How things were for you when you first began your AIRBNB

[Eileen462]

Hello Hosts!

Please tell me how things were for you when you first began your AIRBNB?  

[Title updated by Community Manager for relevancy]

[Katie1506]

I've had no bookings. I think I will take it offline.

[Iolanda54]

A wonderful, learning journey, if you love helping others. You can do everything humanly possible and occasionally you will get a few who are still not happy. 

Overall, I love hosting, because it’s very rewarding, easygoing, constantly changing, learning and hands off experience. 

[Kay1613]

It was a Gr8 pleasure and excitement. Having been in the tourism industry for more than a decade this was something we wanted to do for a long time. 

[Gwen386]

Hosting was pretty easy for me. Even though I got butterflies when each new guest arrived, I calmed down once we toured my rental because I enjoy showing it off and knew I left nothing to chance. 

The one thing where I go above and beyond is during the cleaning process. Nothing is left undone. ALL surfaces are dusted, even the top of kitchen appliances.  Everything is sanitized. Every floor is washed or vacuumed. All linen, even comforters, are freshly washed with non fragrant detergents. I do not use deodorizers of any kind. 

This allows me to feel confident that my guest will enjoy their stay. 

[Jay2030]

Exciting. Within the first week responses were intense. Reviews were great. Had to increase the price to barely keep up with the cost.  one of the guest used the place for a party and trashed it. 
Booking decreased considerably. Has only 10 days booked for November and December. No bookings for 2024. Need to make decision to stop short term rentals and sell or let it for long term rentals. 

[Linda4254]

A bit nerv racking at 1st but got the hang of it easy enough.  I now host several properties on behalf of the owners & is now a full time job. 

[Dani12527]

My first guest arrived last July. I was nervous starting out, of course, wanting to supply guests with a nice experience and making sure to streamline the check-in process, the house is supplied, is spotless clean, rules & policy clearly stated. With each new guest comes new expectations because people are all so different. Recognizing this, I simply communicate clearly and expeditiously in a welcoming and friendly tone. Having been an airbnb guest on multiple occasions in different regions myself, I reflect on that perspective. 

So far, so good...

[Joanne856]

It's been a huge learning curve! It's been a lot of work with the changeovers, but very worth it for the income I've earned.

Every guest has been so different, & I've learnt something from them all. I'm forever adding information to my listings. 

Airbnb is brilliant, from the ease of use to the ways you can personalise your lettings to suit you perfectly, plus the peace of mind with the insurance & the message support with any queries. 

The only thing I don't like about the airbnb procedure is the review process, which I feel is loaded towards the guests over the hosts. I hear guests give bad reviews to get money back, which is very unfair. 

[Eileen462]

@Joanne856   You know Joanne, I have watched host reviews of guests to determine whether or not I want that guest in my home so it goes both ways!  I agree that the review process should be both ways and not in favor of scammers.

[Joanne856]

Thanks Eileen, although I have 'instant book' on, so I can't vet people beforehand. 

[John7474]

@Eileen462 

Hello Eileen –

Thank you for your question!  The short answer, starting to host on Airbnb is very exciting, and a bit challenging at the same time!

Now for the long answer... 

My partner and I both come from a world of “hosting”. My parents ran a successful Bed and Breakfast on the coast of Maine, which I took part of during school breaks. My partner works in hospitality for a 5-start hotel in Los Angeles.   

Even though we both have some experience, starting your own Airbnb business and hosting requires a lot of strategic planning, a good deal of common sense, lots of hard work and a leap of faith!

Our situation is unique. In 2019 we purchased a property in Oaxaca, Mexico with the intention of one day living there full time. The house had been abandoned and required tremendous amount of work before we could even spend the night at our own home.

After a year of repairs, it was a dream come true as we were able to call it home!  We would travel from Los Angeles to Oaxaca for vacations and holidays to enjoy our property.  We created a good team of trusted people watch over the house, and to tend the gardens.

Initially we had no intention of opening our home in Oaxaca to the public.  But when we realized that the house just sat there empty for most of the year, it made sense for us to host our house on Airbnb.

We started the process by doing a lot of research, reading books and articles about Airbnb hosting. We talked with friends and others who were hosting.  We asked a lot of questions. Based on all the information we had, we prepped the house, trained a Property Manager, and carefully created our Airbnb listing.

With a lot of factors, including the unique nature of our home, we were only interested in hosting for months at a time. We did not (and still don’t) allow instant booking as we wanted to make sure the guest is a good fit for our place.

Also, since we were first time hosts, we discounted our listing price, since it would be our “beta test”. While we believed we had done everything right, it was really our guests that really mattered, and we wanted honest feedback from our first guest for ways to improve their stay.

When we received our first request to book and made our first booking it was so exciting! We couldn’t believe it was really happening!  Our first guest was incredible, providing us with invaluable honest feedback for a variety of improvements. That was over a year ago and we have been very fortunate as our home has been booked since.  

Looking back these are a few of the things we have learned over the course of the year:

Your Listing

While we strived for our listing to be perfect from the get go, it takes time to get your title, listing description, and photos just right.  We are always making small changes, allow yourself to make changes and learn what works from other hosts.

It’s Your Home

Always remember it is your home and your Airbnb business. While you want to accommodate guests, you decide what works for you and is best for your Airbnb business. Set good boundaries.

Use the Airbnb platform to communicate with guests

I recommend using the Airbnb platform to communicate with guests. Using their platform provides a record of your interactions. If there is ever a discrepancy with a guest, you are able to provide this record to Airbnb to assist in getting it resolved.  

House Rules

House Rules are very important and set the tone for what you expect from guests. You will find that you may need to add additional rules after your first couple of guests to make sure the house runs properly. I suggest you make them part of the body of your listing description. In addition, before a guest books, confirm that they have read and will abide by them.

Encourage Honest Feedback

Develop professional relationships with your guests and encourage them to give you honest feedback. Encourage your guests to ask if they need assistance and let you know what works.

Trust Your Gut

When you are in the booking process, trust your gut instincts. If you think that a guest may not be a good fit for your home, trust your gut instincts. Read all of a potential guests’ prior reviews. I believe in second chances, but if other hosts had repeated issues with a guest, you might as well for the same reasons.

Your small things are their big things, and vice versa.

Remember something that may not seem like a big deal to you, may be a huge issue for a guest. And vice versa. Learn to be on the lookout for guests needs even though everything seems fine to you. Also, things you think might be a deal breaker for a guest, doesn’t bother them. Clear communication is important.

Airbnb Staff

I have found the Airbnb Staff to be very helpful, insightful, and supportive. When I have questions as to how to navigate my listing or how to handle a situation, I do not hesitate to contact Airbnb. 

We have certainly learned a lot in just a year, and honestly it has been one of our best life experiences!

Wishing the same for you and all the best in your hosting experience!

John and Rodrigo

https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/650711786712532742?guests=1&adults=1&s=67&unique_share_id=de0da047-a657...

[Eileen462]

@John7474   John you and Rodrigo have the perfect AIRBNB story and your place is just gorgeous!  I appreciate you taking your time to answer my question as I am curious how others have experienced their first guests.  Thank you!    Eileen

[John7474]

@Eileen462 

Eileen -

Thank you so much for your kind note! 

Best,

John and Rodrigo 

[Jean174]

After my son left Long Beach for college in Chicago in 2013, I found myself an empty nester, and discovered Airbnb. It was love at first sight.

My home has great mid-century style. It is a "U" with ceiling to floor windows forming a glass box for a living room with an accent on sunshine. The ranch style open plan form was designed by Kenneth Wing and Richard Killingworth in 1947. 

Meeting people from the world over has been just fascinating and I loved showing them the neighborhood, my community and sharing the best of Long Beach -- the gorgeous beaches of the Peninsula, gondola getaway in Naples, the restaurants and shops of Belmont Shore and Bixby...  

In the beginning, 2013-2017, I hosted many young European travelers and most were long-term bookings.  A physician from Egypt who was doing a summer residency at Long Beach Memorial. I hosted physical therapists from San Francisco to Sioux City, Iowa.  Travel nurses from Austin, Texas and Baltimore. MD. A Japanese family with a husband who went to helicopter piloting school at Long Beach airport. We kept in touch and I reunited with them on a trip to Japan in 2017 with a group of artists from Long Beach. So many guests came to Long Beach to study or tour the City.   

I hosted a young 20-something who really enjoyed playing tennis with me at Scherer Park and El Dorado. He was from Cologne, Germany and was here for a summer internship with Mercedes North American Sales headquarters in Long Beach. 

Hosted many travelers from throughout the US, and Germany, France, England, Japan, China, India.  Many seniors also came to visit their children and grandchildren here in Bixby Knolls and love the convenience of walking up Myrtle or Linden to visit relatives. 

Any extra money I have made from Airbnb, I dedicated to upkeep and maintenance of my home.  I was able to cover property taxes, resurface and repair my pool, replace the original pool filtration equipment with an energy efficient system, a new house HVAC, tree trimming and new plantings.

In 2019, I finished construction of an accessory dwelling unit -- it is very popular, although 31+ days are required.

In 2021, moved to a small place in Seal Beach, so I could rent my entire house and spend more time traveling.

Today, I am offsite and more hands off, but part of that luxury was getting things down to a system.  Really getting consistent with cleaning, maintenance, guest services, messaging, and reviews. I still love to meet guests. Many are repeat visitors so we have built a relationship, like the couple from Japan. 

[Liz6029]

sadly I’ve had no bookings yet.