Creating your listing
Welcome to your very first step to your guide to Airbnb. This is the first step within the 3-Step Starter Guide! This 2-Step Starter Guide walks you through the setup process step-by-step. It can feel overwhelming if you are new to Airbnb. The platform expects new hosts to make many decisions immediately. This 3-Step Starter Guide will hold your hand through the setup process.
First things first, as a future host you must sign up for an Airbnb account when you wish to share your home. To sign up for the account, you need some preliminary information. You can use an email or link the Airbnb account to your Google or Facebook account. It is mandatory that you have a working phone number and I highly, highly recommend you include your photograph to help increase the rate at which you get booked.
People like to be able to see who they are booking with so this will become important when it is rental time. After you have completed this information on the site, you have created your account and it is ready for listings.
The goal of this guide to Airbnb hosting is to take you step-by-step through the 3-Step Starter guide!
(Think you are ready already? Click here to go directly to the Airbnb site and start that listing!)
Airbnb Listing Property Specifications
Now that you have gone through the simple process of setting up your account, you are ready to set up your very first listing. Simply click Add Listing. If you intend to share your own living quarters with guests, select the private room or shared room option – not entire household. The private room offers guests their own personal room. A shared room option allows budget options for those who do not mind having other travelers in the same room.
This can be considered as more of a hostel type situation where guests referred to as “backpackers” look for budget friendly options to be able to maximize their travel opportunities. It is important to note that a shared room option requires multiple beds. Strangers share the room, but do not share the actual bed; therefore, to have a shared room concept with multiple people, multiple beds are needed.
Airbnb Accommodation Decisions
At the time of creating your listing, decisions must be made for the following:
- Number of guests you want to allow
- Areas within home you will allow access
- Amenities that will be offered
All of this information can be changed at a later date; however, you need to be comfortable with the options you have selected. As soon as the listing goes live, guests may book right away and they will have booked according to the options you designated within your listing and have the expectation that the items listed is accurate.
The number of guests you are willing to allow in each bedroom and in your home as a whole is totally up to you. I recommend staying within the 2 person maximum per bed. With this type of setup, most bedrooms would only allow 2 people unless multiple beds are within the same room. When that is the case, I tend to allow 2 people per actual bed – assuming the bed size is at least a full. Please note – the more people allowed often equates to the more potential damage to your home. However, it is up to you because you may also charge additional fees for additional people. This is the beauty in designing your listing. You have control over the parameters you want to set.
Airbnb Amenities
As you walk through this guide to Airbnb hosting, it is important you consider all of the potential amenities you have to offer. Listing amenities helps to boost your advertisement. The options within the the site are as follows:
Group 1 Listing Amenities
- Wifi
Air conditioning
Private entrance
Heat
Breakfast, coffee, tea
Group 2 Listing Amenities
- TV
Fireplace
Desk/workspace
Group 3 Listing Amenities
- Hair dryer
- Closet/drawers
- Iron
- Shampoo/conditioner
Group 1 includes the amenities for the entire accommodation. For temperature controls such as heat and air conditioning make sure your listing is accurate in its claim. If air conditioning is only felt in the common areas of the house, it is better to be honest and let potential guests know this. Heating and air conditioning will be discussed in a future post as this can be a point of contention.
Group 2 are “nice-to-haves” and attract guests that are after those particular needs. In my experience this does not include that many of my visitors.
Group 3 consists of personal effects that may be located in the bathroom or bedroom. With the exception of “closet/drawers”, these items are used for general grooming. Some guests bring their own, but as a general rule it is useful to include these items for your guests. Better to be prepared for when guests forget these items.
Many of the items listed here could appear on the Amenities Tab, but for Airbnb purposes you find them under “shared space”. These items are as follows:
Private living room
Kitchen
Laundry – washer
Laundry – dryer
Parking
Gym
Pool
Hot Tub
Popular amenities such as a gym, pool, or hot tub can make your place a hot ticket item. Unfortunately for you as the host, you either have this or you don’t. It’s not an easy amenity to add along the way. Also, please use caution if advertising these three items when renting out an apartment or condo. Make sure the guests understand the required etiquette as to not disturb the neighbors.
Private living room and kitchen make an appearance here because not every host allows access to these areas. Your decision this depends on how much interaction you want to have with your guests. If you are using a home sharing platform simply to make money, you may not want to include these. However, if you are looking forward to meeting guests the common areas of your place should be exactly that – common.
Offer access to the washer and dryer at your own discretion. Understand that some guests will take advantage of this and use your appliances to wash their clothing for the month. Typically, this is a non-issue, but it will pop up over time. You can also choose to restrict who has access by the length of time of their reservation. For my short-term guests I charge a nominal fee to use the machines. If you do allow access, hours and times the appliances are available should be discussed. People tend to keep all types of hours so if a washing machine going on at night or early morning would be a nuisance, please mention it before giving them full access.
Next Up Airbnb Host Step 2 – Set the Scene
This concludes Part 1 of your 3-Step Starter series for your guide to Airbnb hosting. Your account should be complete and your listing on its way. As a reminder, here is the Airbnb Link. After you have completed the above, please continue with the guide to Airbnb hosting onto the 2nd Part of the 3-Step Starter Guide with Airbnb Host Step 2 – Set the Scene.