@Alistair48
Wow, where do we start!!!
1/......List your property accurately!
The last thing you need is to be unavailable if a dispute arises that you from afar, or those great neighbours of yours can't resolve.
Use good pictures (no more than 40), but not professional ones! Professional photography in many instances leads to disappointments. Rooms look twice the size....the place has a professional makeover that disappears once the picies have been taken. Make the listing honest and remember...the less a guest expects the more they will be delighted with what they get!
When you word your description do it with a stranger, someone not familiar with your property. Many things you will overlook, an outsider will pick up. Don't list things that you do not want guests to have the use of. If it's listed, guests will expect to be able to use it. And another thing to remember, don't let guests use anything of yours that can be used beyond the perimeter of the listing property....ie Bikes, canoes, jetskis. If guests use those things in a public space they will not be covered by insurance and you may have a liability issue if something goes wrong!
2/.....Set your calendar to block all dates except those that you are willing to have available. That way the automated system will not allow enquires to come to you for dates that are blocked. You can do this from your calendar page setting date ranges which you wish to block. There are a number of ways of doing this but setting from your calendar page is the simplest and easiest!
3/.....Don't use 'Instant book'! IB is for experienced hosts who can tell by their experience from the initial message what the guest is going to be like. Once again remember guests will fall into two camps! There will be those who are 'Passive & Complimentary'...... like what they see in your listing and just want to pay and stay. Or they will be 'Aggressive & Demanding' and have a succession of questions and requirements that are designed to strengthen their ground and weaken yours! They want something you don't list.
4/........Make sure one of these great neighbours of yours will be available to check the guests in.
This makes the guest feel comfortable they are not on their own should they have a need, and also sends a message that your property is being monitored and that a reasonable observance of house rules will be required.
It would be preferable for your most trusted neighbour to join Airbnb so you can appoint them offically as a Co-Host. This will give them access to your messages and enable them to make certain Airbnb decisions in your absence.
5/..... Make the listing as 'idiot proof' as possible. Remember what seems bleedin obvious to you will be totally strange to an outsider. Put knick-knacks and ornaments well out of harms way....you have heard of Murphy's Law.....well Murphy has a relation who also has a law, his name is Patrick and Patrick's law says Murphy was an optimist!! Be prepared.
Give the guests clearly marked cupboards and don't provide access to your personal things. If you leave a well stocked fridge you will come back to an empty one, same with your food cupboards. Specify which are the guests cupboards But, don't put 'post-it' notes up everywhere! That simply gets a guests back up when they are continually confronted by instructions on what they can and can't do in this space they have paid you to use.
6/......And on payments, As you have been an Airbnb guest, you already have a payment method in place but make sure you have a payout account details in place. When you provide an account to receive payouts Airbnb will deposit a small amount of money in that account to make sure the payout path is correct. Make sure you attend to this well in advance because you won't be able to check on it when you are strolling across the Ponte Vecchio.
7/.....Just one last thing Alistair! Find out what your insurance company's attitude to you renting out your house on a short term basis. Many companies cancel their insurance coverage when they get wind that a short term rental is taking place.
Get onto a company called Sharecover! This company offer insurance by the night so you don't have to pay for a years coverage when you only want to let for a month.
All the best mate....cross the 'T's and dot the 'I's and you should find hosting arewarding experience!
Cheers......Rob
