Putting your spare bedroom on Airbnb has many challenges. However, one of the first challenges you want to tackle is marketing. Marketing your room is extremely important – it’s what attracts visitors and drives sales. To put as just as possible, the more attractive you make the room you’re renting out, the more money you make.
Unfortunately, not everyone has the skills to plan or execute a marketing strategy successfully. That’s okay. There are some resources out there to help you along your way, this guide being one of them. The following are a few tips and tricks to help you successfully market your spare room to guests on Airbnb.
Before You Even Think of Listing on Airbnb
The first thing you need to do is fully understand the rental market before you list your room on Airbnb. While rental arbitrage can be confusing, there is a straightforward principle to it. To make the short-term rental market possible, there is an underlying force that drives the market. This force exists in every market, but not all of them are created equal. Assess what’s driving the market in your area – is it a precise location, event, or are people after certain amenities?
Know Who You’re Competing With
An easy follow up to rental arbitrage is getting to know the competition. It’s a part of the step listed above, but now it’s time to go into more depth.
When coming up with your marketing plan, you should take the time to scope out your competition. You’re not going to be the only rental in town offering up their spare room. Do your research. The better you understand what makes them appealing or unappealing, the better you can adjust your game plan to get the best listing possible.
Position Your Listing for Success
Your listing is your primary means of marketing. You want to have some professional-looking photos of your place and an enticing description. However, it’s much more than having a good picture and description. You want to show potential guests about how you’re unique. Target the audience you wish to, and tell them why they should choose you instead of a competitor.
You Don’t Need The Right Price at The Beginning
The price you set for your place isn’t fixed from the moment you put it in. You will need to keep up with it and update it when need be. If your price is set too high and you don’t notice, then you could have a vacant space for longer than you want. If you place your price too low, you’re missing out on the money you could be earning. It would help if you created a pricing strategy that allows you to adjust and optimize on profit.
If you’re unsure of what pricing would be best for your place, then you can turn to a trusted third party Airbnb management company. These companies work to ensure that your listing is optimized and handle your pricing needs.
Appear Trusting, but Be Cautious
An inherent part of marketing is gaining your customer’s trust. When it comes to hosting for Airbnb management, you want your guests to trust you. However, you do also want to exercise caution. Appearing too believing in your listing can lead to people taking advantage of you in two ways.
The first thing you should always be protective of is your identity. While most of your guests will be fine, there are people out there that will take advantage of you in a second. Don’t put any critical personal information in your listing that could be considered sensitive. Take all steps necessary to ensure your identity doesn’t get stolen while hosting on Airbnb.
Spotting and avoiding potential squatters is the other thing you want to avoid. If your place seems too inviting, some may wish to extend their booking. While allowing extensions may seem like a good marketing strategy, it can lead to people taking advantage of you. Ensure that people can’t book more than a week unless the market around you has longer stays available with the competition. While squatters are very rare, you want to ensure you have all of your assets covered.
Anticipate Your Guests’ Needs
While you want to stay cautious, don’t be too careful that you don’t give potential guests any information. Be ahead of the curve and optimize. Answer questions that guests in your market tend to ask. The main principle of your marketing strategy should be to show that you’re there to meet the guest’s needs.
Wrap Up
Ensuring you have all you need to host a successful Airbnb experience in your spare room can be daunting, but let’s put it in perspective. Average extra room rental on Airbnb can make up to $14,000 a year in gross bookings. If you’re managing just your spare room, then you’ll be able to handle most things on your own. However, if you’re unfamiliar with marketing strategies or the business side of offering short-term rentals, then you might want an extra hand. With the right help and the proper marketing, your spare room can rake in a lot of extra cash.
