Airbnb Manager: How to Start and Operate Successful Business

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Starting an Airbnb management company is excellent if you want to start a business with great potential, flexible hours, and growing profits.

The main task of such companies is to manage the rental property on behalf of the owners. Their services are most often used by owners of several properties or owners who are not ready to devote their time to business.

Delegating managerial tasks to a team of professionals is often the right decision, as it saves time and ensures the quality of all day-to-day tasks.

And if you show yourself as a highly qualified specialist, you will have a brilliant career in Airbnb management.

Responsibilities of an Airbnb Manager

An Airbnb property manager is a specialist responsible for all the day-to-day tasks of your business. The primary responsibilities of an Airbnb Manager include:

Booking management. It is necessary to confirm applications as soon as possible, update the price list, and follow the booking calendar. Speed matters – the faster you respond to requests, the higher your Airbnb Host ranks.
Communication with users. The manager needs to promptly respond to messages from potential customers, provide them with all the necessary information, note the guests’ special wishes, and leave individual reviews. Read more here.
Airbnb SEO optimization. The ad’s title, text, and description should attract potential customers and make the offer stand out from the competition. Photos must be of high quality and aesthetic and give the client a complete picture of the apartment.
Control over the maintenance of premises and preparation of apartments for the reception of clients. The manager takes care of all organizational issues related to logistics, inviting cleaning specialists, necessary repairs, and maintenance. The specialist carefully checks all the details before the arrival of guests, up to the presence of clean bed linen.
Welcome guests. The first impression of the hotel is created not only by the interior decoration of the premises but also by the first acquaintance with the Owner or his representative (manager). The same applies to the departure of the client. Polite, comfortable communication is one of the essential factors in obtaining positive feedback. Discover more about the best Airbnb key exchange solutions for your business.
Make decisions in force majeure situations. Even if careful preparations have been made for the reception of guests, sometimes something can go wrong. For example, it can be a breakdown of household appliances, an unplanned cancellation of a booking, or other issues that require an urgent solution. The manager must quickly find the optimal solution that will be convenient for the guests.

You can add additional services to the list to stand out from competing companies. And, of course, you should remember that the ideal manager is the one who can surround each guest with care, comfort, and the warmest welcome.

What Skills and Experience Should an Airbnb Manager Have?

So, we found out what responsibilities an Airbnb property management manager performs. What skills are needed to perform these duties at a high level? What experience will help you to become a successful business in this area?

There are no prerequisites, and you don’t need to graduate from Harvard to build a successful Airbnb management business. However, some skills can be helpful.

Experience in sales, in the field of tourism, or other service sectors. And owning real estate for rent. It will help to find an individual approach to guests and be attentive to their needs and wishes. Effective communication skills are essential for managing a short-term rental business and largely determine your success and income.
Time management skills. You and your team will have to solve many tasks, so you must prioritize, organize the workflow, and adequately distribute tasks.
Flexibility. Airbnb managers must constantly adapt to changing circumstances and feel comfortable doing so. Be prepared for your schedule to change several times a day. In addition, it is necessary to find a balance between short-term tasks and long-term business goals.
Experience with management software. Automating Airbnb processes can streamline daily tasks, save time, and improve Host rankings. Therefore, the manager must be able to work with these services.
Fluency in English. You will need to communicate with guests from different countries, including offline. Therefore, knowledge of the language of international communication is a necessity. It is much more convenient than communicating through a translator.

Also, personal experience renting out housing for the manager will be an absolute plus. It gives an understanding of many nuances and skills in building a business strategy. However, this is not a prerequisite.

How to Start an Airbnb Management Business

Building a successful business is a painstaking process that requires planning and attention to detail. Your path to building a management company will include several important steps.

Explore Airbnb business features

To build a profitable Airbnb rental business, you must understand how this platform works and study its requirements, rules, and recommendations.

If you have already worked with Airbnb as a guest or Host, this is a great experience. An inside look at the vacation rental business will help you consider all the necessary details.

Expand your knowledge in every possible way. Attend seminars, explore the Airbnb blog, sign up for online courses, and read expert articles. You will also benefit from the knowledge of marketing and SEO optimization, legal advice, and an understanding of various business models. Knowledge of the necessary information and the ability to analyze it is the basis on which you will build your career

Look for ways to attract customers

So, when you have studied all the necessary information, it’s time to move on to finding clients. You need to find property owners who need services to manage their apartments. There are several ways to do this:

Use helpful contacts. If you’ve been an Airbnb guest or HostHost, you’re probably familiar with other property owners. Offer them your services – they are highly likely to use them.
Make yourself known on the Internet. Create a convenient, user-friendly website listing all the necessary information about your company. The site must be adapted for mobile devices. You should also create an account on social networks and specialized sites.
Place your ads in Google search, display network, and social media. It will help you reach more interested people who may become your customers in the future.

Also, at this stage, it is necessary to study competitors. What services do they offer? What tools are used? What are their distinguishing features? Analyze this information and find a way to make your offer attractive and profitable.

Showcase your abilities

It’s essential to find potential customers and convince them that you and your team are the best they’ve ever seen.

It will be a plus if you have already managed an Airbnb account – you can demonstrate positive feedback from guests and convince the Hosts of your high qualifications.

If you do not have such experience, gain it as quickly as possible: you may have to charge less for your work at first, but if you do an excellent job, your reputation will work for you in the future.

Completed real estate management courses will also help you confirm your skills because, in this case, you can demonstrate your certificates to a potential client.

Create a strong USP

It is necessary to overcome tough competition to succeed in any business field. Therefore, you should analyze the market, structure your list of services, and choose the most priority ones to form a unique selling proposition.

Put your customers’ success first, and you can create a truly brilliant business strategy.

Use automation software

Automation and technology streamline many Airbnb business management tasks, especially if you have to deal with many real estate objects. Airbnb company management software includes many useful features. For example:

Auto Replies. The speed of response to user messages plays a significant role. Automation will reduce the response time to a minimum and eliminate the human factor. You should set up answers to the most frequently asked questions from users. It will save you a lot of time.
Auto Reviews. In Airbnb, feedback from a guest will only be credited to a Host if the HostHost leaves a review in return. Therefore, it is essential to write a review for each guest. Modern software allows you to create automatic reviews that look very much like human-written text.
Auto Tasks. If you work in a large team, the automatic setting of tasks and a reminder of their completion will help establish communication between specialists.

Another helpful automation feature is the ability to set dynamic auto-pricing for each listing. Automatic algorithms analyze the price of competitors and their dynamics on specific dates and form their competitive prices. All about pricing on Airbnb read here.

Learn the intricacies of legislation and expertise

In addition to online management and guest service oversight, the responsibilities of the management agency include resolving legal issues. In many countries, a tax is charged for renting out real estate, so you will need to explain all the nuances associated with this to the client. In many countries, this is a local tax, but in some regions, Hosts are required to calculate VAT to include it in the rental price. You will also need to understand insurance and other aspects of the local legal system and Airbnb’s policies. For example, the AirCover program for hosts is designed to cover possible damage caused by guests. There are also programs designed to protect the property of guests.

Find highly qualified staff and services

Managers will have to communicate not only with clients and property owners. You will also have to interact with the hotel staff and invited experts: repair specialists, cleaning service, logisticians, etc. Hosts don’t have to worry about day-to-day tasks, taxes, and communication with guests – that’s the management company’s job. So if at the start you can offer the services of reliable, highly qualified specialists, this will be a big plus. Create checklists for all daily processes and an algorithm for action in non-standard situations. It will help avoid possible problems and misunderstandings.

And, of course, you need to build a trusting, transparent relationship with the client. He must understand how his business works, participate in development strategy discussions and offer his solutions.

Summary

Starting a property management company is an excellent opportunity to build a successful, fast-growing business. It is not an easy but exciting task that can bring you big profits. The main thing is to carefully approach each stage of the case, build a trusting relationship with the client and flawlessly fulfill your duties. And success will not take long. Good luck!