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Has anyone become a co-host through the Airbnb co-host program? If so, I’m looking for advice on how much to charge. A guy contacted me today who is looking for a co-host. He wants me to:
Message with guests
Respond to guest issues
Update calendar and pricing
Handle reservations
Review guests
Coordinate cleaning and linens
Restock essential supplies
Coordinate maintenance
Based on his pricing, I’m thinking of charging 30% of his bookings (which would come to around $800 a month). It looks like he’s constantly booked, so it would be a lot of work. And it would take time away from running our own Airbnb as well as my other work.
But 30% seems like so much to take away from an owner’s earnings! But I guess if they’re not doing any of the work - it could be a fair price.
As long as you’re not expected to actually DO the cleaning and laundry, just to coordinate it, then I think 30% is a good deal. I personally find those two things the biggest and most time-consuming chores.
I think coordinating cleaning and laundry though could be the most time-consuming aspect. I’d have to go to the place after each cleaning to make sure it was done well. And if not, I’d have to fix whatever the cleaners didn’t do right. So while it wouldn’t take as long as cleaning, it would be some significant time as he has a lot of short stays.
Actually, the more I think about it I don’t know how workable it would be. I’d have to work around all the things already in my own schedule to show up at his place every two or three days to check on things! I don’t even know if I have enough time to do that!
I am dealing with this exact situation myself. I have no real clue, so I’m flying by the seat of my pants. Basically, I said I’d charge 15% for the stuff I can handle in front of my computer screen. Any and all other services (consulting, photos, shopping for coordinated linens/towels, staging, shopping for supplies) I’m charging $35/Hour to be billed outside of Airbnb, since they don’t really have a mechanism to charge for one time type services.
Why don’t you break it down based on how much time in hours you spend on your own ABB and apply that to what you’d spend doing co-host work (factoring in travel time and property type, etc.) and gauge your take based on an hourly rate. That way you have a way to explain your rationale for your asking amount. Don’t sell yourself short
I managed a vacation rental once here, where coordination meant DOING it yourself if you could not find anyone to do it.
Yes, so when the cleaners quit two days before Christmas guess who was cleaning stripes out of toilets and gunk out of ovens? Mopping floors and getting windows sparkly when I should have been listening to Christmas carols and drinking mulled wine???
This sounds more like MANAGEMENT than co-hosting.
Big lot of trouble, I would decline.
Kona, I think you said it all! You’re exactly right! I have a feeling I’ll end up doing all the cleaning - just as their promised housekeeper suddenly can’t make it each time. Thanks for mentioning this! I always remember this little fact of life after it’s too late.
Essentially a co-host is a substitute host who is managing the property as well as the guests’ experience at the property. I know quite a few Airbnb hosts and none of them would ever co-host for the ridiculously low 10-20% rate that Airbnb recommends for co-hosting. As I’m sure everyone’s aware, good reviews are your most important contributor to success on the Airbnb platform. So a co-host is an investment in maintaining good reviews for your property. This is why my co-hosting fee is higher than Airbnb’s recommended percentage. I ask and receive 50%. Half of most hosts’ nightly rate might cover the cost of a cleaning service – but certainly not a manager.
Here’s a warning for co-hosts. There was a post from a co-host on the Airbnb sub-Reddit. The poster was complaining that he/she had gone to all the trouble of communicating with the guest and cleaning the listing. The primary host cancelled at the last minute so the co-host did all that work for free.
I think that what a co-host gets should depend on what support they offer. So a c0ohost that isn’t personally doing check in’s, wouldn’t get as much as someone who is, for example.
You are right that good reviews are a key factor in being successful but certainly not the most important, location, quality of photos, quality of listing etc all contribute.
I’ve just been asked to become a co-host, so new to this! Can I please ask you for a clarification: when you say you charge 50%, does that mean 50% of the entire booking? Or just the first night?
And does that include any cleaning?
Thank you very much.
