As an Airbnb host, it’s easy to ask, how can Airbnb improve? After all, a platform needs to grow and offer new and optimized features to provide the most for the entire Airbnb community, whether it’s hosts or guests. That being said, there are some ways that you can improve and leverage what you have to get more out of the experience as well. If you’re interested in becoming a super host and enjoying the process of filling up your short-term rental, we’ve compiled some of the top tips for enhancing your experience that you can take advantage of right now.
Streamline Booking Process
Streamlining the booking process not only makes it easier for guests to get the properties they want without having to deal with delays, but it also makes it easier to fill your calendar and see your schedule at a glance based on demand. The best way to achieve this is through instant booking. Instant booking makes it so that guests can request their desired dates and book so long as they meet the criteria of a good guest. This enhances the guest experience and can help you increase bookings (especially if you tend to miss booking requests).
Enhance Communication Options
Good communication is crucial to getting the booking rates you desire and making sure that your Airbnb listing stays at the top of Airbnb’s search engine. If you’re a host who doesn’t interact with guests promptly and effectively, you can end up driving potential guests away and putting other listings above your own. So, how can you make sure that you’re enhancing the Airbnb experience through effective communication? The best way is to take advantage of Airbnb’s communication settings.
Airbnb makes it easy for you to get message notifications to your email or via SMS. This way, you never miss a message, regardless of whether you’re receiving messages from someone interested in your vacation rental or urgent messages from guests who need some kind of support. The better your communication, the more you’ll thrive on the Airbnb platform.
Improve Cleanliness Standards
User experience is everything on Airbnb. While we’ve focused primarily on the booking process and engagement, it’s important to identify the need for cleanliness when it comes to your Airbnb. The Airbnb platform has strict rules regarding cleanliness, which are there to protect the guests.
To make sure that you’re catering to your guests’ needs, you should make sure that you establish a cleaning schedule, make sure you have all the necessary cleaning products on hand and even hire an Airbnb cleaning service if you have multiple properties that you’re managing or if you wish to expedite the process to get bookings even faster.
With the above in mind, the cleaning process works both ways. Expecting guests to adhere to the house rules and to keep the place tidy while they are there is more than reasonable when you’re a host. Let them know what you expect and how you’ll be there for them, and everything should go smoothly!
Expand Search Filters
To have a successful Airbnb listing, you have to be entirely transparent about what you offer. When guests are using Airbnb search, they’re utilizing search filters to find a place to stay, taking into consideration things like the type of property they wish to stay on, how many rooms they need, what their budget is, and so on.
So, how can you increase your Airbnb’s visibility and help guests find your listing? All you have to do to optimize your listing is to make sure you’re filling out all the information, including the information that guests will be searching for. With that in mind, it’s also important to remember that you need to make sure that your listing is appealing. For example, make sure to highlight location, amenities (Wi-Fi, pool and hot tub, etc.), and nearby attractions in your listing to show guests what they can expect when they book your property. You’ll also want to increase your Airbnb’s visibility by adding high-quality photos that showcase what your short-term rental looks like.
Optimizing your listing to appeal to Airbnb’s algorithm as well as to the guests who use the platform makes all the difference in your experience as an Airbnb host.
Offer Personalized Recommendations
If you’ve been doing research into how to increase your Airbnb bookings, you know that a great guest experience is a major part of the equation. Making sure that guests feel treated well is what’s going to naturally lead to a good review on Airbnb. One simple way that you can do this is by personalizing the experience. For example, you could offer personalized recommendations to guests who book your property.
When you talk to them, ask them, have they been here before? If they’re not familiar with the area, finding local events, restaurants, and other things to do can help them get the most out of their experience in the city, all of which serve to boost your reputation as a host. If you’re looking to go above and beyond, you could even offer them some tickets or gift cards to places near you at check-in so that they can enjoy your city right away!
Strengthen Customer Support
Is your customer support lacking? How you treat your guests ultimately determines how they feel about their stay. We’ve already talked about communication, which can be important when you’re trying to make sure that you stand out on the platform. However, communication is nothing without follow-through.
For example, let’s imagine that your guests reach out to you because something is going on with the HVAC system. If you simply respond to try to keep your response time up but you don’t send someone out there to fix it, it’s going to hurt both your experience and the guest’s experience. Providing proper customer support by addressing the problem immediately will make sure guests are satisfied and understand they’re in the hands of an Airbnb host who cares about their experience.
Always look for new ways to strengthen customer support. Customers are the heart and soul of your rental business!
Enhance Safety Measures
When guests search for a place to stay, they aren’t just looking for the most luxurious property. They’re also looking into factors that you might not consider when you’re posting a listing to the Airbnb platform, like safety. Guests want to feel more comfortable when they stay in a property that they’re unfamiliar with, and that all begins with safety. You can make your property safe by installing security cameras that monitor activity outside the door and elsewhere around the property, install a security system that guests can access (although you will need to reset these each time so that previous guests can’t easily get in), and use fencing and gates to keep unwanted trespassers off the property.
Think about when you decide to book a vacation rental; what makes you feel most secure? Whatever it is that helps you feel comfortable and safe where you’re staying, try to incorporate that into your vacation rental properties. These are simple ways to improve your space and stand out in such a competitive market.
Foster a Sense of Community
Achieving superhost status is great, but it’s important to make sure that you’re sharing that knowledge and learning from others in the community as well. Fostering a sense of community with guests and hosts can result in a more positive experience all around, which is essential for the Airbnb platform as time goes on. The easiest way to do this is to jump on Airbnb forums and explore topics you have experience in. Then, share your knowledge with people by asking questions or engaging with others to start a conversation and make people feel like they’re more of a tight-knit community.
The advantage of doing all this is that people will be more familiar with you and willing to extend you the same courtesy when you have a question that you need help with. When it comes time for you to create your question on Airbnb, there will likely be more than a few familiar faces showing up to support you. The key to getting the best experience on Airbnb and making sure that you’re standing out to Airbnb guests is to get involved in the community. It matters more than you know!
How Can Airbnb Improve? It Will With Time, But So Can You!
Airbnb is a platform that will likely improve as it continues to provide services to hosts and guests. That being said, there are things that you can do to enhance your own experience and provide an exceptional guest experience as well. If you’re running an Airbnb business and you’re looking to boost your overall bookings and become more successful on the platform, utilize all of the insights to change your approach and get the most out of the Airbnb platform.
