The home rental business is popularized by Airbnb and now it has become so widespread in virtually everywhere in the world. Are you interested in hosting? Let’s take a look at some of the things first before you decide to host.
Why host?
Airbnb hosting has become so popular and widespread in a relatively short amount of time. But aside from the popularity and the potentially profitable returns, why host? What are your motivations?
A lot of Airbnb hosts are travelers themselves. And I’ve seen met with people who, before the existence of Airbnb, have hosted travelers through Couchsurfing. These Airbnb hosts have “passion” as one of their motivations to host at Airbnb. Meeting people from all over the world without having to leave the comfort of your own country is one of the things why Airbnb is so popular with travelers. These types of hosts are part of the community of travelers who are looking to meet like-minded people. They sometimes offer Experiences as well in addition to their room hosting. But what type of host are you? Aside from the obvious money-making scheme, do you have any other reasons that are personal to you when deciding to host in Airbnb?
What’s the scale of your business?
Are you looking to rent your own house or apartment, or are you looking to do something on a much bigger scale? Are you simply aiming to rent your space, or do you want to max out your profits with a certain amount of investment? It’s extremely essential to have some sort of a vision of the scale of your business.
Building a positive review flow
Reviews are potential guests’ insights into your properties as well as your services. If your property is newly listed and does not have any reviews, then the best way to do attract guests is to state it as such. You can even do it with a clever marketing twist, “Newly listed properties, opening discount”. I’ve seen quite a few of hosts doing opening discounts quite effectively this way.
Building a positive review flow starts with communication. Start with being responsive from the get-go with your guests. Of course, feel free to ask for their reviews during the time that you communicate with each other. Airbnb will do this on behalf of you, once your guests’ booking is complete. But it does not hurt to ask your guests nicely. They’ll gladly do it, especially if you’ve been nothing but hospitable to them.
Establish a boundary for guests and for yourself
Boundaries that come in a form of “rules” are extremely important to make both parties comfortable. This is especially essential if you live in the house together with your guest. List clearly the things you expected the guests to do and not to do. Common examples are: smoking, partying, making loud noises past 10 pm, and so on.
Targeting your audience
Audience targeting is essential in any business model and not just Airbnb renting. You can target your audience in a number of different ways. Where is your property located? What type of house or room you have? Is your property located at a residential area, or at the heart of the city? Bottom line is, don’t try to sell to everyone. Know your target audience.