Why Is It Taking So Much Time?

Running an Airbnb takes zero time… said no one ever! If you are running an Airbnb and feel like it’s moved into all aspects of your life, trust me I’ve been there. But let me tell you, it doesn’t actually have to be that way.

If your Airbnb is taking up more than 2-5 hours a week, there are ways to improve that. In this blog, we are going to talk about 4 things you can do to speed up your hosting process.

Automation

I am a huge fan of automation, it has changed my hosting process tremendously. If you find yourself writing the same message more than once, this can be automated. It is a no brainer! Being able to have your messages ready to go and automated will buy you back the most time. It’s important to have good communication with guests and send personal notes when needed, but there are a few types of messages that you can streamline for your reservations.

Scheduling

During turnover, which is the time between a guest checking out and checking in, you are responsible for clean up, checking stock and making sure there is no damage. This time period of scheduling is very time consuming, especially when people cancel and rebook multiple times.

Trying to coordinate cleaners and make sure the next visit aligns can become a big game of phone tag. This may cause the cleaning company to become frustrated and not want to help you the next time around. If you are doing this yourself, you don’t want to have to continually move things around and it will become a nightmare if you don’t make use of automation.

There are plenty of apps out there for scheduling purposes, but I personally use Turno. If someone books my Airbnb, it pings my cleaner. If they happen to cancel it removes the appointment from their calendar immediately. I highly recommend making the investment for an app like this, as it will save you time and your sanity.

Supplies

You would be surprised at how quickly you end up going through the basic day to day supplies for guests. You are going to end up going through so much more than your normal day when hosting.

Start purchasing things in relative bulk. Think about how much you are going through and make sure you buy enough for about a month or two at a time. Here are a few other things to think about when stocking up your supplies:

• Get refill bottles for things like shampoo, conditioner and soap as opposed to continually buying these individually
• Super stock up on things like toilet paper – I used a company called “Who Gives A Crap“, they are sustainable and I have it delivered right to my Airbnb
• Cleaning products and laundry detergent are also things you should always buy in bulk – you end up doing laundry and cleaning up almost every single day

Dial It In

What does it mean to dial in your hosting process? You are doing all of the recommended things above, but the hosting process is where you can actually look at your individual listing and how much time it takes to host.

Grab a pen and paper and write it all down – what is the process that you are currently using and ask yourself is there somewhere you can gain efficiency? I’m guessing if you write it down, there will be a bunch of steps in there that can be streamlined. Look at the process from start to finish and see how it’s affecting your schedule and then optimize.

In Conclusion

Running an Airbnb can be a time-consuming endeavor, but it doesn’t have to be. By implementing automation, scheduling, stocking up on supplies, and dialing in, you can streamline your hosting process and free up more of your time. By following these tips, you can spend less time running your Airbnb and more time enjoying the benefits of being a host!