Social Title: Your Go-To Guide for Transforming Your Home Into an Airbnb
Social Description: Did you know you can make money from your house and be your own boss? This guide will show you how to transform your house into a highly-rated Airbnb.
With more than 7 million listings, AirBnb’s potential for turning your home into a profitable business is undeniable.
From its humble beginnings as a site for hosts to share their extra rooms with travelers, Airbnb has evolved into a full-scale hospitality company. From couches, houses, ranches, beach huts, and even castles, hundreds of thousands of properties are available and booked every day on this platform.
On average, Airbnb hosts make $924 a month. Considering this, your home can be the first step to becoming your boss. Unfortunately, it can also be the first step to losing money if you don’t do it right. This guide will help you take advantage of the Airbnb market and turn your place into a highly-rated, well-booked, money-making destination.
What to Consider When You Turn Your Home Into An Airbnb
Before you even begin to think of transforming your place into a highly-rated Airbnb, you need to make sure you’re ready for it. Here are the main things you have to prepare for before starting your Airbnb business.
Check out your competition
Just like any other online business you want to start, you need to know your competition first. With Airbnb, it’s no different.
Get a sense of your location’s amenities, the prices of similar Airbnbs in the area, and the general vibe of the place.
While it’s important to keep a close eye on your competition, it’s just as important to make sure you’re not being priced out of the market.
Don’t put yourself in a position where you’re consistently undercutting your competition. It’s better to price yourself a little higher and remain competitive than undercut everyone and constantly be on the lower end of the pricing spectrum.
Make your listing look good online
In the fast-paced digital world we live in, it’s important to make sure your Airbnb listing looks good.
No matter how good your listing looks offline, it’s still the photos and listing information that will be the deciding factor in whether or not a guest decides to book your place.
Airbnb is a heavily visual platform that you’re going to be marketing to many potential guests. As much as you can, hire a professional photographer to take photos of your listing. If this is out of your budget, make sure your photos are taken using a wide-angle lens to make them look bigger. Make sure your photos look warm and inviting. This can be achieved through good lighting and furniture staging.
Aside from the photos, descriptions are also important. Make sure you describe your listing in an enticing way that would get potential guests’ attention. Easily skimmable relevant descriptions such as “a 36-inch TV with Netflix” or “100Mbps Wi-Fi” will do wonders for your rental. Keep in mind that it should also be optimized for search engines.
Ensure a quality customer experience
Good customer experience is important for any company, but Airbnb is a little special because you’ll deal with people from all walks of life coming into your home. As much as possible, take extra steps to make their stay pleasant.
For instance, you must make sure your listing is clean. It’s also important to make sure your bathroom is fully stocked with toiletries, so your guests don’t have to bring their own.
Aside from that, it’s also useful to have a welcome guide prepared so your guest will know how to use the fridge, Wi-Fi, remote, or anything else in the house.
You can also take the extra step to provide a guide for your city so your guests will know where to go and what to do.
Being proactive and going the extra mile to make sure your guests are comfortable and happy is a surefire way to build a loyal customer base for your Airbnb business.
Protect your home
The biggest problem with turning your home into an Airbnb is the lack of insurance. If your insurance doesn’t cover your Airbnb, you are defenseless against loss. You might as well shut your door and window and run the risk of inviting trouble.
This is an important step you must not miss because you might be held liable for any damage to your home. For example, if a guest breaks your lamp, you can be liable for the replacement.
Therefore, you need to get insurance that will cover any potential damages caused by your Airbnb guests. You don’t want to end up like this Airbnb owner whose place was trashed after he rented it out to a seemingly sweet couple who turned out to be 20 spring breakers.
While you can always exercise caution by screening your guests, it’s always good to talk to a reliable insurance provider about adding a layer of protection to your home.
Thankfully, home insurance costs don’t have to be steep. Plans such as Blue Sky Home Insurance cover AirBnbs, among other properties. All you need to do is determine the coverage you need to protect your dwelling and personal property.
Final Thoughts
If you’re serious about turning your home into a profitable Airbnb, you need to treat it like a business. This means doing everything you can to protect it, growing it as big as possible, and maximizing its potential to stand out among millions of listings.
About Blue Sky Insurance Agency
For over 20 years, family owned Blue Sky Insurance Agency has proudly specialized in insurance and tax services for Virginia residents. Our philosophy is simple: “If you can dream it, we can insure it.” We strive to provide value to our clients by establishing and building relationships and focusing on more than just rates. We are dedicated to providing holistic and strategically tailored solutions to protect all of your assets, and to provide peace of mind wherever life takes you. To get in touch with us, fill out a complimentary quote form, or call us at one of our two locations:
North Chesterfield
Phone: (804) 745-4044
PO Box 35674
North Chesterfield, VA, 23235
Hours of Operation: Mon-Sat 9am-6pm
Richmond
Phone: (804) 404-2030
9932 Midlothian Turnpike
Richmond, VA, 23235
Hours of Operation: Mon-Sat 9am-6pm