Good Airbnbs Make Good Neighbours: Top Tips for Smart Hosting
Many online renting platforms like Airbnb are community reviewed sites and because of that, maintaining standards and exceeding them are paramount to success on the site, much the same as on sites like eBay, for example. Your score and reviews are publically available so there’s nowhere to hide! There are a few different things to bear in mind to keep your Airbnb situation ticking over positively and it’s not all that hard, especially with our assistance.
Vet Your Guests Properly.
It does happen from time to time – irresponsible guests enter your property and cause issues for you and your neighbours and for many this is a big worry they hold about short-term rentals. They can cause more issues than they’re worth and in general, it is just quite unpleasant to host guests who don’t respect you or your neighbours. CityHost has an above-standard vetting process and we take full advantage of internal vetting processes. Firstly, we’ll assess their guest reviews properly and see if they’ve completed Airbnb’s verification steps and secondly we can review their government ID and complete other vetting processes that you advise on.
Write and Read Reviews Promptly and Regularly:
Reviews are what makes sites like Airbnb the reliable and friendly platforms that they are. It’s important to engage in this part of the community and guest and host reviews are the best indicators of what kind of experience you’re going to have with your rental. Dealing with reviews is all part of Airbnb’s great platform and we should all make sure we participate!
Rules and Minimum Bookings:
Home rules are a large feature of your listing and they’re agreed upon by guests as soon as they complete a booking – there’s no excuse for people not to read them. Some standard rules apply almost universally – no smoking, no parties and no pets for example, but you’re allowed to add what you want within reason. For example, if you have close neighbours then you may wish to enforce stricter noise rules, or you may only want to permit families to rent your abode. You can provide reminders inside your house, too. Minimum booking periods should also be established in advance.
Deposits, Host Guarantees and Insurance:
Neither guests nor hosts can secure themselves against all probabilities and accidents do happen. Of course, it is highly recommended that you don’t leave any valued item unlocked and avoid leaving anything of sentimental value on display. We can also write security deposits into a listing, though, to better protect us whilst Airbnb’s own host guarantee covers losses up to €800,000. Any claims must be checked and made quickly though if you need to make one and you’ll have only two weeks to put it through with evidence. We assist in all of these processes as well as in setting up higher quality third party insurance if needed.
Maintaining your House and Keeping Emergency Contacts:
Maintenance is vital to keep your property in good order for guests, especially if you’re often away and can’t check it often. If any problems arise then you’ll need to be connected, too. Contractors like plumbers and electricians should be kept on record for fixes. it’s obviously infrequent that you’d experience a serious issue but still, sometimes guests might fiddle with a dodgy radiator and break it, for example, or other temperamental things could go wrong and you may as well be on the ball to protect yourself against losses in these scenarios. We can look after your maintenance for you and will be the first port of call for any mechanical or physical issues experienced in your home.
Talk to Your Neighbours!
You may as well keep your neighbours in the loop with your plans. It’s better for them to know than not, in case of any issues that they either hear or see. Welcome their feedback and respect their opinion as they may need to be called upon in case of an emergency.
