Being launched in 2008, Airbnb is now the most popular vacation rental platform in the world. There are more than five million active listings that cover most cities across the globe. The platform is designed mainly for short-term rent and is a convenient alternative for hotel services. It allows guests to quickly find a comfortable place to stay and the hosts to rent their property effectively.
The platform does not own the listed property and only works as an intermediary between the landlords and the guests. It charges a fee from both parties, offering a range of benefits and features in exchange. Even though the service concept is quite simple, there are lots of details you should know before using it. Today, we will discuss Airbnb from the perspectives of both guests and hosts, highlighting the advantages and potential issues that might occur.
How Does It Work for Hosts?
Out of 150 million users, there are fewer than three million hosts. It logically results in the service becoming guest-oriented. For the guests to have a better experience, the landlords will have to provide complete information about their property, fill their listings with representative pictures, and comply with all the platform’s terms regarding the security of guests. In order to post a listing, the landlord has to pass through five steps:
1. Create and verify an account.
2. Enter all the details about the property.
3. Add photos of the property.
4. Configure the pricing, calendar and guest requirements.
5. Publish the listing.
The registration process is quite intuitive and straightforward. All you need to do is hit the “Sign Up” button on their website and follow the instructions. After the profile is created, it is necessary to enter the location of your property and other details. The guest requirements might include a provision of ID, restrictions based on reviews and other rules. In the calendar, a host can easily select the dates where the booking should be available. As for the pricing, a helpful built-in tool will compare your listing with others in the area and suggest a price depending on local demand.
Once the listing is published, it becomes publicly available, and the guests can book it. When a guest sends a booking request, the host has 24 hours to accept or decline it. For the host not to miss such a request, the platform supports four types of notifications, including emails, push notifications in the mobile app, SMS messages and phone calls. The funds are sent to the host approximately 24 hours after the guest’s arrival, and Airbnb charges the landlord 3% of the total booking cost.
Managing the listings may turn out to be time-consuming, taking into account that the guests may only need to stay for a weekend. Thankfully, there’s a convenient solution for hosts who don’t intend to invest that much time into actively managing their property. Companies like MasterHost take all the host’s responsibilities starting from creating the listings and ending with professional cleaning of the property after the guest’s departure.
How Does It Work for Guests?
From the guest’s perspective, Airbnb is a comfortable and intuitive platform. The assortment of listings is excellent, allowing each guest to find a perfect booking option for themselves. The first thing a guest needs to do to send a booking request is to find a listing. To start searching, you will need to enter the desired location, arrival and departure time as well as specify the number of guests on the main page of Airbnb’s website. Then, you will be able to apply various filters and browse through the map to see the exact locations of listed properties.
Once you have found an interesting listing, you can visit its page. There, you will find all the necessary information such as the host’s description, photographs, amenities, reviews of the place and of the host, and other important details. On the same page, there is the reservation section, which displays the selected dates and the pricing. Clicking on the “Reserve” button results in sending a booking request, which will be reviewed in the following 24 hours. Note that you can also contact the host before sending the request, in case you have any questions regarding the listing.
Risks of Hosting on Airbnb
The possibility of their property being damaged by guests is a major concern for most hosts on any platform. Even though Airbnb cannot eliminate the possibility of accidental damage, the platform offers free insurance for hosts. It covers the liability claims of up to a million dollars for each guest, allowing the landlords to rest easy.
The platform is also rather transparent in terms of accounting for the experience of both parties. From the host’s perspective, you will be able to see the reviews of guests before they check-in. Moreover, it is possible to block users with negative reviews or no reviews from sending you a booking request. As for the guests, they are also able to see the comments of other users regarding both the place and the host. This system does not eliminate all the risks associated with hosting or booking, but it significantly diminishes them.
Should You Try It?
In case you are a guest, Airbnb allows you to easily find a place to stay at. It is the most popular platform for short term vacation rentals, implying there are all sorts of offers for any taste. All the listings are supported with detailed information and photographs as well as with the reviews of other guests. The platform has some disadvantages, but the key features work as needed, and the variety of listings is worth the fees for most users.
From the perspective of a property owner, it is also a decent platform with all the necessary features. Even though you will need to invest some time in properly filling out and managing your listings, it will become a great tool in finding the guests, especially with its insurance for liability claims.
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