Oooh, I remember the feeling, hosting for the first time!
I opened my calendar, and almost immediately had a short notice booking request (no IB, but still), from a group of 4 adults (men and women) from some Baltic country. 4 adults, in my tinyhouse. And they DID have a huge van, too! Very brief introduction message, did not tell me much.
I thought to myself, why do 4 adults from another country, not already have accomodation booked for the day after tomorrow? What do they want, why are they here, what do I do, do I dare reject them, or will I be banned forever? 😉
But I messaged a bit, and found out they were touring the Nordics with a food truck, coming to Stockholm for a street food festival. A married couple, a sister and a friend. Turned out, they DID have accomodation booked. But the last place they stayed at was so cheap and horrible, that the women demanded something better for Stockholm. With a washing machine, and hot water. So they cancelled the place they had booked, and booked my place instead.
They were great guests! They even dropped off delicious food for us on several occasions. And gave me my first review - a great one.
Sorry - back to you!:
In my opinion, there is a fine balance between being attentive/welcoming, and being…too much.
I typically send a message to the guest a couple of hours after check in, just welcoming them, hoping everything is good, and asking them to not hesitate to contact me, if needed. Then leave them alone.
As you are new, and your first review is important, I would suggest commenting on this fact. You could let them know they are your first guests, and you really hope everything is to their satisfaction, and you welcome any suggestions they might have for improvements. But to maybe give you these suggestions in a message, and not in their review…? And why not leave them a small gift outside their door the night before they leave (if you are in the area)? Make it really hard for them not to give you a great review, because you are so nice! 😉 And as someone wrote, urgently add a nice photo of yourself, looking very likeable, and not as a serial killer… Make it personal, they need to see a face to relate.
The night before check out, I typically send a second message. I often say that there is no deadline for checking out, they can check out at their own leasure. (Most guests leave early anyway, but hopefully appreciate the offer.) I tell them not to spend precious holiday time cleaning, as cleaning is included, and as long as they leave the house fairly tidy, I will give them 5 stars for cleaning. (Most guests still seem to have done some cleaning.) This is also a good way to alert new Airbnb guests that they WILL be reviewed, just like you.
Most of us have had bookings that made us nervous, either the first one, or a later one. All of mine turned out great!
GOOD LUCK - it will be fine!
But don’t use IB and Smart Pricing.
And avoid having check out and check in on the same day - way too stressful.
