Here are 5 secret STR hosting tips that are not often talked about on-line. You can use these hosting tips to immediately improve your Airbnb listing. They are not immediately obvious but they have made a big difference to my STR business.
1. WiFi speed – social proof
In one of your first five photos, include a screenshot of your internet connection speeds. Use Speedtest.net. This shows the upload and download speeds of your network. This is great if you advertise amazing speeds and you want to show proof of this. The most common question in this age of WFH is “What is your internet speed?”. Having a photo in your listing photos will prove this.
2. Drone photo substitutes
Drone photos are expensive – use google maps and pinpoint your property and highlight the most important neighbourhood features. Remember that a guest is not picking your house as the ultimate destination but your area. Your house will allow them to achieve their destination goals in style. So show how your place will meet your guests‘ needs by showing convenience to them. As much as you love your house, that is not the most important booking decision for a guest.
3. Secret hosting tips to self select the right guests
Sick of time wasters and people who are not reading your listing copy? Here is a neat little trick that can help.
I know some hosts who put in a secret keyword in their copy so that when guests make inquiries they use the secret word to prove they have read through the entire copy. This is a self selection tool and really important if you have a listing that is very high end or has some crucial information that guests need to know in order to enjoy their stay and for you to enjoy hosting them. If the guest hasn’t included the secret word, then you can easily know that they haven’t read the listing and encourage them to do so or even just move them on.
4. FAQ in your “Other things to note”
I have used this quite effectively with my own listings. I put in an FAQ that shows my guests that I have anticipated most questions already and have answers for them. I always have a place to send folks when they ask questions that are covered by this. A well informed guest prospect is wonderful as they can see who I am as a host and they can self select as my ideal guest. If they are not responsive to my FAQ then I don’t take this personally. I recognize that I am leaving my calendar open for people who are my ideal guest to book.
If you are looking for an example of the FAQ I use in my listings, I have you covered here.
5. Saved messages
When you have been an Airbnb or an STR host for a while, you recognize the usual flow of bookings and communications. Saving out your standard messaging is really a time saver. Then you can quickly have a full reply to a guest with the tap of one button. It isn’t hard to set up but it is sometimes hard to know what to write. I have solved this issue for you with two options. Firstly, a done-for-you pack a templates covering all areas of the host-guest relationship.
If you want to dig into this a little bit more, then there is also a mini course where you can write a whole series of saved messages for yourself in you own language and your own voice to save for your guests. This is the Communications MiniCourse. It is free to do here.
HOT OFF THE PRESS
Airbnb now are rolling out scheduled messaging. This is a huge time saver. It isn’t hard to set up but some of the terms require a little bit of technical know-how. But I can give you all the background on this and explain the tech for you. Join me for a free webinar on this topic here. You can up your game and add to your hosting tips repertoire.
disclaimer: We may receive a small introduction fee from vendors. This will not affect any prices that you are charged. But I will only recommend vendors that I know and love and ones that I have used for myself as a customer.
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