Are you thinking of becoming an Airbnb Host? There’s no denying that 2020 was a rough year for the hotel industry. Since travel and holidays were prohibited for much of the year and the majority of people were working from home, there weren’t many reasons for hotels to even stay open.

Because of the lockdown, hotel owners ended up losing a significant amount of money- and as the owner of an Airbnb, 2020 was likely to have been one of your worst years for customers.

Now that the COVID-19 lockdown restrictions are lifting, you’re probably looking for ways to increase your Airbnb occupancy rate as a way to earn back all the money you lost over the past year or so. 

Renting out your apartment or house is an attractive income generator, and it’s something that I am planning to do over the coming years with another property. 

Here are some ways you can attract more customers as soon as it’s safe to do so.

Top Tips for Being an Airbnb Host

Keep Your Listing Up To Date

It might be difficult to remember to update your property’s listing after every small change you make, but it’s always worth doing. If you’re prone to forgetting, then maybe set a time every six months or so when you sit down and read through your listing to make sure that all the information is still correct.

It’s important to not only add in any new features your property now provides, but you should also be checking for any updates on directions or transport changes that you’ll need to change. There’s nothing worse than getting lost on the way to your accommodation!

READ MORE: 21 Unique Airbnb Stays in the UK

Consider Adding Special Perks Or Features

When people are planning for a getaway, they usually have a few things in mind regarding what they’re looking for. Some people will only book accommodation that comes with special perks, like a hot tub, for example.

Hot tubs may be expensive to buy, but if you can offer one to guests, then you can also put up your prices respectively. With your increased prices and higher occupancy rate, it won’t be long until you’ve earned back the cash that you spent on the hot tub.

Other ideas for special features include a washing machine, a little bit of food or alcohol in the fridge, and for a personal touch, a handwritten guide to help guests find their way around the local area.

A new, modern kitchen is a great way to draw in customers. Even if the rest of your house is old, the kitchen can breathe a breath of fresh air into the place. If you really want to push the boat out, then why not consider a luxury kitchen from Kesseler?

With unique designs to suit your home, a kitchen from Kesseler will transform your property- and your beautiful new kitchen will soon see the bookings come flooding in.

Keep An Eye On Competitor’s Rates

It’s great to know your worth, but if your rates are much higher than your competitors and you’re not offering anything more than them, then it might be worth lowering your prices to match theirs. In the hotel industry, prices are constantly being increased and decreased, so you should make a habit of always checking the latest prices.

Since people weren’t able to go out much during the pandemic, it’s likely that they’ll be happy to splash a bit of extra cash as long as your prices aren’t too unreasonable.

Be Pet-Friendly

As we found out recently, not all places are dog-friendly, and now we have Indie we needed to find somewhere that accepted dogs.

Many people choose to have a UK holiday so that they can take their pets with them- so if your property doesn’t allow pets, then you may want to reconsider this. If you’re worried about dog hair on the beds and furniture, then why not leave out a dog bed for those who need it?

You could even add a food and water bowl for an extra special touch. People will love it if you make the same effort with their pets as you do with them.

Encourage Guests To Write A Review

Good reviews can be incredibly persuasive for other holidaymakers- and if you’re confident that people are going to enjoy their stay with you, then why not encourage them to write a review once they’ve finished their stay?

You could even offer an incentive for every review written, such as a 10% discount off their next stay with you. Not only does this encourage someone to write a review, but it also means that they’ll be more likely to stay with you in the future since they will be getting a good deal.

Sort Out Your Marketing Strategy

If you really want to draw in the customers, then simply being on the Airbnb site alone isn’t going to be enough. You should also make sure that you’re marketing your property both online and in person.

If you haven’t got a website, then make it a priority this year to get one built. You can easily hire someone from freelancing sites like Upwork who will happily build your website for a reasonable price.

You should also make use of social media as a way to promote your property. Social media is free to use, so all that’s required is for you to put some time aside every day to make a post.

You can find many different effective social media strategies online that you can do for free- though if you have the budgeting for it, paid ads are an ideal way to target your customers.

If you on a bigger trip exploring more of Europe check out my guides to France, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Italy, Portugal, Spain and United Kingdom.

My Travel Tips and Recommendations

Flights

To book flights, I always use flight search engine Skyscanner, I regularly use the Everywhere tool to find the cheapest places to travel. It’s how I get to travel so much all around the world. I find it the easiest way to compare flight prices across airlines and get the best deals. 

Accommodation

For accommodation, I usually book most of my hotels or hostels through Booking.com. I love using this platform as it provides me with some amazing deals for accommodation all around the world. Or if you prefer, I also recommend using Airbnb. If you haven’t signed up with Airbnb already, you can use this link to get £25 off your first visit!

Travel Insurance

Picking travel insurance that covers you in all eventualities is an essential part of planning a trip for every single person. If you can’t afford travel insurance, you can’t afford to travel. You never know what’s around the corner. 

You can also find me on social media: Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Instagram.

Did you know I also vlog my trips? Make sure you subscribe to my YouTube channel so you get alerted when all my travel videos go live… CHECK THEM OUT HERE

Thank you for reading and as always happy adventuring! If you have any questions about the destination please leave these in the comments below.

If you’ve enjoyed this post, please share it for me with all your friends and family!

Sophie X