christmas 🎄💫

This is the first time that I enter to this conversation and that I don’t need any other advise.

Your message is absolutely true and I’m going to practice it.  Definitely positive thinking allure

fabulous and blessed people to my vacatio rental business.

Thanks for your message,

Mayra

Aguadilla, Puerto Rico

 

 

Hi Ellen,

Just reading your response makes me want to go stay in one of your places. Such a wonderful outlook on life! 

Ps: I did check out your places and they are awesome! 

Rinny

Love it! I live by the same!

So true!

People ask me, how could you let strangers in your home, don't they steal and break things. There have been minor accidents, which guests can reimburse hosts (through Air bnb process).

It is amazing, when one provides a clean lovely place, people are respectful. Everyone treats the place with highest regard and care. This is exactly how I behave when I am a guest. Assume most people are great guests and they are! It is an amazing business. I feel fortunate to have met such wonderful people.

HI Ellen Love your comments - too true!! A good host can turn around cranky or what might be 'less than desirable guest' by being pleasant and positive and they will usualy respond accordingly.  See the very best in everyone 🙂  and as you way, give thanks about the great guests and in my case, the great cleaners I have 3000km away!!. Heather, Darwin Australia

Lol.

Hi Ellen,

It;s moving to read your affirmation in many ways. We are not superhosts yet because we just started in October 2018. But what you are talking about is just what happens. On top of that we have caretakers wich also are growing with the different tasks.

We have so far been very lucky and our place is not in the middle of everything it;s in the outskirts of northern Thailand. Guests has to plan carefully to get there. 

We are really blessed about sharing with others. 

Yes I do agree that I too want to know how to keep extra pricing for additional guests n cleaning?

I also want to know how I keep different price for each room as I have kept different bedding arrangements.can somebody guide me.

Lakshmi

Good Morning. We too have an interesting set up in our rentable space. A guest can book one room or the entire apartment. I maintain and link 3 separate hosting pages to accomidate the options. It is a little time consuming for the intial set up and since then it has been smooth sailing. For example in the of season I open up the rooms to be rented individually. The price is half of the whole apt and half the cleaning fee. If another guest books the other room then the two guests share the common area/kitchenette. During peak/holiday season only the whole apt is available to rent as it makes it easier to maintain guests and cut down on cleaning/greeting/stocking and overall time spent with the two room option. I hope thsi helps you! Happy Hosting! Natasha

Penny168
Level 1
Church Preen, United Kingdom

Hi Lakshmi,

i have a base price for the Cottage (2 double rooms and 2 en-suite bathrooms) and then charge £20 per person per night over 2 people. This works really well as the total cost for 4 people per night is still less than the two would have had. I don’t charge a cleaning fee unless it is one person in each room in which case I charge £20 for the extra room. This works really well and guests are happy.

Dawn211
Level 3
White Plains, NY

I became a super host because i go above and beyond to make my guests feel like king and queen  i make my space extra special for them...i treat them as i treat myself....i give them the best quality supplies.....in a well kept beautiful  clean house very quiet,comfortable and peaceful...i am always happy to meet new wonderful people...

 

LindaAndJohn0
Level 2
Sacramento, CA

We've been SuperHosts for a number of years. I think it's really important to have a very complete page with great photos and detailed descriptions, so people know exactly what to expect when they stay with you. They will know that our house 100 years old and is "shabby chic", that they are staying in the house with us, that we have a cat, etc. I think you eliminate problems before they start by making sure the guests understand the type of home you have. People who want a completely private space or slick, modern furnishings won't pick us, and that is fine. 

 

Also, I think it is important to be sensitive to how much interaction and help they want. Some of our guests are on an agenda and we hardly see, or don't see at all. Others we sit around the kitchen talking and sharing breakfast or wine and cheese. Or somewhere in between. Everyone is different and we appreciate that. 

 

Finally, every time we travel we try to learn from our hosts. If someone is doing something thoughtful or has an interesting sense of design, we copy and learn. We just learned (after all these years!) a new way to fold towels that is so pretty. We enjoy chatting with other hosts about the Airbnb experience and we always learn from each other.

Liinda/John, my challenge is many guests do not read the house rules or manual. Everytime I accept a reservaton I insist the guest read the rules and manuel. They all say they do, but by thier actions they don't. I had a recent guest who wanted to "vape" eventhough we stated in the listing No Smoking. Another brought home a hooker at 1:00 in the morning eventhough the house rule was no guests after 10:00 pm (we cought him on camera and cancelled his reservation that night). The beginning of the year we had Great guests but November and December has been a real nightmare.

Faouzi0
Level 2
Lyon, France

I am superhost from the the bigginig but It is hard to keep the superhost status because some guests even if they say it was perfect they give 4/5 review. Some guests also think you are a slave and always asking for more services witch they can't have even in 5 stars hotels.

In my opinion i don't see any benefit of superhost status for hosts. You will work much more and you will earn same as before.