How do I test out hosting before publishing?

[Emily1090]

I'm new to AirBnB and want to start hosting. Ideally I would have a month of hosting friends who could give me feedback and write some reviews but I don't know how to set the setting to allow this. The site seems so eager to get me hosting RIGHT AWAY. Has anyone else done a beta-test period? How did you do it?

[Helen3]

If you could do what you suggest @Emily1090 the system would be open to scams from dubious hosts who could obtain false reviews.

if you want friends to stay to road test your listing then have them stay before your listing goes live.  

[Emily1090]

Hmmm, ok, I guess I understand but I also would like to test the whole online posting/ hosting process. Is there a way to only open up dates to a private audience (friends) but not charge them?

[Mike-And-Jane0]

Feels a bit odd but you could switch off instant booking then make the listing live with very low prices and, having warned your friends in advance, just reject any non-friends booking.

Of course this feels like a scam to get false positive reviews but who am I to suggest such a thing.

[Emily1090]

Mainly my goal is not to scam the system or even get reviews but just to make sure the whole process works hitch-free before I welcome paying guests/ strangers. What do you do if you want to give someone a discount, friends or not? Do you change the published price or adjust it in some other way (I know as a guest I've negotiated rates with hosts, but I don't know how to do it from the hosting side!)

Thanks for the feedback Mike-and-Jane

[Emilia42]

@Emily1090 There is a button called "Special Offer." You would click it within the messaging screen and then follow the prompts to send the guest another rate.

[Emily1090]

and related, can you "test" the listing, like share the preview before publishing? I'd love to get feedback from people about my descriptions etc.

[Kevin1322]

All I can think of is publish your listing, then block all the dates off to stop people booking, then you can invite your friends (and us) to have a look at it!

We are fairly new hosts as well (since last summer)  and we still regularly tweak the listing, improving directions, changing photos and making changes based on guests' feedback.

Get it published and wing it, just take the best photos you can, a good honest description is priceless, and cross your fingers.....  

You've got great feedback as a guest, so you have more Airbnb experience than you give yourself credit for.  

Under promise and over deliver, coupled with 20% discount for the first three bookings and that gives you a fighting chance of a great start review-wise.

Make a big thing in your listing about things that might put some guests off (eg we have dogs, so we make it very obvious.... and we get dog friendly guests!)

And stop worrying 😉

One other bunch of things... keep in mind that the guest pays Airbnb a fee on top of your own rate, it's a thing to keep in mind   I understand that you also get a visibility boost with a new listing, but I'll happily be corrected on that. 

You aren't getting bookings till your listing is live, we are all only here once.

Chill out, be as nervous as we were with our first guests, tell them you are new to hosting and appreciate their suggestions and feedback, and they'll be more than happy to help you out.  That has been our experience.

And good luck.

[Emily1090]

Cool, thank you Kevin, that is good advice. In my "real" job I'm used to lots of Beta-testing and training before using new systems so it seems hasty to just invite strangers in when we haven't worked out all the kinks! I guess I will wait to publish until we have had people over for free. Are there any surprises from the hosting end with the app? Like missing notifications?

[Colleen253]

@Emily1090 , @Kevin1322  has given you loads of great advice. Airbnb makes it difficult to do what you suggest, and you don't want to get yourself into any hot water, before you've even begun. Test your new listing by staying in it yourself, if you haven't, and/or having your friends stay a couple of times. Then you'll see what may be missing. As Kevin said, you have experience as a guest so you already have a great idea of what guest are looking for. Then just jump in...that's honestly the best way to learn this stuff.

[Kevin1322]

@Colleen253  I think Airbnb deliberately make it difficult to "game" the review system, we have to remind ourselves that we are not their customers, the guests pay Airbnb.  They are not doing a bad job of it if you keep in mind that our guests are their paying customers and the fees we pay to Airbnb are peanuts compared to what the guests are charged.

To me it's a simple deal. Airbnb send us guests, we don't take the mickey.

We are a fairly low market accommodation with fairly high market guests, although this wasn't our intention when we started, we have found that most guests are very down to earth and appreciate an honest listing. 

Clean and a good night's sleep seems to be the secret.

Yes, we did test our guest room, and very nice it was too. 

we also had some friends stay.

👍

[Anonymous]

@Emily1090  can you "test" the listing, like share the preview before publishing? I'd love to get feedback from people about my descriptions etc.

Yes. What you do is complete your listing and publish it, but keep all dates blocked on your calendar and/or select "Snoozed" as your listing status. That way, you'll have an active link that you can share for feedback, but it won't be possible for anyone to place bookings yet.

Airbnb doesn't care if or when you start hosting. Be sure not to anthropomorphize the robotically generated "suggestions" it gives to manipulate you into choosing Smart Pricing, Instant Book, or other features that benefit their bottom line more than yours. When you feel your listing is ready, there are ways you can ease into it. Open up only a small range of dates at first (say, a month out) with a low Maximum Stay (5 days, for example) and make sure Instant Book is NOT activated, so that you can screen requests and make sure they are a suitable fit before accepting them. It's entirely up to you to decide when to host, and how frequently, and at what nightly rate.

Airbnb is just a resource for advertising your listing and processing payment; for everything else you're on your own.

[Emily1090]

Thanks, Andrew, that is very helpful. Yes, it's a bot and I don't have to do the instant pricing... I do like control!