Adding your home to the AirBnB catalogue is a great way to make an extra income. With a little preparation you can enjoy being a B and B owner without too much upheaval.
Most guests will respect your property, in fact, it’s a very small percentage that don’t (as AirBnB has procedures in place to weed disrespectful guests out) however, accidents do happen and so it makes sense to protect your valuables or items you wouldn’t like broken.
Here are a few other tips on how to prepare your home for AirBnB guests.
Pick a Room for Storage
The most important task you need to do when becoming an AirBnB host is to find somewhere large enough to store your everyday items, food and clothes. Your guests arrive with their own belongings and need your cupboard space and shelves to store the contents of their wardrobe and the food they buy while staying.
The first time you put away all of your personal items it will seem to take a lot of time, however, the more you do this, the easier it will be and you’ll probably find yourself with a very quick routine every time you receive a booking.
If It’s Perishable or Personal Put it Away
It can be difficult knowing what to put in storage. Some owners will leave the books on the shelves, the DVDs in the rack and the ornaments on the mantelpiece, it’s all a matter of personal opinion. That being said, there are some items that are frowned upon if they’re left for guests, even if you think you’re being quite generous. These items include anything perishable, such as food, milk, freezer items. Anything open such as half empty bottles of shampoo. Anything used such as a toothbrush or bar of soap. Anything personal such as your own clothes, glasses, family pictures and anything that needs maintenance, such as a houseplant that requires daily watering.
Leave Clear Instructions
Remember the manual that came with your boiler eight years ago? You may have to drag that out of hiding. User manuals for anything left in the house are important, along with ensuring all your appliances have been PAT tested. It’s best to buy a folder and to place all the manuals inside, this will also make you more organised when you return to reside.
Divulge Your Secrets
There are many small pieces of information you hold that are insignificant to you but can make a huge difference to someone’s holiday in your home. Put your heads together and think of the info you’d like to receive if staying somewhere new.
For example, self catering guests will be thankful for knowing when the bins are collected, they’ll also be grateful for being told when the village shop opens and closes. They should also appreciate some leaflets with the numbers of nearby takeaways (and menus) alongside some detailing local areas of interest.
Other titbits of information that may come in useful include any tips on operating your home, for example, if your back door sticks and you need to pull it up before locking, your guests need to know that.
This is all information you take for granted but what could save a guest a lot of frustration. Don’t underestimate the power of your own knowledge. All of this can be filed away neatly into one simple folder (which is much better than leaving post it notes all over the house) and it can be used repeatedly for every guest.
An hour spent on this will save you from receiving queries in the middle of the night when you’re probably trying to have a break yourself!
If you are an AirBnB owner, please let us know of any tips we may have missed in the comments below.
