How Does Airbnb Work? Airbnb 101 Guide
You will probably already be familiar with Airbnb or at least have heard about people booking travel accommodation through Airbnb but you may not be quite sure what it is or more importantly, how you can make money from it!
This guide is designed to provide a little more insight into Airbnb and also help you understand how it works and how you could start making money via Airbnb.
What Is Airbnb
Basically, Airbnb is a website where travellers can book a bed, multiple beds, rooms, full apartments or entire houses throughout the world. Every individual listing on the Airbnb website is posted by a ‘Host’ whom is offering their property for you to stay in.
The idea and concept of Airbnb was very simple and it was simply to allow travellers the opportunity to stay in local homes, for more local experience at an affordable price. It also allowed the Hosts of the property to share their home with like-minded people, while also making money. A win, win situation for both parties!
Airbnb Vs A Hotel
So, you may be wondering
‘how is staying at an Airbnb different from staying in a hotel or a hostel?
Well, as we mentioned previously, Airbnb offers you a more local and personal experience. Many of the properties on Airbnb can be properties in areas to which you would not find any hotels and are places where just locals live.
Many Airbnb’s Hosts just rent out a single bed or a private room their house, which means you will be staying as a guest in their own home. As the Hosts are their during the duration of your stay, it means you have a true local to look after you and provide you with useful information, tips and the personal touch. It also means you get to live as a local in the area you are staying.
If you decide to rent out an entire apartment, house or villa, it provides guests with a more homely feeling and more space, than you would get staying at a hotel.
What Can You Rent On Airbnb
The beauty about Airbnb, is that you can rent out anything and there are always unique places to stay in countries throughout the world from a single bed to a stately home or castle.
Who Can Rent Out Their Property
If you have a property, you can rent it out and become a Host on Airbnb and this is where you yourself can make money from Airbnb by becoming a Hosts and renting out your property.
Simple Tips:
- Offer lower minimum night stay such as one or two nights. People often think that having a higher minimum nights stay such as 4-5 nights, will mean that they are busier but many hosts find they are busier when they offer a lower one or two night stay. People do wish to travel and only stay for one of two nights, especially when they are travelling on business or are visiting the area for a specific event such as a conference, show, concert, football match or other sporting event.. If you live close to an area, town or city that has a large number of events being held throughout the year, then people visiting the area may only require accommodation for a short period of one or two nights. Don’t miss out on their custom!
- Dynamic Pricing: You may have noticed that hotels prices fluctuate throughout the year and this is simply due to ‘Supply and Demand’. When there is an event taking place close to the hotel, the demand for rooms will obviously increase. With this increase in demand, you will more often than not see an increase in hotel price. Don’t miss out on capitalising your profits too and keep your eye out on all the major events in your area and set your prices for those weeks accordingly. Obviously do not set your prices to high so that you price yourself out of the market but if you take a look and compare all the other hotels and rental properties in your area, to see what prices they are charging, you will then be able to set yours to compete.
- Reviews: Ensure you get people to leave you a review and don’t be afraid to ask your guest to leave you one. Asking your guests to leave reviews, is the easiest way to build confidence with future customers and also helps you build your own 5 star rating on AirBnB. Any potential customer who is considering staying at your property, will look for reviews from previous guests. If you have glowing reviews for them to read, it will fill them will them confidence to book and have them clicking the book button much quicker. When they have booked, simply ask them to leave a review at the end and then once they have stayed at your property, simple send a follow up email, asking how they enjoyed their stay. Then, ask them to leave you a 5 star review! The added bonus is that once you have 5 star reviews, Airbnb will rank you higher in their search listings, which means your ad getting seen more often, resulting in more bookings for you!
- Instant Bookings: If you accept instant bookings, then you will probably find that it will save you a lot of time and hassle, as well as making your guests booking experience much smoother. For a guest to be eligible to use the Instant Booking facility, they must be an current guest on Airbnb, as well as have good reviews. Good reviews will be issued to guest from previous Hosts, so you should not have any cause for concern when a guest uses this facility.