Seven Costly Airbnb Mistakes

I interviewed over 200 different hospitality owners from all over the world. And in this video, I'm going to walk you through five things that they wish they had known before getting started in Airbnb. So, on the Boostly podcast, we have a series called behind the Host. And in there we interview hosts about their business, how they get started, the tools that they use. But most importantly, one of the questions that we ask at the end is, what is that one piece of advice that they wish they had known before getting started? And I wanted to take those 200 episodes that we have recorded and compile it all into this short little video and give you the top five tips that they have shared with us and what they wish they had known. So you, who may be at the start of your journey, can take that advice and learn from all of our failures. My name is Mark Simpson and I've been helping hosts all over the world for the last nine years increase their DARA bookings, meaning that they don't have to do this all on the Airbnb land. Now, if you're a host who has got over five properties in your portfolio and you'd be interested in working with Boostly and working with myself, there is a link in the description now where you can book a call with our team to see if you are a good fit. So tip number one, and this is the most common table tip that everybody shares with us, and this is they wish they had treated it like a business from the start. So what do I mean by that? In the world of real estate and in the world of short stay accommodation and hospitality, a lot of people fall into this business. Now, I'm one of the rare breeds that was born into this. So this is just what I know to be true from the day I was born. But for a lot of people, they fall into the world of Airbnb from another industry or another career, whether they're, you know, what not wanting to be in the city as much, or it's like an investment that they start working on, or quite simply, they start managing a property and from there they just keep getting further down the rabbit hole. So, for example, there's one host that we spoke to and their first property was their parents and they were managing it for them. And because they did such a good job, a friend of a friend said, oh, I've also got a property. Can you manage this? And they just kept saying yes. They never at any point thought of it as a business because they were still working their W2 job. They're still 9 to 5 job. This was just something that they were doing passively on the side. But as the business grew, this passive secondary thing that they were doing started to become their main thing. And when they left their W2, when they left the 9 to 5, this was their business. But the way that had been founded, the way that had been evolved, was never built as such. So, for example, every single booking was coming from Airbnb. They didn't have a proper system in place. They didn't even have staff. They had a cleaner, yes. And they had a handyman they could contact, but nothing was documented, nothing was looked after. And because of that, the building of the business that they were putting together was on very rocky foundations. Obviously, over time, they improved their SOPs, they improved their systems. They obviously learned a lot along the way. But the main advice that they were given on the podcast for all these people that we have interviewed, is that they wish they had had a business mindset from the off. So if you're looking to get going, what I recommend that you would do is learn from other people. Maybe there's going to be people in your area who are doing the, doing the work, or maybe it's going to be learning from others, maybe further afield on YouTube, for example, or by going checking out the Boostly podcast. Go and watch those interviews. Go and listen to those interviews behind the host series that we have done to learn from their mistakes. Tip number two, something again that came up quite a lot from the host that we interviewed, is you've got to realize that Airbnb do not care about you. As much as this may hurt you hearing this, Airbnb's priority, number one, is their shareholders, and number two is the guests. Number three, and very far down the list, is you, the host. Now, for a lot of you, you may think that's a bit counterproductive because if it wasn't for you, Airbnb wouldn't have any inventory to sell. Unfortunately, Airbnb know that if you leave the platform, they'll go and find three more other people just like you in the area who want to make money. So when you realize that Airbnb don't care and they were more likely to side with the guests over you, if there is a, like a, a disagreement or a complaint, it can be kind of disheartening to hear that. But for me, I see that as a plus point because the sooner that hosts start to realize this, the sooner that they will start to less rely on one platform for their income and for their Revenue coming in hosts. When they have this realization, just as the guest that we interviewed on the podcast, they then started to go multi platform. So they didn't just put all their eggs in one basket, the Airbnb basket. They, you know, they listed on vrbo, they listed on booking.com on agoda, on Google and other channels that are out there. And as soon as they have that mindset shift, then they also started to put in proper systems into their business as well. So for example, they went and got a property management software tool, they started to look at direct booking websites and more. But that whole realization came when they realized that Airbnb don't care about you. Tip number three is systematize everything. So what do I mean by that? Again, it coincides nicely with tip number one and tip number two is that when you have a business and this isn't just a hobby anymore or a secondary thing that you're doing when you have a business, a business that is built on systems will be one that you could potentially walk away from or even better potential, potentially sell in the future. And the main advice that people gave with this and the main thing that they wish that they had known is that they wish they had gotten a property management software solution sooner. So the way that a lot of people get into the Airbnb world is they will get the property, get some shiny pictures, whack it on Airbnb, and that's it. But if they had paused and had got the PMS before listing on Airbnb, it meant that the foundation of, of their business wouldn't have been built on Airbnb, but it had been built on their pms, their property management software solution. And by having that in place from the start, it means that, that the PMS is your central zone of truth and that is where you log in every day. That is where you're going to check your bookings. And again, by having a proper system in place like a pms, it means you can, you can get listed on vrbo or on booking.com on agoda, on Google, and you can have the other third party solutions that you can bring in. It doesn't mean you have to do it all from day one, but it at least gives you the platform to be able to build that system of your business on there from the start. Number four, and this is one that speaks very true to my heart, is that they all wish that they had got started sooner in direct bookings. Now again, I have been very lucky to appear on hundreds of podcasts, hundreds of real estate, podcasts and people speaking from all over the world with different levels of knowledge when it comes to direct bookings. But one of the things that I always end up talking about, and this is probably why I've been known as the book direct guy, is that they all say to me, mark, you know, I wish that I had got started with direct booking sooner. And for a lot of people, again, they haven't had that mindset shift of Airbnb, don't care. Because again, what I love about Airbnb is that they have got one of the best branding and marketing teams that are out there. They make everybody feel, every host feel that this is the only solution for them when they want to get started in this world of hospitality. And obviously for those of you who are more veterans and been around for a while, you know that's not the case. You know that Airbnb is just a marketing platform, just a lead generation for your business. But their company of Airbnb make it seem like they're the only one. And again, a massive well done to them for doing that. But as soon as hosts become to realize that Airbnb don't truly care about them and they have that mindset shift, then direct bookings just comes into the equation. There are so many benefits to direct bookings you can see, save more money in fees, you get more control over the booking, you get more control over the guests that walk through your door. But in the, in the true scheme of things, in the grand scheme of things, it means that you are building your business on your own terms. And every single host that we interviewed for the behind the Host series, they wish that they had got started with direct bookings sooner. For you who are just getting started, you don't have to make those very costly mistakes. In fact, for just $10 or 10 pounds, you can go onto Amazon right now and get a copy of the book Direct Playbook. It's got every single tip that you need to start building a direct booking business. And if you need any extra help after the book, Direct Playbook, another book in the series is called the Book Direct Blueprint. You can go and grab both of them on Amazon right now. And the final tip, tip number five, and this is the most important, and I have got up on stages all over the world and shared this with everybody that I speak to, is that you've got to remember, at the core of this industry isn't numbers, isn't money, it's the guest hospitality is at the core of this industry. And if you can remember that as you are starting, as you are scaling, as you grow your business, then you will go a lot farther than everybody else. Because unfortunately in this industry, when people come into this, they instantly start to think about how they can automatize this business, how they can make it more passive, how can they not talk to guests? That is how it truly looks. But those business that realize that we are in the industry of making memories, not money, those are the hosts that go further. So, prime example, two types of stays. A guest makes a booking, they instantly get an automated email to thank them from for making the booking. And then the next time there's any communication with the guest is at the point of checking whether give them their automated gate code on how they can get into the property. And then the final bit of communication is on checkout when they say, and please make sure you leave by this time, otherwise you, you will incur a fine. That is one type of booking and that is very common in this industry. The second type of booking is where a guest makes the booking. They instantly get an email thanking them, but they also get a video message from the host personally thanking them for making the reservation. They are looking forward to welcome them into the property and that they will be in contact between now and the stay with tips to do in the area, places that they like to go and eat at and everything else in between. Through the booking to the stay, they get nice little emails and text message reminders on top tips, places to go and everything else in between. On the day of arrival they not only get an email with the code on how to enter the property, they also get an SMS and they get given a digital guidebook which actually shows them how to arrive, how to get in, how to make them warm and comfy as they arrive into the property. Throughout the stay they're getting communication from the host on top tips, places to go and how they can contact them if there are any faults or anything they need to improve with the property. Finally, after checkout they get some lovely emails, text messages thanking them for this day, but also if they ever would like to come back, here's how they can rebook or how they can recommend friends. Now again, both of these have got elements of automation, but both of these give totally different types of stays and they have that little personal touches along the way. And the latter of those, tip number two, you may think that is a lot of extra work, but there are systems and things that you can put into place into your business means that you can put all of that in place without you having to spend every single working minute and hour of your day in your business. But the guests that have the most hospitable stay will be the guests that become your raving fans. And if you would like to know more about how you can create raving fans within your business, then I recommend you go and check out this video next.