Airbnb Hosting Checklist

Airbnb (use this link for $40 free credit) has rapidly become the leader in the holiday accommodation field. 

People all over the world are staying in Airbnb listed accommodation and the opportunity to use Airbnb to list your own or spare property is being taken by many. 

This Process Street Airbnb hosting checklist is geared to help guide property owners through all the necessary steps to welcoming clients, hosting them, and checking them out while creating a great experience for the guests. 

Better experiences mean better reviews, and better reviews mean more guests. It’s a simple process. 

Pro Tip: Click the "I want this for my business" button above to use this as an interactive checklist!

Check out this video below for some extra tips and tricks.

Confirm that you’ve accepted the booking for the guest. 

This will kick off the whole process and make sure the guest doesn’t change their mind and find someone else. 

Always try to respond to requests as quickly as possible.

Use the form fields below to record the information of the guest. 

The bed is maybe the most important part of what someone’s paying for. They want to sleep and they want to sleep comfortably. 

Make sure there are clean sheets on the bed and the bedroom looks clean and presentable.

Provide fresh towels in the bathroom for your incoming guests. 

Hand towels and bath towels appropriate to the number of guests.

It sounds like the most obvious thing in the world, but if you forget then your guest is going to leave a scathing review. 

If they arrive late at night or shops aren’t easily accessible then you risk a catastrophe.

Make sure cloths, sponges, sprays and creams are all provided.

If your guests are able to clean for themselves, then you may be left with a lot less cleaning for yourself. 

You aren’t the only person in this transaction who would like to be left a positive review!

You should already have the various things in your kitchen which your guest will need. 

Basics like crockery or cutlery will still be present unless damaged or stolen by previous guests. However, salt, pepper, or oil can run low simply through regular use.  

Use this subchecklist to double check the important items are present.

For some items, you may want to leave spares available to your guests. 

Leave spare bedsheets, towels, light bulbs, and trash can bags. Items like these are ones your guest is unlikely to bring themselves.

Your Airbnb property may be only for guest use, in which case you will probably not keep personal possessions there. 

However, some people will use their Airbnb for personal use as well. If you keep personal belongings at the residence, make sure these items are securely locked away in a safe or a locked room. 

Make sure you have taken all reasonable effort to provide for the safety of any guest who stays in your accommodation.

Use this short subchecklist to confirm you have checked the following items.

To welcome your new arrival you can take a couple of steps. 

• Send the guest a pre-prepared welcome pack in advance
• Leave welcome materials in the accommodation for arrival
• Provide some useful items to help them enjoy their stay.

A typical welcome pack which you can send the guest may contain arrival instructions (where you will meet them, how to contact you), instructions for appliances (washing machine, oven, shower, etc), all relevant passwords (building codes, wifi, television or Netflix access, etc), and house rules. 

What you decide to include in your house rules is up to you, and will vary on the nature of your accommodation. An apartment in a complex may require a curfew for noise, whereas a farmhouse in the country might not have those restrictions. 

You can also leave a number of items for your incoming guests. Use the subchecklist below for some examples.

Use the email widget below to send your welcome pack.

A spare key is a very small investment, but one which can easily avoid catastrophe. 

Leave a spare key with the welcome materials in case they lose the main one.

Welcoming your new guests on arrival is best practice for running your Airbnb. 

This allows you to make sure the arrival works smoothly, helps you control who has access to your accommodation, and puts a friendly face to the experience – helping you pick up better reviews in the process!

Contact your guests when they’re due to check out so that you can talk them through the process. 

You could include where you will meet them, or where they need to deposit their keys. 

Use the email widget below to contact them.

Make sure you retrieve both sets of keys from the guest. 

Either collect these from the guest in person or, if you do not have time, arrange for the guest to leave the keys in a deposit box/put them through the letterbox of the accommodation.

Go through each room and check all items are still working or have not been damaged. 

Use the subchecklist to check a number of key items.

Smaller items may not be damaged but they can be at risk of being stolen. 

It’s unlikely someone is going to steal your sofa without significant prior planning, but people often steal items provided by hotels. 

Use the subchecklist to make sure smaller items haven’t been stolen.

Thank the guest for staying with you. Let them know you will be providing them with a review. 

Request them to leave you a positive review. Prompting people to review you positively can improve your chances of receiving one.

Use the email widget to reach out to them.

Leave an honest review of the guest for future hosts to see. 

Use the form field below to record the review you are going to leave.

It’s important to clean everything once a guest has left. 

If something sticky has been spilt or the bathroom is a mess, you don’t want to leave it a week to fester before dealing with it. 

You also put yourself at risk of attracting insects or vermin if food or bins are left unattended.

You can use our Process Street house cleaning checklist or follow the 7 next tasks to return your accommodation to its pristine condition.

Go through each room and make the place look presentable.

Put chairs back under tables, readjust the cushions, and put appliances back where they should be. 

The longer trash is left out the more likely it will start to smell. 

Even worse, you could find yourself with the bigger problem of insects or vermin. 

Make sure all trash is taken out as soon as possible.

Any materials which have been used should be washed immediately so you don’t forget. 

Cushion covers and other cloth around the house should also be washed on a regular basis. 

If you want a bad review on Airbnb, a surefire way is to provide a dirty bathroom. 

As a lot of bathrooms are white, they show dirt more easily than other areas of the house. 

If your bathroom is dirty, your guests will assume that the rest of the accommodation hasn’t been cleaned adequately either.

It’s a great idea to provide useful food for your guests, but that should be bought fresh!

Don’t leave your guests food from the previous inhabitants. 

Make sure the fridge and freezer are sparkling clean.

All surface tops should be wiped clean with disinfectant.

Your guests will notice and appreciate it!

Run a vacuum over any carpets and mop any tiled floors. 

Use a nice smelling cleaning agent and the whole house will smell fresh.

The first thing any future guests will see is not your accommodation, but the entrance to it. 

If you’re letting an apartment, make sure the hallway is clean and consider leaving a welcome mat. 

If you’re letting a house, check the drive or garden looks presentable.

• http://www.airbnbguide.com/preparing-your-home-for-guests-airbnb-host-checklist/
• https://community.airbnb.com/t5/Hosts/Free-Checklists-for-hosts/td-p/5415
  
• http://theabundanthost.com/the-crucial-things-not-to-forget-when-you-live-in-the-home-you-airbnb/
  
• http://learnairbnb.com/easy-airbnb-cleaning-turnover-properly/
  
• http://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/how-prepare-your-home-airbnb-vrbo-other-short-term-guests.html
  
• https://www.getproperly.com/en
  
• http://www.evelynbadia.com/airbnb-host-checklist/
  
• http://blog.airsorted.uk/2015/05/15/the-airbnb-checklist-what-to-remember/
  
• http://home-for-prague.com/2014/checklist-airbnb-bathroom/
  
• https://hurdlr.com/blog/airbnb/airbnb-tax-deductions#.WEW_UeYrK00

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