Success as an Airbnb Co-Host: Tips and Strategies

November 17, 2023

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Have you heard of Airbnb?

Still, trying to figure out what it is? Do you know you can earn simply by holding up any property, even a spare bedroom? Want to learn how it works? If so then you have come to the right place. We tell you about Airbnb, co-hosting in Airbnb, job opportunities, Airbnb co-host applications, and a lot more.

What is Airbnb?

Airbnb is a service that allows property owners to rent out their spaces to travelers. People can rent out their private rooms for individual guests, shared spaces for multiple people to share, or sometimes the entire property.

Airbnb is popular because not everyone can afford to stay in a hotel and sometimes it could be impossible to find a hotel in a busy area. This is also useful for foreign students who tend to have a shelter for a longer period for a hotel stay or shorter for owning any property.

The company was started in 2008 over 100 million people have booked their property rentals through Airbnb.

How Does Airbnb Work?

There are some things you need to know about Airbnb

First, we will talk about being an Airbnb guest-

It is free to make an account on Airbnb. Airbnb has listings from over 190 countries and 34 thousand cities. So, there’s a bounty of spaces you like or cities you want to visit.
You can filter places from where you want to go when you want to check in, when you want to check out, or how many guests will be staying. You can also narrow your search by adding more information such as neighborhood location, price, type of property, and more.
Your billing details are needed in order to hold a booking and you don’t pay until the host accepts your reservation request.

Next, being a host-

It is free to post a property for rent on Airbnb. Accurately describing your property and mentioning all of its amenities, can help match your space with the right guests.
Professional photography services can help guests know exactly what they are renting and show off how nice the place is. Prices and availability can be set according to a host’s schedule or what they work out with their guests.
The host has the final say on whether or not they want to book to someone. A host can set up their property listing to “Auto-book”, anyone who is interested in their property and meets certain specified criteria.

Airbnb covers its host against damages to their property by guests.

Now let’s talk about the Airbnb community…

Both hosts and guests can set up their profiles on Airbnb. Hosts can tell others the preferences and policies for hospitality, and guests can tell others the kinds of things they like to do during their stay.
This helps users to match themselves with someone they are likely to get along with.
Both host and guest can send each other messages. This lets the host and guest work out things like check-in details, house rules, and any special requests.
Guests can also privately ask other guests whether or not a property is worth renting. Similarly, hosts can privately ask other hosts whether or not they can trust certain guests to behave appropriately. Both hosts and guests can review each other.
Guests can tell about their experiences, what they liked or disliked about the property, the neighborhood, or the host’s style of hospitality, likewise, hosts can critique their guest behavior, how well they follow the house rules, the treatment of the property, and so on.
A review can only be written after a stay is booked and completed. So it is difficult to write dishonest or fake reviews.
Both hosts and guests can receive recommendations from others. If you know someone who is a great host or a guest who is always on their best behavior, write them a recommendation so they can be trusted by others.

Business through Airbnb

Here we are gonna discuss the ways of getting into the Airbnb industry. Here is a complete guide to it.

Own the house–

In this, you can rent out either the complete house or a room out of that house and make great money and you will be the primary owner. This may help pay the mortgagor and maybe turn it into an investment property.

Arbitrage-

This way of Arbitrage co-hosting has become very popular around 2014. In this, you rent out the house or the property so you don’t own it but rent it, and then you sublease it on Airbnb, by this, you can keep all the profits.

In this method, you have to get permission from the landlord, Don’t do this under the rug because that is not the ethical way to run the business.

Co-hosting-

Co-hosting is a great way to earn some extra money, If you enjoy the hospitality industry then you can join an already existing host on Airbnb. Take over that guest communication for them, help them solve some issues, and get paid to do it.

Depending on what owners want from you, you can do a variety of tasks, either just handling guests, communication, pricing, and calendar management, or you might even be calling the vendors if there’s sort of maintenance needed or coordinating cleaners to make sure that the property is clean before the next guest shows up.

This can get you the title of super-host on your profile without even owning or listing yourself when you co-host a property on Airbnb. There are certain minimum criteria for being a super-host on Airbnb.

How to start a business even without owning any property?

Co-hosting

You can earn money without owning any property, without even investing a single penny only on Airbnb, by co-hosting. You just have to do enough research then you can make good money out of Airbnb even without any prior experience. Get as much information about the area you wish to pursue as an Airbnb co-host, whether it is marketing, inventory, guest communication, or website building.

Get to know how to become a co-host…

Find a property and talk to its owner
Evaluate the property
Log in on Airbnb
Go to the property which you want to co-host
Go to the listings
Click on “Co-hosts” in the top right corner.
Click on “Add a co-host”
Type in the email address that is linked to your Airbnb account
Agree to the terms and conditions and then select “Invite”
At last, Make sure that the host clicks on “Set as the primary host” for you so that you can have full access to the property rentals.

Build a resume on Airbnb; try to get super host status by fulfilling the minimum criteria.

Responsibilities of a co-host-

Getting the place ready for guests
Purchasing essential
Decorating
Creating a house manual
Managing the listing
Taking photos of the property and uploading it
Updating the calendar and pricing
Pre-screening of the guests
Welcome guests in person
Address issues during the stay of guests
Restocking
Coordinating cleaning
Turnover
General maintenance

Communicating with Airbnb by acting as an all-around virtual assistant, these are the skills that anyone can learn and if you can do this by following Airbnb’s hosting terms and conditions are certainly eligible to co-host.

Restrictions of Airbnb co-host

Unable to access the listing owner’s payout or taxpayer information
Unable to review the host’s activity when they travel on Airbnb as a guest.

Pros and Cons of doing Airbnb

Pros –

You get higher rent than monthly rent

The rent that is received on a monthly rental basis is comparatively less than that of Airbnb.

Short-term tenants-

You need not worry about tenant lease or any other legal formalities. Even the tenants can not take the owners for granted and behave in an improper manner.

Active business

It is an active business, you have to be sincere in hosting and managing.

Cons-

The pros of Airbnb co-hosting can also be the cons to some.

Short-term tenants-

Sometimes it is a drawback, in Airbnb co-hosting it becomes difficult to keep the property engaged in guests all through the seasons. You have to realize that you can not have guests all through the season.

Active business-

This is an active business, you have to be on your toes to serve the guests, as in normal monthly renting you can leave the property and the guests for months-long periods of time

Management-

Regulation of the housekeeping staff, and other maintenance issues is important. It will be completely your responsibility.

Charges of Airbnb co-host

Co-hosting services will depend upon the amount and quality of tasks that are done; one can either charge a flat rate or in percentage.

If you are managing everything from bookings to welcoming the guests or coordinating the turnovers, around 20-30% on gross nightly charges is a decent payout.

Once the owner and the co-host agree on terms and conditions, there are certain fees that the co-host may ask the owner. They are:-

Onboarding fee-

According to the survey, a YouTuber Kyle claims that the present onboarding fees are up to 2 thousand dollars.

Set up fee-

These fees are for the basic renovations, amenities, and all the basic requirements that are meant to be set before the arrival of the guests.

Management fee-

These are for meeting day-to-day issues like cleaning and communicating. Again, according to the YouTuber Kyle, the management fees may range between 15-30% of the gross revenue collected on the nightly rate.

How does the co-host receive their payments?

Airbnb usually sends all payments directly to the listing owners or host’s account 24 hours after the guest checks in. It is strongly advised to drop an agreement with the primary host on how your shares will be sent to you.

Some of the common options that host or co-hosts use when making payments:-

Paypal
Venmo
Payoneer

Whatever you choose, make sure that it’s secure with the receipts.

How do to launch an Airbnb co-host profile?

If someone has clearly decided to be a co-host, then definitely he or she has to market their services.

There are some Airbnb co-hosting marketplaces online such as:-

Co-host market
Co-host club

Here, on these sites, the aspiring co-host can create a listing to let people know about your services.

The aspiring ones can also go to platforms for freelancers such as:-

-Upwork and

-Fiverr.

Another way to spread the word could be to join vacation rental forums, blogs, or even Facebook groups.

Common Mistakes made by co-hosts as a newbie

Putting up signboards all over the property
Locking up the cleaning items
Not stocking up on the basic essentials (like paper towels, toilet paper, sheets, etc)

Takeaways

Airbnb is a growing industry, whether it be the substitute for expensive hotels or for building a business. This is one of the best options to explore if you are visiting any city.

One can also earn a lot of money without having any specialized degree or prior experience, you just need to have hospitality. With a lot of research and willingness, one can easily set up their profession as a co-host or arbitrage.

FAQs

Do you need any investment to become a co-host on Airbnb?

No, you don’t need any investment to be a co-host on Airbnb. Enthusiasm and hospitality are enough to be the one. Research should be done thoroughly before getting into this business.

How can we select a good host on Airbnb?

Airbnb has a separate section for ratings and reviews. Hosts and guests can easily go through the reviews of the guests’ profile and the property respectively.

What is the general money-making scheme of co-hosts on Airbnb?

So there is the first, Onboarding fee. This is around two thousand dollars.

Then there are setting up fees, a huge amount of these charges go to the setting up and beautification of the property.

The last is management fees, in this around 15-30% of the gross nightly stay depending upon the services that are provided during the stay of the guests.

What to do if an Airbnb guest damages the house?

First, try to reach out to them and talk about it. If the damage is small like breaking any crockery or staining the towel, try to let go, or if not then the second way is to re-imburse. List out the stuff that is meant to be reimbursed and add it to your host co-store. Third, if there is something major, try to use the house owner’s insurance. And at last, you will always have the option of reviewing the guest on the app.

What about the safety of the host or co-host?

Airbnb makes sure that each entity whether it be a guest or the host, stays safe during their Airbnb stay so they have AirCover. You can go through its terms and conditions on its official website.

AirCover for guests- link

AirCover for host- link

How to help prevent hosting challenges?

You can easily tackle the challenges that come on the way to hosting on Airbnb. Some of the ways are:-

Gather a support team- Keep a directory for plumbers, electricians, sweepers, and other livelihood-supporting professionals
Have a subordinate host and provide your guests with their number
Perform routine maintenance
Make communication a priority
Listen and show empathy