Help Set up New Listing

Hi, all:

My sister is close to setting up her listing in New Mexico. Does AirBnb have folks to help with this? I seem to remember that a member here gets paid for this service to new hosts. Does AirBnb pay or does the new Host pay the consulting Host?

Also, any suggestions for finding this Host Consultant and/or a link to the service that might be available would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

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You’ve come to the right place.

Let’s see what @Annet3176 has to say/

I am an airbnb “Ambassador” since 2019 and we are assigned to hosts who are setting up their listings. You can call airbnb and request one, or wait and they might assign one of us. We had to go thru some training and are matched with folks who have similar listing types.

Airbnb pays Ambassadors - the host pays nothing.

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I never knew this. And there was I, prepared to give my neighbour setting up an Airbnb all this unsolicited advice gratis!

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A friend of mine did that with a local woman who had seen my friend’s listings and asked if she’d help her set hers up. She said she would give her a percentage of the first 3 bookings in exchange. The woman put up her listing, my friend saw that she’d had bookings, but she never contacted my friend again nor honored the promise.

That said, there’s nothing wrong with helping someone out for free if you feel like it, but if it’s to help them with a money-making venture, seems like they should be willing to offer something in return, even if it’s just cooking up a bunch of meals you can put in the freezer.

I once had a woman I didn’t know call me out of the blue, saying she wanted to set up an upholstery business (which is my business) in town and wanted to pick my brain as to where to buy materials, as she was new to the area. I was sort of dumbfounded and asked why she thought it was appropriate to ask me that, when it had taken me years to find the best places to buy various fabrics, foam, etc. on my own. She got quite huffy and said she thought I should have a sense of camaraderie with other people in my line of work.

I actually do, and some of them have indeed turned me on to where to buy this or that, but that was only after I had developed a relationship with them, sending work their way when I was too busy to take it on, or because it was car upholstery, or something else which I don’t do. And I freely share my expertise and knowledge with a friend or neighbor who simply wants to try reupholstering their favorite armchair. But it would never occur to me to ask a complete stranger for their trade secrets for free so I could go into competition with them.

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This particular neighbour has Accessible accommodation and 2 very cute pugs as well as Dorper sheep as their’s is a farm on the edge of town. I couldn’t resist. I also think when it comes to Airbnb that “a rising tide lifts all boats” and having options when people search makes a tiny hamlet like ours with only 50 houses seem like a desirable destination. Having said that I have seen 3 other Airbnbs come and go. One had an early review (from a friend I suspect) saying “why would you stay anywhere else in JJ?” Maybe because their’s was a 2 storey house and cost 4 times per night as much as mine so totally different groups staying.

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When it comes to my Airbnb business, I don’t really care or pay attention to the “competition”. There are thousands of listings in my touristy town and most are entire places that sleep anywhere from 4-10. Even the few that are homeshares, like mine, aren’t anything I feel threatened by- I know where most of those places are, and know they aren’t as nice as what I offer, or they are in a noisy part of town or in a not attractive area.

I’m not fully booked by any means, but I get super nice guests who leave 5*, thoughtfully written reviews, so I’m quite content with my little private room listing. All my bookings in Feb. were from guests who were staying elsewhere in town but found it too noisy or too expensive.

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I live in Western Australia and I’ve decorated the white walls of my Airbnb with local art that I own. I’m proud of my town and state and want to promote it this way.I leave books by local authors too and we have quite a few world renown ones. I also hang framed pics of the flora and fauna, as they can be quite unusual in appearance. I am frequently complimented on the decor. I set the place up thinking about what I’ve learned from other Airbnbs - from the terrible ones in particular and think what I would like in a place. There’s also info on eateries, cafes, how to get around and how to get here.
Guests have also given me great tips that I’ve put to use.

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I’m with you in not giving away all the business “secrets” to a new competitor. Our hillside has a WhatsApp chat for the owners (we all rent our homes out” to discuss common issues. But we’re all in business already and the issues are things like quiet hours or garbage collection or water availability- not full details on how to start up and be successful.

Where in New Mexico? Probably not within 200 miles of me but I may as well ask.

The member referenced has indicated that they are no longer going to be participating in the forum. A lot of folks tell me this and then come back but I figure it’s worth mentioning so you don’t think you’re being ghosted or that something terrible has happened to her.

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@rubychix
Suggest to your sister that she join this forum.

One thing that helped my wife and I when we set up our single cabin as first-time STR people, was to have a soft open, while we waited for our county permit application to process and be approved. We invited trusted friends and family to come stay for free in exchange for “notes.” This gave us many things that we incorporated, some that we were considering and decided against. These “pre-flight” tests allowed us to hit the ground running. (Sorry about the mixed metaphor!) All 5 stars from the get-go for 14 months straight so far.

I’ve been thinking of collating all of the guestbook/public/private feedback that we’ve received to underscore the things that people mention most. One of them is that our kitchen is FULLY stocked with all the pots, pans, utensils, etc. We often get the accolade that we’ve “thought of everything!”

We’re also doing it all ourselves and have high standards so we are always assured and confident that our guests will have a 5-star stay. Trusting 3rd parties to do any of the critical work removes the host from the equation and hosting then becomes “gambling” in some ways.

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Smart move!

2020202020

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Also a really good idea for the host to spend the night at their rental. You might realize things that are needed that you didn’t consider.

“Oh, the early morning light shines right on the bed. We’d better put up some black-out curtains or thicker curtains the light doesn’t shine through”.

“Why did I think it was a good idea to put that plant on the nightstand? There’s no room for my book, phone, and glasses.”

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We did that a couple nights too, @muddy!

Based on the many high rated Airbnbs I’ve stayed in that are well illuminated by morning sun and which have no mention of a need for black out curtains, it seems like it’s not that important to many, if not most, guests. I had shutters installed a few years ago and the room is quite dark when they are shut. I haven’t had a single favorable comment about it from 100s of guests since.

It may not be important to the majority of guests, I can only speak for myself, as a not early riser- I hate bedrooms where I get woken up by the sun shining in. And isn’t it pretty common that not one guest comments favorably on something you’ve done to try to make what you think is an improvement, but if you didn’t provide that thing, someone would complain that it was needed? :wink:

I wasn’t really saying that black-out curtains are some necessity, it was just an example of what one might be aware of if they sleep in their own listing that they might never consider if they hadn’t put themselves in the place of a guest staying there.

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