Hosting Tidbits

For the past couple months, I've been an Airbnb host for my parents' recently bought second home. It was a pretty big learning curve at the start, but here are my lessons learned so far.

• The first thing you should do when you create a listing is temporarily deactivate it, so that no one can book while you are inputting all the key details. I found this out the hard way....
• Promptly replying to inquiries is key. I've seen most other hosts have a 100% response rate, with an average of within a few hours of response. I guess it's easier if you have a job at which you're sitting at a computer...
• Start with a high price and go down. I thought starting low would be good to "get the name out there", but demand is higher than you think, and you don't want people to think there's a sketch reason for your property being cheap.
• Pricing....may take a long time to settle correctly. Depends on number of rooms, day of the week/time of the year, cleaning fee, etc. Airbnb lets the host add a lot of extra stuff to the base fee that the guest wouldn't see on the actual listing.
• Availability...more strict if you don't actually live in the house. Would possibly add advance notice, gap days to clean, minimum night stays...
• What to offer amenity-wise. Typically anything a hotel would offer, guests may expect as well...but no need to go all-out for replaceable amenities.
• Give guests the benefit of the doubt. I feel Airbnb has a nicer clientele compared to, say, a hotel would...guests can be accommodating if you communicate well.
• But sometimes mistakes can happen, and things can go missing. Best to label things that you think people may take accidentally...
• Welcome document - details you should probably include: How to check-in/check-out, Smoking/Pets/Shoes rules, Wifi, Garbage, Heating/AC, Contact Info, Local Stores/Attractions, Nearby Transportation, Parking