We bought our cabin in Lake Arrowhead, CA a few years ago for ourselves but felt it would make a good vacation rental. We live about 45 min away “down the hill”. After renovating inside and out to make it perfect for ourselves, we decided to give a shot at renting it out at times. This is more-or-less a hobby, I have a day job. We will be happy if we can cover our mortgage and insurance payments, especially while we are paying for our daughter’s schooling.
I thought my experiences may be helpful for new hosts/listings. I stumbled onto most of these by accident, but now see that many of the tips are on these pages – but not quite in this combination. My tips are specifically for “weekend” vacation rentals.
For background, our cabin – which you can find at https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/30018820 - is in Lake Arrowhead, CA, which is an easy and popular weekend getaway from Los Angeles, but there are also a lot of competition. I listed on 11/20/2018, we had our first guests two days later and met the Superhost qualifications (at least by the numbers and now have a “Everything’s looking good!” message) by Christmas day. Below is some combination of our experience, tips, and thoughts:
- Timing: Airbnb gives new listings a big boost, which should be taken full advantage of. We listed just before Thanksgiving and had nearly 200 views and 4 bookings the first day, 8 bookings by the third day (without any reviews) and ended up with 23 bookings (and one cancellation) by the end of the year (14 for 2018 and 9 for 2019). We were booked through the end of the year before the *new* designation went away, and we are now booked up more than a month for weekends. I had 3 reviews (all 5*) within a week, which meant that the 5* shows up with the listing, and 12 by the end of the year. My take away is to plan your listing near a high demand time. As the *new* boost went away, our reviews and bookings increased, which allowed us to retain a high listing.
- Minimum Stay: We set it at 1 night, which turned out to be a boon. It was more work, but we ended up with more bookings and reviews right off the bat. Our first 4 and 5 out of 7 were single night bookings. There is little competition for one night, you make a little extra money (if you do the cleaning yourself), and most importantly, you can reach 10 bookings and reviews quickly. You also get quick feedback from a number of different groups, which helps perfect your space and listing. Also, a few guests said they regretted only booking one night, and plan to come back for longer stays. It is a no-brainer to start with a 1 night minimum, and then you can increase. [I am now changing to a 2 night minimum, but will relax to 1 night one week out and for gap days – e.g. on a long weekend when 2 nights are booked.]
- Instant Book: We had on and haven’t had any issues. Some don’t like, but given the boost, there isn’t much of an option. We required a government ID, but not previous reviews. Two thirds of our bookings were from first-timers, and they were at least as good of guests as those who had reviews. Based on my experience, I advise to not require previous reviews, at least until getting established.
- Photos and Description: These are definitely key, but don’t have to be perfect. I started with older pictures and am continually updating. While a professional photographer may be able to do better on a given day, I think in the end I am doing better by myself as I can take pictures at different times of the day and year. I’ve also been continually working on the listing (and the feedback from guests has been useful for this).
- Cleaning: Cleanliness is extremely important. Airbnb highlights the number of listings that guest rate compliment as “Sparkling Clean” for a reason. Even though we live 45 min away, we are cleaning ourselves to make sure it meets our standards. We have 11/12 5* (the one that rated a 4 was unjustified, although they gave us an overall 5*) and 10/13 sparkling clean so far. We also learn a lot about what is used (especially in the kitchen), etc. It is also interesting sociologically. It is quite remarkable how much trash some groups generate and how much toilet paper some groups go through J. We may eventually go with a service, but I highly advise to do it yourself at least at the start.
- Messages, Responsiveness, and Reviews: Respond to all messages and inquiries as quickly as possible. I have been able to respond right away, and all reviews have noted “quick responses”. I send out at least four messages: (1) thanks for booking, (2) pre-arrival, (3) post-arrival, (4) after departure. I started with my own but fine-tuned after looking at many good examples on this site. I have also completed reviews of my guests promptly. Even though I don’t meet our guests personally, 13 out of 14 have written reviews (all 5*). I believe a combination of responsiveness and the messages, in addition to enthusiasm for our cabin, were important.
- Smart Pricing: I found it to be a reasonable starting point. I think it undervalues holidays and special events in the area. As I learn about the market, I will adjust some dates manually.
- Pets: We love animals, and can’t imagine spending a holiday without them, so we decided to allow up to two dogs. We built a small dog run for our furry ones, so it is fairly well set up. So far so good. We charge an additional $50 fee. It is somewhat awkward, but we have had our guest accept a change with the additional fee after booking. I do hope Airbnb adds this option at booking in the near future, as many have requested. I was really (unpleasantly) surprised that this option doesn’t exist.
- Guestbook: Go ahead and spend a few minutes working on your guestbook. Airbnb makes it easy. I also print out a copy that I leave at the cabin along with our house manual. About half of our guests have complimented us with providing local tips.
- Misc: The web app and phone app have somewhat different functionality (don’t know why). Explore and utilize both. E.g. you can add check-in info with pictures with the phone app, but not with your computer. But, on your computer you can, e.g., make and use message templates.
So far it has been a good run. We have had all good guests so far, but they are all so different it is
fascinating sociologically. I look forward to continuing to refine. Not sure where it will go from here, but as long as it stays fun, we will keep this up.
