New to Airbnb Hosting – Seeking Tips from Experienced Short-Term Rental Owners

[Ismael El Hamdouchi]

Hey everyone,

I’m about to launch my very first Airbnb listing and I’d love to hear from those who’ve been in the short-term rental game.

This is a furnished apartment in a well-located area, and I’ve taken care of the basics (cleaning, photos, Wi-Fi, etc.), but I want to go the extra mile to ensure great guest experiences and maximize occupancy.

Here are a few questions I’m hoping to get some insight on:

• What amenities or touches have made the biggest impact on your reviews?
• How do you handle check-ins and check-outs efficiently?
• Any tips on pricing strategies or dynamic pricing tools you’ve found useful?
• What should I do (or avoid) in my first month of hosting?
• How do you manage communication and automate guest messages effectively?
• Any red flags I should watch for with guests?

I’d really appreciate any tips, tools, or systems that made your Airbnb journey smoother — even the ones you wish you knew earlier!

Feel free to comment here or DM me directly — I’d love to connect and learn from experienced hosts!

Thanks in advance 🙏

[Stephanie Wilson]

Hey there!

Ive done short term airbnb rentals for about 5 years now. Heres a couple tips we picked up along that way that are tried and true and help our units stand out

- always communicate with them via airbnb - if anything goes wrong its best to have everything in writing.

- Prepare a welcome binder of everything - emergency contacts, wifi codes, how the TV works, cool places to go nearby, favorite recommended restaurants, establishments, bars, anything they should know about the property - checkout rules, regular rules and consequences (if they smoke what is the penalty? If something is damaged what is the penalty fee - this binder pdf should also be uploaded or verbiage to be uploaded to airbnb.( i put all this together a long time ago lol - cant quite remember where this goes but there is a special place on airbnb to put it)

- each guest receives a bottle of wine and plastic glasses when they arrive ( trader Joes has the cheapest used to be called 2buckchuck) - about $40 for a case of 12) - small thing but its mentioned it almost every review..

- have a robust checkin and checkout plan within airbnb software and within binder

- red flags to keep a look out for - good rule of thumb if the client is asking a lot of questions (especially if the answers are stated in the listing) before they even arrive - they most likely will be a problem tenant, do with that what you will.

- Have an automated welcome message and tell them where to go how to get into your unit and welcome them

-have an automated check out message that goes out the night before they check out about trash and linens and what needs to be done and what happens if they dont get out by the check out time - so all communication has been done on your part.

I guess those are our kinda biggies! There will always be trouble tenants and issues - but it'll be fun and you'll earn money! So good luck!

One more! if you have a cleaning staff - good to pass on the cleaning fee to the tenant via the cleaning fee on airbnb.

oh! and if you don't have an llc - make one and take off everything you did set up that unit up including but not limited to (staff/contractors you pay, all renovations, all linens, all supplies, all gas you used to drive back and fourth, all phone bills for that year, all internet for you and for the tenant, the cable charge) - you will get a nice happy refund at tax season :) Good Luck!