How To Promote Your Airbnb Successfully

There has rarely been a better time to set up as an Airbnb host. The travel market is soaring after the prolonged slump of Covid, and Airbnb hosts are reaping the rewards whether they have a cottage in the UK, a penthouse in the US, or a yurt in Australia. That being said, you can’t take a “build it, and they will come” attitude toward your Airbnb. While the platform itself will do a certain amount of promotion, you can massively boost your Airbnb’s popularity by doing some promotional work yourself. The term “marketing” often sounds very corporate to Airbnb owners. But the truth is that corporate techniques reap corporate-level profits. Some basic business-marketing tools and methods can have a significant impact on the popularity of your Airbnb. With the right promotion, your AirBnB could be a very profitable business. But, to successfully promote your AirBnB, it’s worth learning some business marketing tricks.

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Image sourced from fourweekmba.com

Here are some of the key steps you should take when promoting your Airbnb:

Optimize your listing

There’s more to a great Airbnb listing than nice photos (although those are important too!) Ensuring that your listing gets to the top of Airbnb searches is an art form that the big-time professional Airbnb hosts have perfected.

If this makes smaller hosts feel like they can’t compete, don’t worry. We’ve got some trade secrets to help you get your listing noticed:

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1. Make sure that you fulfill guest criteria: This means having all the relevant information listed, including things like proximity to public transport, proximity to local attractions, number of people the place sleeps, whether or not pets are allowed, etc. There are a lot of list fields available for an Airbnb listing, and it’s tempting not to fill them all out, but Airbnb really prefers it if you have something entered for every single one.
2. Regularly interact with your Airbnb listing: Whether you’re updating your availability or responding to guests, Airbnb values hosts who are on the ball and ready to interact with their guests as fast as possible.
3. Get the price right: A lot of potential guests search Airbnb listings by price. So it’s vital that you get the price perfect for what you’re offering. A little market research can go a long way here. If you’re stuck on pricing, click here for more information on how to price your Airbnb.
4. Take great pictures: Attractive pictures (and plenty of them!) which showcase exactly what your Airbnb offers are ideal. That said, don’t be tempted to go too artsy and obscure the actual space with attractive camera angles, etc. While artistic photos are lovely, potential guests really want to see what they’re getting from your Airbnb. So, nice, clear, attractive images which show the space and amenities are perfect.
5. Pick a great title: Your listing title is the first thing your guests will see, so it has to do a lot of heavy lifting. Come up with a title that tells your guests, in as few words as possible, exactly why they should pick your Airbnb over all the rest. 

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Free to use image sourced from Unsplash

Enhance the guest experience

This may seem obvious, but a great guest experience is crucial to boosting your Airbnb’s popularity and getting more bookings. As such, your guest experience should be considered the greatest promotional tool available to you. The basics of a good Airbnb guest experience are well-known:

• Fast and friendly customer service
• A clean and pleasant place
• A welcoming attitude
• No excessive demands

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But, if you can go above and beyond, your guests are likely to repay you with great reviews. And great reviews will, in turn, encourage Airbnb to push your listing above others. If you’re not sure how to enhance your Airbnb guest experience, here are some ideas:

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• Provide a guide to the local area, including local restaurants, attractions, taxi numbers, and other information your guests may find useful.
• Leave a welcome package for your guests, perhaps including things like snacks or a bottle of wine.
• Hire a cleaning service to make sure it’s spotless for your guests.
• Freshen up your Airbnb with new flowers for each new guest.
• Provide entertainment, perhaps board games, books, or DVDs.
• Provide complimentary amenities, such as skincare products or even bathrobes.

Leverage online channels

Free to use image sourced from Unsplash

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The greatest online channel available to you will be Airbnb’s own site, but other online channels can be a huge help to you too.Many (if not the majority of) people turn to social media first when planning a vacation. So it makes sense to promote your Airbnb on social media. It may be worth looking into content creation techniques, such as the use of keywords, audience targeting, and more. You could also experiment with different post formats, such as:

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• Videos.
• Slideshows.
• Contests.
• Review highlights.

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As with the Airbnb site, it’s important that you keep engaged with your social media pages. Fast, friendly responses to queries and comments will not only give a good impression to potential guests, but it will also encourage the platform algorithms to boost your content. If you’re not sure where to invest your marketing money, or where you could save money to invest in marketing, it might be worth getting some property accounting software or looking into tax deductions you might be eligible for.  This could give you a clearer understanding of the resources available to you, where you can make extra profit, and where you can save. If your property is in the USA, you can find a guide to tax deductions for rental properties here or, if you are in the UK, click here for property accounting software.

Build an effective website

You may feel that your Airbnb listing is enough, but if you want to make your Airbnb your profession, it’s a good idea to build an effective website. This is especially important if you are managing multiple Airbnb properties. With a website, you can showcase your property at its best and in your own unique style. A website helps you to build a brand identity around your Airbnb, to which potential guests can relate and respond. You can also use your website to give extra details that Airbnb has no space for. For example, you could upload your information pack or blog about things to do in your area.   For bookings, you could link from your website to your Airbnb listing, but you could also implement your own booking system, to take bookings independently of Airbnb.  If you do go down the independent booking route, note that you will need to do some extra admin, such as choosing a good payment portal and providing guests with things like invoices.  This isn’t as difficult as it sounds. You can use invoicing software for small business owners to put together and distribute professional-looking, branded invoices very easily. This can be great for Airbnb’s as these softwares aren’t location dependent, so they will convert currencies and send invoices to customers wherever they are, whether you’re based in the UK, USA, or UAE. 

Leverage local networks

Local businesses and people are often asked about good places to stay in the area. By leveraging local networks, you can get your Airbnb to the top of their recommendations list.  This kind of networking could be as simple as posting your Airbnb on the community Facebook page, but you could also go further. Try things like:

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• Offering locals discounts
• Featuring (and tagging) local businesses on your social media channels
• Using local businesses to decorate, furnish, and maybe even cater for your Airbnb
• Guest-blogging on local websites (and inviting prominent locals to guest blog on your website)

Foster referrals and repeat guests

Repeat guests are worth their weight in gold. Not only are they a reliable source of income, but they also give a resounding vote of confidence in your Airbnb. Foster their custom at all costs! Repeat guests are also more likely than one-offs to refer their friends and family to your Airbnb. Whether this is indirectly—by posting lovely photos of their stay on their social media profiles—or by explicitly recommending your Airbnb to them, this kind of word-of-mouth referral is a tried and trusted form of promotion that you should take advantage of whenever possible.

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Free to use image sourced from Unsplash

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Ultimately, good reviews are the lifeblood of any Airbnb. Often, the first thing people will do after finding a potential Airbnb is scroll down to the reviews. The Airbnb algorithm boosts listings with lots of positive reviews, which will help bring in more guests. You can also use review screenshots to promote your Airbnb on social media and your website. So, it’s important to encourage, monitor, and respond to reviews. A responsive host encourages engagement. Further, by responding to reviews, you can showcase the way you interact with your guests (the friendlier, the better!) and the unique qualities that make you a fantastic host.

Successfully promote and fill your airbnb

Airbnb can be a very fulfilling way to make money. You get the satisfaction of providing people with a beautiful vacation in your own unique style. But, like any business, an Airbnb does need promotion. Luckily, this isn’t difficult. With the right tools, know-how, time, engagement, and technology, you can become a super host and have guests flocking to your Airbnb in no time.

With some basic accounting and invoicing know-how and a professional website, you can even branch away from the Airbnb format and set up your own little vacation-property business. The sky’s the limit!

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