VACATION RENTAL HOSTING 101 Tips for Vacation Rental Hosts
Your Vacation Rental hosting experience should be rewarding and enjoyable for you (and your guests).
Let us help you review your vacation rental properties and new listings on VRBO, AIRBNB and help you work towards maximizing your revenue while providing a 5 star guest experience that they will be happy to share, and to come back and enjoy again.
About Me, Vacation Rental Hosting 101
I’m your Airbnb Coach & fellow Host, Alanna.
I currently assist as a co-host of 3 vacation rental properties in Whistler, Canada, 2 in Mexico, and we are working on building our next Airbnb rental cabin.
Through my years in hospitality and high level customer service as an executive assistant, I have spent a lot of time and energy learning how to work with a variety of people to meet their needs and put the customer service focus first.
I have also been assisting as a co-host since 2017 and have learned a lot along the way, especially about people and some of the best things about being a host, as well as some of the quirks to watch out for.
As an Airbnb host, it should be your goal to be a great host and to help make a positive Vacation or Accomodation experience for your customers.
Of course we are all in this to make money, but the success in hospitality comes down to the experience and service that you include for your guests, as well as the comfortable & quality accommodations at any price point.
If you are a new host and are feeling the anxiety of those moments before you finish your rental, get all your permits or insurance as needed and are ready to launch but just need that person to help you re-evaluate before you accept your first booking, I am here to help.
I offer 1:1 listing reviews and coaching to help new hosts with direct feedback on your vacation rental before you go live.
Together we spend an hour walking through your space (virtually by zoom chat), discuss your amenities, potential challenges and feed back to address before you finish your listing and go live.
Read on to my blog posts for insight into my recommendations as a professional Host.
I do not offer legal advice, advice on “workarounds” local vacation rental regulations, or any information regarding arbitrage. The information on my website is based on my experience and opinions only and may not be relevant to all locations.
Receive a free 15 minute consult by emailing me about your listing and we can schedule a full review after that. I do not offer consultations on arbitrage. I am here for hosts who already own a property and are looking for details to get started correctly, and who want to try to avoid common mistakes and issues.
Why do you want to be an Airbnb host?
Hosting is about a lot more than just meeting people.
As a vacation rental host you are:
a property owner or leasee.
a HOTEL operator in micro scale.
in charge of making (or breaking) the guest experience from the minute they inquire about your property and book their stay with you.
The guest experience is HOW YOU MAKE MONEY, from their first impression looking at your listing, right through the booking. The stay and the follow up communication after check out.
Their review helps make your space more appealing to other guests, so each guest review is important, and you need to value their constructive feedback, while also looking at ways to improve your space or the guest experience as you go through each season.
This website is all about helping you understand how to be a better host, how to attract guests and stand out in the crowd of Short-Term Rentals and hotel options in your area.
What makes your Vacation Rental Unique?
How will your space jump out to potential guests to choose you over your competitors?
My posts and guides are here to help you set up your Short Term Rental, and give you ideas to reach the most customers by making your space unique, and offering great value for your guests and to help it stand out.
We want you to think about why travellers are coming to your area, who they are and why they would choose your space.
Are you attracting Business Travellers to your Airbnb for Long Term Stays?
Is your Airbnb Family Friendly?
Do you have a lakefront cabin in a hot summer market?
What will make a guest choose your Airbnb Vacation Rental over all of the other listing options in your area. Your Vacation property needs to stand out as unique, comfortable, clean, stylish, and having value that matches up to the price point.
You also need to consider your guest experience. Reviews are crucial to helping your listing have visibility in the search results.
Airbnb is being quite particular in what listings they feature now in early search results and while price and reviews are a big part of it, there are now other factors too so you need to read the regular airbnb update emails and community posts to see what changes.
There are many factors that you need to consider and that your guests will be rating you on and this is how vacation rental platforms rank your listing so it shows up to future guests who are searching.
Learn the ins and outs about being an attentive host, working with your cleaners for a consistent experience for your guests, and what the right amenities are that guests need.
We are also big on SAFETY, please take a look at some of our safety and maintenance focused information on the blog.
You also need to stay up to date with your local municipal requirements for permits, licencing etc as the rules are changing quickly in many areas and the fines can be extremely large.
Be sure you are looking at a rental that you can operate legally before investing any money into the business if you haven’t already purchased a property.
If you’ve come this far, please check out our blog for more specific posts such as things you must know before using VRBO and how to prepare for your first guests.
If you would like more one on one feedback about your listing, please email me. You will receive a free consult for a few quick tips regarding your vacation rental listing or potential listing.
If you have NO idea how to get started with a vacation rental, we can help you talk through it and get to your first, next steps.
Let’s chat.
the first 15 minute discussion is free. From there we can schedule a detailed review or hands on assistance to launch or update your vacation rental listing, get design and photo tips, or general tips and info.