How to be a successful Airbnb host: Setting up your space

[Airbnb]

Becoming a host on Airbnb means opening up your home, vacation rental, or extra room to guests from all over the world. Whatever type of space you share, there are simple things you can do to make it even more inviting as you get ready to welcome your first guests. This 5-step guide will help you create an Airbnb-ready space, one that will help your guests enjoy a great stay and help you attract more bookings.

Step 1: Choose your amenities

Let’s talk about the must-haves first. There are five essential amenities guests tell us they expect in order to have a comfortable stay: 

1. Toilet paper
2. Soap (for hands and body)
3. One towel for each guest
4. One pillow for each guest
5. Linens for each guest bed

Once you include these basics, you can add that detail to your listing (you’ll need to select each amenity you provide in the Amenities tab), which will help you stand out to potential guests. When looking for a place to stay, guests can see the amenities you offer and filter their search to only see listings that offer the amenities they want.

Beyond the basics, you may want to provide a few extras to make your space even more comfortable for guests. Here are some extras guests tell us they want: WiFi, a hair dryer, and a laptop-friendly workspace. You may also consider adding shampoo and conditioner, cozy blankets and pillows.  Some hosts even offer local chocolate and coffee. As Airbnb host Melanie puts it, think about what you’d want if you were traveling. Here are a few more tips from Melanie—who’s part of Airbnb’s Plus program that spotlights high quality homes—and interior designer Bobby Berk.

Step 2: Consider design details

A nicely designed space with thoughtful touches can help create a welcoming home. If you’re looking for design inspiration, Airbnb homes like Melanie’s are a good place to start.

Just as Melanie used artwork she created to decorate her Los Angeles loft, you may want to feature things that showcase your own personality in your listing: mementos from your travels, perhaps, or plants and greenery. Individual design elements can help your space feel more homey and inviting— and they don’t have to be complicated or expensive. DIY touches, such as a bouquet of flowers picked from your yard, and simple accents, such as throw pillows can go a long way. Learn more about how Pygmalion designed his space to welcome guests:

Airbnb Plus hosts Sam and Chad have more tips for adding personality to your home. Their suggestions include avoiding sterile or empty spaces and, instead, livening up blank walls with collections that highlight things you love, such as album-cover art, if you’re passionate about rock music. Get inspired by Sam & Chad’s ideas in the video, below.

Step 3: Create a cozy bedroom

Since this is where your guests will sleep and store their belongings, comfort and storage are key here. Let’s talk storage first. A dresser with empty drawers or closet with hangers is helpful, or you can take a cue from hosts Beverlee and Suzie and add a luggage rack to your listing. A bedside table with a lamp is key, too, since guests will want to access things like eyeglasses, their cell phone, and a book when they first wake up or right before they go to sleep. To make the space extra welcoming, you could also add some plants, a mirror, a carafe for water, an international adapter, and a multi-phone charger.

And of course you’ll want to pay special attention to the bed itself. Adding a few extra pillows and blankets and making a tidy bed can go a long way toward making guests comfortable. Here are Airbnb Plus host Katrina’s top tips for a well-made bed.

Step 4: Get the bathroom ready

We can’t talk about the bathroom without a quick mention of cleanliness. Of course it’s important to keep your whole home tidy, but guests have told us that they especially appreciate a clean bathroom. Different hosts have different methods for keeping their homes and bathrooms guest-ready: some do the cleaning themselves, or you could add a cleaning fee and hire a cleaning service to save yourself time.

Besides the essential bathroom amenities we mentioned before (toilet paper, hand and body soap, and one towel for each guest), there are some additional items you may want to think about including in this space, such as shampoo and conditioner. Get more ideas in the video, below.

Step 5: Add the finishing touches

Depending on the type of space you share, there may be additional areas beyond the bedroom and bathroom to think about. If there’s a kitchen available to guests, for instance, you’ll want to make sure it’s clean and that guests know how to operate any shared or available appliances, such as a coffee maker. (You can include those kinds of instructions in your house manual.) The same goes for a living room or outdoor area: Try to look at it with fresh eyes, as a guest who’s just arrived would. Does it feel welcoming? It can be helpful to approach your whole space this way. Hosts Beverlee and Suzie recommend staying in your listing, just as a guest would, to help figure out what’s needed or what could be changed.

If you’re sharing a space you live in, it can be hard to know what to keep in the space and what to put away. Airbnb Plus hosts Sam and Kirsten have a simple solution: simplify. Decluttering can help make your space feel more open and inviting—and ensure your guests have space to store their own belongings. Here are some more tips from Sam and Kirsten.

Recap & next steps

We hope these suggestions and resources gave you some good ideas as you get your listing ready for guests. To recap:

• Think beyond the essential amenities and consider what guests need for a comfortable stay at your space.
• Decorate your home with an eye toward thoughtful design details.
• Create a comfortable bedroom with plenty of storage.
• Prepare the bathroom with cleanliness and essentials top of mind.
• Look at your space as a guest would and tidy it with fresh eyes.

Update your amenities now

Review

Check out the other two articles in our “How to be a successful Airbnb” host series:

• Creating an attractive listing
• Welcoming your first guests

[Anne-Marie78]

That’s a really good tip Frances - I don’t supply face cloths but I will now! Thank you 

[Solveig0]

Maybe its a cultural thing? We live in Denmark, face clothes isn't a thing here so I wouldn't think of supplying them. Maybe I should? But no-ones requested them so far... 

[Lisa1994]

How do I become an Airbnb plus home

[Anne-Marie78]

I was wondering the same thing Lisa

[Claudia1387]

You have to be in an area that offers the service, then request to be reviewed.  My location isn't on the list. They're doing large cities first. My listing meets and exceeds their requirements but will probably never hit the list.

[Maritza37]

Great tips, special cozy bedroom 

[Rita367]

I would like to add: Don't have your personal stuff in the guests' space. None of your clothes in the closet, etc. I advertise my space as a PRIVATE bedroom & bath and that's what it is!

[Florence46]

There’s an option to tick whether you have items in the space or not, as we don’t all have the luxury of extra space for nothing!!!

[Jana79]

Sadly...as an Airbnb Plus host there is no way to update photos...so any improvement you do doesn't get photo attention...:( I have been a Plus host for a year now...have hated the pictures that were taken from the beginning and have had guest say over and over "the pictures don't do your home justice" sad....:(

[Jason363]

This was a great read! I have been a host for a few years and this was nice because it reminded of things that I already have in place and things that I had not thought about since I started. I do think as a guest would and after I have my place ready for the next guest I always leave then return with the eyes of a guest! Lol! I also believe in personalizing your space. I think guest are looking at Airbnb for a local, personal feel. I think my space is a mini version of my home!

[Anne-Marie78]

Sounds like you are an amazing host Jason -  I’d love to come and stay with you when I’m on my travels! 

[Karen1801]

Thank you for sharing!

[Guido141]

thank you for the tips airbnb

[Fran90]

I always greet my guests and show them around the suite. I provide coffee tea and bread butter and yogurt and orange juice to start their day. There are chocolates on their towels and specially made organic soaps in the bath.  

[Maggie27]

I subscribe to Public Goods. They have many products with simple, clean packaging and it gives my amenities a clean and cohesive look. I started with bottles of their shower gel, shampoo, conditioner, and hand soap, then added their tissues, dish soap, laundry detergent packets, cleaning products, herbal and black teas, and now I’m keeping supplies of their basic foods, like ketchup and mustard, in the fridge. I’ve gotten a lot of compliments from guests and they also sell refills, so I don’t waste a lot of packaging.