12 Powerful Airbnb tips for Property Managers [Interview]

This is an exclusive interview with James McClure, Airbnb’s General Manager for Northern Europe. In this article James sheds the light on 12 key Airbnb features that were created for property managers in mind. A giant in the vacation rental industry, Airbnb grew from 10 million guests in 2014 to an incredible 100 million guests in 2016. If that’s not reason enough to advertise your vacation rentals on Airbnb, read on for a further 12 powerful insights James has for you.

1. GETTING PAID IN ADVANCE

We have introduced two new “super strict” cancellation policies that enable Host payment either 30 or 60 days prior to the Guests’ arrival. If you subscribe to either of these policies, the Host fee is 5%+VAT. Should the guest cancel within the 30 or 60 window, the Host receives 50% of the booking value. Visit this link for more information on all our cancellation policies.

2. DEDICATED ACCOUNT MANAGERS

We have dedicated Account Managers who look after our professional Hosts in select Vacation Rental markets across North America, Latin America, Europe and Asia.

3. GETTING GOOD RANKING

We have a system in place to ensure our new Hosts have an equal chance to get seen and booked. Once a Host has been on the platform for a while, it’s up to a number of factors to maintain that high position: excellent reviews, fast response rate and low cancellation rate. Here’s some more information on how our search algorithm works.

4. FREE INSURANCE

We have a Host Guarantee that provides protection for up to $1,000,000 in damages. In addition, there is a $1million Host Protection Insurance policy in place. Hosts may also choose to collect a security deposit as part of their listing fees.

5. KEEPING REVIEWS & SUPERHOST STATUS

For existing Airbnb hosts that want to use Rentals United Channel Manager, we can transfer across all reviews and the Superhost status for those that have it.

6. SENDING PERSONAL INFO IN CHATS

Sharing booking URL’s or taking transactions off-platform violate our terms of service, so URLs are blocked by the Airbnb system. However, once the transaction has been completed the Host & Guest can both share contact details: phone numbers, addresses, instructions PDFs etc. But, in accordance with our trust and safety policies, we do not allow hosts to share personal contact details prior to a booking, and we do not permit photos with watermarks.

7. EXTRA PRICES

Hosts are able to add security deposits and cleaning fees. Any additional fees you wish to collect should be captured as part of the cleaning fee.

5 MORE BONUS FEATURES*

Final Note: Since June 2016 Rentals United is connected to Airbnb via a 2 way connection meaning that your bookings, prices, calendars and property information will be instantly updated on Airbnb, alongside the other 50+ websites you decide to advertise your rentals on. Sign-up for a Rentals United account today.