Automation...
Easy to follow guide for automating listing and back-end
Listing Automation
Automating your listing helps to not only increase bookings and revenue but makes managing the listing take a lot less time and effort. Here's some of my best ways that I automate the listing.
Message automation is one low hanging fruit that you can implement today and make a big difference with receiving 5-star reviews.
I always providing booking confirmation, check-in instructions, first night check-in message, check-out instructions, and follow up message thank the guest for choosing your airbnb and asking for feedback. All of these messages are automatically sent to each guest. I have receive handful of reviews stating how great the communication was when it was all automated messages. Check out the exact wording I use in this blog post here (link - 5 Messages All Host Need to Send to Guests).
Having an automatic check-in on your Airbnb listing will help push your listing to more guests. Take this one step further and never have to worry about setting up new codes for each guests. I recently replaced my old Yale lock with a new one, just to have the feature to automatically have the lock code sent to each guests. Airbnb sends the guests their codes in their email and trip details. As the host, you also get notified when the guest arrives. The codes are only active during the guests trip. Even though this only saves me a few minutes, it's one less this to worry about when I guest checks in and makes the check-in process for the guest even smoother. https://www.airbnb.com/connect-your-lock
The Nest thermostat is another great and simple way to automate your listing. My Airbnb is located in Chicago. Prior to having a Nest thermostat the guests could set whatever temperature they wanted. In the colder months, we had a guest set it to 85 degrees for 2 weeks, when it was 10 degrees outside. This turned our typical heating bill of $85 for the month to well over $450. Ever since then we replaced all thermostats with Nest and put a lock. This way guests are only able to set the a/c or heat within a certain temperature range. We can also turn off the hear or a/c when there's no guests in the apartment to help save money.
I have outdoor Ring cameras installed near the front door and in the backyard. This allows me to see when the guests check-in and confirm the number of guests matches with the reservation. Also allows to see if the guests are hosting a party.
Back-End Automation
The back-end automations are focused on making you more money and make it easier to run your Airbnb business. Here are some of the applications I actually use!
Yes, Airbnb already had a dynamic pricing that you can enable on your listing, but I would not recommend it. Airbnb is focused on getting guests booked with Airbnb listings, they are not focused on helping hosts earn the most money as possible. That's where third party software like Beyond Pricing comes in handy. Airbnb would rather a host be 100% occupied to maximize revenue for Airbnb, but as the host, I would rather charge as much money per night as possible, even if that means I am only occupied at 80% per month. This will increase the revenue I earn, while having to deal with less guests.
Whether you know it or now, your Airbnb clean is your business partner. They should not be doing a great job with cleaning/turning over your Airbnb for the new guests, but consulting with you if something was broken by a previous guests or if you need any additional supplies (.i.e., paper towels, toilet paper, etc.). I personally use Turno, since it's a marketplace that specializes in vacation rentals. Turno connects with your Airbnb calendar, so once a guests books a reservation, the cleaner can schedule a cleaning. Once the guest checks out the Turno cleaner will automatically book the cleaning and then send me pictures of before/after and report of any damages and supplies.
