Airbnb Hosting Tips: 8 Important Truths I Wish I Knew Before Starting My Airbnbs

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Purchasing our four short-term rentals and becoming an Airbnb host is one of the best decisions I have ever made. It has been life-changing for my family and given me a remote, flexible job. But it’s definitely a job. People who call Airbnb hosting “passive income” are likely unsuccessful hosts or not even actual hosts at all! In this Airbnb hosting blog post, I will share 8 important things I wish I knew before starting my Airbnbs. And follow along for more Airbnb hosting tips! 

And, if you are new here, welcome! I’m Sarah. We own four top-rated vacation rentals on 30A. I self-manage them and share my first-hand expertise with you here at Our Little Lifestyle. I consistently earn positive reviews from guests and love sharing Airbnb host tips with you! 

What Is Airbnb Hosting?

First, this post is about Airbnb hosting rather than simply owning a vacation rental. Airbnb hosting is a full-time job with day-to-day responsibilities. Investing in an income-producing property, whether a long-term rental or hiring property managers, can be passive. You can remove yourself from the equation. However, it leaves significant money on the table.  

Self-Managing Your Airbnb

I choose to self-manage our Airbnbs and believe it can earn you almost 50% more than simply hiring someone. However, it’s a job. You must ensure you have the time and availability to self-manage a vacation rental. Self-managing allows you more control over your dynamic pricing, which is vital for a rental business.

Read: Should You Self-Manage Your Airbnb Or Hire A Property Manager?

After reading my insight on what it’s like to be a full-time Airbnb host, you should have a better idea of whether or not you are up for the challenge. And I think you are! 

Airbnb Hosting Tips

For a variety of reasons, I exclusively host on Airbnb. But these truths apply to vacation rentals of all kinds, including VRBO hosts.

Furthermore, if you make all your bookings directly (not using a platform), you should expect to do everything below, plus manage contracts, collect payments, and communicate via email and phone. I am not interested in any of those, so I use only one platform. If you aren’t familiar with the 80/20 Principle, give it a read! 

8 Truths About Being An Airbnb Host

So, let’s jump in.

Here are 8 things that everyone should know before deciding to become an Airbnb host. Some I had a feeling about before starting my journey, but others I have learned the hard way over the past four years. These translate to some of my best lessons learned and Airbnb hosting tips!

#1 You Are Now On Call 24/7

This is the most crucial sentence in this blog post.  When you are an Airbnb host, you need to be accessible at all times. This means taking a digital detox or turning off your phone for a day to unplug is no longer an option.  

Furthermore, you need to make sure you are receiving notifications. I have a system in place to ensure my Airbnb notifications always reach my Apple Watch. And yet another process to ensure I hear Airbnb messages overnight while silencing group texts, and my “How To Become An Airbnb Superhost” blog post explains exactly how I do this.  

Being on call 24/7 is easier when you have just one property, but it becomes more challenging as you scale up. Check-ins are almost daily when you have 4+ rental properties. Remember, you are managing your recent, current, and upcoming guests and fielding questions and inquiries from future guests.  

How Can You Manage This?

I ask my guests to contact me through the Airbnb app. This centralizes all communication and prevents calls and texts from coming into my personal cell phone. As an Airbnb host, I have to answer every phone call, even if it’s likely spam, because it could be a guest! Read my post about Protecting Your 3 Ps: Peace, Property, and Profits for my perspective on this!

As you know, my family travels often. Traveling to Europe literally means staying up until 11 pm each night to verify units are ready and send door codes. I always need to double-check that the plane has Wi-Fi on long-haul flights and hope it’s working. But this job is flexible, allowing me to work from all over the world.  

So, the takeaway is that you need to be accessible 24/7, but can work from anywhere! That makes it worth it for me. Also, I profit quite a bit from our Airbnbs, so I am getting paid. If you are underpriced, in a bad market, or simply not maximizing revenue, you must ask yourself if a full-time job is worth it just to break even. 

#2 Your Cleaning Team Is Key

Listen up, because finding a cleaning company is generally the first thing on your to-do list after purchasing a vacation rental. In fact, you should have them lined up before you start buying linens and towels for rental properties. They often have input on what works best and fits their processes. 

My cleaners are great; honestly, they spend more time in my rentals than I do. A reliable, hard-working team of cleaners who understand your expectations is essential. When guests pay a cleaning fee, they expect a clean place to stay upon check-in. But for a host, the cleaners are also responsible for serving as your eyes and ears on the ground, managing inventory, and more. 

One of my best pieces of advice, especially if you are in a condominium, is to join the owner’s group and ask for recommendations. My cleaners clean numerous rentals at our condo complex on 30A. This means they almost always have someone on-site and can address one-off requests more quickly. 

In addition, I prefer a small business with multiple employees to a single cleaner. This ensures backups are in place if someone calls out sick or it’s just a busy day. 

Walk your property with your cleaners. Print your listing photos, punch a hole in the corner, and attach them to a key ring. Leave this in the cleaning closet for them to reference. That shows them exactly how the guest expects your vacation rental to look upon arrival.

Read What To Do Before Launching Your Airbnb for more tips!

#3 Visits Are No Longer A Vacation 

Read that twice because this has been the biggest downer for me. I want to make two different points here.  

First, when you visit your Airbnbs, time will be spent rearranging things (back to where they belong), scrubbing walls with a Magic Eraser, running to Target to replace items, and scanning every square inch of your rental. And, if you aren’t doing this, you’re likely not as successful of a host as you could be.  

The reality is that your vacation home is also your work site. I used to try to lay eyes on mine once every 4-6 weeks. But, lately, it has become every 8-10 weeks. I want to be honest here. What once was a feeling of excitement heading to 30A Florida is now a feeling of dread and anxiety. Dare I say that being an Airbnb host means losing your happy place?

Second, to maximize profits, you must rent your property during peak periods. For us, this means not coming during the summer or on school holidays unless we have a last-minute cancellation. Others may feel differently, but for me, profit is my priority. For that reason, I can’t pass up top nightly rates.  

But the good news is that we have been traveling far and wide instead! We often visit other countries, such as Paris, France, or Rome, Italy, and the rental income we earn covers our accommodations in new destinations! 

#4 Becoming A Superhost Is Actually Easy

I earned Airbnb super host status at the first opportunity. It was 3 months into my Airbnb hosting journey, and I have maintained it 24x in a row! 

Remembering that day in 2020 is funny now. I was waiting and waiting for the quarterly superhost awards to come through. When it came through, my family was camping at White Oak Campground on Lake Eufaula. I remember it so clearly. I was so proud!  

But, in all honestly, it’s pretty easy to earn. Reply to all messages quickly, don’t cancel on guests, open up your calendar to get more bookings, and deliver a top-notch guest experience. The benefits are minimal, but I appreciate the dedicated Superhost support line, the designation on my listings, and the $100 credit each year. I recently used mine to book an Airbnb in Rio de Janeiro for our trip to Brazil! 

Read: How To Become An Airbnb Superhost

The above post shares the Airbnb host requirements for becoming a superhost and some of my best Airbnb hosting tips! 

#5 You Are Going To Replace Linens A Lot

And, if you aren’t, they are probably stained and making your guests cringe. My detailed Guide To Airbnb Bedding post offers valuable insights on choosing bedding and sheets for your Airbnb. So, give that a read for some great Airbnb hosting tips for beginners. Essentially, you want to buy cozy yet inexpensive linens for your rental because you will need to replace them often.

We start all our rentals with 4 complete sets of linens (towels, sheets, duvet covers, etc). I replace them throughout the year. The biggest culprit is fake tanning spray. My cleaners do their best to remove stains, but know that if they can’t, I want them replaced. Even though the linens are clean, stains make your place seem uncared for. And on the Airbnb host dos and don’ts list, dirty linens are a big no! 

Sitting here in my office, I have four boxes next to me for end-of-the-season refreshes. This includes everything from dish towels to pillow covers and everything in between. Yesterday, my cleaners told me two of my nice gel pillows that I have on every bed were missing from one of my one-bedroom 30A condos. I had extras in their cleaning closet, but I just had to order two more backups. 

Just factor this into your budget, and please don’t buy overpriced linens simply because of the name.  This is one of my top Airbnb hosting tips! And, plan in advance with these 16 Airbnb basics that I buy backups of!

#6 Don’t Take Things Personal

My husband says this to me all of the time! Because Airbnb guests can be strange. Most of my guests are simply wonderful. Because of my top ratings, curated 30A reccomendations, and attention to detail, I have attracted respectful, friendly guests. For the most part, that is! 

However, I have had some doozies. The outlier “bad guests” are generally hard to please people. But the weirdest experiences for me are the awkward guests in the middle. I have had guests stay with me and never once replied to my messages before, during, or after their stay. 

Read: Don’t Ghost Your Host: How To Be A Great Airbnb Guest

I wish all my guests could read my Airbnb tips in the post above. It would be better for my ego. But today’s world is often self-centered. Many Airbnb guests don’t see the person on the other end of the message as a real person. 

I also spent 15 minutes writing detailed recommendations, only to receive a thumbs-up emoji. As someone who enjoys using punctuation to convey a positive attitude, I find it hard to discern tone in messages. If an Airbnb guest raises a concern, address it. But don’t take an indifferent or off-putting tone personally. They may be voice-texting or maybe they are simply rude. 

Either way, it’s usually not personal! 

#7 Nobody Will Take Care Of Your Place Like You Do

Specifically, no one will take care of your moldings and walls as you do. People can often be careless on vacation and might not take great care of your place. That is simply the cost of doing business. One of the essential tips on Airbnb hosting is to plan for routine maintenance. 

Plan to touch up paint as needed. We repaint our 30A condos entirely every 1-2 years. Avoid having sentimental items in your vacation rental. You have to detach a little here. This is one of the most important Airbnb hosting tips. If you are a territorial person, this might be hard. But keep telling yourself that this is a business. 

#8 You Can’t Please 100% Of The People 100% Of The Time

This has become my Airbnb hosting mantra! So, I wanted to leave you with this. It’s one of the most important truths for any Airbnb host.  

I have to tell myself repeatedly that you can’t please 100% of the people 100% of the time. And as long as you did your best, someone’s sub-par review does not necessarily reflect your efforts. Keep your head up!

And share my How To Be A Great Airbnb Guest post anywhere you can. Let’s raise awareness of Airbnb guest expectations, and everybody can win!  I think Airbnb guest tips are just as important as Airbnb hosting tips.

Airbnb Hosting Tips: Truths About Being An Airbnb Host

So, there you have it! The 8 truths about Airbnb hosting are exactly what I tell my friends and family when they ask me if they should become Airbnb hosts.  

I love hosting on Airbnb! The income I have earned has been life-changing, and I genuinely enjoy hosting guests. My heart lies in the hospitality industry and travel niche. It’s been the perfect use of my passions and skills. Most people can become successful Airbnb hosts. Follow my Airbnb host tips for beginners, and get started hosting with Airbnb!   

I want to end this post with the same sentence I started with. Airbnb hosting is NOT passive income. It’s a job. But it’s both flexible and lucrative if you do it right!

More Airbnb Hosting Tips & STR Resources 

Inspired to be the best Airbnb host you can be? You have landed in the right place! My FREE Airbnb hosting resources are overflowing with real-life advice and Airbnb hosting tips for success.  

Start by visiting my 5-Star Airbnb Hosting Guide. From there, you can access all of my Airbnb content and find exactly what you are looking for! 

Join My Airbnb Hosting Group

Additionally, I recently started the 5-Star Airbnb Hosting group on Facebook. It’s already become a great place to ask for feedback, share in short-term rental excitement, and commiserate with other Airbnb hosts. It’s a great place to learn how to be a great Airbnb host and to get additional tips for Airbnb hosting. 

Pin This Airbnb Hosting Tips Blog Post

This post is something you will want to revisit regularly. It’s important to know that you are not alone and that other Airbnb hosts experience the same challenges. Take a minute to PIN this blog post so that you can read my best Airbnb hosting tips down the road!