Real Estate Investor · Summerfield, NC · Member since 2016 · 56 posts · 55 votes
Just a quick question:
Do you recommend a separate AirBnB account for hosting vs. being a guest? We're FINALLY ready to list our STR and I'm trying to figure out if I should list it on my personal account or create a new account attached to our business email. My husband and I will be managing 2 full-time STR. I've been leaning towards a separate account but I wanted to make sure.
Kettle Falls, WA · Member since 2017 · 77 posts · 40 votes
7y
My creation of separate accounts for owner/host was accidental, and I regret it. I've had a number of occasions where it was a real pain to have both accounts. There also seems to be no going back. I called ABB to see if the accounts could be merged or I could delete one. Further complications.
Kettle Falls, WA · Member since 2017 · 77 posts · 40 votes
7y
Mostly related to the app. The app always defaulted to the traveler account. I've gone on ony 2 ABB trips, so the traveler account isn't very useful, and I was not able to transact host business on the app. Airbnb did finally make an adjustment that enables me to use the app for hosting, but I still have both accounts. And I have a third account that I started for a new listing because I discovered that while you are waiting for your new listing to perform, Airbnb is frowning at its performance and threatening your Superhost status. But I made myself co-host for this third account (using my other host profile as the co-host), so I can access all my listings in one place.
Rental Property Investor · Campbell, CA · Member since 2017 · 419 posts · 499 votes
7y
Multiple accounts specifically violates AirBnB terms of service and they have banned accounts for violations. I do not know how strictly enforced it is, but a simple google search of Airbnb multiple accounts will result in 1000s of examples.
Not worth it in my opinion.
Rental Property Investor · Greenville, SC · Member since 2017 · 40 posts · 19 votes
7y
@Andrea Cole, I echo the other sentiments above. My wife and I set up separate accounts for each other, she hosts on hers and I cohost on mine. Mine is useless. We’re moving to using hers only.
We currently have 3, and are looking to add 2 more soon. I would recommend a channel manager (we recently signed up with Lodgify) and if you aren’t cleaning them yourself, check out Properly.
Investor · Jacksonville Beach, FL | NYC | Tamarindo Costa Rica · Member since 2014 · 182 posts · 130 votes
7y
@Andrea Cole I have one account for both host and travel and I think that is best. Another advantage is when you are trying to book a place yourself, it will be pretty clear to another host looking at your profile that you are also a host.
Rental Property Investor · Portland, OR · Member since 2017 · 92 posts · 80 votes
7y
A friend of mine uses separate accounts so that emails related to his rental business go to a business email address instead of being tossed in with all his personal emails; and to have separate phone numbers for business and personal use. I'm not aware of him having any issues with this so far.
Los Angeles, CA · Member since 2016 · 565 posts · 391 votes
7y
Let's talk "profile" and "account". Single profile no issue. Maybe the confusing thing is that there is a different UI both in the app and the desktop, traveler vs. host. The airbnb mobile app gets sometimes confused with the host vs. guest default . Even your inbox is different. So technically it IS a different "account" under the same "profile".
Go under your "profile" and you'll see that you can "switch to traveling" if you are hosting or vice versa "switch to hosting" when you are in the traveler account.
Rental Property Investor · San Francisco, CA · Member since 2016 · 227 posts · 365 votes
7y
@Andrea Cole - I agree with @Michael Greenberg and @Julie McCoy--I have a single account as a Host and Traveler and it works great. When I am inquiring or booking a place on AirBnB, the Host sees that I'm a SuperHost. And when I'm doing pricing and calendar management for my AirBnB listings using a computer or the App, I can easily toggle from Host to Traveler to see the exact pricing/fees that potential Travelers see with any of my listings.
Rental Property Investor · North Fork, NY · Member since 2016 · 1k+ posts · 631 votes
7y
@Andrea Cole One account for both hosting and traveling. You will have a lot more interactions as a host than as a guest and staying within one account will make your life much easier. To your concern about business and personal email accounts, it won't matter at the end of the day as long as you read your emails.
You can set up a free google phone number and use that as a phone number on your account if you wish. I mostly communicate on the app (vs the phone number on my airbnb account, by choice) so using my cell phone number on my account doesn't matter to me.
With more that one property to manage, one account will be easier to manage. And then consider using a channel manager like mentioned above. We just started testing out Airgms and like it for streamlining communication.
Rental Property Investor · Nashua, NH · Member since 2014 · 598 posts · 477 votes
7y
Similar situation to @Andrea Cole and surprised to see the number of number of folks using one account for both hosting and travel. Coming over after many years on the LTR side of the house and one of the greatest lessons over time was ensuring adequate separation of business vs personal communication. Yet here in context of AirBnB that line seems to blurred by design.
While I'm quite familiar with AirBnB's philosophy on the matter, it seems at odds with the reality of how increasingly "corporate-ized" the platform has gotten in the last couple years. Anectdotedly I am seeing many more "LodgingInc" business-esque host names popping in listings versus Mary Jane's STR. Any others seeing this too?
More importantly, for those of you using popular AirBnB tools that leverage your account login, can you clarify if tools are limited/sandboxed to prevent access to the guest side of your account (in the same way as a co-host account)?
Thanks in advance for sharing your experiences. Great question and thread!