16 Airbnb Tips For Surviving Busy Season

Summer is busy season for half of my short term rental portfolio and I’m always looking for Airbnb tips to best overcome the challenges it brings. To sum it up, it all comes down to the systems you have in place. For cleaning, for guest issues, maintenance and back stock.

We always think we will rise to the level of our challenges but most everyone will fall to the level of their systems. The better your systems, the better the outcome for you, your business and your guests.

This post is all about Airbnb tips.

Best Airbnb Tips

1. Optimize your listing for the season

Whether your busy season is Summer or Winter, getting the property ready for all the guests who paid a premium for peak travel time is crucial. For our beach properties, it’s having all the beach gear ready and accessible. All outdoor areas cleaned and fire pits and BBQs ready for long nights.

This includes updating photos so your guests booking for that season are seeing everything they can be doing at the listing for that season. For example, if your listing has a pool that is heavily used during Summer, showcase pictures of the pool and all the fun toys that come with it.

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2. Under promise and over deliver

Little things like when guests ask to check in early or for something small missing that maybe your listing says you do not provide. Use these as opportunities to surprise and delight your guests.

3. Stick to your pricing strategy

Heading into busy season, make sure you have the right pricing strategy to maximize your nightly rate. Take away long term options and discounts of any kind. This is your chance to maximize revenues.

Pricelabs has always been my go-to tool for this and what I would recommend to every host. There are so many different customization tools that allow for the perfect pricing strategy.

4. Advertise on multiple OTAs

Not only do you need to be on Airbnb, but on VRBO and your direct booking site. Ensure your pricing by site makes sense. Direct booking sites are where you want to redirect your guests because you can maximize revenue and guest experience.

Either way, ensure your pricing makes sense for the area, is dynamic and gets you the most per night for your listing.

5. Focus on guest experience

Guest experience is the most important in the Airbnb space. Prior to 2020, you could post any house in any condition and get bookings. Travelers are moving over to hotels because hosts did a bad job and expect a high nightly rate.

Curate a great experience, clean your listing well and stock up on essentials. Make guest comfort your top priority.

6. Build up backstock

Ensure you have extra towels, toilet paper, paper towels and linens. Batteries and coffee are important too! Double up on all the essentials so your cleaning team can do the turnovers fast without sacrificing quality.

7. Automate all guest messages

If you don’t leverage automated guest messaging through the Airbnb platform or your property management software, you’re spending hours of unnecessary work on each listing. I was terrified to start automated guest messaging but I will literally go weeks without having to intentionally talk to a guest because my guest messaging strategy is so dialed in.

8. Update any welcome book materials

Going through and looking at your printed welcome book to ensure all information is still relevant is huge. You don’t want to be recommending an outdated restaurant or one that’s not even there.

Go through your check out instructions and ensure they match what you’re communicating through your property management software.

9. Refresh old linens

Throw out old stained linens or ones that are getting pilly. Same with towels. I have had guests complain about stains and it’s my worst nightmare. Such an easy and cheap fix!

10. Update old decor

Take this time to update any old, outdated decor. Or decor that needs to be replaced.

11. Update any kitchen amenities

Go through the silverware drawer, plates, tupperware and glasses. Fill in the gaps and replace what looks used and old. Plate has a chip? Replace it. Only 5 wine glasses for 6 occupants, buy another one.

12. Take new photos

If you’ve refreshed the unit, schedule and get new photos taken. Airbnb suggests doing this once every 2 years and most listings need it. Your listing decor will evolve and your brand new listing will start to look old.

13. Rehire any subcontractors

If you bring on any extra hands during busy season, make sure they are fully trained. This could be an extra cleaning crew, VA to help with guest messaging or a pool cleaning company.

14. Take guest feedback and act on it

Go through all your old reviews and see what other guests have said. Take the feedback and act on it. There’s a reason why certain items continuously come up and need to be addressed.

15. Have a minimum night stay

Every location has a different minimum but the rule of thumb is 2 night stays. At least have a 2 night minimum. If you have many orphan days, you can always allow exceptions on Pricelabs, but rule of thumb is at least have a 2 night minimum.

16. Set a plan for early check in and late check out

Guests will ask this and it will be more frequently than you expect. Early check in is usually easier to manage than late check out. Have a plan with your cleaning team to understand when they are done and the place is ready for a new guest.

Late check outs are hard to manage and don’t allow for same day turns easily. A lot of hosts these days offer it for an additional fee so if you go down that road, I’d advise you do the paid method.

What other Airbnb tips have been helpful to grow your business? Let me know in the comments below!

This post was all about Airbnb tips.