Making the most of high season

[Lizzie]

Hello everyone,

The peak travel season can get hectic, right? More bookings mean more guest questions, more check-ins, more supplies, and tighter cleaning schedules.

Successful hosts have developed a number of clever strategies for handling the rush of seasonal traffic while still creating fantastic guest experiences. That’s why we went straight to the experts to get the best tips on staying organized and efficient during the busiest times of year. Here’s some of the smartest advice offered by hosts in the Community Center.

Stock up on supplies

Before your high season even arrives, stock up on extra cleaning supplies and amenities, and consider investing in extra linens and bath towels. That will be one less thing to worry about as you’re juggling guest needs. Filling your pantry in advance also provides you the opportunity to buy in bulk and save money.

Recycle guest messages

Guests often ask the same questions, so creating standard responses will save you a lot of time. Rather than typing out a new answer to a common question, you can reuse a response that you’ve already provided to a different guest.

To make it even simpler, you can save or edit a message from directly in the messaging stream:

• Click Use a saved message to open a pop-up window.
• Then click Save a new message, which adds the message to your library.
• Click Edit saved messages to browse all of your saved messages.
• Finally, click and edit the message that you want to send.

Sync your calendars

Keeping track of guest arrivals and departures alongside all the other things happening in your life gets even more complicated during busy season, especially if you’re keeping separate calendars. Avoid scheduling mishaps by syncing your Airbnb calendar with any other program that uses the iCalendar format, including Google calendar or the calendar on other home-sharing sites, such as HomeAway or VRBO. Learn how to sync your calendars here.

Create cleaning kits

Keep all of the cleaning supplies you might need for each room in a separate, ready-to-grab bag or bucket. For example, your bathroom cleaning kit might include rags, glass cleaner, and scrubbing powder while your kitchen kit might contain all those things plus dish soap and floor polish. This ensures you have everything you need to clean a room quickly, without having to rummage through a bunch of extra supplies or carry unneeded ones from room to room.

Streamline linen management

Having a few extra sets of linens available is the first step to a speedy turnaround between guest arrivals. A laundry service, if available, is also recommended as a lifesaver by many hosts. Other tricks include marking a corner of each bed linen set to indicate the size, room, or bed so you always know you have the right ones. If you prefer smooth sheets, you can save time on ironing by using a travel steamer while making up the bed or spritzing with linen spray and smoothing with your hands.

Do you have tips to offer other hosts for surviving a busy season?

[Ava34]

Good idea about the check in and check out time, Gigi. I only have a 3 hour window (from noon to 3 pm), which makes it hard to co-ordinate with my cleaning girl sometimes. I think I am going to change that!

[Mindy58]

My check-out is 11 a.m.  Check-in is between 3-10 p.m.  Although I take care of all the bed changing, towel washing, and general cleanup - trash cans from all the rooms, the recyclables, straightening up the place (it's a 120-year-old 4,300 sq. ft. house) - I have my housekeeper clean (bathrooms, kitchen, vacuum, and wash floors) the morning of my guests' arrival.  That way the house smells fresh and it's spotless.  It takes her about 4 hours.  It is rare that someone arrives sooner than the earliest check-in time.  However, if they plan to (I always ask for an approximate arrival time, and to also give me a 30-minute heads up before they arrive), I let them know the housekeeper will be there finishing up, but that they are welcome to leave their bags and then go have lunch or explore the city.  Everyone who has needed to drop bags has been incredibly grateful and very understanding.  I think they really appreciate that they are getting a super clean place to stay.  I only have a couple of same day turnarounds a year, but I absolutely let my guests know the situation ahead of time.  Everyone has been great about it, and it's pretty much a win-win. 

[Donna-and-Brian0]

Airbnb offers a feature to automatically block a day on each side of your booking to allow time to clean, so that instant books don't screw up your day when your home isn't actually ready (the previous guest is still there till 11am!)

We've learned to edit this feature too.  We'll go to our calendar and unblock the autoblocked day before the guest arrives, opening up an extra day for other guests to book.

Brian & Donna

[Huma0]

@Ava0

My turnover time used to be the same as yours, but it was too tight, especially as sometimes guests do not check out bang on time and others arrive slightly early. So, I changed the check out to 11am and it has made a huge difference haveing that extra hour. Most guests feel an 11am check out is reasonable (that's the norm in hotels in the UK anyway) and those that complain about it would complain about a 12pm check out time too!

[Elise-and-Frank0]

We charge a cleaning fee that covers most of the expense of having help to get the place ready. I'm surprised that you would ask Airbnb to reduce their minimal fees of 3%, which seems very reasonable considering they process the payments. We would pay that much just to process a credit card alone, not to mention we don't have to manage our own website.

[Rose-Ann0]

Hi Gigi,

I'm glad those check-in and check-out times work for you.  As a airbnb traveler and SUPERHOST, i strongly feel those times are unreasonable.  Keep in mind the majority of our guests are on vacation, traveling on the road or air travel... they are tired, so check-in arrival times need to have a longer time range. Check-out times need to be later for the guests needed rest and relazation.

[Shirleyann2]

I agree, I bought 2 sets of exactly the same bedding so I'm never searching for matching sheets and pillowcases. I like the monthly planner as my calender does get messy with other stuff. 

[Fran114]

Our first booking was in 2014. Our initial Airbnb unit was in the house we own next door which is on a really busy road. We have 3 layers of glass on each window to mitigate road noise, but you can still hear sirens and loud mufflers.

The first guest was a doctor specializing in sleep disorders who asked lots of questions about how quiet the unit was (you can’t make this stuff up). I was panicked and thought, well, this Airbnb thing may not work out. But, in his review, he said he slept really well and that the unit was really quiet.  Whew!

We’ve been Superhosts every quarter since then. We try to compensate with extra goodies to make up for any issues that the guest may encounter. Under promise and over deliver - that’s the key. 

Also — be sure and state any negatives on your listing so your guests are aware of any issues they may encounter. 

[Susan1219]

I’m curious to know what you do for “extra goodies “ 

Thanks!

Susan .....new host summer 2018

[Ghrissia0]

Susan

i love to know what you do for extra goodies ?

we went to Portugal and we booked an aprt ehich was on the fourth floor even thou it was mentioned on the listing but I didn’t pay attention and didn’t read the whole description , the apt was also so small but because the host offered to greet us downstairs and help us with our luggage and had almost half of the fridge full of fruits, cheese , ham , bread, eggs, tomatoes, wine , beer and water and he was so welcoming and showing us all the places to visit in Lisbon to the point that we forgot about the stairs and the space and after all we thought even thou the space was small it was super clean efficient and updated 

my four kids had food poisoning and used every towel in the apt but the host showed up in no time with a while stack of Fresh towels ....we really had a good time and we thought after all we haven’t been so close as during this vacation !!!!

[Maria2123]

I try to leave essentials in the fridge. Ketchup, mustard, some eggs, margarine....but most of all I leave some type of desert or fresh fruit, cookies...on the counter for when they have arrived. They would have driven for hours and are exhausted so a sweet treat always does the trick!

[Shirra0]

Thoughtfull idea. 

Shirra, Jakarta -Indonesia

[Carianne1]

I also leave the basics mentioned above ( Ketchup, mustard, relish, mayonnaise, maple syrup, hot sauce, little containers of milk)... but I also leave some frozen burgers in the freezer so that in case we have a power outage, the guests can still eat using the BBQ! 🙂

[Christine416]

Hi Susan. I always include pastries, orange juice, coffee, tea, water bottles, pop, and chips. The guests are always very greatful and appreciative therefore respecting our home and giving wonderful reviews.

[Lynda93]

I do this too Christine, where my guests stay, on the second floor of my home I provide a mini fridge with fresh milk, orange juice, water tea and coffee with cups, kettle, saucers and glasses on a tray, so they don't have to walk down 4 flights of stairs in a morning just to make a drink! As it is just before the door to the roof terrace too,  guests appreciate the extra outdoor space to have their tea/coffee in the morning.