While many Airbnb hosts worry about the little details, great communication is the easiest way to ensure your short-term rental guest has a perfect stay.
The Secret to Great Airbnb Hosting: Communication
Airbnb hosts often find themselves fretting about every last detail in order to provide guests with great stays and to receive five star reviews. Hosts will often look for the perfect welcome gift or the best way to fold towels to impress guests, however these details are typically given too much importance. Although most hosts are aware of the basic amenities and services they need to provide for their guests, too often they forget about the most important part of hosting a great stay: communication.
Communicate Early During their Stay
While many hosts will send a welcome message to guests before they check in, it’s vital to continue communicating even during a guest’s stay. Guests will often be shy about messaging hosts during their stay, even if they’ve encountered a problem or are unsure about how to operate your home’s coffee machine. This will result in guests sometimes docking a star from your review due to an issue that you never knew about or even had a chance to resolve. Being proactive with your communication and sending a message to ask how their first night was can make sure you don’t encounter this scenario.
By sending a message to check in with the guest after the first night, guests are more likely to voice any issues they’ve encountered, giving you a chance to resolve their problem. Typically, these problems will be simple things like “Where do you keep the spices?” or “How do we get Netflix on the TV?”, and will just require a quick response back. If it’s a larger issue you need to resolve, by showing your initiative and resolving it right away you’re much more likely to receive a glowing review from your guest who will feel properly pampered. You might not be able to address every concern from your guests but they will be very pleased that at least you communicated and understood their issue.
Always Respond to Guests in a Timely Manner
It’s surprising how often hosts will leave guest messages or calls completely unanswered, as it’s the easiest way to ensure guests leave your listing a poor review. While nobody should expect a lightning-quick response in the middle of the night, as a host you should be responding to any guest messages or calls within an hour at most. If you’re unable to respond promptly, consider enlisting the help of a co-host to give you a hand with this. Even if you’re away from home, Airbnb’s messenger is available through their mobile phone app, letting you easily stay in contact with guests. Alternatively you can use automation software to help make your response quick and easy with services like Guesty or iGMS
Many hosts see guest messages and calls as a burden and will put off responding to them because they often mean the guest has encountered a problem. However, hosts should see it as an opportunity to help their guest out and earn themselves a positive review. Ignoring a guest’s problem and their messages will only ensure that you get a bad review, whereas dealing with it right away shows your commitment to providing a great stay and gives you a chance to show your guests that you care.
Always Maintain Professional Communications
As a host you’ll often encounter all kinds of guests, ranging from quiet and well-mannered to potentially loud and abrasive. No matter the kind of messages or communications you receive, always maintain your professionalism when communicating. Even if guests have damaged your property or are acting maliciously, losing your cool will only result in difficulties down the road if you’re looking to appeal to Airbnb.
You should always communicate through Airbnb’s messaging channels, as the company is only able to check these messages if any disputes or problems arise. Try to always be as courteous and accommodating (within reason) as possible, that way if Airbnb does need to look at your communication history with a guest they’ll see that you remained professional throughout your hosting.
