Unlike hotels that offer overnight accommodation, a restaurant, parking lot, laundry and ironing services, a hairdryer, shaving kit, etc., Airbnb is an online marketplace connecting people who rent out apartments that are their own property to those looking for accommodation that’s significantly more affordable than hotels.
This kind of accommodation often includes a living room with a kitchen and dining room, a bathroom, laundry facilities and sometimes, but not always, a place where you can park your car. These accommodations provide owners with a possibility to earn some profit by utilizing their extra space.
What you should know before starting an Airbnb business
Running an Airbnb business is not only listing your property on the website. Instead, you’ll also be in charge of marketing, promoting and managing, as well as customer relations, check-ins and checkouts.
You’ll need to keep your Airbnb property clean, and guarantee guest safety. It is a time and effort-consuming business with lots of startup costs: you have to purchase an apartment, equip it with proper furniture and devices, find a host that will list your rental business and provide you with the tools to make safe payments and communication. You’ll also need to get all the necessary permits and paperwork.
Prepare your rental space
To become a highly-rated owner of an Airbnb, you may need to:
- Invest in high-quality listing photos
- Highlight what is special about your rental, like closeness to town center, having a secure parking place, etc.
- Navigate your guests with enough information on location
- Install keyless locks for easier check-ins
- Potentially separate the kitchen and dining area from the bedrooms
- Sometimes you will rent your space on longer terms and your guests will need a fridge, microwave, tea or coffee station, etc.
- Setup utilities including TV and Wi-Fi
- Provide your guests with clean sheets, towels, toilet paper and other toiletries
- Create house rules and clear check-in and check-out instructions
- Provide proper cleaning services between consumers
If you manage to nail down this part right, your guests will be more than happy to do business with you again, as well as recommend your property to others in search of such services.
Your Airbnb business has to be legal
An Airbnb business is like any other business, so you have to make sure your business is legal. If you want your Airbnb to work legally, you’ll need to obtain legal documents, certifications and insurance. These are not things that you should do on your own, so it is best to hire an LLC (limited liability company) to take care of this part for you, and obtain all the necessary documents to protect your real estate.
They will obtain a business license, insurance, bank account and EIN (employer identification number) for tax purposes, as well as help you manage your expenses. These companies have experts whose job is to take care of all the regulations, and it is the safest way of ensuring your business’s legislation completely. They will also ensure that all the taxes are paid regularly and correctly.
Find a reliable co-host
As an owner of an Airbnb business, you may also need some extra help when it comes to communicating with customers, ensuring that all urgent repairs are done on site with the least deranging of your guests, scheduling when to do some other repairs that are not so urgent, taking care of guests’ wishes and requires, as well as coordinating check-ins and outs. That’s why you should also be on a lookout for a co-host who you can pay a percentage of each reservation. Alternatively, you can also see if the LLC you’ve chosen offers such services.
Be clear about pricing
Your price list has to be clear. There are different occasions during the year, so you can have different prices depending on the occasions. If there are any special events in your area, you can raise your prices slightly during this time. The same goes for the holiday season. Your prices may also vary depending on how long your accommodation will be occupied by the same renters. But no matter what, you need to make sure you’re transparent about how much you charge during which period.
