The world of Airbnb hosting can be incredibly rewarding: an avenue for you to extend your home, knowledge and hospitality to travellers from all over the world and from walks of life. However, if you’ve recently jumped on the Airbnb hosting bandwagon, or are considering it — you may at some point in time find yourself blindsided by some of the lesser known challenges of Airbnb hosting. At HomeHost, we offer a complete Airbnb property management service for your home or investment property — that’s why we’ve put together a list of some of the most difficult aspects of Airbnb hosting, as well as the best ways you can prevent and manage these challenges as a first-time Airbnb host.
Challenge #1: Time Management
As a host, it is pivotal to ensure that your listing runs like a well-oiled machine — effective time management is absolutely essential to all aspects of running your short-term rental, especially when it comes to dealing with exhausted travellers who are itching to drop their bags, put their feet up and settle in after a long journey (and who will be especially nervous in the case that they are locked out of their accommodation in a foreign country!) All processes, such as key exchange and professional cleaning between check-ins, must be timed perfectly in order to ensure a fantastic rating for you and a comfortable stay for your guest. Unfortunately, juggling these processes is much easier said than done.
The Solution
A number of tech, apps and other software are available on the market which can simplify the process of Airbnb hosting by integrating calendars, providing pricing insights, and so on. They do not do the work for you, by any means — they can be very useful organisational tools, but still do require that you invest your own time and effort in order for the process of Airbnb hosting to run smoothly.
For a more complete solution to all your time-management woes, we would of course recommend collaborating with an Airbnb property management service such as HomeHost. We provide a simple solution to the challenges of Airbnb hosting by eliminating any labours that would otherwise have been your responsibility — including key exchange, professional cleaning, and 24/7 concierge services. For more information, give us a call at 1300 17 17 18.
Challenge #2: Managing Poor Reviews and Guest Complaints
To receive a poor review or complaint after putting time and effort into being the best host possible can, frankly, feel absolutely terrible. Dealing with people from all walks of life, it is probable that you may from time to time receive a less-than-perfect review, or a complaint about the service you’ve provided. If handled poorly, a negative review can have a devastating impact on your listing and reputation — however, when handled correctly, a negative review could potentially work in your favour.
The Solution
The prevention of poor reviews and complaints via clear communication, an honest listing and professional cleaning services is likely to make your Airbnb hosting experience much easier. If a poor review or complaint does come through however, remember that you are speaking on a public platform, where your response is likely to colour the first impression of any prospective guests — therefore a short, diplomatic, sincere response in which you take on board any negative feedback is much better than a rambling attack on your guest, regardless of whether or not you deem this guest’s expectations to be unreasonable. For more information, please see this blog post, where we cover this topic extensively — How to Manage and Prevent a Bad Review on Airbnb.
Challenge #3: Unexpected Emergencies
Unforeseen emergencies such as power outages, defective appliances or wifi mishaps seem to happen at the worst of times. In a number of cases, issues such as these can substantially affect the quality of your guests’ stay — consider that your guests may be reliant on the internet for their daily planning, might have stored all of their groceries to be spoiled in your broken fridge, and so on. Though some emergencies are unavoidable, there are certainly steps you can take as a host to minimise the devastating impact of them.
The Solution
As a host, you must provide your guests with a foolproof way of reaching you in the case of an emergency. Even if it does take some time to resolve the issue, your guests will feel much more comfortable with the knowledge that you are aware of the problem and are actively working to amend it. It is also a fantastic idea to have easy access to important phone numbers for support in case of problems with your electricity, gas and so on — so that you can act as quickly as possible if an issue does arise. If you are busy with other commitments and cannot reasonably respond to guest queries, consider employing the services of an Airbnb property management service such as HomeHost — we respond to guest queries round-the-clock, minimising the stress of an unexpected emergency.
At HomeHost we specialise in Sydney Airbnb property management — We manage your Airbnb so you can manage other things. To learn more about our services, contact the HomeHost team at hello@homehost.com.au or call 1300 17 17 18.
