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Today, I am here to share some of my best Airbnb tips for guests and great ways to ensure you have the best stay possible! Whether you are a first-time Airbnb guest or a seasoned pro, each stay is a chance to experience somewhere and something profoundly different.

The accommodations and locations that you can now find on Airbnb are impressive! But at its core, Airbnb is about hospitality and connecting travelers with knowledgeable hosts worldwide.

I started writing this blog post a few days ago. Then, a day later, I started reading The Airbnb Story by Leigh Gallagher and found it fascinating.

On some level, I feel connected with the story, partially because I love being a host and because the platform (and owning vacation rentals) has changed my life and the lives of so many others. The beautiful thing is that the opportunity to host on Airbnb is there for everyone because, besides hosting traditional stays, you can host Airbnb Experiences.

Last night, I was looking for Airbnb experiences in Athens for an upcoming trip. I found a lady who hosts cat tours near the Acropolis, where you get to know the local cat colonies by name. It’s incredible what they have accomplished and what lies ahead for the company!

So, not only am I an Airbnb host (see my listings here), but I am also a user of Airbnb. When reading the book, I appreciate the new level of trust that Airbnb, and other sharing-based communities, have created.

When we bought our first condo, hosting our first guests was bittersweet. While I was excited about the booking, I was also sad and apprehensive about sharing my beloved 30A condo with a virtual stranger. Flash forward several years, and here we are with four condos and over 1500 nights hosted, yet I am more excited than ever! I contribute our happiness and success on Airbnb to our amazing guests. We have had some great ones and only a handful of guests I would not welcome back.

When we launched our first Airbnb, I bought two Rosemary Beach coffee mugs for guests. At $15 each, I knew they would walk away, so I bought four more and put them in a closet. Yet, here we are, a few hundred guests later, and the original two mugs are still in there. Now, I can’t say the same about the wine glasses, but things break, and accidents happen, and that’s par for the course!

How To Be A Great Airbnb Guest

Let’s get down to business here and talk about Airbnb guest etiquette! I have been hosting for years and am ready to share some tips for being a great Airbnb guest that I sure bet other Airbnb hosts would agree with. Some of these are common sense, but there may be some you still need to think about. And that’s ok.

If this is your first time being an Airbnb host, putting yourself in a host’s shoes can be challenging. That is why I am excited to share my experiences with you today!

READ: Airbnb or Hotel: Which To Choose

Who Is Your Airbnb Host, and Why Does It Matter?

First, my advice and the Airbnb tips in this blog post are most applicable when staying with an individual host who self-manages their listing. You can quickly tell when you are staying with the actual owner of a property by looking at their name, profile picture, and bio.

For example, you can quickly tell that I am a 40-something mother of two and that these are my properties. I hope you notice how much I love being a host and can infer that I am pretty knowledgeable about the 30A area.

This differs from a larger property management company, which may often use automated messaging and, upon booking, will move communication to its platform or email. These hosts may not always have the best recommendations, and to be honest, some may never have even set foot in the property that you are considering renting.

For this blog post, I assume you are staying at an Airbnb vacation rental owned and managed by someone like me. And having hosted over 500 guests over the past few years, I can share honest insight on what it feels like to be on the other side of the app. For the most part, I have had fantastic guests! They are often friendly and just as excited to be on 30A as I am to host them. They leave me such kind and generous Airbnb reviews that I am beyond grateful for.

At the time I initially wrote this post, we had 342 reviews. As I am updating this post in 2024, we have over 600 reviews and maintain a 5-star rating.

But I have had several guests who leave me feeling crummy. Maybe it’s their short one-word responses (if they even reply to me), or sometimes it’s the non-stop questions I have already answered. The worst is when a concern or dissatisfaction is expressed after a stay when I can no longer help them resolve it. I will share a recent experience here in a minute when I get to that section!

9 Airbnb Tips For Guests

Next, I am going to share 9 tips for Airbnb guests staying with a host like me — a real person!   These are ways to ensure that both you and your host have a wonderful 5-star experience.

#1 Don’t Ghost Your Host  (Respond to Messages)

This is the most baffling thing I have encountered as a host. I have had a handful of guests who didn’t communicate with me once before, during, or after a stay.

I find this very bizarre! After booking, I usually send a welcome message asking if it’s their first trip to an area and if they’d like recommendations, in which case I give them within a day or two. Then I reach out 2-3 days before arrival with check-in information, inserting the house manual into our messages for ease of access, the day of arrival with their code, and then send a short note to check in the next day if I haven’t heard from them yet. Lastly, I re-send the departure checklist the evening before checkout, thanking them for their stay.

There are just a handful of touchpoints, and most guests send me a quick thank you or ask questions along the way that I can answer quickly. So, when I don’t get a response, I panic that they may not be receiving my communications, which limits my ability to provide them with the level of service I am accustomed to.

So, don’t ghost your host! Quick, friendly acknowledgment of receipt goes a long way!

#2 Respect Airbnb Occupancy Limits

In 2024, an Airbnb’s occupancy limits often result from community and/or condominium regulations and local fire safety codes, so guests must respect those limits. It is not unusual for a host to be penalized by their community and neighborhood association for violating occupancy limits. They are also set by the host as house rules simply because that is the number of guests the property can accommodate comfortably.

For example, in our 30A studio with bunks, in our Airbnb listing, we specifically limit our bookings to 2 adults + up to 2 kids, and we do this for several reasons.

First, it takes a lot of work for adults to get up in that top bunk.

Second, it’s normal for a small family to share a bathroom. Third, families often share luggage, and this unit has limited space.

And lastly, there are two of some of the adult items, such as wine glasses. Just yesterday, I requested four women to stay in this condo, probably to save money, and I politely declined that booking. It would be very uncomfortable for four ladies sharing a small bathroom each with their own luggage in this space. It would not be a 5-star experience, and that is what I strive for with every booking.

So, while Airbnb means Airbed (Air mattress) and Breakfast, please ask your host before packing those air mattresses and inviting more guests than your booking was made for. This goes back to the trust issue. Typically, when it’s ok to do this, the host will let you know, and adding a person is no big deal. If it’s not ok, they will say no and explain why. I have had guests tell me they wanted to bring an air mattress into my smallest studio that literally doesn’t have enough floor space for it to lay on!

#3 Use The Airbnb Platform, Unless They Ask You Not To

This tip will be specific to your host, and I am 100% speaking for myself here when I tell you to PLEASE use the Airbnb platform. I don’t particularly appreciate it when guests call or text me on my cell phone because I may miss the notification. I try to keep my personal life (kids’ activities, friends, and family) separate from my business. It helps me create some boundaries and helps me respond quickly.

As a host, I set up my Airbnb account to text and email when a guest messages me. Therefore, I can quickly open my app and respond. I rely heavily on my Apple watch, limiting the notifications to text, calls, and Airbnb, so even if I do not have my phone in hand, I will know the minute a guest messages me.

Further, I never want to miss a message, so I have a particular FOCUS set up on my iPhone for overnights where all notifications are blocked except calls/texts from my immediate family and Airbnb. This helps ensure that I get all the messages from a guest in the case of an emergency but am not kept up all night with group chats pinging my phone. In this instance, if a guest were to call me, I would see it in the morning. I have a blog post sharing my other strategies for Airbnb hosting and maintaining balance.

Again, this is my personal preference. If you book through a property management company, they will likely move all communications to email shortly after booking. So, it’s best to take the host’s lead here. If they start texting you, texting them back is just fine. Otherwise, keep communication on the platform. Another benefit is that there is a record of all communications if an issue arises that requires Airbnb’s intervention.

#4 Ask For Recommendations  (Let Your Host HOST You)

This is one of my favorite Airbnb hacks for guests. So much time is spent planning a trip and scouring the web for the best things to do and places to eat, yet often, guests forget to utilize their best resources. Then Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky hosted the first Airbnb guest (on an air mattress in his apartment). He also took time to walk him around to tour the neighborhood and show him great local restaurants.

The guest-host connection is the heartbeat of Airbnb, and for the most part, hosts are excited to share their local expertise with you! I genuinely enjoy putting together 30A tips and things to do on 30A for my guests that cater to their travel dates, interests, and children’s ages if traveling with a family.

In general, most hosts should know quite a bit about the area they are hosting in, and if you are a host reading this and don’t, then take time to host yourself. Ensure you frequently stay in your own Airbnb and soak in the local community.

So, while Instagram and Yelp are always great places to get ideas for your trip, remember to ask your host for their recommendations! This is the number one area that my guests rave about after staying with me. Feel free to read my Airbnb reviews here!

#5 Read The House Manual

This should be self-explanatory. Please, take a few minutes to read through all materials in your Airbnb booking thoroughly. Seasoned hosts know to include all critical details in their house manuals, and often, guests can answer 95% of their questions simply by reading through everything.

For example, I sometimes get people asking me what to pack when staying at an Airbnb, including questions about hairdryers and garment steamers. Many of those answers can be found in the house manual included with your Airbnb booking.

After checkout, a recent guest complained that my curtains were not thick enough to block out all of the light; however, if she had read the House Manual that I provided, then she would have known that we have a set of travel blackout curtains (one of my ways to make an Airbnb baby-friendly) in the closet available for guests who prefer total darkness.

#6 Treat An Airbnb Like You Own It

So many times, when guests arrive for their stay in an Airbnb, they leave their manners at home. So, let’s include the golden rule here. Treat others how they want to treat you.

Here are a couple of cringy examples I have encountered or witnessed.

In September, our family visited one of our condos for a weekend, and every time I walked past one of my other units, I cried a little. Why? It was almost 100 degrees, and the sliding patio door of our 325 sq ft studio condo was open the ENTIRE weekend.

My first concern was my mini-split air conditioner, which was probably working extra hard and very close to freezing up. At that point, it would require service. Second, I knew ants and critters were going to get in. I didn’t say anything because a message telling them to close it felt like a little big brother to me, but I just kept wondering if they would do that at home or not.

Another story I wanted to share involves an acquaintance of mine on Facebook. They were at the beach for their annual family trip, and she posted several photos of a big, messy picnic spread out over some pretty blankets. When someone asked her where she got those beautiful white and sky blue linens, she replied that they were the bedspreads from the house they were staying at, complete with the dying-laughing emoji.

I couldn’t help but cringe for that host and the cleaners who are going to arrive to grease and pasta stained sandy bedding. Again, I wondered if she would have taken her bedding out of her primary bedroom for this purpose.

Just be nice. Take care of someone’s possessions like they are your own!

#7 Voice Your Concerns During Your Stay

Your Airbnb experience will not be 100% perfect 100% of the time. Nobody and nothing is perfect! The key is giving your host a chance to make things right! This could be as simple as being unable to use the TV or the housekeepers missing something. In one instance, a guest didn’t tell me for 2 days that the internet wasn’t working, but once they did, we learned that their 10-year-old had unplugged the router to charge his Nintendo Switch.

Most fixes are easy, and most hosts would love the opportunity to make things right. Also, it’s their property, so you can be sure they want to know if the air conditioner isn’t correctly cooling or if there are ants in the bathroom.

#8 Report Any Broken Items or Damages

Accidents happen! Let me tell you a secret… I have never charged a guest for something that was broken. In most cases, I have a backup already in the closet or can easily have a replacement delivered from Target within hours.

It does get frustrating when a guest does not tell you about a lost or damaged item. It’s no fun for guests to arrive and see that the Keurig doesn’t work. Because it wasn’t reported, the issue now affects the next guest and requires a crisis-mode response from your host.

Notifying your host about lost or damaged items as soon as possible is a courtesy to the next guest just as much as it is to the host.

#9 Leave a Great Review

In the Airbnb and short-term rental world, if you leave anything less than 5 stars, the host will likely consider it a bad review. It’s different from other reviews, such as Amazon purchases and hotel reviews, where you may think of 3 out of 5 stars as average.

If you had a great experience, leave a great review! Your review should highlight what you loved about your stay, whether it be the local, your friendly host, amenities, or a cozy bed.

The Airbnb review section isn’t the place for a critique. Airbnb provides a private feedback section where you can share additional thoughts with your host that may not serve a purpose in the main review. This could include feedback such as missing items or a note about amenities you would have liked to have yet didn’t have.

I am going to say this louder for everyone in the back. It is incredibly rude to leave negative comments in a public Airbnb review if you did not bring your concerns up to your host during your stay. If you did and they weren’t addressed, by all means, lay it out there, but give your host a chance to address any issues beforehand.

Thanks For Reading My 9 Airbnb Tips for Guests!

And that’s it!  Nine easy ways to be a great Airbnb guest that are both easy to do and will make your own Airbnb experience the best that it can be!  If you are an Airbnb host or interested in learning more about what it’s like to be one, you can check out the Airbnb section of my blog here. 

Or, if you are a traveler, check out my travel section!

PIN my Airbnb Tips for Guests Blog Post for Later!

More About Becoming an Airbnb Superhost

Have you thought about becoming an Airbnb host?  If you are thinking about purchasing a short-term vacation rental property and becoming an Airbnb host, I have a whole section here on my blog full of tips and helpful advice, including the best bedding for Airbnb properties. 

This has become quite a passion of mine, and I am always happy to chat with readers about my experience.  I love to share advice and answer your questions, so you are always welcome to either leave me a comment on this post or shoot me a message on either one of my Instagram accounts linked below!

Thinking about becoming an Airbnb host?  Click here to find out what you can earn!