Thinking about listing your rentals on Airbnb? Our partner AvaiBook by idealista shares tips and tricks which will help you kick off your Airbnb business in no time and with minimal effort.
AvaiBook by idealista is a comprehensive management system for vacation rental owners and managers. Among its many functions, it offers a channel manager with premium connections to different booking platforms - or OTAs. Among them is a bidirectional XML connection via API with Airbnb, which makes connecting, synchronizing and editing your listings more efficient.
Airbnb has a web page dedicated to Hosts, where they compile all the information necessary to help you create your Host profile. They even offer an opportunity to talk to experienced Superhosts in case you have questions or want to learn about their experiences.
When you upload photos to Airbnb, make sure to present your short-term rental in a professional way. That’s how you can make guests fall in love with your property and get them to book. There are professional photographic tools and services out there that help travelers discover rentals and make them want to stay there. Consider using one of them.
In order to get the guest to book, you need to earn their confidence. So take detailed pictures of the rooms highlighting their unique decor or, for example, set up the dining table and photograph it ready for a nice dinner.
It’s very important that you identify which type of customer is the most profitable for your property. We recommend that you analyze the reviews left by your previous guests and the profitability of each booking. This way, you will know which type of customer brings you the most revenue. You can use this information to tailor the description, images and amenities in your listings with this type of traveller in mind.
Knowing your close competitors and the most common market indicators (such as occupancy levels, average daily rate (ADR), revenue per month, etc.) is very valuable information. You can get it by consulting data offered by companies such as AirDNA.
Additionally, it’s very important that you calculate the costs of your business. If you’re just starting out, you can use a spreadsheet to evaluate 3 basic metrics:
Once you collect and get a good grasp on this data, you’ll be able to maximize your income by creating a dynamic pricing strategy. For example, you can identify which days represent an opportunity for your rental (because of relevant holidays or events happening nearby) and make sure to set different rates depending on the season (according to the seasonality of your market)... There are multiple Revenue Management tools, including Smart Pricing, that can help with all of that.
It’s important that your communication with guests stays personal at all times: from when they first inquire about the booking to the moment they leave your accommodation. We even recommend that you keep in touch with them at a later date, so that you can build loyalty and get them to stay with you again. There are tools that you can rely on for all these types of communication: PMSs with their own automatic email functions, WhatsApp business, email marketing platforms, CRMs, etc… You can use them to collect and segment your customer data.
In short, there are many aspects you need to take into account to make your business profitable. It’s clear that this is a long-term strategy, but we also know that it is very worthwhile. By applying it, you will be able to automate property management and professionalize your business. You will also save time on repetitive processes and be able to dedicate yourself to what really matters: your guests.
