Preparing for Your First Airbnb Guest

With the short-term rental industry booming with popularity, we know you’re here looking to take advantage of the situation. Actually, no. If you’re here, then you’ve already set things up on Airbnb, right?

We’ve been through the “first-time jitters” too. If you’re either shaking off that nervousness or just trying your best to put your best foot forward, it’s essential to take that preemptive strike to your success in Airbnb (and short-term rentals in general)!

Without further ado, we present some tips and tricks to get the snowball rolling down right from your first guest!

Expectations

Consider losing out a little bit on revenue initially. One of the expectations you should have when starting with this short-term rental business is that you’re likely to be in the red at the beginning. To get more people looking at your listing, you have to hook in the first few clicks that come your way. How do you do that? Give your first few guests free bonuses to get that first five-star review! More on those free bonuses a little later.

Updating Your Calendar

Your Calendar is a crucial tool! Make sure to update it (along with your listings) to maximize your ranking on searches. “Ranking” essentially entails how Airbnb decides which listings they’d show to guests. It’s an inevitable tactic that hosts have to resort to since they’re under the whims of an algorithm. But internet hacks aside, updating your calendar also helps you a ton! It prevents you from getting double bookings (if you’re using other platforms), and if you’re following our guides here, it can also inform guests of seasonal activities or upcoming local events they may be interested in.

Communication

Communicate to the best of your ability. Always be ready to help your guests out, especially this first one. If they have any questions, send a reply as soon as possible. Guests love it when they can get what they’re looking for in an instant, including answers to their questions! And, if they’re looking at your competitors’ listings, the battle might come down to whoever replies the fastest.

Sometimes, unsolicited information can still be great, just don’t overdo it. If your think your rental is pretty challenging to find, lay the groundwork and give them good directions!

But communication is not only an active thing. It can also be done “passively.” How’s that? If you leave your guests booklets or guides on ways to enjoy their stay, it’s like you’re there in person giving them suggestions! On these guides, you should also note down common things to know like the wi-fi password, where the extra supplies are, where they can throw dispose of garbage (plus how to do it properly), how the shower works (some need a song and dance to produce hot water), and others specific to your rental. This way, you won’t get a message every hour for each little piece of information. (That is if your guests READ them.) Some of them will still ask you, so for the sake of great communication, keep these details in an easy-to-reach compartment in your mind.

Try to vary your suggestions to fit various budgets and preferences. For example, when recommending restaurants, you can recommend one that’s fine dining, a secret spot with the local specialty (for example, a joint with great Philly cheesesteaks), and one where they can get the simple (but awesome) Chinese takeout. This eliminates the need for your guests to Google where they want to go! And speaking of guests looking things up online, if you have great recommendations that a quick Google search can’t show, they’d be compelled to think that they’re genuinely on a must-try, top-secret level. Do make sure that they’re truly “great” recommendations, okay?

(In addition, why not actually be there in person when they come around? It might not really be the best option during COVID season, but if the opportunity presents itself, why not? The vaccines are out, and people are screaming their lungs out at sports games anyways.)

A Five-Star Experience: It’s in the Small Details

Create a five-star experience. Go beyond your guests’ expectations!

Don’t forget about the small and obvious details. Stock up on the essentials (shampoo, soap, fresh towels, etc.), give away free stuff (within reason, of course), and most importantly, keep the place clean – no dust particles allowed! Don’t just stack all the unnecessary junk in some random drawer or cupboard in the house. Lock them up or bring them to your own home. There are guests that inspect every nook and cranny of your rental! It would be quite unfortunate if you miss out on a 5-star review just because of a small detail you missed.

To increase the chances that you’ll get that perfect review, your impeccable service should remain until the end of the stay. Don’t make them do your maintenance upon checking out, that’s your job! Just remind them to lock the doors, turn off the A/C, or anything of the sort.

The journey doesn’t stop there! After they leave, send them a “Thank You” message. Let them know that you’re happy they chose you. Even if they may have given you a bit of a hard time, swallow your pride and say it regardless. You want that 5-star review, especially when you’re starting. And, tell them you’re giving them a 5-star review unless they REALLY gave you a nightmare.

Thinking of doubling-down on your short-term rental cash flow? You can try things out with Shorefront Investments! We’re Florida-based real estate investors looking to buy and sell properties fast. You could be one of our buyers by joining our buyers’ list! Are you thinking of doing things the other way around? Trying to sell your property instead? You can also give us a call at (850) 713-4866, send us an email, or fill a form on our front page!