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Monitoring a local airbnb competition in my area I see that a lot of properties are clearly underperforming. Hosts setup unrealistic prices, properies have low quality photos and descriptiona, and hosts receive 2 to 4 stars from guest reviews, which I believe kill their airbnb business.
And also as host myself I see that I simply can not leave the town for a short vacation, because I have to check-in and to check out my new guests (and we serve breakfast, so we have to literally be on site).
So, I see an opportunity to build a business in my area to provide 2 types of services for different segments:
For landlords and underperforming hosts - full service (kind of property management, version 2.0, when property owner signs a contract with me and I will be in charge of everything (checkins, checkouts, bookings, cleaning and so on).
For good hosts in case of emergency, who urgently needs to leave, so I can come and check in their guests, and may be clean after check out if a host orders this service.
Will appreciate your opinions, from both business and host points of view.
Anton
Well, I am currently on an extended business trip and wish I had another host taking care of my place. As I am away, I cannot host guests. I didn’t want to burden my friends with doing check ins, cleaning, be on standby etc - having another host who would take care of it so I can make money while I am away would have been most welcome!
I find your second option interesting since I don’t need full time management (and there are many companies that do this now). I currently give the cleaner a 10% cut when I’m out of town and give her cell # to guests, in case of emergency.
The only issue that I see with your idea is your lack of familiarity with people’s properties. My cleaner (and former nanny) is really familiar with the unit and knows how to handle any quirky issues. Of the 4 times I’ve left town, the cleaner only had to come once to help a tenant – I count on their not being issues (and so does my cleaner) but the peace of mind is worth it and the cleaner likes the bit of extra money for usually not doing anything.
You could always change the breakfast portion so you would have one less thing to be responsible for… ?
I too worried I’d be chained to my rental and was hesitant to book a trip… but found a trusted person to clean while I am gone. They could actually even do two cleanings as I have an extra set of backup linens. I showed them all the ropes beforehand. I leave extra envelopes for tax and instruct the incoming guest to leave the tax in a safe place away from the rental. If there is an incoming guest, I tell the cleaner to write the new tax amount on the envelope and leave it for the incoming guest.
Then I pay the cleaner the entire cleaning fee which is a lot per hour, considering they did not have to do laundry. Just grateful I found someone who wanted to take the responsibility and then ENJOYED the way my house made money for me while I was not even there!
Worked out great but you need great guests and great cleaners… I lucked out on both.
Anton, I hear you ideas and you’re not the only one who got those ideas and see the opportunity in this industry.
There are a few established companies in the U.S. already and we’re building one here in Vancouver, BC, Canada.
I’ve seen so many hosts who burnt out due to 24/7 work without any weekends and any chance to take a vacation. Yes, it might look quite simple when you run only one property, but when it gets to 5-10 it’s a full time job for you.
This is where business could solve it all by optimizing day-to-day processes and by having proper team to cover all communications, cleanings and other duties of the host.
Here in Vancouver, we’ve already helped a lot of hosts to get their “break” and finally enjoy 2-3 months vacation without looking so hardly earned “superhost” status.
Do you live or have a friend living in Vancouver and running multiple airbnb props? Consider bnb care to get your so desired vacation: https://www.bnbcare.ca/vancouver/
