More and more property owners are choosing Airbnb over traditional renting as an investment to earn an additional stream of income. There are many reasons why Airbnb is rising in popularity including the option to have a more diversified tenant property portfolio and the chance to earn more compared to a traditional and vacation rental property. However, good Airbnb professional property management is essential if you want to make the most of your venture. You can hire an Airbnb professional property management service to do this for you, do your Airbnb management service yourself, or a combination of self-management and an Airbnb management service.
Managing your Airbnb on your own can get quite stressful at times, but the good news is that there are several things that you can do to ensure successful Airbnb management that is as stress-free as possible.
Work With Professionals Affiliated with Airbnb and not
Running an Airbnb can easily turn into a full-time job, and if you don’t have the time to dedicate to managing your Airbnb due to work or family commitments, then the best option is to work with a company affiliated with Airbnb like the UpperKey, which provides Airbnb management in Washington DC, Airbnb property management Zurich, and Airbnb long term property management in other cities (London, Paris, Crans Montana, Rome..) around the world.
There are various services affiliated with Airbnb offered that you can take advantage of for a reasonable fee to help reduce the stress that can come with renting a property out short-term.
For example, you may want to use an Airbnb management service that manages your keys, meeting with your tenants and guests to let them in, welcome them and show them around.
Some Airbnb guest management services also offer emergency call-out services, which can give you peace of mind and ensure that you don’t have to cut your working day or activities with friends and family short to deal with issues like leaks or easily block a toilet.
Post Appealing Published Property Listings
One key part of managing your Airbnb property is to attract people to come and stay in it. The more bookings you can get, the higher the return on your property investment is going to be. As with anything these days, people like to get a clear idea of what they are getting before they commit to booking a stay in an Airbnb property. Because of this, it’s wise to focus heavily on posting appealing listings that stand out from the crowd. You can do this yourself or hire a professional to manage your Airbnb listings for you.
Ideally, you should have professional photos taken; don’t just focus on the property itself and the rooms but also the nearby area taking a big picture. Tenants will want to see what to expect from your property and the location where it is situated, so include a detailed description and highlight nearby attractions, activities, restaurants, pubs, and more that your guests might be interested in during their stay.
Outsource Cleaning and Laundry. Your Properties are in Good Hands
You can find some companies that offer management of Airbnb properties perfomance with cleaning and laundry included, while others do not offer this service. If you’re managing your own Airbnb or working with a company that only covers key management and emergency callouts, then it’s a good idea to look around for a good cleaning company to work with. The cleanliness of your Airbnb is going to make a huge difference to the impression that it will leave on guests and years of experience that they have, so this is not an area where you want to cut any corners.
While you take care the cleaning after each guest yourself, this can become stressful especially if you have a lot of short properties upcoming bookings in a certain period of time which will mean a lot of cleaning to do. Outsourcing to a professional cleaning company that has experience working with short-term lets or Airbnb properties will give you more peace of mind knowing that your property is in good hands and will be presented to guests when they arrive as a clean, homely, and hygienic place to stay.
Focus on Offering Great Customer Service
Airbnb properties have started to overtake hotels and other types of short-term accommodation as people tend to prefer them for the convenience, price, and amenities that they tend to offer. Although your property is not a hotel, your guests might be choosing to stay there instead of booking a hotel room and will expect good customer service.
According to the UpperKey, the best way to approach customer service is to find out more about each individual tenant and tailor the service (wifi, communicating wifi password, cleaning service, check in time, cancellation policies, personal use of bathroom...) you offer to their requirements or preferences so you can better take care of each guest with a good guest communication as well. This can increase your average daily rate and total occupancy rate and bookings summary, so get an in-depth grip on your properties ' performance with several key metrics. It is a good idea to make sure that there is an option on the booking platform form for tenants to write in any special requests that they may have, so you can accommodate them ahead of time.
Ask for Reviews
Like most things, people will often choose to read online reviews before they book an Airbnb to get a better idea of the kind of experience they can expect during their stay. The fact about online reviews is that people are often very vocal when they have a bad experience but might not think about leaving a review if they have a good time and enjoyed their stay.
So, it’s always worth asking your satisfied tenants if they would mind leaving you a review on Airbnb for other potential guests to read before making a booking. You may then also want to showcase customer reviews on sites like TripAdvisor or social media to get it out there and seen by more potential tenants. This will increase the number of bookings that you can get.
Have Solid House Rules in Place
Before you list your property on Airbnb, UpperKey recommends coming up with house rules that you can let guests know about in advance. Once you have a list of things that you request guests should or should not do during their stay in your property, you can then include these rules in your property description so that guests have upfront basic information on what is and isn’t expected and won’t be disappointed after booking.
Having firm house rules will also ensure that you keep on top of your property management when it comes to minimising damage to the home. For example, you may request that guests do not bring pets while staying, avoid hosting parties in the property, or anything else that you deem important. If you’re renting out a room or rooms in a property rather than the entire home, then make sure that guests are aware of which rooms they can use as part of their stay and which they are not permitted to go into.
Choose Guests Carefully and Take Care of them
Bear in mind that as an Airbnb host, you do not have to accept every guest that wants to stay in your property and take care of them. The UpperKey recommends selecting guests carefully and gathering more information about them wherever you can before you accept a booking. One advantage of Airbnb is that not only can guests write reviews of the places where they have stayed, but there is also the option for hosts to write reviews of guests. This can be useful for weeding out and rejecting guests who are known for not paying, or making a mess.
Invest in Security
Last but not least, investing in good security can make it all that easier and less stressful to manage your Airbnb property. One of the most common is a lock box for the keys. This is installed on the property to store the keys and can be accessed by tenants when they arrive with the door code.
CCTV cameras on the outside of the property and video doorbells are other popular choices that you might consider to improve security, peace of mind for yourself, and the guest experience. Not only does this give you peace of mind that you will have more information if anything happens, but your guests will feel safer during their stay.
Managing an Airbnb management property can be a good investment, but it can also get stressful. Keep these tips in mind for a stress-free, profitable, and successful Airbnb hosting experience. Let Upperkey take care of everything!
