5 Airbnb Hosting Newbie Mistakes To Avoid

Short Term Hosting is not as easy as 123. The last thing you want to do is to control your competitive edge by doing something that is easily avoidable.  Check out these five easy ways to help increase your vacation rental bookings, and avoid newbie mistakes.

       1, Not being competitive. Renting out your space with Airbnb or other vacation rental websites is one of those things that seems ‘too good to be true’. You can make ‘easy money’ by renting out your space. Cool. However, these beliefs of ease and goodness lead people to a major mistake of not being competitive enough. Consider that there are likely thousands of options where you live that guests can stay at. Because of this, you need to make your listing the most appealing. This leads to a second major pitfall:

           2, Pictures, pictures, pictures. A major turn off for rental website users? Low quality pictures, not enough pictures, pictures that make a space look small, you name it. The photos you have on your listing will make or break a sale. In addition to pictures of the home, studies show that people who look attractive in the user profile picture are more likely to get bookings, even if they have low ratings. That’s right, you are more likely to book a place with a pretty or handsome host even with low ratings. So, maybe this would be a good time to make a change, and at least post a high-quality photo of yourself wearing a nice outfit.

Before Photo Edit Low Quality 0 Enquiries in 7 Days

After Photo Edit High Quality 20 Enquiries in 5 Days

            3, Poor listing description. In a world of so much information with so many choices, you need to be accurate. Poorly written descriptions with not enough or too much information are big turn-offs for guests. The worst is bad grammar and/or rambling. This can be avoided by using a brief, conversational tone. Put information in the order of biggest to smallest, beginning with an overall summary and then if the reader desires, continuing onto the details. Having a good listing will have a great difference.

             4, Not Up-to-date Calendar. Along with a poorly written description, misinformation can kill a sale. For example, if the calendar is not updated and a guest thinks they can book but you keep denying them, you will lose customers very quickly. This sort of news gets out and it is likely you’re be accountable to the booking company for it. Over exaggeration of amenities is also misinformation. Another classic example would be missing important information like your home is out of hot water the week your guest will be there. This doesn’t have to be an issue, just be up-front with your potential guests.

              5, Non-communication. There’s nothing quite so irritating as that feeling of being on hold for excessive amounts of time, un-responsive emails, or bad customer service. Everyone hates that, so avoid it for your guests. Treat everyone like your guest, even if they end up not booking with you. This helps you court favour and just like bad news gets out, good news does, too and will show in the reviews. Check your inbox often and respond with friendly, helpful information. And try your best to welcome your guest on his/her first arrival, leaving a great impression on guest and more likely to receive good reviews. 

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After reading all these tips. If you are aiming high to be a SuperHost in Airbnb. Check this article and get more information for Being a SuperHost Secret.

If you’re looking for assistance with managing bookings, guest communications, decorating, or a variety of other services, check out KozyGuru.com, a Sydney Airbnb property management company in Australia.