Your Ultimate Guide to Running an Airbnb

How to Start an Airbnb Business

Our Airbnb hosting tips cover everything from selecting your property to marketing your rental and reaching potential customers.

Select Your Property

The first step in learning how to start an Airbnb involves selecting your property. You may have decided to rent your current home or purchase a new place specifically for this purpose.

Sometimes, you may not even have to own your property to host an Airbnb, but that will come down to neighborhood rules and landlord agreements. If you want to become a host for your rented house or apartment, carefully read your lease to determine if there are any regulations regarding subletting your rental.

Look into Local Rules and Regulations

Before setting up an Airbnb business, we recommend looking into your neighborhood, city, and state laws, as some areas have rules restricting or limiting Airbnb properties. For example, certain states and cities only allow rentals if they’re rented for more than 30 days at a time, while others require special permits.

Understanding the local rules and regulations can help you avoid fines, penalties, and evictions!

Make Sure You Have Enough Time

One of the most critical Airbnb host tips is ensuring you have enough time to oversee and manage the property. After all, as a host, you’ll need to communicate with your guests around the clock and ensure they have everything they need for a comfortable stay. This could involve many things, from handing over the keys to them to answering their questions about how to use the thermostat.

If you don’t have time to commit to managing the property, you may want to look into hiring someone to do so for you. Just be mindful of the extra expenses this will cost you.

Understand the Downsides of Hosting

There are many perks to running an Airbnb business, but there are some things that you should be aware of before making the decision.

We already mentioned that managing your rental can be a big time suck, but it can also be an expensive one. Yes, you’ll make money on your rentals, but you may also have to cover the cost of maintenance and cleaning services. What’s more, your property won’t always be booked, so there could be stretches where it’s sitting vacant, not making you any money.

You need to be mindful of bad guests, as they could disrupt your neighbors or even damage your property. Unfortunately, even though Airbnb provides ratings for guests, you can't always weed out the bad seeds.

Determine Pricing

Now that you have a rental property and are compliant with the law, researching the local market is the next step in figuring out how to start an Airbnb business. After all, you want to ensure you set competitive prices that align with other properties in your area.

Of course, you want to set your rates reasonably, but you also want to set them high enough and encourage clients. So start by searching for other rental properties similar to yours in size, location, and amenities to determine a fair price that will attract guests.

When setting your prices, consider other expenses for running your property, such as insurance, cleaning services, property taxes, and more.

Build Your Profile

Next, you can focus on building a profile for your Airbnb listing. This is where potential guests will receive their first impression of your property, so you want to be sure you’re showcasing the accommodation in the best possible light.

Your profile should include professional-worthy photos of your rental and surrounding area and a detailed description of the property. You'll want to include basic information, such as the number of rooms, but include other enticing details, like if you have a private patio, hot tub, fireplace, or swimming pool. What makes your property unique? For example, you could have a playroom designed for guests with kids or a home office great for guests traveling for business.

Discussing the local area, such as nearby tourist attractions, public transportation, and points of interest. For example, are there restaurants or bars within walking distance? Or is there a bus stop down the street? These are all helpful information that could make a guest choose your accommodation.

Remember, you want to encourage guests to stay at your home, so it's okay to brag about your property as long as you're honest and accurate in your descriptions.

Create an Inviting Place

One of the best Airbnb hosting tips involves designing an inviting place for your guests. Then, think about ways to go above and beyond to make their stay special and memorable.

For example, you may leave a welcome note, a bouquet of fresh-cut flowers from the garden, or some ground coffee from the local cafe. You can also provide helpful amenities, such as beach chairs if the property is by the sea and umbrellas if it's located in a rainy climate. Other thoughtful gestures include providing board games, floaties for the pool, and books on the bookshelf. Believe it or not, these small touches can make a big impression.

Hire Cleaning Services

Cleanliness is next to godliness, so when running an Airbnb business, it’s crucial that you have a clean and spotless place for your guests upon arrival.

Some hosts prefer to clean the property themselves, while others would rather hire a professional cleaning service. Of course, cleaning it yourself helps cut costs, but it can be time-consuming, especially if you have other properties.

Take a look at your schedule and finances and decide what works best for you.

Market Your Place

Sure, you can list your property on the Airbnb platform for free and wait for a bite, or you can promote your rental in other ways to help get the word out. The following are just a few ways to get more eyes on your accommodations.

Social Media

Social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok provide excellent avenues for showcasing your Airbnb rentals.

Here you can share photos and videos of your properties, highlighting all their attractive features. For example, you might film a reel of your backyard patio with twinkly lights and lanterns to showcase its whimsical ambiance, collage all the nearby attractions, or film the panoramic view of the cityscape from your private rooftop deck.

You can post special promos, like a holiday-focused deal or friends and family discount, to encourage bookings.

Furthermore, you can ask your guests to leave reviews about their stay using a platform like Facebook. This helps potential clients see what others have to say about your rental, encouraging them to experience it for themselves.

SMS Messaging

SMS messaging offers another viable way of marketing your Airbnb property, and you can incorporate it into your marketing strategy in several ways.

For one, you could place a sign on your property with a QR code or message about the property, like “This charming three-bedroom oceanfront cottage is an Airbnb property! Interested in renting it or learning more about the property? Text 858585 to SUNNYCOTTAGE.”

Then, when potential clients text that shortcode to your keyword or scan the QR code, you can send them photos and additional information about the rental and answer all their questions.

If you have multiple rentals, another option is to leave a note at your rental encouraging your guests to join your SMS text program to learn more about your other properties. For instance, your note could say, “We hope you enjoyed your stay with us! We have seven other lovely rentals in Southern California we’d love for you to explore. To find out more, text 32223 to JAKESRENTALS today!”

Prefer to stick with social media? Simply make a social media post with a similar message, encouraging your followers to join your text program to learn more about your rentals.