How do you create a great working partnership?

Lizzie
Former Community Manager
Former Community Manager
London, United Kingdom

How do you create a great working partnership?

Great partnerships.jpg

 

Hello hello,

 

I know many of you have people you reply on to help you when you are hosting, like cleaners, co-hosts, family members and juggling lots of things is not always easy. You often need to have a group of trustworthy people around you.

 

How do you make sure you select people you can reply on? Do you have last minute helpers that can give you an extra-hand or someone who is always there?

 

Looking forward to hearing from you.

 

Thanks,
Lizzie


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32 Replies 32
Paul1255
Level 10
London, United Kingdom

Hey @Lizzie  I hope you are well! good post.

 

I'm often the person who's relied on- I suppose being flexible, reliable and genuine- and doing what you say you're going to do always helps!

 

Just last week I had 2 hosts I co-host for on an occassional basis call me last-minute (the night before, and also the day of) to support with unexpected guest check-ins...I had to move things around to make it all work and I found a way to make it happen- I guess they knew I would be able to help them!

 

For me personally, I am now at the stage of my co-hosting that I need a small team to support me, because I can't be everywhere at the same time- it's not easy to give away control of what you do.

 

I pick these people because I might have worked with them before, so I know they have high standards and will do exactly what they say they will, or because they have hosting experience so they know what is expected and how to deliver it.

 

It's not easy picking people to support you, but knowing them personally always helps I think 🙂

 

Paul.

Lizzie
Former Community Manager
Former Community Manager
London, United Kingdom

Hey @Paul1255,

 

Happy Friday! 🙂

 

Aw this is exciting to hear that you building quite a team around you. Are you finding that quite a lot of hosts are looking for co-hosts to support them? 

 


--------------------


Thank you for the last 7 years, find out more in my Personal Update.


Looking to contact our Support Team, for details...take a look at the Community Help Guides.

Paul1255
Level 10
London, United Kingdom

Hey @Lizzie  and happy Friday to you too!

 

Indeed lots of hosts are looking for support, especially now Airbnb are funneling hosts through to the large Airbnb management companies rather than offering their co-hosting matching service.

Most of the hosts I work with have had a poor experience with the larger companies and are looking for someone who "gets" how to host to a high standard.

 

Plus hosts always need support when they are heading out of town for holidays and want someone they can trust when they are out of the country.

 

It's busy and keeps me out of trouble 🙂

Hello @Paul1255! I’m curious, do you get paid to be a co-host? If so, how does that work?

Kind Regards 

~Darlene

Paul1255
Level 10
London, United Kingdom

Hi @Darlene56  I hope you are well.

 

Indeed I am paid as a co-host.

 

Payment/fees work differently depending on if the work is one-off/short term support or permanent support.

 

Short-term I charge a fixed amount depending on the size of the listing, and the particualr work required (cleaning, virtual support, check-in/out, support on stay etc)

 

Permanent support I charge the cleaning fee plus a % of the nightly rate, this varies again on level of support required, location and so on.

 

I will private message you a link to my co-hosting site!

 

Paul 🙂

Hi Paul !

 

I'm fascinated with your spin on this amazing business! I wish I had someone like you ! Would you mind sharing some other details with me directly? I need some help in setting parameters with someone locally should I be so lucky to find someone like you !

 

Rj

Hi Paul. Sorry it’s taken me so long to respond. I’ve been extremely busy working three jobs. Thank you so much for your prompt reply and for sharing your information and website with me. Your website is great! 

Best

~Darlene 

Forgot to ask... how do you get in touch with other Airbnb hosts to become a co-host to get a business started such as yours?

Thanks again 

Darlene

Kris76
Level 3
London, United Kingdom

Hey Paul, it’s great that you are supporting other hosts in London. Alongside my support team I also  use an app called GuestHug which helps with organising my busy life of check ins, turnarounds and maximising guest experiences 

Robin4
Level 10
Mount Barker, Australia

@Lizzie  @Paul1255 

 

I have formed a great relationship with  four other hosts in my area. We get on really well together and help each other out when it is required...and sooner or later help will be required.

I am in a situation at the moment where one of these hosts has just been diagnosed with Breast cancer and has asked me to take over her reservations. We have worked with CX to achieve this so nobody is penalised and all I wish for is for Liz to get better so she can get back on her hosting feet again. These hosts have helped me out on a couple of occasions, one where Airbnb had two separate confirmed bookings here on my property for the same night!

 

Another really handly liason is one I have with my local Dry Cleaner. I recommend all guests go there for their cleaning and clothes pressing needs and they in turn help me out when I get a stain on something that I can't shift. 

I have set up a discount arrangement with some of the local businesses where they will honour a  small discount that I and my 4 other close Airbnb hosts guests can receive.

 

I am a scrounger Lizzie, always on the lookout for a deal in the area I can exploit!

 

Cheers......Rob

 

 

 

Lizzie
Former Community Manager
Former Community Manager
London, United Kingdom

Hello @Robin4,

 

Aw I remember you mentioning your local group of hosts. I think this is such a great thing, that you have built such a trusting friendship through hosting. 

 

I am really sorry to hear your hosting friend is ill and what a relief it must be for her that you have been able to help her sort out her bookings and just concentrate on getting well. I know she doesn't know me, but I wish her all the best and I really hope she get well soon.  

 

It's a fantastic idea to set up a discount code, I wonder if others have thought about this? What kind of local businesses have you included?


--------------------


Thank you for the last 7 years, find out more in my Personal Update.


Looking to contact our Support Team, for details...take a look at the Community Help Guides.

Alexandra316
Level 10
Lincoln, Canada

@LizzieI'm really lucky in finding a cleaner that I trust. At this point, she's a good friend and like a second mom: we talk every day. We met when I placed an ad on a local buy and sell group looking for some help, and I just think I was really super lucky to find her. She came to the house to meet me, we looked over the Airbnb and talked about what needed to be done, settled on a price, and I gave her a key there and then and she's never left. I never did any reference checking: I trusted my gut.  She cleans for me and one or two other clients just to get out of the house because her husband has terminal cancer.  I couldn't do the volume of business I do without her. She's very flexible, so I can almost always count on her to bail me out in a pinch. 

 

I also have a great relationship with our laundry service, and they make my life so much easier. They're a small family-owned business, and the owner actually sent me a handwritten letter in the mail asking to quote. I assumed it was going to be way too expensive, but I called and asked about it anyways. Their pricing ended up being really reasonable, and they're small enough that they care about my business and they do a great job. They live just up the street, so they can drop off and pick up linens on the way to work or on the way home.

 

I also have contacts at some local wineries that I like where I know guests can go and have a guaranteed good experience. Same with local restaurants so I can help get tables in a pinch if needed, as our local places are often booked up weeks in advance. I don't get any benefit from this apart from making sure my guests have a good experience.

 

I think that forming relationships is really important in all aspects of Airbnb.

 

 

It’s the hardest thing of all, to have people you can trust.

 

Relying on someone allows you so much time off, but it has also the disadvantage that quality could decrease.

 

Your cleaner forgets to scrub the oven and voilà 4 stars instead of 5 stars on "cleaning".

 

Generally, those who are paid for work do not care about the success of this project as much as you do, so it is important that you check the quality of their work. The house for rent must always be examined, even in the hidden parts: all necessary crockery must be checked, the wardrobes must be dusted inside and outside, all the appliances must be cleaned, the bathroom supplied with soap and toilet paper, the doormat must be brushed. The helper must get used to systematically reporting any damage or object forgotten by guests.

 

The best place for the control of compliant results is at check-in: at that moment you can see how the apartment was cleaned, so you immediately notice if your helper has cleaned well. Nothing’s worse than having an assistant who doesn't care if guests are satisfied.

 

I also used external agencies. The ones who care about quality are few. Well, my view is that external companies tend to be less precise because for them you are just one apartment out of 100 and if you are too demanding and picky, they say you are free to go, they have 99 more apartments whose hosts do not annoy them.

 

The problem today is that under 4.8 you are in trouble, while 4.5 is fine for them.

 

If you work with private citizens, my casting tips are:

 

° ask them what reviews they have had. Get their links. If they’re under 4.8, let it go;

 

° say that you’re on track to become Superhost, ask them if they think they can make it with your apartment. That’s a rather difficult question to answer, but at least you put openly this issue on the table;

 

° offer a 20% bonus for each 5-star review and an extra bonus if you reach the Superhost target: if you save on your helpers, you are digging yourself the deepest hole;

 

° tell them if you go under 4.8 this partnership won’t last for long, but be careful: for helpers who clean your house, just look at the reviews on cleaning.

 

To become a Superhost you must believe in what you do. Everyone must eat his own bread with the sweat of his forehead. If you have not equipped your apartment well, if you have no time for unexpected complications, if you underpay your helpers who are forced to do things quickly, it’s unlikely you will make it.

 

Another way is to entrust the management to a profile with hosting experience: an AIRBNB Superhost. A Superhost generally knows how to work well and probably takes everything to heart.

 

But if you ask me now very straightforwardly and point-black which is the most important thing in a co-host or in a person that receive guests, I say to you that, despite his low score, all that matters to me is the smile on his face, the smile he uses around his guests.

 

A smile is a gift from heaven, it is the beginning of every story and every authentic friendship, and if I had one wish, it would be that all your co-hosts wear their most perfect smile and sunshine and that I finish this post just the way I started it. With a smile.

I really like your name Emily (as my daughter) and your answer. 

Elio Mondosol