Co Hosting

[Andressa21]

Hello,

I messaged Airbnb a few minutes ago about Co hosting, and they told me that most of the time it's for people the listing owner already knows for example family members, neighbors, trusted friend etc.

This is something that interests me because my family has a cleaning company here in the Boston area, and they already do a great deal of co hosting duties without even knowing... because some of their Airbnb clients asks them to restock toilet paper, hand soap etc, and do check ins when the clients arrive while they are there... the only thing they dont do is obviously the messaging.

A friend of mine who does co hosting said some charge 25%... but I wouldnt even want to get anywhere near that... Just a small fixed income monthly would be more than enough for me...

Is it normal to message people on Airbnb and ask them if they are insterested in having a co host to help them? Or should I seek people here in the community/forum?

Hope to hear from you all soon!

[Alice-and-Jeff0]

@Andressa21 - Airbnb used to have a co-hosting platform where hosts and potential co-hosts could seek each other out - they ended that this past summer.  They also ended the ability to pay co-hosts directly from payouts earned on Airbnb.  Co-hosting has a number of definitions besides cleaning and communication.... this is why some co-hosts earn as much as 80% (professional booking groups who keep and maintain the properties for example in addition to booking, advertising, and marketing - like a timeshare, cabin, or vacation property).   The 25% was recommended amount that Airbnb suggested co-hosts could make when they had the co-host marketplace.  IMO, it was not enough for all the work required to maintain the listing, maintain the calendar, do 100% of the communication, coordinate the cleaning and maintenance, coordinate entry and exit of guests, as well as responding 24/7 to customer complaints, issues, or problems during a stay.  If a host did not charge a separate cleaning fee separate from all of these, then it REALLY wasn't enough money.  Airbnb abandoned this co-hosting because it was an enormous amount of platform work for no additional money to them and it got way too close to employment which they are avoiding for anyone in the field hosting.  There were contracts and such so they've stopped being involved in the process.  Additionally, unless your co-host gives you their banking information directly, you can no longer pay them via Airbnb.  Co-hosts must invoice their hosts to be paid (thus the reason Airbnb told you it was for friends and family). 

The best way you can find out if your cleaning clients are also Airbnb hosts is to ask your client base there in Boston.  Drop flyers in their invoices or contact them through your book of business.  You are not very likely to find them here and word of mouth from existing clients is your best bet.  You can be kicked off the platform if you reach out to hosts on the main platform and you've posted your interest in the forums with this message.  Right now there is no place for random hosts and potential co-hosts to reach each other directly.  

[Andressa21]

Thank you so much for your help!