Rental Property Investor · La Quinta, CA · Member since 2018 · 263 posts · 95 votes
Anyone ever been contacted by Airbnb to be part of their Airbnb plus program? Any air bnb plus hosts out there? From what I know, it appears it’s just higher hosting standards in terms of cleanliness, amenities and customer service. Any costs to do it? I got an email from Airbnb PLUS team saying they think my home may be a good fit for the program. I know this is something Airbnb rolled out a few months ago. Just wanted to see if people have gotten more bookings and profits from it. Thanks!
I was invited to join the pilot program in San Francisco about 1 year ago. I went through the entire verification and validation process and in the end opted to not participate despite "qualifying".
Ultimately, I'm happy with my current returns and I'm concerned with the additional expectations of guests searching the "plus" platform.
I'm currently filling the budget traveler niche (both tourists and business travelers) and I do a good job of setting expectations before guests arrive to ensure everyone has a good experience. My concern is that the "plus" signifier will raise expectations beyond what my neighborhood can provide.
I definitely see value in the program helping if you're in an over saturated market, but @Luke Carl is right. It's 5* or nothing for Airbnb and heightened expectations make that a more difficult goal to achieve.
Thanks for the useful info! I have a 3/2 in La Quinta and last year (the first full season) I did around 40k gross. This year is looking a bit better. I would love to have 76k in gross bookings! If you think this program helps to acheive it, then I am all for it. Specifically, did you increase your rates during the season, or did you notice more offseason bookings? My unit was pretty much dead July, August and September. I tried to price it very low during those times as well. Even a handful of bookings during that time would help immensely. Also, did they make you redecorate your unit? They are telling me I need to budget 3k in reno costs after their advisor looks at the property. I am hoping I can take care of some of that stuff myself.
It’s worked out well for me which is why I’m going through the process again with the 2nd house. I use Wheelhouse to price my listings and I would say my prices were pretty competitive and I was averaging $360 ADR but take into account this factors in Coachella music festival, tennis tournament rates where rates are much higher as you already aware. I didn’t have to redesign my first place but I am going through a slight redesign on the 2nd. The good thing is it’s a collaborative process so you can negotiate or cut corners/expenses on the redesign. I’m all in for a little less than 2k, so it’s an investment but cash flow more than covers it! Yes just August and September are the slowest and hottest months so any traffic during that time is good. I saw the drop off on the 2nd house but the 1st place not at all. Hope that helps!
Thanks again for that useful Info. Based upon what you said for the La Quinta Market I will go with the design consultation. You didn't notice any loss in bookings from dropping VRBO/Homeaway? I certainly don't mind spending 2-3k if it means significantly increased bookings.
95% of my bookings come from Airbnb. If you get a majority or significant amount of yours through Homeaway/VRBO, they now require you to exclusively list through them. So make sure you consider that.