10 Tips for Airbnb Hosts-Especially New Hosts

My experience with Airbnb hosts comes from 117 nights of staying at Airbnb’s in a variety of cities, states, and accommodation types.   If you are an Airbnb host or you are thinking of starting one here are 10 tips for Airbnb hosts- especially new hosts that can make you the best host.  

I appreciate all the hosts we booked with. We stayed for 4 months at Airbnbs on our traveling sabbatical. See blog called Counting it Up, on our traveling sabbatical.

Hosting Airbnbs are not for the faint of heart.   You must be on top of your game and pay attention to details or it simply will not work for you.   It sounds fun and exciting but if you don’t like people or dealing with people this is not for you.  If you do not like to clean, then you need to pay someone to clean for you.  

Still on the fence about hosting? It wouldn’t hurt to try it.  You may find you like it.   Set a goal and then you are off.  That’s all it takes, is to try it for a few months.  

My 10 Tips for Airbnb Hosts- Especially New Hosts

 #1 Read my 10 Tips Blog

First off, read the blog last week on 10 tips for staying at an Airbnb so you know the ins and outs of your guests and the tips I recommended to them.   My tips are all about kindness and considering others better than yourself.  You will not have all of your guests act like this unless they truly read this blog and do what I recommend.

#2 Have a Good Airbnb Accommodation Listing

Make sure you do your part to list your accommodations accurately and thoroughly.   List what is available.  The whole house, bedroom with bathroom, kitchenette, or will guests be sharing your kitchen and living area?  Do you have WIFI, TV, outdoor space, or washer/dryer guests can use?  Your guests will be looking for many of these amenities.   Do what works best for you but be as generous as you can.

We stayed in areas where the downstairs was ours to use with a microwave, frig, coffee pot, and a bathroom to share. The rest of the house was off-limits.  This was fine because we were spending one night and leaving the next day.  When we were staying in a home a whole week, we needed our own bathroom, use of the kitchen, and laundry facilities. 

Show pictures of each room in detail, inside and outside of the house and entrance area. List your home rules and expectations. Where to park, how to lock/unlock the door, how to respond to your pets, check-in and check-out times, etc.  

 If you are unsure of rules, check out other listings for ideas.   Many listings are detailed and others are not.  You can tell when someone had bad guests because their listing is very detailed with rules. 

#3 Introduce Yourself in Your profile

The guest wants to know if they will be comfortable at your place and get along with you.  Have a picture of yourself and some things you like to do.  Many places we chose said they loved visiting with their guests.   If that is not you, don’t include it.  

Even if you are just renting your home and won’t have interaction, the guests like to get an idea of who they are renting from.   You don’t have to give a resume, they just want to know they can trust you, especially if you are not a super host.  

#4 Be Hospitable and Kind

Get to know your guests and ask them questions about themselves if given the opportunity.  Many times, the guests just want to be by themselves, so let them know that is okay.

Another way to be hospitable is to have all the supplies your guests will need.  A basket of common forgotten items in the bathroom.   Towels, hand towels, and washcloths available for guests. 

If you don’t live in the area, keep in contact via the Airbnb app and ask your guests if everything is ok. This works best at the beginning and towards the end of their stay. Always communicate well with your guests.

Provide coffee or tea at a minimum for your guests in the a.m.   This can be via a coffee pot or Keurig.  If you can’t do this, at least provide a bottle of water and a snack.  You can do all of this as much as you want.  

Some of our hosts were over the top and provided us with a basket of breakfast items to eat, such as oatmeal, or granola bars.   This was great when we just spent one night and needed to leave in the morning.  Others made us homemade scones or muffins we could eat at breakfast.

#4 Have Good Bedding

One of the hosts we stayed with said she wanted to make sure no one could complain about their bed and sleeping.  She always made sure her guests had a comfortable bed, pillows, and bedding.   Always have extra bedding on hand in a closet.   Airbnb asks in the review if the bedding was available.

#5 Have a Comfortable Bed

We slept in many beds and I always loved the comfortable beds and pillows.  We slept on beds where we as a couple would roll to the middle from a saggy bed.   One of our favorite beds we slept in was a platform bed with a purple mattress.   It won’t be perfect for everyone but you can do your best.

#6 Keep a Clean Bathroom and Home

Whether you are renting the whole house, or a guest area, make sure to have a clean bathroom.   This is where things get personal.  Most places did a good job with the toilets.  The problems were in showers.  Use Magic erasers to help you get the bathtub/shower rings clean.   Make sure your sinks and faucets are sparkling clean and shiny.   Use clean rugs or bathmats. 

One of our hosts had two rooms that shared a bathroom.   We only shared a bathroom for two nights and we knew this going into our stay.  I liked that she was extra careful in her cleaning.   She cleaned the bathroom every day whether you stayed a week or a night because of germs.  She had a hand towel for each room to use on your hook.   She also had us use our own bath mat that she would wash daily with our towels.  

#7 Offer Travel Tips

If someone is new give them some tips for the area.    People want to know good restaurants, places to visit, and things to do.  Not everyone will stay for pleasure.  There will be some for work, but find out what they need and offer suggestions.   Many hosts will leave brochures or binders with lists and tips or favorite local restaurants. Many will also include this information on their profile in Airbnb.

We would have missed some fun things if we wouldn’t have asked out host about recommendations. Some were places to visit, breakfast shops, local favorite restaurants, and travel tips.

#8 Set Up the Bedroom Wisely

Make sure your bedroom is set up well besides the good bedding.  Have two bedside stands with lamps in the room and good lighting. At least one light is good by the bed but two is better.  Some people like to read before they go to sleep.  One place only had one bedside table so I had to put my glasses on a book on the floor.  

Place the bed in the middle of the wall for two people to get out of bed easily. We spent a week in a room where my husband had to crawl over me every time, he got up at night to use the bathroom.   I then woke up.

Make sure you have curtains that can be closed at night.  A garbage can in the room is good to throw away any garbage. If someone is staying longer than a night, a place to tuck away bags is great. That may be a shelf or an empty closet.   Many people still had their closets full of their stuff and we had to leave our stuff on the edge of the floor for a week.   We were flexible but this is better for guests.

Put a mirror on the wall for your guests. If a husband/wife or multiple people are sharing a bathroom this frees up time in the bathroom. Someone can do their hair or put makeup on in the bedroom instead of taking up bathroom time.   

#9 Keep Your Cleaning Fees Low

When booking Airbnb’s guests usually don’t like to be charged with high cleaning fees.  Don’t charge a low rate for the stay and a huge cleaning fee.  Most of our booking choices were eliminated by huge cleaning fees.   If someone pays a large fee to clean it, most of the time they will not be as neat or clean as a guest.  It is a mentality that people have.  See the blog on 10 Tips for staying at an Airbnb.

#10 Final Tips and Extras

Put a nightlight in the bathroom.  If you have to use the bathroom in the middle of the night, you won’t have to turn on the light and blind yourself. Always have soap/body wash, shampoo and conditioner and toilet paper in the bathroom.  Airbnb expects this and will ask guests on their review if this was supplied.  

If you do have a kitchenette area for guests make sure to include dish soap, dishcloth, towel, and some dishes if there is a sink.  A coffee pot or electric tea kettle is good. See tip #4 for the extras you can add. 

Make sure the place does not smell like smoke or pets, etc.  If you smoke, smoke outside and note that to guest on the listing. I would not book a place where the host or guests smoke indoors.   

If you want to start up an Airbnb check out their website at airbnb.com for more information on getting your listing ready.

I hope this list will add to the value of your hosting.  Remember the little things and that hospitality is what makes for a good stay. Get ready for your guests with the 10 tips for Airbnb Hosts- Especially New Hosts.   

Any Questions? Comment below.

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