In the last post in our How to Start an Airbnb series, we talked to a few expert Airbnb hosts about their ultimate tips for success. With these pointers, you can easily set your Airbnb business apart from the rest, and get those valuable 5-star reviews rolling in.

Meet the Experts

Andrea Clarkson

Andrea Clarkson is a seasoned Airbnb host who began with a rental in Switzerland. A few years later, she is now a Superhost, Airbnb ambassador, and even offers advice to fellow hosts on her website Mammamode.com and Instagram, @Mamma.mode.

Jonathan Roper

Starting with just one Airbnb listing in a 1bd/1ba granny flat in his backyard, Jonathan saw huge success that encouraged him to grow his short-term rental business. Three years later, he now runs 7 properties in San Diego, CA. Follow him on Instagram, @roper_retreats. 

Adam Lam

Long-time Airbnb host, Adam Lam, runs his successful retro-arcade-themed Airbnb in Sebastopol, California. With 20+ retro arcade games and pinball in his rental, he created an incredibly unique experience for his guests.

Take it from the experts, these tips and tricks will help set your Airbnb business up for success:

Cleaning Between Stays

‍

Never underestimate the value of a good cleaner! Provide the cleaner with detailed instructions of what you would like them to clean and how you would like everything presented/set up. Picture guides of each room are helpful. 

-Jonathan

‍

Cleanliness is the top priority. Make it the cleanest place possible - especially with COVID. Try and keep everything self-contained in your house. Meaning that if you can, do all your cleaning, washing, drying, etc. in your house. It really helps with keeping costs down and turning your rental around quickly after checkout.

-Adam

Reviews

‍

I haven’t had a negative review in a long time because I make sure there is no way someone could give me a negative review. If someone has a concern during their stay, I deal with it right away and am never on the defensive. Always let the guest know that you are here to help them.

- Adam

‍

Over the years we have found 3 keys to a 5-star review. 

1. First is cleanliness. Guests want to walk into a space that looks and smells fresh/clean.
2. The second is quick, clear, and personal responses to guests. Quality of communication matters. Guests want to be able to ask questions and get a response! They also want clear instructions on the check-in/check-out process. Using Airbnb's scheduled personalized messages has been a game-changer for us! Each guest receives full check-in instructions 2-days before their stay and full check-out instructions the night before check-out. It is all scheduled and automated! 
3. Third, stock your Airbnb with amenities that you would want in a home away from home. If you would want to stay there, chances are others will too. 

- Jonathan

Marketing your Airbnb

‍

A great way to build an engaged social media audience is to make every part of your property share-worthy. Spend time on the little details, for example, a statement wall or mural will get guests posting pictures of themselves and tagging the property in their Instagram posts. Make sure to create and share a hashtag with your guests and ask them to tag you. 

-Andrea

‍

I don’t have social media because it’s all word-of-mouth. That’s the kind of experience I bring, everyone wants to tell their friends about it. 

- Adam

‍

Invest in professional pictures for your listing. If you can, use an actual real estate photographer. They will know how to make your space look great! Pictures matter a lot when people are trying to choose a place to book. 

-Jonathan

Pricing Your Rental

‍

My advice is not to leave money on the table and to scale and streamline your business with a pricing tool. We love using Beyond for our Airbnb! You don’t want to miss out on any important booking dates such as festivals or sporting events in your area. These dates draw larger crowds, and accommodation gets booked quickly. You can easily charge double or triple your nightly price.

-Andrea.

‍

Beyond has increased my income by 57% from 2020 to 2021. We get a lot of value out of using Beyond. Beyond only charges 1% of my booking price but they do a lot of the footwork and have access to so much data that they’ve opened up to me to use. 

- Adam

‍

Use Beyond. I first got referred to Beyond by a friend and remember being skeptical that beyond was advertising a guaranteed 10-40% increase in revenue in using them. We ended up giving it a shot and have seen that 10-40% increase be a real thing. Other types of smart pricing are just not as advanced or capable of adjusting prices as the algorithms in Beyond.

-Jonathan

With these tips and tricks, your Airbnb business is off to a great start! And when it comes to pricing, take the guesswork out of it by using a dynamic pricing tool. Beyond utilizes a dynamic pricing algorithm that automatically positions your properties to be booked at the best price at the right time. Sign up with Beyond today and claim your free credits.