help with hosting

Liuba8
Level 1
Columbia, SC

help with hosting

Can anyone talk about how they find cleaning crews for their AirBnB properties? I have only been a host for over a year, and just got a 2nd property. Cleaning after guests with a full-time job is becoming too much. 

I came across a management company online, Estaga, and they want 18% to help you optimize and run your AirBnB. The only issue is they list the property and as a host, you don't get any recognition for experience hosting, good reviews generated and host status.  I also don't know if their fee is reasonable. Anyone used them before or had experience using a third-party AirBnB management company? Any advice is really appreciated. 

 

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2 Replies 2
Rebecca
Community Manager
Community Manager
Suffolk Coastal District, United Kingdom

Hello @Liuba8 👋

 

Welcome to the Community Center! It's great to have you here with us. Great question about cleaning services to support a busy host. I wondered if you'd managed to find anyone to help share the load? 

 

If not, it might be worth checking out your Local Host Clubs and local hosts. They may have more area specific suggestions, things like regulations and licences, cleaners and more. Please let me know how you get on. 
 
Rebecca 🌟

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Elaine701
Level 10
Balearic Islands, Spain

@Liuba8 

 

I fully agree that the workload to keep an Airbnb clean, highly rated, and booked is a full time job 

 

I'm sure it varies from region to region, but I've been looking for a professional cleaning outfit for years, and have been consistently sorely disappointed. Expensive, yet they usually do the absolute minimum required to call it "done". And sometimes don't even show up. 

 

We have self-employed cleaners that I personally manage, which minimises my workload, but there's lots of other work. And I need to be there to oversee them. But I get the quality I need. And they don't cost a fortune. 

 

Management firms: beware. They take most of your profits, "shotgun" market your listing on any and all platforms, generally compete on the basis of (low) price, generally take average photos and create simple listing descriptions that appeal to whatever is the mainstream, accept bookings from anybody, and wash their hands of any responsibility when things go wrong. 

 

A third party will never do it as well as you do, because they don't have any personal interest. It's all about selling, not hospitality. 

 

For my interests, the paltry money that I'd make when leaving management to someone else just isn't worth it. If you want to get away from the workload, you'll probably do better with long term rent, but very carefully vetting your tenant. Or sell up. 

 

That's my view. It may be different in your patch. Good luck.