Airbnb Hosting Guide – Tutorial, Tips & Risks (Free PDF)

Follow this guide and start creating the perfect profile and become the ultimate Airbnb host, making each and every guest experience truly memorable for your guests.

Disclaimer: Lodgify is an Airbnb Preferred Software Partner. This guide, including any claims or statements within, is solely from Lodgify and is not endorsed by, directly affiliated with, authorized, or sponsored by Airbnb in any way.

If you’re a Lodgify customer and want to connect via API with Airbnb, please get in touch with our customer support team. For more information: Connect Lodgify to Airbnb

Introduction

Founded in 2008 in San Francisco, Airbnb is the world’s best-known online marketplace for booking vacation rentals and private rooms.

Boasting over 100 million users in 191 countries worldwide, Airbnb continues to grow from strength to strength – it’s no wonder there are now more than 640,000 hosts registered on the platform!

But in a sea of hosts, how can you make sure your listings aren’t washed away? Which are the major mistakes you should avoid?

Creating the ultimate Airbnb profile complete with perfect listings can be hard work, but it’s also extremely easy when you know how to do it.

Designed for vacation rental owners looking to make the most of their Airbnb account, our guide will teach you much more than just the simple basics of Airbnb.

Along with tips from expert contributors, we’ll reveal what you need to do to create the perfect profile and listings.

We’ll also help you with setting your House Rules and teach you about pricing strategies that will skyrocket your Airbnb business.

1. The First Steps: What You Should Do Before Joining Airbnb

So you are thinking about listing your property on Airbnb – congratulations! But where do you really begin?

Before adding anything to your profile or listing, you need to think about your market and how you’re going to stand out from the crowd.

Do you already own a nice house with space for guests? Then ask yourself:

• Is the area around my house nice and safe for tourists?
• Is my house near any tourist attractions?
• Does my city attract many tourists every year?
• Should I do some renovation to my house?
• Should I buy new furniture?
• Is the house welcoming and clean enough for guests?
• Am I ok with inviting strangers to my house?
• Is there something I could do to make my property even better for guests?
• How much time and money can I invest in this business?

There are three essential things you should always do before starting any kind of business with Airbnb:

• Create a successful business plan
• Do market research
• Look at your competitors, learn from them.

Know your competition

Research and study your competition – you can use Airbnb for that!

• Search your city on Airbnb
• What kind of properties show up in results?
• How many properties will you have to compete with? (try different dates!)
• Is your house at least on-par with current Airbnb offers?

Simply search for properties with similar characteristics in your area. We’re talking about the same number of bedrooms, bathrooms, similar kitchen facilities and other amenities like pools or gardens.

• Look at their photos
• Check their furniture
• Read their reviews
• Learn what guests love or hate about them

Take a look at the way other hosts do things and get inspired about your own house and listing.

• Does your house have any chance against theirs?
• Could guests be interested in your listing if you use the right photos, title and price?

You can also take the average price for similar properties in your area to get a good idea of how to price your own property. You can then validate your estimated rates against those of smaller and larger properties in the same region to make sure they’re suitable.

• What is the average price for similar properties in your area?
• How many guests can earn you enough to cover your investment?
• Do you have any chance of reaching your target?

Know your target audience

When you start anything related to your vacation rental business, always bear in mind your target audience.

Identify your ideal guests and base all your property marketing strategies around them:

• If your property is more suitable for a young family, don’t show pictures of college students jumping in your pool on Spring Break.
• Likewise, if you’re aiming for retired travelers, don’t put them off with pictures of kids’ toys all over the house!

Know your own location

If you’re not sure who your target market might be, the main factors that can help you identify it are your property’s location and your rental itself.

Your vacation rental neighborhood will have a lot of say in the type of visitors it attracts.

Most of the time, travelers – whether business or leisure – have a reason for wanting to stay in a certain area.

That might be because of a famous landmark, a tourist attraction or even an event taking place nearby.

Think about the following for your vacation rental’s location:

• Who lives in the neighborhood? Is it a family zone, a student area or full of businesses?
• What draws visitors to the area? Is it the proximity to Disneyland, the buzzing nightlife or huge sports stadium that brings people here?
• Where is your home located?  Is it in an up-and-coming hipster destination, the financial center of the city or close to an internationally renowned event venue?
• How many hotels are nearby?  If there isn’t a lot, you could be onto something great. Your vacation rental may be one of the best options for any kind of traveler passing through your city! If there are plenty of hotels, however, it might be difficult to compete with their pricing. Always check and compare rates to other types of accommodation in your area.

Walk around your city.

Look at your neighborhood.

Understand what kind of people would love to stay in your property.

Know your own house

When you’ve defined the types of people that live in your area and the travelers that will be attracted to your neighborhood, you can deduce potential guests by thinking about your property specifically.

For example:

• What is your property type? To use Airbnb’s terminology, are you offering an entire home, a private room or a shared room?
• What are your property’s amenities? Do guests have access to laundry facilities? Kitchen? Swimming pool? Backyard? Off-road parking?
• How does your place compare to others nearby? Is it the jewel of the neighborhood or somewhere you wouldn’t like to pass by in the dark?

Once you’ve answered these questions about your property and area, you’ll be able to start thinking more in detail about this target market you’ve identified.

That’s not to say you’ll only attract these types of guests, but they’ll probably make up the larger part of your yearly bookings.

Know their fees: How much does Airbnb take from hosts?

Listing your house on Airbnb is basically free, but when you find new guests you’ll have to pay for it.

Before being your guests, they are Airbnb users: that’s why you have to pay them a fee for their service.

Here’s what Airbnb has to say about their fees:

“We have two different service fee structures for booking a place to stay: a shared host and guest fee and a host-only fee.

1. Host service fee: This fee is 3% for most hosts, but may be higher for Airbnb Plus hosts, hosts in Italy, or for listings that have a Super Strict cancellation policy. This fee is calculated from the booking subtotal (the nightly rate plus cleaning fee and additional guest fee, if applicable, but excluding Airbnb fees and taxes) and is automatically deducted from the host payout.
2. Host-only fee: The host-only fee structure was created so that hotels and other hospitality businesses have more control over the final price paid by guests. The host-only fee ranges from 14% to 20% (plus 2% for listings that have a Super Strict cancellation policy) and is the required fee structure for hotels and some other categories of hospitality businesses.

If Airbnb is required to collect VAT, the service fee and VAT amounts will be combined on the checkout page, which could make the service fee appear to be higher.”

If you receive guests from all around the world, Airbnb also has a 3% Exchange Rate Fee for transactions.

Are you ok with these fees?

When you look for the answers to this question online, many search results will arrive at the same conclusion: creating your own vacation rental website can actually complement your existing Airbnb activity and get you more bookings.

Know your local VAT and regulations

If you want to enter the Airbnb business, remember: it’s taxable income.

You have to report it to your federal agency.

You may receive a tax form from Airbnb.

Percentages are different depending on your location: ask your business consultant how much you’ll have to pay and consider this value-added tax (VAT) as a fixed expense for your rental business.

In addition to local taxes, you already have to pay for owning the house.

Also, keep in mind in some cities Airbnb is illegal!

Do you know your local regulations on short-term rentals?

Expert tip

Dany Papineau, AirbnbSecrets

“If a host wants to generate more income with one or several of their listings, my number one tip would be about legalization and taxation.

Why? Many Airbnb hosts are simply clueless about this, while legalization and taxation are some of the very basic elements to consider for anyone wanting to build a successful short rental listing (or business).

So do your research: call your city officials, inform yourself about short-term and commercial property taxes in your area, phone your home insurer and of course, don’t forget to declare your Airbnb revenue and expenses at the end of the financial year.”

Is Airbnb profitable for hosts?

It depends on all previous data and figures: your property, your location, how much you ask guests, how much you’ll have to pay in fees and taxes.

Usually hosting with Airbnb is quite profitable in touristic destination cities with high-demand for short-term homestays and living quarters.

Try researching Rental Arbitrage in your area.

Airbnb may not be as much profitable in lesser-known cities, with no tourism market.

Each rental business is different: invest some time in data-analysis for your local market to really understand if your own property may be profitable or not.

How and when do you get paid from Airbnb?

Airbnb offers many different payout methods:

• ACH/Direct deposit
• International wire
• Payoneer Bank transfer/debit card
• PayPal
• Western Union
• AIS debit card

Depending on the payout you choose, it will take a few days to get your money from Airbnb:

“Airbnb typically releases your payout about 24 hours after your guest’s scheduled check-in time. The time it takes for the funds to arrive in your account depends on your payout method.  If your guest is staying for 28 or more nights, payouts for that reservation are released monthly.”

Is Airbnb safe for hosts?

There’s a degree of risk in every business.

As you can read from AirbnbHell, with Airbnb you can have houses trashed by Spring Breakers, drugs and theft, unfairness and many, many more horror stories from long-time hosts.

Airbnb offers safety guidelines and their “host protection insurance” for up to $1 million (USD), but filing a claim could be complicated and not every damage is covered.

If you are serious about starting your Airbnb business:

• Consider additional house insurance with a local company you trust
• Always read reviews and check the identification of potential guests before accepting them in your house
• Install home-security systems and alarms (theft, fire, water flood, etc.)
• Add a damage deposit to your Airbnb rates
• Be aware of squatters

Insurance means even more expenses, but as they say: better safe than sorry!

2. House preparation for hosting your Airbnb

Before you even sign-up to Airbnb, you should prepare your house for welcoming guests.

It’s important that everything is ready for your first hosting experience and you have to take great photos of your property if you want to show it to your guests.

Also, something may go wrong during renovation, Wi-Fi could not be working yet or your furniture order may be late.

Be sure your house has everything needed to make it a perfect Airbnb:

• Check our must-have amenities list for your vacation rental
• Check our guide to furnishing a vacation rental
• Consider a proper house renovation
• Prepare your house-rules
• Clean every room!

Then you are ready to sign-up!

3. Airbnb Sign-up and Creating the “Perfect” Listing

It’s not difficult to get your Airbnb listing noticed by the right viewers if you do everything to make your profile right in the first place.

In this section, we’re going to uncover the most essential components you need to create the “perfect” Airbnb listing.

First: go to Airbnb and click on “sign-up” to create your own Host account.

Building the Ultimate Host Profile

Everything is about the sharing economy these days: we use apps to catch a ride with strangers who are going the same way; we look after each other’s dogs when we go on vacation; we buy each other’s used clothes and, unsurprisingly, we stay in each other’s homes.

All of these services have something vital in common: users are required to have a profile.

Other users will take into account everything you show in your profile when they make their decisions on whose car to jump in or whose place to rent.

Even if the rest of your Airbnb listing looks fabulous, without an awesome host profile, it’s unlikely you’ll see the bookings rolling in.

A welcoming, trust-inspiring profile can make all the difference when it comes to attracting guests to your Airbnb.

How can you show that you are the perfect host for your target audience? What can you do to show potential inquirers you’re a credible host?

• Write a personal, honest description of yourself and your life as a host
• Take inspiration from other hosts and their profiles

Have a great (and normal) photo

Few hosts will have Airbnb success without an accurate, true-to-life profile photo.

But be careful which image you choose!

Pictures speak a thousand words, so think about what kind of message you want to send to your interested guests with your profile image.

Though it seems like an informal marketplace, on Airbnb you are still running a business and trying to make a living, so your profile picture should reflect that. A welcoming smile in a photo is going to give off a much more friendly vibe than a professional, staged headshot you might find on LinkedIn.

Here are a few examples of great Airbnb profile pics: (Mirko, Maria and Oscar, Katie, Hugh)

Don’t be afraid to use a photo of you doing something you love, it will communicate a bit more about your personality that potential guests can identify with.

Equally, if you’re a couple or family who is hosting on Airbnb, make sure you both (or all) appear in the profile photo. Nothing gives off as many positive emotions, sense of togetherness or comfort as an image of loved ones!

Finally, ensure your profile picture is a good quality snap that actually looks like you. Quality is important for coming across as professional, and also shows that you’ve taken time and care over choosing your image.

As for actually looking like you do now, that’s very important for key handover and recognizing each other in designated meeting places upon check-in!

Expert tip

Scott Shatford, RentingYourPlace

“Airbnb rentals are unique but not as unique as the hosts that manage them. Guests are more inclined to book with hosts that uniquely represent the heritage and culture of a destination. High-quality photos with big smilies are proven to convert better; and if you are hosting with a significant other, a picture of two people always performs better than a picture of one.”

Use an eye-catching title

Grab your potential guests’ eyes from the get-go with an interesting title that describes your offerings.

You will have to master the art of title-crafting, choosing the right words that improve clicks on your listing.

These four top tips will help you write a great title in no time:

Target your title to your key market

Attract your ideal travelers by giving them what they want – think back to the target audience task, what did you find out about your “perfect” guest?

For example, if you’re looking to attract younger visitors who like to go out partying, mention how close you are to the bar district or famous nightclubs. Equally, if your home is family-friendly, be sure to let your guests know.

A few examples:

• Times Square and Central Park Apartment
• BRIGHT COZY ROOM NEXT TO EUSTON/KINGS CROSS
• WOMEN ONLY! Cozy SingleRoom in the city center!

Don’t just describe your unit

A title like “One Bedroom Apartment” doesn’t give much away for your guests, nor does it excite them to click on your listing from the hundreds of others available. So, put something descriptive in the title to make it stand out from the crowd.

Let’s face it, are your guests more likely to click on “One Bedroom Apartment” or “Designer One Bedroom Apartment on Fifth Avenue”?

A few examples:

• Amazingly Central Room with Balcony on La Rambla
• Huge Stylish Room in E.Williamsburg. New Building
• Cosy Double Room in Beautiful Victorian Townhouse

Don’t include unnecessary location information

Remember that your guests already have a vague location in mind, or they wouldn’t have come across your Airbnb listing in the first place. For that reason, it’s much more effective to put something specific about your precise location, rather than just a generic area of the city.

Are you near a big sports center? What about a famous landmark? Choose whichever has the greatest appeal and use this to your advantage to convince searchers that your home is their best option.

A few examples:

• Beautiful double bedroom with FREE parking space
• VIEW COLOSSEUM FROM JACUZZI
• Fabulous renovated room next to Sagrada Familia

Change it up sometimes

You don’t have to keep your title the same forever – far from it! An updated title that boasts local event information can get a lot more viewers clicking through to your listing and converting. As long as you know when and why guests will be visiting the area, you can make the most of this and update your title accordingly.

Why not carry out a test to see what works best for your property? Try switching up your title with different inviting tips, like “walking distance to Madison Square Garden” to appeal to out-of-town Knicks fans, or “a few blocks from Rockefeller Center” to grab tourists’ attention. Keep each title on your Airbnb listing for a couple of weeks at a time, and record the results to see which one brings you the most bookings!

Write a great house description

Your Airbnb listing description has the potential to change the way guests think about your home – whether that’s for better or worse!

There are loads of ways you can get ahead of the game and create stellar descriptions to draw in more bookings, here are six of our favorites:

Appeal to your audience

The main task at hand here is to use vocabulary that will convince the right guests to book your place, so before you even begin planning to write your Airbnb description, think carefully about who your target audience is.

Depending on whether your audience is millennials, young families or retired couples, your content will require different language choices.

Start by putting yourself in your audience’s shoes and think about what details would really entice you to stay. Is it the quirky poolside cabana or the child-friendly picnic area in the backyard?

Never lose focus on who you’re aiming to attract.

Expert tip

Alexander Limpert, GuestReady

“Make sure you manage expectations. Everything you put on your listing, including pictures, description, and the price will create expectations with your guests. If you can meet or beat these expectations when guests stay at your place you will get good reviews, but if you can’t, guests will be disappointed. While you should try to bring out the positive sides of your listing to make it stand out from the crowd, it is important to keep it accurate so guests know what to expect.”

Establish your tone

Airbnb tells us to write how we talk so that’s what you should do, too.

Many owners make the mistake of thinking that professional means formal when it comes to writing. But think about it: your Airbnb listing is the first point of contact potential bookers have with your vacation rental, so conveying your personality as a host is a must.

It can easily be achieved through the tone of your writing.

Try to write your Airbnb descriptions as though you’re describing your property to a friend – you’ll capture an informal yet excited tone that will draw your reader in. Just be sure to keep it consistent throughout.

Make sure your Unique Selling Proposition (USP) is unique

Your Airbnb description is the best chance you have as a business to show off exactly what makes your property a knockout, so you should focus on what your home boasts that no one else around you has.

We can’t emphasize enough that your unique selling points should be exclusive to your vacation rental, so don’t be afraid to research your competition to familiarize yourself.

There’s no need to rush your decision. Once you’ve worked out what your USPs are, weave the rest of your property description around these aspects.

Guests will love that you’ve taken the time to deliberately include certain things, especially when they’re weighing up a difficult decision between a few great properties.

Succeed through storytelling

Don’t fall into the trap of thinking it’s enough to attract guests with a long list of all the amenities your property offers. Instead, aim to allure viewers with a carefully composed story of what their vacation will be like at your home.

Remember: they are interested in having the perfect guest experience. If you don’t show that is what they’ll get with you, they’ll look somewhere else.

So use active verbs and avoid cliché adjectives to provide the reader with the most vivid image of their stay, and pair up your story with some high-quality images that show what you are telling.

Keep it short and sweet

Experts predict that by 2016, 73% of Americans would use a mobile device to research their vacation options. Bear this in mind when you’re writing your Airbnb descriptions, as this trend is only increasing.

It’s best to write in short, succinct sentences that readers can quickly flick through on the mobile app.

Stick to specifics

It’s so easy to get carried away writing about the area as a whole because of course, you love the place! Just remember there’s no need to preach to the converted as your site visitors are already looking for a property in your city or town, so think back to what will set you apart from your competitors.

Yours isn’t going to be the only Airbnb home that’s a five-minute walk to the beach or a 10-minute drive to the mountains. But you can be the Airbnb host that knows where to spot wildlife, how great the sunset is from that spot up on the hill that tourists don’t usually know about, or who recommends the best places to eat local cuisine. Focus on specifics and they will be your key to winning over more bookings.

Build your brand

If Airbnb isn’t the only place you list your rental, you can always name-drop your brand inside the description text to build your brand on the platform. This will solidify your business’ online presence, give you a link to your own site (if you have one) and make guests look up and research your vacation rental in more depth, outside of Airbnb.

Make sure you have an updated calendar

Even when everything else on your profile is faultless, if you don’t have an updated calendar, it’s going to be very hard to attract visitors to your home.

Keeping your calendar up-to-date with new bookings not only shows that you’re on the ball with your vacation rental but can also increase your chances of receiving more reservation requests.

Another reason for keeping your calendar updated is due to Airbnb’s rules around declining requests.

If you reject an excessive number of requests because your calendar wasn’t up to the minute, not only can it be discouraging for the traveler, but it can also cause your listing to be temporarily deactivated.

Avoid this altogether by:

• Frequently refreshing your calendar availability
• Synchronizing your calendars with iCal
• Utilizing a channel manager if you list your property elsewhere or have your own website
• Blocking out preparation time between bookings
• Setting minimum or maximum stay lengths and you’ll be sure to only receive suitable requests that fit the bill.

Upload high-quality photos

Never lose sight of the fact that your Airbnb profile is designed with one purpose in mind: to get bookings at your vacation rental.

How can you expect guests to choose your home when they can barely make out the backyard from your old, pixelated, low-quality images?

You’re selling a service, and you’re trying to sell it online, so always remember: guests won’t see your property in person before the start of their vacation. Awesome photos of your house are its best endorsement.

If you don’t have a good eye for photos (you could easily take them with your smartphone camera), the best thing you can do is try your luck at signing up for free professional photography from Airbnb.

If it’s not available in your area, especially if you’re looking to rent out a whole property, it would be a great investment to hire a professional photographer.

Not only will the photographer help to show off your property in the best light, but these quality images will also last you a long time without needing to be replaced.

Plus, given that prices can start from as little as $100-$150 for one property, you’ll easily earn back the money you spend on photographs in your first bookings.

Expert tips

Paula Pant, AffordAnything

“My number one tip is to “micro stage” every photo. Don’t just post a picture of a dining table; show a couple of wine glasses and napkins on the table. Don’t just post a picture of the kitchen; show a cutting board topped with a few pieces of cheese on the countertop. You want your potential guests to project themselves into your rental. You want them to imagine themselves enjoying the space.”

Alexander Limpert, GuestReady

“My top recommendation is to get professional pictures taken of your home. Especially the main picture that potential guests see when browsing listings needs to stand out. People are very visual when browsing listings and you need to grab their attention first before they even spend time to read more about your listing.”

Add the Instant Book button

To appeal to even more Airbnb users, add the Instant Book button to your profile. Whereas regular Airbnb bookings have to be approved by the host, this button allows guests to book your place (provided you have the right calendar availability) with instant approval.

That way, your guests’ reservation will be made free of hassle, and all that’s left for you to do is discuss check-in plans with them before their arrival.

For hosts, there are plenty of benefits of adding the Instant Book feature:

• Convenience: Auto-accept guests without having to respond to requests.
• More guest interest: Guests can filter to search for listings that allow instant booking. Instant Book listings are usually more popular as they’re easier when planning a trip.
• Search placement: Instant Book improves your response rate for your listing, which can improve its placing in search results.
• Superhost Status: Instant Book can help you to reach Superhost Status, as it requires a steady 90% response rate.

There may also be many valid reasons not to be instantly bookable, but as far as the facts go, properties with the Instant Book button do receive more bookings.

So if you’ve opted against adding the button, you’ll have to ensure that you’re super quick at replying to inquiries and accepting bookings.

Setting House Rules

Laying down House Rules and displaying them on your listing is the best way to ensure your guests know what you expect of them. Your House Rules should outline anything that is out of bounds or not permitted in your vacation rental.

As well as displaying your House Rules online, it’s a good idea to keep a printed copy in your Airbnb, as guests are unlikely to remember all the details from their booking.

Below are some rule categories and a few ideas to consider for each:

• Extra guests
  Are extra guests allowed to stay in your Airbnb? How many? Are there any measures in place for approving extra guests? Will it cost extra?
• Smoking
  Is smoking permitted in your Airbnb? If so, where are guests allowed to smoke and where is off-limits?
• Eating
  Are guests allowed to eat in all areas of your home? Or are any spaces food-free zones?
• Cleaning and laundry
  Where does trash go? Should guests recycle plastic, glass, cardboard and organic waste? Where are the cleaning materials stored? Should they wash the dishes? Can they use the dishwasher? Can guests use the washing machine? Should they wash towels and sheets themselves?
• Gatherings or parties
  Can guests invite others round for dinner, drinks or even parties? What is the maximum number of people allowed? Do they require your approval beforehand?
• Quiet hours
  Are there any quiet hours for your block/street? Be considerate to your neighbors and follow any norms to avoid any disputes.
• Pets/animals
  Are guests allowed to bring pets with them to your Airbnb? Is there a size limit? Will you charge any extra deposit for pets?

You can follow our detailed house-rules template to avoid guest trouble!

Get verified!

Airbnb makes verifying all sorts of different aspects of your account super easy for hosts, so it’s a wonder why so many don’t verify their profile and identity!

Hosts can verify their profile details in several ways:

• Email address: Confirm that you receive email notifications and messages
• Phone number: Airbnb will share your verified phone number with your guest once a reservation is accepted
• Online ID: Connect your Airbnb profile to Google, Facebook, LinkedIn, Verify with Amex, or by having pre-existing reviews
• Offline ID: During the Verified ID process, provide your government-issued ID, or answer some questions that only you would know
• Reviews: Build a reputation in the Airbnb community from your Reviews tab after completing reservations
• Verified photos: If you’re a host, Airbnb offers free professional photography in many cities

Once you’ve verified some (or all) of the above, your verifications will show on your profile.

Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky described verified accounts as “a necessity for the sharing economy” because they provide an authentic layer of trust and security for both hosts and guests alike.

4. Picking Your Prices

Setting the right rate for your Airbnb isn’t just about initial profits.

Finding the sweet spot of your particular rental market can ensure that you’ll get repeat renters who will properly appreciate your property.

Undershoot your market, and you’ll not only be leaving money on the table, but you’ll also be more likely to attract guests who will damage your home.

Overestimate your rental fees, and you could end up with a high vacancy rate, and run the risk of having guests who are unhappy and feel overcharged.

So how do you find out how much to charge? Many first-time Airbnb hosts underestimate operating costs and are overly optimistic about potential profits. Instead of making a guesstimate based on other Airbnbs nearby, try these tips to help decide your rental rates.

Price low at the beginning

To capture a good number of initial bookings, you’ll want to start up your listing as a “cheap” offer in the area.

When it’s your first Airbnb listing, you haven’t yet built your host credibility in the Airbnb community, so it’s difficult to compete against other hosts in your area who have lots of great reviews.

But don’t keep your prices low for too long!

Once you’ve built up a solid bank of reviews, then it’s time to raise your prices to match. Though it’s great to see a full calendar for the foreseeable future, this high occupancy rate can mean that your home is priced too low and you’re losing out on profits.

According to LearnAirbnb, a good rule of thumb is to raise your prices until you have between 75-90% occupancy for the next 2-4 weeks, but only 50% occupancy for 8-10 weeks out.

Change prices for weekday VS weekend

Hotels have higher weekend rates for a reason – more people go away on weekends hence the demand is higher.

That’s why you should have a clear difference in price for mid-week rates versus the weekend.

If you’re not sure where to begin, take a look at the local hotel or competitor Airbnb rates in your area and go from there to decide on your different weekend prices.

Implement seasonal prices

The difference between a highly profitable vacation rental and one that just scrapes by is usually determined by the number of off-season bookings a property can attract. Even an average Airbnb can fill the high-season weeks, but the icing on the cake comes from a calendar full of bookings throughout the “shoulder” or off-peak seasons.

There’s bound to be more demand for traveling to your area at certain times of the year, so bear this in mind when setting your prices.

Prices that are too high in the low season can damage your occupancy rate, but at the same time, if you price too low in high season you’ll be missing out on big bucks.

Airbnb Smart Pricing

Airbnb actually has a tool for hosts to use, which ensures prices automatically adapt to changes in demand.

This tool is called Smart Pricing. By turning on the Smart Pricing feature, you’ll instruct it to adjust automatically to the daily prices within your given minimum/maximum price range. These adjustments vary and are based on supply and demand in the location for selected dates, as well as your listing’s location, features, amenities, availability and booking history.

Expert tip

Rita Atallah, OutSwitch

“If you’re still using static prices, you definitely are not achieving your true profit potential. Pricing optimization is the key to higher rental income. Master your prices and take control of them. Decide when to push them up, and when to offer discounts. Never outsource this decision to black-box algorithm.

And remember, unlike hotels and airlines, your apartment is unique. Keep that in mind when pricing your listing. Watch the competition but don’t base your absolute decision on similar properties on the market. Instead, track your own performance, and find ways to stand out so you don’t have to compete on price. Delight your guests, maintain good reviews, and offer added value that guests are willing to pay for, and you are guaranteed a high occupancy without having to discount and match your competition’s rates.”

5. Be a friendly and reactive host

When many guests leave their vacation planning to the last minute, they’ll expect speedy and efficient communication with Airbnb hosts.

Not only will responding quickly be a great help to your guests by showing them you’re not a time-waster, but you’ll also find it can improve your chances of receiving a fast reply from guests, too.

Aim to reply to all inquiries within a few hours where possible, and never leave it more than a day to get back to someone with the answers to their questions.

If you leave it too late, it’s likely the guest will have already booked with a more responsive host.

When interacting with your guests, always keep in mind:

• Be friendly, honest and respectful
• Your goal is to help them have the best stay of their life in your house
• Do more than they would expect from their host (for example: welcome them with home-made cookies on their first day)
• Share with them your knowledge about your house and the neighborhood
• Anticipate their needs and surprise them in good ways
• Prepare a useful “welcome book” for their stay
• If problems arise, first try resolving them by talking directly and kindly with your guests before complaining to Airbnb

Expert tip

Matt Lerner, MetroButler

“The number one focus we at MetroButler concentrate on, is our timeliness with regards to response time for our guests. When guests (and prospective guests) send messages through Airbnb’s portal, it is imperative to respond as quickly as possible. First and foremost, this increases conversion rates and leads to a better chance of locking up a booking for your property. Secondly, speedy response times actually improve search positioning within Airbnb’s property queue. Finally, a responsive and on-top-of-it host will always be seen as more dependable and more accountable. This will lead to happier reviews at the end of a reservation, and thus, more bookings in the future.”

Show off your reviews (and write great reviews for your guests)

Even though other inquirers don’t know who your reviewers are, reading about what their experience was like at your Airbnb can be a decisive factor in whether to book or not.

Studies show that nearly 70% of online consumers look at reviews before purchasing and 88% of them trust them as much as personal recommendations!

When it comes to Airbnb reviews, both quantity and quality matter, as they can affect your search performance. Not only can you learn from your past guests but you can also use their reviews to improve your future guest experience.

Airbnb reviews are a two-way street: both hosts and guests have the chance to leave each other a review for 14 days after guests have checked out. Moreover, writing reviews for your guests are a good reminder for them to do the same, helping boost your own host ratings and win over more bookings.

The best thing about Airbnb reviews is that if your potential guests are regular Airbnb users, they are also likely to have reviews from their former hosts.

That means you can check these out before accepting guests, just as they would yours as host!

Yes, you need better reviews on Airbnb and writing great reviews for your best guests could help that.

Superhost status

Superhosts are outstanding hosts on Airbnb, they set an example for other hosts and provide each guest with a fantastic experience.

In order to get recognized as a Superhost, in the past year you will need to have:

• Hosted at least 10 trips
• Maintained a 90% response rate or higher
• Received a 5-star review at least 80% of the time you’ve been reviewed, as long as at least half of the guests who stayed with you left a review
• Completed each of your confirmed reservations without canceling

Doesn’t sound too complicated, right?

Then as soon as hosts have obtained Superhost status, a badge is automatically added to their listing and profile so they can easily be identified.

Superhost activity is checked four times a year by Airbnb, which makes sure that their badge is still relevant and that hosts maintain an outstanding hospitality experience for all their guests.

Once you’ve completed all of the above actions, you’ll be another step closer to having a fully optimized Airbnb profile.

… and it won’t be long until you can show off all these badges on your profile!

6. Always keep your house clean

Cleanliness is one of the biggest pain points of short-term letting for both guests and hosts alike. For guests, a dirty home can ruin a vacation before it even begins. But for hosts, it can tarnish their whole business’ reputation.

We’ve prepared a complete cleaning guide with a handy checklist that you can use for your vacation rental deep clean.

7. Promote your listing and attract more guests

In our guide, you already found many tips to promote and optimize your listing: better titles, descriptions, photos, prices.. but there’s, even more, you could do to boost your rankings on Airbnb, attract more guests and get noticed:

• • Promote your page on social media
  • Learn how to optimize your listing on Airbnb results
  • Collaborate with travel-bloggers
  • Collaborate with other hosts in your area
  • Plan special offers and discounts
  • Hire a professional consultant who can help you with Airbnb optimization
  • Diversify your booking sources by listing your property on many different websites (and simplify this by using a Channel Manager

8. Helpful Books on Airbnb Hosting

There is so much information available on how to ensure your Airbnb hosting business. Experts from around the world have written books with many more examples and suggestions to help your plan.

The following books will inspire you to find the right approach for a successful Airbnb hosting:

• Optimize YOUR Bnb: The Definitive Guide to Ranking #1 in Airbnb Search, by Daniel Vroman Rusteen
• The Entrepreneurial Airbnb Hosting Guide, by Rick Wong
• Airbnb: How to Make a Six-Figure Income Without Owning Any Property, by Andrew Smith
• Airbnb Listing Hacks – The Complete Guide To Maximizing Your Bookings And Profits, by Alex Wong
• Make Money On Airbnb: How To Quickly And Easily Earn $2,500 A Month From Your Home, by Sally Miller

9. Understand if Airbnb is right for you

You may love welcoming guests, pay taxes and cleaning your house, but at the end of the day, you have to understand if it is sustainable in the long run.

• How much work does it take to keep your Airbnb successful?
• How much do you earn after taxes, fees and house-expenses?
• Are you happy with the time spent managing your property and welcoming strangers? Or is it a source of stress and disappointment?
• Are guests happy and write awesome reviews?
• Is it worth to keep working with Airbnb or should you create your own website?

Only you can answer these questions.

Take a few months or a couple of years of experience with Airbnb and then decide: should you keep doing it? Should you change something? Should you quit for good?

Conclusions

We hope you’ve found this Airbnb host guide and the numerous nuggets of advice from our experts useful! You should now be well on your way to optimizing your Airbnb account so that you’re prepared and ready to catch your next guest’s eye.

Building a reputable Airbnb profile does require time, patience and effort, but once the glowing ratings and reviews start flowing in, your bookings are bound to increase accordingly.

Start putting our best practice tips into action today and you’ll soon see that perfecting your Airbnb profile isn’t so difficult, after all!

About the Experts

Alexander Limpert, GuestReady

Alex Limpert is co-founder and CEO of GuestReady, a global short-term and vacation rental management company that provides professional services to real estate investors, sharing economy hosts, as well as guests.

Dany Papineau, AirbnbSecrets

Dany Papineau is the founder of Airbnbsecrets.com, an online media enterprise teaching anyone, anywhere, how to kick-start and monetize any Airbnb listing to its maximum potential, by delivering the best travel experience to any Airbnb Guest.

Matt Lerner, MetroButler

Matt Lerner is the founder and CEO of MetroButler, an Airbnb property manager and concierge service that serves the New York metro area. MetroButler helps Airbnb hosts income from their homes while they travel, taking care of booking guests, looking after the home, and everything in between.

Paula Pant, AffordAnything

Paula Pant is the founder and CEO of personal finance, real estate and lifestyle website, Affordanything.com. She is also a real estate investor who owns seven rental units and is an avid traveler herself.

Rita Atallah, Outswitch

Rita Atallah is CEO of Outswitch, a pricing and productivity tool to help managers in the vacation rental sphere optimize their prices, expand their reach, automate their workflow and maximize their revenues.

Scott Shatford, RentingYourPlace

For three years, Scott Shatford has been an Airbnb host, and he currently manages five Airbnb properties. He is the author of a bestselling eBook on how to successfully build an Airbnb enterprise, The Airbnb Expert’s Playbook – Secrets of a Six-Figure Rentalpreneur.