The Wins & Pitfalls – What We Did Right (and Wrong) and What We Learned Along The Way
AI Summary: All the Things We’ve Learned Renting Out Homes on Airbnb
Experience teaches valuable lessons about pricing, guest expectations, and property care. HelloGuest applies years of insight to help owners avoid common pitfalls and maximise returns. Read on ChatGPT.
Airbnb is a lucrative side hustle – and that’s where our career in property management started.
After renting out our home on Airbnb and finding that we loved it and were good at it, we decided to take it to the next step and help other owners achieve the same results for properties and second homes they had just sitting there, collecting dust.
However, some people with a spare room or empty property can sometimes feel hesitant – and we get this: no one likes to imagine guests in their beds or sitting in their seats, but letting people into your house isn’t so bad when you’re in Spain getting paid for letting someone sit in your chair.
Where it began
We started by adding our family home to the site (not even a second home we just happened to have lying around), one we lived in and made a mess in!
But as we spent much of that year abroad, we thought we’d see how turning our home into a rental could give us some extra spending money. No one could have predicted what would happen next. It took off – and it got really busy – and we didn’t end up having much of a holiday at all.
How it went
Anyone who has an Airbnb or vacation rental will know that Airbnb can be the most rewarding (and most stressful) thing in the world. They can be nightmares to prepare but amazing to get paid for – but suddenly, if your Airbnb takes off as ours did, you’re in a new full-time job that’s very demanding.
Getting your listing live is easy enough—you just need decent photos and a good property description and title. But what came next seemed to challenge us the most (even though now we could do it in our sleep).
Our essential advice for any newbies
As Airbnb property managers for the last decade, we’ve learned some major lessons along the way—let’s see if you can learn from our mistakes (and even our wins).
Read: Getting Started on Airbnb.
Don’t be pushed into instant bookings if you don’t want to
Airbnb will try to push hosts into an audiobook/instant book option, which means guests can book any available dates on their calendar without being reviewed by you first.
You can turn this off, and it’s not unusual for some of the more luxurious properties to have this feature turned on.
While guests prefer instant options to book then and there, if they really love your property, they can and do wait for the 24-hour confirmation.
We prefer instant book options turned off because we like to approve guests ahead of their stay so I can better understand the types of guests booking and the configuration around their stay.
Read: How You Know You’re Underperforming on Airbnb.
Setting up your availability
Keeping your calendar updated is a must. Airbnb will automatically set every date to be unavailable unless you mark it unavailable, so it’s best to go through the dates and set your availability to avoid cancellations, which Airbnb does not favour.
You can also set minimum booking windows depending on your preferred turnover.
For example, you can set your property to be booked nightly, with two-night minimum stays, giving you a break before the property needs to be turned over for the next set of guests.
Setting your booking minimums will depend on your own availability and management.
Read: Booking Management.
You’re allowed to be picky about your guests; don’t feel pressured
Only approve bookings you feel comfortable with – it will not affect your rating if you decline bookings at this stage. It’s OK to accept a certain type of guest as they’ll be staying in your home, because even though Airbnb has no party policy, it can make all the difference in taking that extra step to protect your property. For example, your property might feature white carpets, so pets and kids might be a no-go. Plus, you can even accept guests based on their previous Airbnb ratings and reviews, taking guests that only have good existing reviews from previous stays.
Airbnb, however, does prefer hosts who accept all kinds of bookings, for obvious reasons and will prioritise these listings. But if you’re happy to lose out on certain rewards to control who’s in your home, that’s perfectly acceptable too, especially if your property is only available certain weeks of the year.
You will have more time than you think
We won’t lie: Airbnb can be a full-time job. Depending on your schedule, you could spend 40+ hours a week managing your rental. But if you’re excited about opening an Airbnb, you somehow find the time to upgrade your home and make it vacation-renter-friendly.
But if you find it overwhelming and it’s not your passion like it was ours, there’s always help, like with property managers like ourselves, who manage everything for a commission-based fee.
Read: Estimating The Time Commitments of Being a Host.
Guests expect cleanliness, but not a hotel
If guests wanted a hotel, guess what? They would have booked one. Some guests might be in situations where their booking has fallen through for the night, leaving them desperate to find somewhere else.
Sometimes, guests are just looking for a place to lay their heads, not an experience, so not always being prepared for perfection is not always necessary. That said, cleanliness is important, as it might affect your reviews and, in turn, your occupancy rate.
Read: How to Make Your Holiday Let Picture-Perfect.
Leaving guides and instructions will save your bacon
The more helpful you are with instructions and manuals, the less likely guests will bother you when you’re maybe lying on a beach somewhere. Plus, creating house rules can save your bacon in certain situations where there’s a guest dispute, allowing you better to prove your case to Airbnb (not every guest is perfect, tidy and reasonable – it’s just part of the job).
Ensure your welcome guides and manuals include information on appliances, waste disposal, local transport, check-in, and local amenities (by defining your audience and only accepting certain guests, you can make more targeted recommendations).
Read: Creating House Rules.
Have spares of EVERYTHING
A spare set of everything always comes in handy—and most hosts, for example, will keep a box of Airbnb towels and sheets, which you can easily swap out if you find odd stains and marks on any bedding or towels. However, if you co-host with a management company like ours, we will manage this side for you and ensure professional laundering between stays.
The ins and outs of taxes
Unless you take Airbnb seriously, you won’t have to worry about the tax threshold, but you’ll still need to declare the income. If you earn above £7,500 in annual income, you’ll have to fill out a tax return, but if you’re sharing income with your partner, you can split it between you. Read: Tax Tips for Holiday Lets.
