It’s a brand new year and the perfect time to implement smart strategies to make your Airbnb rent-ready and increase your profitability in 2022. Below are nine ideas to help inspire and guide you to do exactly that.
Keep in mind you should perform any upgrades within a budget that fits your goals. In other words, you don’t have to go all out in revamping a rental like you would your home. But a few changes here and there can make a significant difference and create a desirable property with the potential to produce a solid rental occupancy throughout the year.
How to Make Your Airbnb Rent-Ready
1. Create a catchy themed title for your property.
Make it stand out from the competition as people scroll listings on short-term
rental platforms. How do you do this? Create a theme for your rental that catches the eye and piques a potential renter’s interest. For example, if your property is near the beach, choose a nautical or beach cottage title for the listing such as “Sailor’s Delight” or “Beach Bum’s Paradise.”
Paint the walls and decorate accordingly with nautical blues or bright tropical hues. Pictures of sailboats or colorful beach scenes are appropriate to facilitate these themes. Small details like towel racks and other hooks in the shape of boat anchors are sure to make a sailor or boater smile. A surfboard strategically placed in the corner of a living room or hanging as wall art lends to the stereo-typical beach-bum ambiance.
Other fun themes to consider: “Coffee Bar Casa” to attract coffee aficionados; “Hiker’s Haven” for vacationers in the mountains, “Black Diamond Hideaway” is a good fit for adventurous snow skiers.
2. Curb appeal is a big deal.
Curb appeal doesn’t just apply to sell a home. It makes a dramatic difference when people choose their perfect temporary vacation home, too. Whether quaint and cozy or tropical and splashy, incorporate your theme in your outside décor. Lush and colorful landscaping is eye-catching. Or perhaps a cleaner, well-manicured look is a better fit to your theme. Either way, make sure it is well maintained and presents an upscale look, which speaks to the care you put into your property. It also lends a bit of credence to the type of neighborhood your rental is located.
3. Hire a professional photographer to take pics for your listing.
Once you’ve picked your theme and decorated accordingly, you want pictures of your rental to fully illustrate your property to potential renters. Professional photographers are the best choice for this purpose. They understand how lighting, focus, and camera angles can make your property pop off Airbnb, VRBO, and other rental listing pages.
4. Make sure the price is right.
Pricing is tricky because vacation rentals are a competitive market. Make sure your property is priced with location, accessibility to restaurants, bars, and other attractions in mind. The number of guests your rental accommodates also makes a difference.
You can charge more per night/week/month for a property in a posh, upscale location or in the middle of a popular, downtown area. However, if the location is more off the beaten path, your cost should obviously be lower. You can also adjust your rental charges depending on how high and low vacation seasons in the area flow. Stalk your competition to compare their pricing to determine where your sweet spot should fall.
5. Check to Ensure Appliances and Lights Work and Basic Necessities Are Fully Stocked .
This is critical to make your Airbnb rent-ready, as you can imagine. Nothing garners complaints faster than a hot water heater that doesn’t work. Even something as simple as a burned-out bedroom light bulb can present a huge inconvenience when guests arrive—and negative reviews for your rental.
And, if your kitchen doesn’t contain the proper amount of place settings for the number of guests…well, that’s a challenge, too. The same goes for bath towels, wash cloths, and other essentials such as toilet paper, paper towels, dish and laundry detergent, hand and bath soap.
Include Thoughtful Extras for Your Guests that Encourage Repeat Customers
6. Provide a Guide to Local Attractions
This is incredibly helpful, especially for guests unfamiliar with the area. Include a list of nearby restaurants, bars, and other attractions. Indicate your favorites. You can even add spots that are favored by locals and not the typical “touristy” eateries. If there are attractions within an hour of your property, list them, too! The more people see they have access to when staying in your rental, the more potential you have to keep the property booked on a regular basis.
7. Provide Essentials and Non-Essentials for Comfort and Convenience
Welcome baskets that contain goodies from local businesses, such as donuts or bagels and locally brewed coffee add a nice touch. Also, include take-out or full menus from restaurants and perhaps a map of the town would help when they plan their daily activities.
Extra beach towels, portable chairs, rafts, and sunscreen add a nice touch for beach locations or if your property has a pool. For colder locales, an extra parka or two and plenty of cozy blankets would be appreciated.
8. Create Clear Check-In/Check-Out Guides
This should be located within the Airbnb/rental platform. But make it easy for your guests and message them these guidelines the day before they check in and the day before they check out. This way, they have the info at their fingertips and don’t have to search the app to find your rules.
Reaching out this way also shows you’re an attentive host, helping them fulfill their responsibilities to avoid any potential extra fees (such as being late for check out and/or not stripping beds and placing dirty linens in the laundry room—whatever your requirements are).
9. Message Your Guests to Extend a Warm Welcome and Make Sure All Is Well
This is in addition to sending the check-in/out information. This message should be short and sweet, but it adds a more human touch to rental transactions via apps. Welcome them to your property and tell them you appreciate them choosing yours instead of the other options they may have considered. Ask them if they found the initial needs they expected upon arrival and let them know your available if issues arise so you can address them promptly.
10. Send a Final Message to Thank Them for Choosing Your Property
This is a little extra that reinforces your appreciation and may very well entice them to choose your property when they visit the area in the future. Send this a day or so after they leave, and simply thank them for choosing your property.
Ask them if they feel like the experience they expected in the rental. Find out how you can make your Airbnb more rent-ready in the future. If they have a few complaints or suggestions, thank them for letting you know so that you can coordinate with your property manager to rectify any problem for future guests. Then, you can use this opportunity to ask if they would give you a 5-star rating, based on their overall experience. Hopefully, the above ideas to make your Airbnb rent-ready and the thoughtful extras encourages them to do so.
Final Thoughts on Making Your Airbnb More Profitable in 2022
These ideas above have hopefully given you a head start on your plan to make your Airbnb rent-ready and on the road to more profitability in 2022. Depending on the location and size of your rental property there may be additional things you can do to facilitate your goals.
Remember, if you hold your rental in a self-directed IRA, all income flows directly into your account on a tax-sheltered basis. This is a great way to capitalize on building wealth for retirement. And if your property is a self-directed IRA asset, you are unable to perform any repairs yourself, as the owner of the IRA and must hire third-party for this purpose. All expenses related to the IRA-owned rental property (including supplies) must be paid with IRA funds. And, while you can manage the property yourself, you’re unable to pay yourself for these duties. To avoid any mishaps regarding property management rules for IRAs, it’s best to hire one and pay for their services through your IRA.
Rental property in a self-directed retirement plan is a great way to build retirement funds. If you want to learn more about how that works, contact Advanta IRA today.
Additional reading on rental property:
Rental Property: A Popular Alternative Investment in Self-Directed IRAs
Rehab or Rental Investment Property: Which Is the Right Move for You?
Tips to Create Profitable Work-from-Home Rental Property
