There are no monthly or annual membership fees to be listed on Airbnb. They only make money when you do! Airbnb takes about 15% from every reservation, but only 3% from you, the host. Here’s an example breakdown:

You price a night at $100

You would earn $97 (3% goes to Airbnb)

Your guest would pay $112 (12% gets added to what they pay)

You can block or open any dates you need to in your calendar by following these step by step instructions. Airbnb has no requirements for how often your calendar should be open, so be sure to block any dates where you may not be able to host someone so that you don’t have to cancel on anyone.

A good cleaning team is one of the single most important things for a successful Airbnb. You’ll want someone who can not only clean, but will let you know when supply inventory is low, can stage the home to match your listing pictures, and can report any theft/damages from guest, and is able to do it within your check out and check in hours. Make sure anyone you interview clearly understands the needs of a short-term rental cleaning!

I recommend joining a Facebook group of local hosts and asking for referrals there. You can also ask around locally. Realtors, contractors, and even grocery store cashiers and restaurant servers can provide referrals. Don’t be shy asking around when you are in town getting your property ready!

This article will walk you through step-by-step instructions for adding a cleaning fee.

To determine the price of your cleaning fee, ask your cleaner what they need to charge for a place of your size. It’s good to get a few quotes, and to look at comparable Airbnb listings near you to make sure you’re in the right range.

I recommend charging a cleaning fee even if you plan on doing the cleaning yourself. Whoever does the cleaning deserves to get paid for it, and guests won’t know the difference of who is actually getting that cleaning done!

Determining your nightly rate is without a doubt one of the most critical parts of running a successful Airbnb. Too high and you won’t get booked, too low and you’re leaving money on the table and attracting worse quality guests.

Unfortunately, there is no one-size-fits-all strategy to pricing, and a lot of it comes with practice and understanding what your property can realistically demand. But here are some pointers to get you started:

• Do not use Airbnb’s built in SmartPricing algorithm. It’s known for under pricing. If you want an automated pricing software, I recommend PriceLabs.

• Use a dynamic pricing strategy. This means charging more on weekends than on weekdays, and even more over holidays, special events, or during peak seasons.

• Check comparable listings to yours and see what they are pricing so you know you’re in the right ballpark.

• For brand new listings, I recommend this pricing tactic – If you get 3 or more bookings in the first 24 hours of publishing, raise your rates. if you don’t get any bookings within the first 72 hours, lower your rates.

• Follow this article for instructions on how to edit your pricing.

Airbnb provides all hosts with complimentary AirCover, which protects hosts up to $1,000,000 in the event your guest causes damages/theft. However, many hosts choose to add additional 3rd party insurance just to be safe.

I personally recommend Steadily Insurance which specializes in insuring short-term rental owners.

Airbnb itself does not require you to have a permit to list your place, but your city or county may. Check your local jurisdiction’s website for information on their STR regulation, and to see if permits or business licenses are required.

Damages occur very rarely on Airbnb, but in the event they do, you are able to charge the guest extra to cover a replacement or the cost of repairs. Simply go through the resolution center and select the reservation you are having an issue with. Start a claim through there, and if the guest does not respond within 72 hours, you can escalate the claim to an Airbnb customer service rep, or use AirCover.

I have hosted over 1,000 reservations and have only filed a claim four times ever, so don’t stress about this too much!

I’m a big fan of Instant Book, and love it for the convenience of letting guests automatically reserve my place without so much back and forth communication. Hosts that use Instant Book also get placed higher in search rankings, so it usually leads to a higher booking rate.

For hosts that really want to ensure a guests is a good fit before hosting them, Request to Book is a better option, and will allow you to personally accept or decline each and every reservation.

Here are instructions for how to set up your booking settings.

It’s really up to you and there are several cancellation policies to choose from. My personal favorite is the “strict” policy, and I find it attracts guests that are much more committed to their vacation and are not simply holding the dates just to cancel them last minute.

You can review and choose a cancellation policy here.

I really believe that nothing beats professional photography on an Airbnb listing. Most interior photographers will charge between $200-800, and it’s a great investment that makes your listing immediately stand out and more likely to get booked.

If professional photos are not in your budget, this video has some great tips for DIY photos.

It is very possible to self-manage your Airbnb from several hours away. The key is to have a reliable cleaner who, in addition to cleaning, can report any damages, check supply inventory, and stage the home so that it matches the listing photos.

You’ll also need a good handyman, and someone local who can be on call to show up if you have problems with your guests.

I recommend installing a SmartLock on your property. Not only will it allow your guests to check themselves in, which is much more convenient for both the guest and the host, but it’s a lot less hassle than dealing with physical keys in a lockbox. With a SmartLock there is no risk of guests losing the key or making copies, and you can change the code for every guest making it much more secure. Cleaners can have their own code, and you’ll be able to view time stamps of when each code was used.

My favorite SmartLock is the Schlage Encode.

If you plan on staying in your own Airbnb on occasion and do need to keep some personal items there, you’ll definitely want to have them locked up. I recommend a storage closet with a lock on it, or if you really have a lot of stuff, maybe consider locking off an entire bedroom in the home.

Airbnb has a way of recognizing hosts that are going above and beyond for their guests, and that’s with the Airbnb Superhost program. Superhosts get a designated badge on their profile showing guests how experienced they are, and receive priority assistance when calling customer service.

Click here to review the Superhost requirements so that you know what standards you need to meet to qualify.

For sure! Airbnb does not require you to be exclusive to them, so you can definitely list your home on VRBO, Expedia, Booking.com, etc. or even accept your own private bookings. Just be sure to use a channel management software that will oversee the multiple calendars so that you avoid double booking for the same dates.

In the spirit of full transparency, I personally have no experience with rental arbitrage, so I’ll refer you to the Airbnb Automated YouTube channel.

Once you’ve acquired your first deal and have a property secured, come back here for help setting it all up!