Being an Airbnb host is a great way to connect with travelers to your property and earn serious income. That being said it can also become very time-consuming as an Airbnb host if you are doing everything yourself. Ever feel like hosting is taking over your life? Read on to learn a few tricks to spend less time in the laundry room and more time enjoying that extra income!
Airbnb Host Time Waster #1: Waiting for Guests to arrive…and Waiting and Waiting.
Are you an Airbnb host who greets your guests personally and gives them a tour of the property every time? If so, you are probably finding yourself waiting around for guests with delayed flights or those who stop on the road for dinner. For the first year of hosting, I did exactly this. I was a newbie and I thought welcoming guests at the door would somehow ensure a 5-star review. Most guests were on time but I would need to cancel plans depending on a guest’s ETA. After several guests who did not communicate arrival times or gave a vague ‘later afternoon’, I wanted to try something different: Self-check-In.
To Check-in Or Not to Check-in? That is the Question.
Some guests love being checked in by their Airbnb host but I felt others were uncomfortable and there was awkward chit-chat. I asked myself what do I prefer when I say at an Airbnb. My answer was self -check in so I decided to do an experiment and try self-check-In for a month. I never went back.
To replace your personal tour, as sweet as it is, you simply need to create a clear step-by-step check-in guide via the Airbnb App that you can set up with pictures. You simply attach it to the message you send your guests a couple of days before they arrive.
To create the Airbnb Check-in guide through the App:
- Click on Listings on the bottom menu bar of the app.
2. Scroll Down to ‘Guest Resouces’ and click on Check-In Instructions.
3. Create and Edit you Check-In Instructions with photos and captions.
Instead of personally handing over the keys you can just buy a $20 lockbox or have a keypad entry right on the door. Now you don’t have to greet late-night guests anymore! Yay, you are free!
Airbnb Host Time Waster #2: Tight Check-Out/Check-In Window… and Not Enough Sheets.
I started out with an 11 am check-out and a 2 pm check-In and a couple of sets of sheets. This worked fine for the first while, but once we got busy we were changing the rental back to back for weeks at a time. This created a lot of stress to clean the suite and then wash all the sheets, and towels then iron and remake the beds within a short 3-hour window. Live and learn as a host!
Solution: Have 3-4 sets of white sheets, 8 extra plush towels, 6 hand towels,and 20 facecloths on stock in a locked cabinet (otherwise it’s a free for all towel usage)
Sheet sets: You want one on the bed, one in the wash, and one (or two) handy and ready to go. If laundry gets backed up a day or so it won’t matter. The day your rushing to change and wash the sheets on time is the day a guest with a new spray tan checks out and stains everything (yes this happened to us!)
Face Cloths and Hand Towels: These will get the most stains, foundation makeup, and mascara will tinge them at some point! Always use spray and wash on these stains before washing them, then inspect every towel coming out of the dryer for the slightest stain. Keep any stained towels in a basket until you have a big enough load to add a cup of bleach and let it all soak for an hour. Amazon face cloths are only 50. each and great quality. You can use the impossibly stained ones as cleaning cloths afterward without feeling too bad.
Tip: Make your life easier and set your check-out at 11 am and check-in window at 3pm+. If guests need a later check-out or earlier check in they can simply request and you can try to accommodate them when it’s possible. When you can offer a later check-out, do so in your check-out message and surprise your guests. Any window less than 4 hours and you’re going to be limited to what you can plan over the weekend.
Airbnb Host Time Waster #3
Spending Too much time communicating with guests back and forth.
There are only 4 key messages that you will need to send at the right time for every new booking:
- Booking Confirmation = A friendly welcome message.
- 48 hours before arrival= Parking and Check-in Instructions.
- During Stay = Touch base message ‘hope you are enjoying your stay, let me know if you need anything’ etc.
- The morning of Check-out= Check-out time-reminder and thank you message.
Messages should always be polite and welcoming. There is a certain formula for the ‘perfect message’ and no need to write it out every time. Please use the saved responses tool in the app and save yourself hours of wasted time composing the same messages on the spot. Just change the guests name and you can efficiently fire these messages off at the right times.
Airbnb Host Time Waster #4: Guests messaging with the same questions which should be obvious.
If you’re still getting messages like “What is the Wifi code” or “What time is Check-out” then your going to be wasting extra time communicating and guests will feel like they are wasting time on their vacation.
Solution: Have a clear and Concise Welcome book in your Rental. This should cover everything possible that a guest could ponder and message you about. Use an easy-to-edit template and make it look professional.
I am the creator of the Mega Airbnb Bundle, anessential Tool Kit for Airbnb Hosts! The more you know about Airbnb, the more you will be able to use this knowledgeto help you rank your listing higher in searches and become a Superhost.There’s so much more to know. There is definitely a learning curve to Airbnb and it will cost you money and time to try to learn everything on your own.
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