Top 5 Tips That Every Airbnb Host Needs To Know

Have I told you that I rent my house out an Airbnb? I’ve found it a great way to earn extra income each month, and I get to meet some amazing guests from all corners of the world. I’ve been doing it for over 3 years now and have picked up valuable Airbnb skills along the way. Here are my 5 top tips that every Airbnb host should know – as well as some handy contacts. Enjoy!

Top 5 Tips That Every Airbnb Host Needs To Know

My Airbnb income has gone towards house renovations, as well as furniture and accessories.

Table + chairs // Houseology

Why Airbnb?

If you haven’t heard of Airbnb – let me fill you in.  It’s a global travel phenomenon where real people host guests in their homes – from a sofa bed to a spare room to a complete house. It has over 100 million users worldwide and is changing the way that we go on holiday.  The website attracts guests who want to experience living in a city like a local, rather than stay in impersonal hotels. They want to experience your neighbourhood as well as enjoy your home.
Over the past three years I’ve been hosting, I’ve welcomed over 100 people into my home.
I’m sharing my 5 top tips that every Airbnb Host needs to know before accepting their first guest to make hosting an enjoyable and smooth experience.

Be as honest as you can in your listing to get good reviews from your guests.

Point out your home’s quirks, like a floating staircase.

Bedlinen // Amara

Make Sure Your Personality Shines through

The reason why most guests choose Airbnb is that they want to live like a local. They want to be you for a weekend. In my listing, I explain what I love about my home town of Brighton – from Yoga to Bike rides. In the house description, I make sure that I talk about my love of interior design and the inspiration behind my home’s decor. I also list my fav places to go for a walk and good places to go for a morning coffee.  The feedback I get is guests love to hear where the best places are to hang out suggested by locals.
Tip: Be really clear in your listing about the type of guest you want to host. I explain my house is not suitable for party people or rowdy groups, but ideal for exploring the city and chilling in.

Your home needs to be spotlessly clean for guests to get great reviews.

Make sure there is no dust under your sofa.

Rug // Sweetpea & WIllow

Get a Great cleaner

At the start, I used to clean my home, so it was guest-ready. It would take me a good 4-5 hours to do. Nightmare when I had a lot of freelancing work on that week. For the first year, I struggled to find a decent cleaner who would live up to my tough standards – that was until I discovered Hassle.com (which has just started up in Brighton).
Hassle.com is an online service that finds you a recommended cleaner in your area. You can book a weekly clean, fortnightly or one-off clean. Every cleaner comes with a 5-star review. My cleaner is insanely good. She cleans, irons and will do the laundry if needed and has even let guests in for me. Costs are good too, starting at £10 an hour for a clean. You can see the experience in more detail in my post here.
Tip: You can include your cleaning cost on top of your Airbnb booking fee. So it will cost you nothing to have a sparkling clean home.

Have A Team of Handymen to Hand

When you rent out your home on Airbnb  – you’ll need to make sure your home is in good working order to make your guests stay super comfortable. That wonky cupboard door? That really needs fixing. The leaking bathroom tap? That needs to be fixed too.
Not all of use have a handyman on tap that’s why Trademenin.com is so handy. It’s an online directory of local tradesmen who are on hand to get your home into shape. All you have to do is pick your areas, pick your trade, then dial. They have everything on there from locksmiths to painters to window blind and furniture repair. Worth adding this website to your bookmarks.
Tip: Create an Airbnb folder for guests with all useful emergency details in there. Mine tells guests how to turn the water off or where the gas mains just in case of an emergency.

Install a Police standard lock safe to house your key, so guest can come and go as they please.

Install A Decent Key Safe

Often I need my guests to let themselves into the property as I might not be there if they are checking in late at night. This is why I invested in a C500 Police Approved KeySafe. It was only £59.94 from The Key Safe Company, but it has saved me hours waiting for guests to turn up.
I picked this lock as it says it is as secure as your front door and can store up to 6 keys inside. It’s weatherproof so it can be fixed to exterior walls. Delivery is speedy too – with free next day working delivery. And of course, I used Tradesmenin to find a handyman to fit it swiftly.
If you have a self-check-in service, your place can be listed as fit for business travellers which means you will attract more bookings.
Tip: Place your key safe in a hidden spot and get in the habit of change the key code after every guest has checked out.

If you offer breakfast, take a photo of what they might expect in the morning.

This will help your home stand out.

Tableware // Houseology

Take Stylish Snaps

Make sure you include lots of photos of your home in your listings so guests can see your home in detail. I make sure that there are photos of the guest room, the living and kitchen areas, and garden – as well as snaps of the dog and me in there.  I put a little description for each photo too.

If you are worried that your photo skills will let you down, Airbnb will send a professional photographer around for FREE! Worth taking advantage of this service to your place stands out from the crowd.
Tip: Make sure your place is photo-ready. Put fresh flowers on your dining room table, tidy away messy cables, plump up your sofa and put freshly ironed linens on your guest beds.

These are my 5 top tips to help you become the perfect Airbnb host. Do you like them?

Are you an Airbnb host? Or have you stayed as an Airbnb guest? Do you think my advice is helpful? Let me know in the comment box below. Sharing is caring 🙂

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I’m going to run a few series on my experience as an Airbnb host – as well as how to be the perfect Airbnb Guest.

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** Disclaimer, this was a collaborative post. All thoughts and opinions are my own.