1/….. Think about what you want to achieve:
Many new hosts think Airbnb will be a pathway to riches…..it won’t. There are some entrepreneurial hosts who will make a lot of money out of Airbnb, but they are few and far between. They have come from a business background and have plenty of money to splash around to secure the services of desirable properties. But what differentiates them from most Airbnb hosts…..they are driven, and they are ruthless!
If you expect that you are going to achieve their levels of success you will be disappointed.
Be modest with your goals, and if you exceed them you will feel far more of a success, and that will translate to confidence, rather than if you set the bar too high to start with.
2/….Describing your property:
Thirty seven percent of guest disputes stem from property description, the guest doesn’t get what they thought they would get.
When wording your listing description, do it with an acquaintance, somebody you know well but, who is not a friend, someone who does not know your property. Remember, it’s your turf, and what seems obvious to you, guests are going to struggle with. You need to describe your property in an accurate impartial way……and that can only be done with outside help!
3/…..Pricing my listing:
Your property is never going to expensive enough to satisfy your wishes, but it is never going to be cheap enough to satisfy a guests wishes. The worst thing you can do is try to compete with your opposition. The most common issue we hear is ‘If I charge any more than $XX per night I won’t get any bookings’……rubbish. You need to first establish how much money it is feasible for you to make each night based on what makes your property financially viable, and then find a way to make your listing a bit more desirable and worth paying those extra dollars for. Being the cheapest in your area will attract the guests you want to avoid……the bottom dwellers who you will never satisfy. You must appeal to guest’s strengths, not their weaknesses.
You need to offer a gimmick, something that makes a prospective guest want to stay with you, something that the guest is prepared to pay a bit more for the experience.
Appeal to their senses, offer a cool space on a hot night with an ice cold beer, or a warm cottage with the electric blanket on the bed turned on and a steaming cup of soup on a freezing night. I had one guest who said….”I never appreciated pumpkin soup before last night, thank you so much!”
Guests pay for that, and it sorts you out from the competition….and the reviews that come keeps the bookings rolling in!
4/….. Don’t hassle the guest when they are there:
Don’t put up lots of 'post-it' notes telling the guest what they can and can’t do. They have paid you for the use of your property, let them enjoy it. Guests don’t want to be bombarded with lots of instructions, so be prepared for a few dishes not done, the garbage not put out in the bin, towels left on the bathroom floor. All these things are going to have to be done during servicing anyway, don’t make the guest feel guilty because they didn’t do it! Let them leave happy that they have had a good time and would like to return again.
You charge a cleaning fee after all, leave it at that!
5/…..How to handle the review:
The guest review will tell the world just what sort of host you are. Most reviews will be easy to write because the experience was positive.
But if the experience was not completely positive, never write a review out of emotion! Wait for a couple of days, make yourself a cup of coffee and put the hosting in perspective. Was the indiscretion that bad that you needed to take the guest to task? Remember the review is going to say as much about you as it does about the guest. If there is a diplomatic way to word your review and still get your point of view across……do it. Don’t get involved in a verbal confrontation with the guest. And most importantly give an accurate review. Nothing makes a host look more stupid than a review he/she has given which says what a model Airbnb-er the guest had been, and then tells the world in the guest review response what a bloody slimy piece of sh*t that same guest was. Don’t ever get into a review situation where you have to back-track.
6/……When things don't go well:
If things do go off the rails and the guest breaks something or brings more people than allowed for, try to sort it out with the guest instead of running to Airbnb and expect them to prop you up. Most guests are responsible and are keen to make amends for the odd bit of damage. If something minor gets broken, in most instances it is an accident, don’t publicly cane the guest over it, give them a bit of slack and in most instances they will meet you some of the way. Put an extra dollar or two onto your listing amount to make up for the odd minor indiscretion.
If the damage is malicious and major…..well that is what you have STR property insurance for, and if you don’t have that…..you should not be hosting anyway.
These are my observations over the past 5 years of hosting. Some hosts will not agree with what I have written here but the steps I have outlined here have lead me to a very successful hosting experience, and I hope these observations can help others to achieve success with their hosting as well!
Cheers.........Rob
