You may have heard about people earning big bucks by sharing their home with travelers through Airbnb, thus, practically being an Airbnb host. And may even be a part of the Airbnb community already. You are if you ever used the service to find a place to stay for yourself in the past.
Should you dare to take it to the next level and become an Airbnb host? Is it safe to invite and call on strangers into your home? What kind of risks are you taking if you go for it? And if you do take the plunge, is it worth it and how much money can you make?
Until you finish reading this in-depth Airbnb host opportunity review, you will not only know the answers to these questions. You will also definitively know if becoming an Airbnb host is for you or not and if so, how to get started.
Airbnb, Inc. is an online marketplace to arrange and offer services such as lodging, primarily homestays, or tourism experiences. The company does not own any of the real estate listings, nor does it host events. It thus acts as a broker that receives commissions from each booking. Airbnb takes a unique approach toward lodging.
Part of the “sharing economy,” Airbnb provides you someone’s home as a place to stay during your traveling journey instead of a hotel. On Airbnb, you can have places to crash on your backpacking trip through Europe, or you can find a place to stay for a month during your internship in Los Angeles.
Also, if you want to rent out one of your rooms in your own home, you can host through Airbnb and make money for allowing a guest to stay in your home.
Airbnb does not own properties. It acts as an intermediary between those who want to rent out space and those who are looking for space to stay for some time at rent. Creating an account on Airbnb is free and appears quite easy to use. Details such as entering a name, email address, birthday or date of birth and password you will need to enter for opening an account on Airbnb.
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Airbnb also displays options for agreement to treat everyone equally, regardless of race, religion, sex, or other factors. Once you agree, your account is active. You also access the website by signing up with Facebook or Google accounts.
The site prompts you to go through a few more steps, like entering in more f your information. After completing these steps, you can complete your request and pay for your room.
The rest of the procedure is much easier. Before your reservation is final, however, you will have to wait for approval from the host, unless your listing is an “instant book” listing, as those listings do not require host approval.
For non-instant book listings, Airbnb also suggests that guests message hosts before booking to double-check availability. If you do not hear back from the host in a timely manner, you can continue to message other hosts in the area until you find one you like.
Through the host information section of each listing, you will be able to see the host’s response rate and response time to get an idea of how quickly a host will respond to your message.
Airbnb is now offering new home services called Airbnb Plus, an elite selection of properties that Airbnb representatives will have personally inspected and identified as top of the line. The average price for these will cost you around $250 per night, for rentals where guests can expect a well-stocked kitchen, fast Wi-Fi and comfortable bedding.
Airbnb guests get a travel experience they would otherwise not have because your visitors interact with locals. About 74 percent of all host lodgings are outside of the main hotel clusters. That means folks get to explore new places. Also, they usually pay far lower rates than the stodgy hotels’ charge.
Guests can also rent an entire house for the same price as what a hotel charges them for a single hotel room. Hosts also score. They meet people from across the world, gain new friends, generate (potentially life-changing) side money and do a solid for humanity at the same time. So, yes, it is a very cool idea. But is it a cool idea for you to become a host?
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It is effortless to get your space listed and you can become an Airbnb host in a short time. Before making up your mind to be an Airbnb host, there are a few things that you will need to consider or keep in your head. There is a lot of work you will have to put in before you become an Airbnb host, but the role is also rewarding, especially in the near future. You get to meet incredible people from around the world and help them explore your city like a local.
Airbnb does a great job of making sure that you and your guests are always happy and satisfied with its service. Thus, as a new Airbnb host, you need to consider several factors to become successful.
Before you become an Airbnb host, you have to decide how much you will charge for your listing or property. Although Airbnb is very good at giving you price recommendations, you also should do your own research for this. First, check similar properties to your listing (preferably within the same area).
Make sure to note how much they charge based on the space, amenities and other additional services. If you are in a small town, you will probably want to start with a slightly lower price to get your bookings in.
Once you host 3-5 times and receive your five* reviews, you can adjust the rate. Do not be afraid to charge more if your listing stands out and become popular. Many people are looking for unique experiences and are willing to pay a high price. You also need to decide whether you will charge people a cleaning fee or include it in your price.
You do not want a basic apartment in Krakow or a flat in Miami or a house in Dublin. Make sure that your listing title stands out from the competition. Add words that describe the place and are targeted to your desired audience.
For example, if you want your place to be booked by couples only, say, a romantic 5-star hidden escape in Athens, try and include words like charming, cozy, comfy, unforgettable, luxury, central, beach-front, waterfront, etc. Make sure that your featured image says everything.
You can also hire a professional photographer who will capture your beautiful Airbnb. If you are taking pictures yourself, make sure that you turn on all the lights in the rooms and try and take several pictures. It is always easier to select the best and perfect image from 10-15 shots.
Your description is key. It is not enough to have a great heading. You also need to have a comprehensive description of your space. Ensure that each room is clearly described with its amenities. Clearly state the sleeping arrangements and the number of bathrooms.
Guests want to know as much as possible before making a decision. After deciding to become an Airbnb host, make sure to communicate your house rules so your guests will know exactly how to behave in your space. Take these down such as check-in and check-out times, quiet hours, whether pets are allowed at your property or not, etc.
Airbnb now also has its own guidebook you also have an opportunity to contribute it too.
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Prior to become an Airbnb host and accept your first booking, you need to make sure that your space is ready for your first guests. And make sure that towels and linen are fresh and clean, check for any dust and cobwebs. Make sure that there is no dust under the beds, the closets have hangers, floors are cleaned and ambiance is perfect to welcome your Airbnb guest.
Things such as hairdryer, iron and iron board, coffee machine are a must and required in every Airbnb for guests. Make sure that a suitable amount of kitchenware is available for your guest’s arrival.
The first impression counts most so make sure your first-time visitors have nothing to complain about. Requires things, like bathroom amenities, bathrobes, chocolates/fruits on arrival, soft drinks, water make all the difference. During the summertime, you might want to put sun cream or mosquito repellent into a guest bathroom.
Whether you are here to personally meet and greet your guests or give them check-in details, make sure that they are happy.
After you become an Airbnb host and welcome your first guests, you do not want to be worrying that you haven’t done something right. Make sure to always be available for your guests so they can quickly reach you in case they need something.
Always communicate via Airbnb
Set strict or semi-strict cancellation policy (yet still understand emergency cancellations)
Always be upfront with your guests
Respond to your Airbnb guests promptly
Review your guests after each stay
Do not be afraid to speak out when you feel something is not right
Always try to meet and exceed expectations of your guests
When you open an account by signing up (which is free by the way) you become part of a house-sharing community. You always have control over
How much space to list
When to list your place
Who gets to stay with you
How much to charge
Given those constraints, Airbnb markets and promotes your housing offer to travelers for you. At the time you agree to allow your guest to book your space, you will pay Airbnb a 3% hosting fee once the guest is charged. The company also charges guests 6% to 12% as a guest services fee.
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When you become an Airbnb host, you are in the hospitality business. Thus, you are not simply sharing your space. This means you take responsibility for making your guests’ stay as comfortable as possible. At its most basic level, this means you will need to provide bedding, linens, towels, soap and cleaning supplies, kitchen utensils, coffee, tea, etc.
Once you sign up, Airbnb will walk you through this with checklists so do not worry. Just understand that it is on you to make your guests feel welcome. Along those same lines, you should also create a standard guest greeting to explain how everything in the apartment or home works and point out all the amenities. For example, include your internet wireless password, maps, a list of great sites to see, places to go and restaurants to dine at and so on.
Do the little things that cost little and take almost no time. It will pay off big time.
For most, this is a million-dollar question. It is difficult to make generalizations about income. You decide what you charge and you charge different amounts based on length of stay and time of year or not. It is all up to you.
Airbnb is here to help you find a price that will be profitable for you and competitive for the market if you want their input. Since they know what people are actually paying in your market, this is a huge plus. If you want to get a rough idea of how much you might potentially earn, simply go to the Airbnb calculator, enter your zip code and the number of nights you want to list your place.
Another way to do this is to search the site itself for listings that most closely resemble yours and get a nightly pricing estimate.
Of course, this will be a rough estimate but it will give you a good idea of whether or not we are talking about pocket money or get-out-of-debt or save for retirement money. If you want to outsource the pricing decisions, Airbnb has you covered. They have a service called Smart Price. If you elect to use it, the algorithm will automatically adjust your rate based on supply and demand at the time. If you opt in to use this free service, you set a minimum and maximum price and the program does the rest.
Of course, you do not have to use this. It is free and is available, but it is not mandatory.
So, it is difficult to know exactly how much you will earn until you actually give it a try and then decide how much you want to list your space. But, you can make some serious money by becoming an Airbnb host. According to some experts, you can earn 81 percent of your rent if you list one room in a two-bedroom home using Airbnb.
Chances are very good that there are a lot of travelers who are looking for a place to be hosted in your area and are willing to pay for it. Since the company does a very good job of vetting potential guests (and hosts), you would not be too concerned about having some maniac loser sitting around your breakfast table.
Sometimes, hosts have guests that they would not invite back but this may not happen often. Depending on how much you are willing to host, you could put a few hundred bucks in your pocket each month or a few thousand. It is up to you and if you get really into this business, you can recruit other hosts, manage the guests and earn even more.
So, if you are looking and struggling for ways to raise more than just pocket money quickly without spending a lot of time or money setting up or running the business, this could be your ticket. It is absolutely worth a try!
