Month: January 2017

As a host, you deal with all sorts of people: young and old, seasoned travelers and newbies, cooperative and—not so cooperative. While most of your guests will hopefully be stand-up people, there will inevitably be a few who give you trouble. But don’t fear—we’ve compiled a list of tips for dealing with the issues that your guests might throw your way.

1. Excessive complaints and requests

Most of the requests from your guests will be reasonable, like dinner recommendations or a couple extra towels. But occasionally you might come across a guest who asks for way too much—like new sheets for every bed in the house—or contacts you constantly, blowing up your phone every five minutes. It will be annoying, and you’ll feel like telling them off. But try to keep your cool—if you do, these same guests will hopefully write you a review at the end of their stay that acknowledges how you took care of their every request. Unless they just can’t be satisfied, in which case you’re out of luck and simply have to grin and bear it. A good question to ask these guests: “Is there anything else I can do to make your stay as enjoyable as possible?” The answer might be “no,” but hopefully they’ll appreciate your dedication.

2. Disruptive and disorderly

As you rack up more months as a host, you’ll probably get a handful of guests who just want to use your home as a party spot. A lot of these guests are respectful partiers, but some are not. Your neighbors might call you during your guests’ stay to report the noise, or in the case of excessive noise or excessively awful neighbors, they might just call the cops directly. It’s pretty unlikely that your guests will get in any legal trouble with the cops (unless, of course, they’re unruly and rude toward the officers), but it’s still a hassle and makes you look bad to your neighbors. If a party is out of control and the cops are called, it’s not a bad idea to write that in your review on your guest’s profile. Future hosts should know what to expect if they allow this guest to stay in their home.

3. Broken/stolen items in your home

This is the number one fear of short-term rental hosts, and with good reason—you’ve spent a ton of time and money furnishing and designing your home, and you don’t want things to get messed up. But especially with rowdier guests (see above), something is bound to get broken at some point. The first line of defense should always be to talk to the guest directly. Most likely, they will have realized that they damaged something during their stay and will be quick to sort out the repayment process. In some cases, though, guests will say that the item was already broken or that they never saw an item that you know they stole. This is when you contact Airbnb and let them handle it. They deal with guests like this every day and are more experienced at settling these matters than you are. Note: be sure that your guest actually damaged/stole an item. It’s embarrassing (and sometimes legally problematic) to accuse a guest of doing something he or she did not do.

4. Payment issues

All payments should be handled through Airbnb or your other short-term renting platform, so they should be the first people you contact with any issues. Airbnb employs a team of people whose job it is to work out problems of this nature, so it’s probably a better idea to contact them than to try and resolve an issue with a guest on your own. If you are going to contact a guest directly about money (for example, in the event that a guest damages something in your home), make sure you know how much the item costs and can back it up with a receipt or a link to the product online. As we all know, people get pretty touchy with money, so having all of the information and conveying it in a clear way is always helpful.

5. A bad review on your profile

If this happens because of a specific problem that you were not able to fix, it’s a good call to own up to it and apologize in your response to the review. Maybe it was out of your hands, like you were out of town and the pipes froze, but you should still apologize for the inconvenience. That’s where the respond option to reviews really comes in handy—but try not to launch into a paragraph of self-defense where you also attack the guest for being too needy and whiny. This just makes you look bad. Unless of course, you have some real evidence for your claims—like the guest broke all of the beds and sprayed red paint on the walls. If not, keep it friendly.

Sometimes you can do everything right and still get a cranky guest who writes you a bad review. There’s not a whole lot you can do in this case. If you want to respond, keep it short—something like, “I did everything I could to accommodate [guest’s name] during his stay. It’s unfortunate that he had such a bad stay. I hope he finds what he’s looking for in the future.” Something concise and polite will do. There’s no need to start an emotionally-charged comment war.

Just remember that for every guest who gives you issues, there will be at least 20 more who don’t. Being a host is usually a great experience, and when it’s not, just remind yourself that they call it “short-term” rental for a reason—your guest will be out soon enough.

To get the maximum number of guests every month, you want to have engaging content and photos in your listing. Not only does this increase your likelihood of getting booked, it also adds to the total number of views on your listing, adding to the attractiveness of your property. We’ve come up with some tips below to make your listing the best it can be.

1. Get a professional photographer

We’re all visual people, and we’re more likely to spend money on something when it’s presented attractively. Sure, you could snap some photos with your iPhone and call it a day, but your listing will look way more put together with professional photos. A photographer will be more knowledgeable about angles, lighting, and variation than you will—and it will show in the polished photos that emphasize the best features of your home.

2. Write an attention-grabbing teaser

In the initial description, it’s better to focus on a couple awesome features of your home or neighborhood than to delve into a laundry list of reasons why someone should stay at your place. This is the first thing your potential guest will read, so make sure you know your audience. Is your place in the middle of the hottest stretch of bars and clubs in your city? Or in a super family-friendly area with a rec center and park across the street? Figure out who your home will appeal to most and use your teaser to reel them in.

3. Think about the special features of your space

This is the section in which you should really go into detail about the unique parts of your home. Try to stay away from generic descriptions and really zone in on what makes your home special. Is there a reading nook with a great view? A tree-lined backyard perfect for kids? A rooftop hot tub? It’s always good to link these features with activities your potential guests could imagine themselves doing. For example, instead of just mentioning that there’s a large back deck, write that the back deck is a perfect place to unwind after a day of sightseeing. Zero in on a few of these features and your home will really come to life.

4. Put some thought into the neighborhood section

One of the things that your potential guests will want most is to stay in an appealing area, whether that means they’re close to bars, in a quiet mountain setting, or in a suburban neighborhood safe for kids. Do a little research to find out what’s in your neighborhood. Maybe there’s a farmer’s market every Saturday that your guests would enjoy, or a coffee shop down the street that makes a great chai. It’s also good to mention any museums, historical sites, and concert venues in the immediate area.

5. Don’t be afraid to set house rules

If your basement is off limits or your next-door neighbors are super sensitive to noise, let your guests know in the listing (and write it again somewhere in the house). The last thing you want is for there to be an issue because your guests say they didn’t know about your rules. Then if something does happen during their stay, you can refer back to your listing. It’s always good for you and your guests to be on the same page as early as possible—and putting your expectations into your listing guarantees that.

The world of short-term rental can be intimidating for someone who has never hosted before. We’ve compiled a list of tips and tricks to help you get started and make sure your transition into hosting goes smoothly.

1. Don’t sweat the small stuff

You might not be able to get everything perfect right when you start out, and there’s nothing wrong with that. Don’t panic if you can’t get exactly the bed linens you want or if your plates don’t all match. You obviously want your home to look as presentable as possible, but don’t forget that setting up your space is supposed to be fun for you too—not overly stressful.

2. Show your guests you care in little ways

Your guests will appreciate when you go the extra mile to make sure their stay goes well. When we say “little ways,” we mean little—nothing too expensive or time consuming. Check out [https://effortlessrentalgroup.com/hosting-tips/6-simple-items-add-home-happy-guests/] for a list of simple items you can add to your home to show your guests that you care, making them more likely to write you a good review at the end of their stay.

3. Inform your neighbors

People will take note when there are strangers suddenly walking in and out of your house, so it’s a good idea to let them know that you’ll be hosting. It’s up to you how much detail you go into—maybe you tell them you’re a host on Airbnb or maybe you just say that you’ll have guests staying for a while—but a little heads-up is a good call regardless.

4. Respond to your reviews

This goes for positive and negative reviews, especially your first few of each. For positive reviews, thank your guests for staying with you and tell them you’re glad they enjoyed their stay. For negative reviews, try to target their main problem and (politely) address whether it was out of your hands or not. Even if the issue was not your fault, apologize for the inconvenience. The idea is to set a precedent for the rest of your reviewers. When potential guests see that you’ve taken the time to respond to feedback, they’ll feel like they’re in good hands when they stay with you in the future.