As a host you have the privilege of inviting guests of all types into your home. Yes, privilege. It is truly a great experience to be able to welcome all types of people into your place. Through hosting, you learn about their backgrounds, their cultures, even their likes and dislikes. If you enjoy meeting other human beings, hosting is definitely for you. To be successful, read below to learn about the 5 things you must do when hosting an Airbnb.
I personally have had a wild and interesting ride by inviting these folks over. Now that I have multiple experiences under my belt, there are some things that I would do differently if I were to start today. This post hopes to bring you a head start advantage as you enter the Home Sharing Journey. For the most part, hosting is loads of fun, but there are a few things that I wish people would have warned me about in the beginning. Hosting is truly a unique experience when you host people within your own home. Here are 5 things you must do when hosting an Airbnb.
1. Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff
Guests book your listing and you will know nothing about them. Should you have your booking parameters at the strictest of levels, all you will have access to is their name and any previous reviews they may have if they have stayed on the Airbnb platform previously. Your check-ins will come from different parts of the country, different parts of the world, and be members of various age groups. You name it! Each person coming through brings their own unique styles to your home.
As different types of people visit your home, you will notice they all have their own unique ways in which they behave while they are there. Some people may prefer to be distant and will go barely noticed as they mostly stay in their room or out of the home. Others feel much more comfortable with strangers and may have purposely chosen a home share option so that they can mingle with the host. All variations in between will also come through and much of this interaction depends on the organic chemistry between you and them. No host/guest relationship will be the same.
So what is meant by “not sweating the small stuff” as a host? Because each person visiting will have their own distinctive style, there could be various actions that you may not agree with. These strangers will showcase varying levels of cleanliness as well as friendliness. People will be all over the map. This requires flexibility on the part of the host. You must understand going into this that many guests may not meet your expectations of how you prefer guests to behave.
Guests and Hosts are going to have different habits
When hosting, remember that your guests did not grow up with the same rules that you did. We all have perceived expectations based on our experiences growing up. What you may think of as common sense may not be common sense for the next person. Common sense is not as common as one thinks. To be successful at hosting you cannot judge others based on your own assumptions and past experiences in life.
There may be cases where guests leave your home in a state that requires excessive cleaning. Stains and tears to your sheets, duvet covers, or towels which require replacement are common. Yes, common. Luckily every guest coming through does not damage these items to the point in which total replacement is necessary each time. However, please expect these unpleasant experiences on occasion. Likewise, some areas of your home may be left with actual damage. Chipped paint on the way, a loosened hinge, regular wear and tear will occur.
When this happens you must evaluate the inconvenience you experienced due to this particular guest with your current host rating in mind. Please understand that any time you open a claim against a guest for anything, you open yourself up to a negative review. If you are just starting out, a negative review is not worth the price of a towel. After you have built your reputation, you have the flexibility to be more of a stickler should something go wrong. This is just one of the things you must remember when hosting an Airbnb.
2. Send your guests Thank You notes
When you first start hosting, obtaining positive reviews is key. For your very first hosting experience, you start with a blank slate. This can make many potential guests quite weary of selecting your home. It’s hard to start receiving bookings when you have no guests staying at your home. The beginning of the hosting journey is totally a catch-22.
After you get that first booking, it is vital you do everything you can to make sure that first guest has a great experience and that you as the host leave the guest with a positive impact. If you believe they have, you must also encourage a review.
Oftentimes, a pleasant stay may not be enough for your guest to do the extra work after exiting your home by leaving a review. Some guests will only review your listing if something spectacular (in a good or bad way) has happened during their stay. Due to this, you may need to go above and beyond to convince your recent guest to login to the platform and leave a positive review.
Mention the Airbnb review process
This may seem a bit strange, but something you must do when starting an Airbnb is to encourage reviews. You may accomplish this by sending a note after the guest’s stay thanking them for selecting their listing and wishing them future well wishes. It is important to note that you cannot ask for review. Do not email them asking that they please leave you a positive review. This goes against terms of service.
What some hosts do instead is they send a thank you note thanking the guest for their stay and then mention the fact that they gave the guest a 5-star rating. The reviews go both ways so a guest who has received 5-stars from you should be gracious. Only do this if your prior guest was actually 5-star material. You can also mention the fact that your success as a host is highly dependent on positive reviews and you would appreciate it if they took the time to share their experience in your home. You cannot offer any type of exchange or promise. Your prior guests are in no way required to leave you a review. Sending a thank you note simply reminds the guests that doing so is encouraged and appreciated.
3. Buy the Linens that you like
So often hosts are told that they must use white for everything. White sheets, white duvet covers, white towels, etc. Yes, white exemplifies cleanliness and freshness. Many people do love using everything white from the bedding to the towels. Even white walls. The list can go on. Using white for everything is not always practical and quite honestly can be a bit boring if not done fashionably. However, if this is your style go right ahead. You will not be penalized for using white for any of all of your items. Many people love it!
The major downfall from using white for everything is that you will undoubtedly spend more money in the long run. White is notorious for picking up stains. Stains may not always come out so often extra washing and on occasion replacement is necessary. Stains will occur on towels, duvet covers, and most commonly sheets. Guests often leave behind drops of blood and other unmentionables. Sometimes these stains are removable, but sometimes they are not. It is important that you understand this going into hosting so that you do not have unreasonable expectations. When using white items, please budget accordingly.
Yes, Airbnbs can use color linens
Many sites preach against using shades beyond neutral, but yes, a host is able to use color! If done properly, this will not hurt your listing. Many other sites will tell you that you must use white in order to receive 5-star reviews. This is just not the case. Clean white linens will most definitely help you to achieve the 5-star cleaning rating should you keep them white; however, you can obtain this rating with clean colored linens as well. Select the linens you feel most comfortable with.
Remember to use your decor as an opportunity to showcase your own personal style. In doing so, you offer a unique place to stay. Many guests choose platforms such as Airbnb because they want a unique experience. If they wanted a more predictable stay, they could easily book a room at the closest hotel chain. As I stated earlier, if your style is white go right ahead. However, if you are thinking of using color and are a bit worried to do so, don’t be! Blues, browns, reds, even hot pinks – They all work! The main factors are cleanliness, comfortability, and style.
4. Keyless entry – Start with The Schlage Lock
A 4th area you must carefully consider when hosting an Airbnb is the issue of a secure and accessible lock. When guests book your property they need to be able to access your home. There are multiple ways to achieve this. Most homes are set up with your standard door locks and knobs. These standard door knobs require a physical key. Providing a spare key to guests presents many potential problems. The keys may be lost or the keys may be coped. A lost set of keys causes monetary loss as well as logistic issues until the keys are replaced. Copied keys could mean potential stealing issues or worse. You must find a way to feel safe in your own home at all times!
A common option many hosts try when first starting is to use a lock box. Many Realtors utilize lock boxes. You may have seen this on people’s doorknobs. Lock boxes are large clunky locks that go over the door knob. They require a code to get inside of. Once the proper code is used, the lock box opens allowing access to the keys inside. This lock box idea is not only clunky and cumbersome, but you still have the same problems. The guest would still have the ability to take that key and make a copy of it. The potential still exists that they could lose that key. It is highly recommended that you decide on an alternative option.
A Relatively inexpensive alternative keyless lock option
A step up from using a standard key that may be copied or lost is to have a lock that allows keyless entry through use of a code. These locks start around $50 at any of the local hardware stores and go up from there with varying degrees of functionality. They are extremely convenient and allow guests to not only check-in, but also come and go as they choose. You can specify different guest codes. With the majority of these locks, you will need to manually reset these codes. The functionality options vary greatly depending on how much you are willing to spend.
A major drawback for the lower-priced options of keyless entry locks is that they will still need to be manually lock your door after you have unlocked it. This may seem obvious to you that if you have to put in a code to unlock the door, you would need to either press the lock button from the outside or turn the deadbolt from the inside to once again secure the lock. However, this is not obvious to the guests. Many guests will assume that since the lock is a bit more advanced with the keyless entry that it must then automatically lock behind you. This is where reviewing the functions offered in your lock becomes vital. Auto-lock is not a given. If this is something that appeals to you make sure to read all lock details before deciding on one.
The Schlage Encode – Best lock on the market
To date, the best lock available right now is the Schlage Encode Lock. This lock is top of the line at the hefty price tag of around $249.99 from your local hardware store or at the time of this article $216.22 from Amazon.. A major advantage of the Schlage Encode is that it is wifi-enabled. This allows flexibility like no other.
You may create different codes for different guests when they book your home. When creating these codes, you can be anywhere in the world. It is no longer necessary to touch the lock or even be in the proximity of your home. All you need to do is log on to your app and set up a code for them. The amazing part about this is that when setting it up you also can put in a time range. This lock allows you to time the lock to the minute with check-in and check-out times.
Automatic lock is key
Another great advantage is that you may set the feature to automatically lock behind anyone entering or exiting the home. Should plans change , you may adjust the dates and times for each person. Schlage Encode holds up to a hundred different unique codes allowing hosts to track many different guests over time. Furthermore, this lock has the ability to send a notification to your phone every time the door is open and closed. When hosting, it is extremely advantageous (and admittingly a big big brother) to always know when a particular code has been accessed.
Lastly, a major advantage of this lock is that there no need to hire a contractor to install. Typically the cost for having a handy man come by to change out your front door lock would be around $150. The Schlage Encode lock install has been so simplified that anyone, seriously anyone, can do it. There is video and paper directions that come with the lock. For those needing additional help, you may call the Schlage company and they will personally walk you through the install and setting it up to wifi. Highly recommended!!! And really a must do when hosting an Airbnb.
5. Realize that not every guest is going to like you…and it’s ok.
You will get negative reviews. This comes as part of opening your home to strangers that know nothing about you. Not everyone is going to like you and that’s ok. Just like in everyday life, some guests staying at your home are going to enjoy your company more than others. Reviews will be a mixture of your accommodation and your interaction with them. In the beginning it is vital to attempt please as much as possible; however, we all know this is not always practical. This is something you must realize and accept when hosting an Airbnb.
Some people coming through are going to be more difficult than others. Some people simply have different chemistry when they interact with you. In the beginning quite honestly you must cross your fingers that the difficult types are not your first guests. But there is not way to guarantee or tell until after you met and interacted with the guest. Positive reviews early on are the key to your success. The best way to circumvent any of potential negative reviews is by pure volume. By allowing your place to be rented frequently you will have more guests coming through with the potential of good reviews. Try not to focus on those that you may get or may have already gotten that are negative host experience.
In Conclusion
It is impossible to know about all the caveats when it comes to life as a new host – particularly a new host that shares the home. You will have many epiphanies that come with experience. Hopefully this list helps you to get a bit of a head start. Remember, above are the 5 things you must do when hosting an Airbnb. As stated above, hosting can be a lot of fun. By following these 5 tips can get you ahead of the curve to a wonderful adventure! If you think you are ready to get started, be sure to check out Step 1 – Creating your Listing to get going right away.