What are the TOP mistakes you might be making as a host? Dive in and find out what you can do to improve your listings, earn more revenue, get better reviews, and last but not least, make your rental work for you, not the other way around.
Your listing doesn't have an appealing look. We are visual people, we like to see pictures and read descriptions, while we imagine our perfect life at your place. Please, take time to build your profile! Have beautiful, well-taken pictures, and inviting descriptions and you will see improvements on your bookings.
Underpricing your listing to get more bookings. There are pricing strategies tools that can help you with this –Airbnb’s smart-pricing tool is not the best option.
Not being specific with your House Rules on your listing. If you are not specific, chances are you might be interrupted with calls, or will give your guests an excuse to not be accountable.
Not keeping track of your expenses. As any business, you need to keep track of your expenses on consumables, repairs, services, etc. Only by doing this you can truly know if you are profitable and what are your areas with potential for improvement.
Not meeting your guests. Although you might not be able to do this every time, when you meet your guests you get the chance to, first, make sure everything is ready for them in your place, and second, see their faces and get their vibes. Having that contact creates more engagement from both sides. Guests will respect more your place once they know you know who they are. It also gives an opportunity to show them around and answer any last minute questions they might have.
Still using keys. You should stop that. There are more convenient ways to provide access to your place, and forget about the hassle of turning in keys, with the risks of guests losing them or taking them back. Use a smart lock. It is so easy manage, and track. You will love it, and your guests will appreciate it.
Thinking snacks will give you the 5-star reviews. Let’s get this straight. Welcome baskets are a good surprise, and it is very convenient in places where convenience stores are not walking distance. Often guests arrive late and having a snack would brighten up their night. However, what guests will focus on when writing a reviews is communication with the host, cleanliness, and the overall service you provided. So, once you have these areas covered, then you can add the little extra, and make guests want to come back.
Not checking every hidden area for stuff left behind. You want to be the one finding it, not your next guest. Check under the bed... finding used socks from the last guest is not fun. Check the refrigerator’s drawers – a dry apple from 2-weeks ago is yuck.
Not sending check-in and check-out messages. This an easy way to remind your guests about the instructions for getting in and out, remind them about the house rules, and any other information they might need during their stay. This will minimize the times you get a call/text/email.
Replying only to negative reviews. When you reply only to negative reviews, you are actually drawing the readers attention to that specific review. Make sure you reply to positive reviews, and thank your guests for their stay and for taking the time for writing a review. While dealing with negative reviews, you should never argue or write badly about your guests, and should appreciate any suggestions for improvement.
We have given you the fixes, now you should go and do the work. You're on your way to become a *super* superhost!
Happy hosting,
Lace
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