1. Determine Your Guest's Area
Know what areas you want to set aside for your guest, ideally they will have their own room, however this could also be your entire apartment/house depending on how you want to setup your listing.
Having set aside an area you’ll identify if you want to share certain aspects with them, such as your kitchen, living areas and any other areas you may have.
Ultimately it is your space and it is up to you to decide what is your guests areas and what are common areas.
2. Prepare your space by purchasing necessities
At the very least the guest will need a bed, linen, towels & travel toiletries.
Bed: Tuft N Needle queen bed– Super comfortable, (it’s like sleeping in a cloud) but if you don’t like it, the company prefers that you donate the bed instead of giving it back- an idea I thought was really neat. $575.00
Bed Stand: Queen bed stand: $69.00
Sheets: Queen Bed Sheets: $17.00
Duvet/Comforter: Duvet insert: $30.99
Insert: Duvet cover and 2 pillow cases: $24.99
(we got white, just because we think it looks cleaner- that’s just a personal preference though)
Towels: Gray towels/ washcloths: $17.99
(Pro-tip: get 2 sets, it just makes your life easier)
Travel Toiletries: Little hand soaps/ shampoo/ conditioner: $41.89 We got the 50 pack because it was ultimately cheaper (we thought this would be a nice effect)
Snacks: (water bottle, chips, cookies, pop-tarts) about $30 for about a month’s stay
*Side note: don’t buy your favorite snacks. This is to reduce the snack sneaking.
I learned quickly that Pop-Tarts were not a good snack for our guests/ my diet.
Total of all supplies: -$806. 86
3. Create an Airbnb hosting account
This one is easy, sign up with Airbnb.
4. Take AWESOME photos of your space
Photos are crucial to your success as a host. It’s the only impression you get to entice guests to book with you.
Most higher end smartphones these days take great photos, but in the event that you don’t have a camera, you can request a professional photographer yourself.
5. Add photos to your profile
Upload your awesome pictures to your listing on Airbnb and add detailed descriptions. This shouldn’t take very long and you can do it directly on the Airbnb website.
6. Setup prices and dates you are available
Determining prices can be a tough one as you haven’t hosted yet and don’t know the market.
Airbnb will recommend prices based on your location which can be a great indicator, however I recommend searching your area on Airbnb and determine what other places are going for.
Initially I would recommend undercutting the market as you want to try get people to book so you can get reviews and get your Airbnb hosting profile beefed up.
7. Complete any remaining steps and list your profile
Fill in as many fields as possible on the Airbnb listing. The more comprehensive your listing the higher up it will appear in the search results and you’ll find guest easier.
“The early bird catches the worm” – this is as true now as ever, the faster you reply to the guest inquiry the higher the chance that they will book with you.
It adds credibility to your profile and makes you look serious.
8. Host your first guest
Follow the steps above and you’ll be hosting your first guests in no time.
If you’re looking for more step-by-step instructions, I built an awesome course that will teach you everything you need to know about hosting including a ton of videos.
You can learn more about the course here.
If you’ve made it this far, congratulations! Airbnb is a fantastic way to make money passively.