Airbnb host how much

Here’s How Much the Average Airbnb Host Earns in a Month

And how you can max out your home’s earning potential.

Stacey Leasca is an award-winning journalist. Her photos, videos, and words have appeared in print or online for Travel + Leisure, Time, Los Angeles Times, Glamour, and many more. You’ll usually find her in an airport. If you do see her there, please say hello.

Airbnb has changed the way the world travels since its launch in 2008. The company, which is now valued well into the billions, has helped homeowners across the globe become mini-hoteliers, allowing guests to stay overnight in an extra room, or take over their entire home for a set period of time.

To date, the company has helped book more than 160 million guests for its more than three million listings in 190 countries, according to Airbnb’s own statistics.

Take beautiful photos to showcase your home

In the photos, highlight anything unique about the home, all the amenities you offer, and perhaps a few local attractions people can get to from your listing.

Keep your prices realistic

You’re not a traditional hotel, Fast Company notes, so don’t try to price yourself like one.

«Is it better to rent your place a third of the time at three times the price, or is it better to rent it all the time at one third of the price? The answer is the latter, because people like to save money,» Airbnb Superhost Gary Bearchell told Fast Company. «So they stay at your reasonably priced cabin. And then they leave you a nice review. And then you have a whole bunch of nice reviews. And the reviews are the only thing that takes away the risk of staying at a stranger’s house.»

Don’t forget the little things

Ensure a great guest experience by providing your customers with everything they will need during their stay, including mini toiletries, towels, entertainment, and maybe even a bottle of wine local to your area or a sweet treat from your neighborhood bakery.

Check out more tips on making the most of your listing here.

Airbnb Host Fees: How Much Is Airbnb Charging You? An Up-To-Date Guide

Airbnb is the world’s largest online marketplace for vacation rentals. Millions of travelers use it to search for and book accommodation worldwide. So, if you’re thinking about turning your second home into a short-term rental, Airbnb will likely be the first channel you list your property on.

However, it’s crucial to know how much it costs to list on Airbnb. Get familiar with the host fees that Airbnb charges for each booking so you can factor them into your Airbnb pricing.

You should also compare Airbnb’s commissions with those of other channels. This will help you decide whether you should get listed on other booking sites like Booking.com and Vrbo.

Furthermore, once you know the amount you’ll be spending on Airbnb host fees, you may want to consider finding ways to get bookings without commissions. And the best way to do that is by building your own vacation rental website where you can accept direct bookings and take payments.

In this blog post, we’ll go through everything you need to know about Airbnb host fees: how much they are and how they’re calculated. We’ll also give you tips on how to become less dependent on Airbnb by getting listed on other channels and building a direct booking website.

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What are Airbnb host fees?

The Airbnb hosts fee is the amount that Airbnb charges hosts when a booking is confirmed. It’s automatically taken from the payout you receive from Airbnb after the guest has checked out. The purpose of Airbnb host fees is to cover the cost of the services that Airbnb provides, for example, 24/7 customer support.

How much are Airbnb host fees?

The split fee structure involves both hosts and guests paying a service fee, while the host-only fee structure requires a service fee only from the host.

We wrote a guide on how to make sure your Airbnb is profitable. Everything you need to know from calculating your income to predicting your costs and saving time with automation.

1. Split-fee structure: host service fee + guest service fee

This is the fee structure that most Airbnb hosts currently use. It used to be the only option on Airbnb and reflected the business model that Airbnb was originally going for.

If you select this fee structure, both you and your guest will be paying a service fee. Airbnb will deduct the host service fee from your payout, and charge the guest service fee to the guest.

Guest service fee: Most guests pay a service fee of under 14.2%. This too is calculated from the booking subtotal. The amount varies depending on various booking factors. Guests can see the guest service fee in the price breakdown on the listing page and during check-out before they make a reservation.

2. Host-only fee structure

Currently, the host-only fee structure is optional for most hosts but mandatory for hotels and software-connected hosts (i.e. hosts using a channel manager or other software to connect to Airbnb).

Software-connected hosts who have most of their listings in the United States, Canada, the Bahamas, Mexico, Argentina, Taiwan, or Uruguay are currently exempt from this rule, meaning that they still have the option to choose between the split fee structure and the host-only fee structure.

There are a few things you should know about the host-only fee structure and its potential advantages and disadvantages.

Firstly, Airbnb claims that choosing to cover the service fee for the guest helps you get more bookings. This is because guests prefer transparent pricing with no “surprise” charges. So even though you’re paying more in service fees, you’ll make up for the loss with the increase in bookings. And if you’d rather not take a bet, you can always increase your base rate to cover the increased commission.

What’s more, if you switch over to the host-only fee structure, Airbnb will reward you with a special tag on your listing page to let guests know that you’re covering the service fee for them.

Secondly, this is the pricing model that other online travel agencies like Booking.com and Expedia use. So, choosing the host-only fee structure allows you to have more control over your pricing (the price you set will be the exact price that guests see) and display the same rates for your rental across channels.

This way, you can make sure that your Airbnb pricing remains competitive at all times. And, your listings will be more attractive to guests who are used to no service fees on platforms like Booking.com.

On the other hand, increasing the service fee from 3% to 14%-16% is a dramatic change. That’s probably why Airbnb hasn’t universally rolled out the host-only fee structure. However, it’s possible that as Airbnb transitions to a new business model, it will make the host-only fee mandatory for all hosts across the board.

Are there other Airbnb fees hosts need to pay?

The host service fee is the only fee that Airbnb charges hosts. Note that host service fees are different from the general 3%-5% for Airbnb Luxe properties and Airbnb Experiences (where the host service fee is 20%).

Airbnb fees for hosts: how to become less dependent on Airbnb

As you can see from the above, Airbnb reserves the right to change its commission fees. Of course, they always warn hosts well before the changes come into effect. However, significant changes to Airbnb host fees can affect your bottom line. So, it’s important to prepare for them: whether that means increasing your base rate or diversifying your distribution strategy to include a variety of channels.

Similarly, Airbnb is free to alter its algorithms. Depending on the changes they make, this can result in your listing dropping down in Airbnb search results. And, if your properties aren’t visible to travelers, you lose bookings. That’s why it’s important to make sure that you’re not putting all your eggs in one basket. Having more than a single source of bookings is vital to building a sustainable vacation rental business.

Let’s look at three proven ways to become less dependent on Airbnb and diversify your channel distribution to get more bookings.

1. Get listed on other channels

The easiest way to avoid becoming too dependent on Airbnb is to get listed on other channels.

There are many different booking sites out there that can give you visibility to a large audience of guests. For example, you could list your properties on Vrbo, Booking.com, Expedia, Tripadvisor, or Agoda – just to name a few.

However, it’s not enough to just create an account on each of these websites and upload your property listings. You need to make sure that your different accounts and calendars are connected. Otherwise, your availability will be out of sync, and guests searching on one channel will see that your rental is available while it may have already been booked by another guest on a different channel.

We’ll explain how to avoid this in the next step.

2. Use a channel manager to prevent double bookings

Channel managers are essential tools for any property manager advertising their listings on multiple websites. They sync your listings, calendars, and availability across all the channels you advertise on so you can keep them up-to-date.

Channel managers allow you to:

Prevent double bookings: avoid two guests booking your rental for the same time period on two different booking sites. Sorting out double bookings is expensive and a real hassle to deal with.

Save time on managing your listings, calendars, and availability.

Simplify your guest communication via a unified inbox.

The Host Tools channel manager has direct API connections with Airbnb and Vrbo. This allows you to:

Manage your listings on both channels from one place, and

Sync your calendars and availability in real time.

This is a much more secure way of syncing your calendars than exporting your Airbnb calendar and importing it to Vrbo, and vice versa.

If you advertise on more booking sites other than Airbnb and Vrbo, you can import your calendars into Host Tools through iCal, and synchronize them too. This way, all your calendars will be in sync and you won’t be at risk of getting double bookings. Whenever you get a booking on one channel or block a date in Host Tools, all your calendars will be updated automatically.

Moreover, Host Tools has a multi-calendar where you can see all your bookings from different channels at a glance. And, it has a unified inbox that lets you manage all your guest communication, no matter which booking site your messages come from.

The Host Tools Airbnb channel manager also allows you to add your direct booking website’s calendar via iCal – which we’ll cover next.

3. Build a direct booking website

An important step in becoming less dependent on platforms like Airbnb is building your own website where you can accept direct bookings.

The best thing about direct bookings is that they’re commission-free, which means more money in your pockets. They also give you more control over your marketing efforts, since they allow you to collect email addresses and retarget guests to encourage repeat bookings.

We wrote a full guide on how to get direct bookings and walk you through the process of building your vacation rental website. Check them out and get started on diversifying your bookings.

Airbnb Host Calculator – How Much Could You Be Earning?

Whether you rent out an entire place or simply a private room, you should set the right pricing to generate profit. You need to keep a healthy balance to ensure that your Airbnb income covers the expenses and it also allows you to scale your business.

Let’s take a closer look at how an Airbnb host calculator can help you with crucial business decisions.

How Much Can I Make with Airbnb?

You can use an Airbnb calculator to help determine if the potential ROI on your property is worth the investment.

What is an Airbnb Host Calculator?

An Airbnb calculator (or Airbnb profit calculator ) is an online tool that uses relevant data and analytics to generate projections related to the profitability of a property. It essentially runs an Airbnb investment analysis on a property based on its size, location, cost price, and the price of comparable properties in the area.

How Does an Airbnb Host Calculator Work?

First and foremost, an Airbnb host calculator takes into account your property’s location. There are specific calculators for different markets across regions and countries. This enables you to get data for your specific area.

Benefits of Using an Airbnb Host Calculator

To grow your business and boost profitability, you need to keep up with pricing trends.

Here are some of the metrics and projections that an Airbnb calculator can deliver:

Cash flow

Capitalization rate (cap rate)

Occupancy rate

Potential rental income

It is the estimated amount that you could potentially earn from renting your property.

Depending on the Airbnb calculator that you decide to use, you will be able to generate different types of forecasts for your business. This will give you an opportunity to choose the best strategy to follow.

Top Airbnb Host Calculators

Relying on data when making a decision is a proven way to keep your business up and running. So, by introducing the right technology you will improve your decision-making process.

You don’t have to create long spreadsheets and rake in loads of data or try to rely on your gut feeling. Here are some of the most popular tools that can come in handy to estimate your vacation rental profit and potential return on investment (ROI).

Mashvisor

Mashvisor pulls data from over 450,000 properties. It provides real estate comps for both traditional and Airbnb rental s. The calculator fetches data for any city area that it covers.

The Mashvisor host calculator uses a heat map to identify areas that meet your search criteria. Moreover, you’ll be able to see how many rental properties there are in a city.

LearnAirbnb

LearnAirbnb goes beyond a simple Airbnb host calculator. It provides a comprehensive financial model for your Airbnb business. It is a downloadable template that uses formulas to create financial statements for your business.

AirDNA

AirDNA is also a useful tool for estimating revenue and deciding on your pricing. It allows you to compare the performance of your vacation rentals to others in your area.

AirDNA can assist in identifying short-term rental trends. Using them you can achieve the highest profitability from any new property.

It also comes in handy if you are going to extend your property portfolio. By analyzing data from over 10 million vacation rentals in 80,000 cities worldwide, the tool helps hosts to make decisions about where to buy.

Who Should Use an Airbnb Calculator?

An Airbnb calculator is a versatile tool that can be used to plan and predict the profitability of multiple decisions relating to property investment. So, who exactly could benefit from using a rental calculator?

How Do Airbnb Calculators Guarantee Accuracy?

Airbnb pricing calculators pull data from reliable sources such as MLS, Redfin, and Airbnb directly. These are the same tools that professional real estate agencies use to get market data. Resources like MLS are not available to users outside of the real estate industry. This makes an Airbnb host calculator an indispensable tool for accessing real estate market data.

Conclusion

Selecting the most lucrative property for your next investment or setting the right price will get you closer to your desired profits. By accessing the necessary data, you will be able to make the best choice right from the start. A vacation rental business based on analytics and research has a greater chance of taking off. This is why you should add an Airbnb host calculator to your digital toolbox.

The next step is to maintain success and amplify your business growth. Luckily, there are plenty of software solutions, such as iGMS, to level up your hosting efforts. Getting your business automated will save you time and remove the everyday hassle of constant upkeep. With iGMS, as a host, you can:

How to become an Airbnb Host

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Editor’s note: This is a recurring post, regularly updated with new information and offers.

Since the pandemic began in early 2020, many travelers have turned to vacation home rentals as a safe option for a getaway with built-in social distance. A major player in this market is Airbnb.

It connects people with places to stay and things to do around the globe. The community is powered by hosts, who provide their guests with the unique opportunity to live like a local while traveling. You may have considered offering up an extra room in your house or putting your entire apartment up for share on Airbnb. You wouldn’t be alone. About four million people worldwide hold the esteemed title of “Airbnb host,” welcoming over 800 million guest arrivals in almost every country across the globe.

If you want to meet people from all over the world and earn additional income, here are the proper steps to becoming an Airbnb host.

Get started

Go to the Airbnb host page and enter basic information about your listing with easy-to-follow prompt questions.

(Screenshot courtesy of Airbnb)

You will then be asked to create a new listing, finish a listing in progress or duplicate an existing listing.

(Screenshot courtesy of Airbnb)

Once you’ve started the process to create a listing, you’ll enter the address into the “property address” box.

(Screenshot courtesy of Airbnb)

The next step is determining the type of listing you’re renting. Are you going to rent your entire house or an in-law suite on the side of the house? Your entire apartment or a room within your apartment? Your barn or treehouse?

(Screenshot courtesy of Airbnb)

Finally, you’ll add important details about the listing, such as the number of bedrooms and beds offered, the number of guests allowed, bed configurations, number of bathrooms and any pertinent details about your listing. These details are critically important for guests, particularly families and groups, as bed set-up and occupancy limits play a large role in choosing the right Airbnb.

(Screenshot courtesy of Airbnb)

First impressions matter

Once you’ve entered the listing’s primary details, it’s time to add beautiful imagery to go with a detailed description. Hosts with professional photos in their Airbnb listing can earn 40% more than other hosts in their area who don’t use professional images. One of the top reasons guests choose to book a certain listing is based on the quality of the images.

This is where a host’s creative side can shine and increase the appeal of their listing to future guests. If you don’t want to hire a professional photographer, you can take your own photos using a high-quality camera.

Professional images help Airbnb hosts list at higher rates. (Photo by Katarzyna Bialasiewicz/Getty
Images)

Capture all the important spaces so potential guests can visualize themselves in your home. Tidy up the space, make it clutter-free, open up the curtains to allow natural light in and be meticulous about capturing as much detail as possible, such as photos of the beds or a desk/workspace.

Know your local laws

Before officially becoming an Airbnb host, it’s important to understand how the laws work in your city. Cities like Paris, New York City and Miami Beach have some of the strictest policies regarding renting or hosting on Airbnb, while Amsterdam, London and Portland have looser requirements. These policies are often part of a city’s zoning or administrative codes.

In many cities, you must register, get a permit, or obtain a license before listing your property or accepting guests. Certain types of short-term bookings may be prohibited altogether. Local governments vary greatly in how they enforce home-rental laws.

Airbnb is working with governments worldwide to clarify these rules so that everyone has a clear understanding of what the laws are. In some tax jurisdictions, Airbnb will take care of calculating, collecting and remitting local occupancy tax on the host’s behalf. Occupancy tax is calculated differently in every jurisdiction, and the end goal is to extend this benefit to more hosts around the globe. In the meantime, potential hosts should review their local laws before listing a space on Airbnb. You can check here to see if your location’s regulations are listed.

Set your price and know your fees

Once the legality of hosting in your city is verified, it’s time to determine how much you want to charge guests. An effective Airbnb pricing strategy for hosts starts at determining market value by looking at comparable listings in your city or neighborhood. Fortunately, Airbnb launched a tool titled “What’s My Place Worth Tool” to help hosts determine how much money they can generate from sharing their space on Airbnb. The interactive tool computes the estimated income through inputs for geography, type of listing and factors in prior Airbnb booking data in the area.

Airbnb created the “What’s My Place Worth Tool” to help hosts determine earning potential for their listing (Screenshot courtesy of Airbnb)

You can always use the map feature to find comparable listings very close to yours, check for listings with similar sizes, similar number of bedrooms and baths and find listings with reviews from experienced hosts.

To launch your business, you may consider lowering your price slightly below other comparable listings to lure in your first few guests and garner credibility with future guests. Airbnb will also suggest a price per night for your property, but it’s up to you to charge what you want. Airbnb’s Smart Pricing tool fluctuates nightly rates for you, taking into account supply and demand or you can open up the calendar and input pricing for the year based on tourist seasons — taking into account holidays, local festivals and other factors in your area.

Hosts must consider add-on fees when determining nightly rates. For example, in certain cities and municipalities, Airbnb has made agreements with the local government to collect and remit local taxes on behalf of hosts. These fees are called occupancy taxes and fees. The guests incur the cost, which can range from 9% to 18% of the host’s income. Some hosts prefer to single out this fee on the booking page in order to provide transparency to guests, while others incorporate the fee into their nightly rate. This fee is often compared to hotel fees that a guest may find on their folio at check-out.

(Screenshot courtesy of Airbnb)

The cleaning fee is the most commonly displayed fee on Airbnb listings. Hosts have the autonomy to determine their own cleaning fee cost. Still, it’s highly encouraged to consider a reasonable amount as any exorbitant cleaning fee may sway a potential guest away from booking that listing.

To appeal to prospective guests and charge appropriately, conduct a dummy booking of comparable listings in your area and see how much other hosts charge for cleaning and other ancillary fees. You want to ensure you maintain competitive pricing if you intend to make a steady income from renting on Airbnb.

Communication is paramount

You may think it’s better for guests to “instantly book” your listing. After all, it streamlines the reservation process and doesn’t force guests to submit a request to book. The instant book feature may mean more bookings for you as a host, but adding an additional layer of communication to the booking process can give you some control when it comes to knowing who is booking your listing and why. This feature can be turned on and off as a host wishes.

Many hosts prefer to see a potential guest’s profile and read their reviews before approving a stay. They want to make sure they know who’s staying at their listing and the expectations of the guest are suited for the space. Often, they welcome a message from the prospective guest explaining their purpose for the stay. A strong indicator of a good guest is clear communication before arrival. Just as we recommend guests contact hosts before booking, a great host replies to guests promptly and is personable with their response.

(Photo by Yamil Lage/Getty Images)

Most well-reviewed hosts are prompt and have a polite tone in their replies. To lessen any problems that may arise, hosts should also be transparent and straightforward when communicating about expectations, total costs and check-in and check-out procedures.

Decide on a cancellation policy

There are three main tiers when choosing your cancellation policy: flexible, moderate and strict. Additional tiers exist for long-term stays of 28 days or more. I’ve stayed in more than 100 Airbnb listings and have been extremely fortunate that a host has never canceled on me within a few days of check-in. The truth is that cancellations are a common occurrence, both for guests and hosts alike. As a host, a flexible cancellation policy (guests can cancel 24 hours before a stay) means a last-minute cancellation by a guest and you’re scrambling to fill occupancy or losing revenue for that expected stay.

On the other end of the spectrum, a strict cancellation policy for a host means you’re entitled only to give back the cleaning fee cost. Such a strict cancellation policy may put off a guest if they need flexibility with their travel plans.

(Screenshot courtesy of Airbnb)

Hosts are at their own discretion to provide full or partial refunds to guests on a case-by-case basis outside of the Airbnb cancellation policy window. For example, if you have a strict cancellation policy but an impending guest writes you three days before arrival that they had a death in the family and will no longer be staying at your listing, you can offer them a full refund. Determine what cancellation policy suits you best and allow a little wiggle room for extenuating circumstances. Remember, you’re dealing with human beings.

Hire a professional cleaner

In addition to property location, cleanliness is another important trait in a popular Airbnb — especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. (Read more about Airbnb’s new cleaning protocols.)

There’s a stigma from reluctant first-time guests using Airbnb that a listing may not be as clean as a hotel room since it’s someone else’s property. This couldn’t be further from the truth and an argument can be made that since hotels have higher nightly guest turnover, hotels are dirtier than someone else’s home. Regardless, guests want to feel as though they are stepping into a newly minted place at check-in. Cleanliness happens to be the first category listed under the “reviews” section of each listing and guests can rate a listing’s hygiene on a scale from 1 to 5.

Hiring a professional cleaning service for your Airbnb is strongly recommended. (Photo by onurdongel/Getty Images)

Your guests are expecting perfection in the cleanliness department and that’s not a category they’re willing to compromise on. Since you should treat hosting like a business, a do-it-yourself cleaning job probably won’t suffice and you won’t have time if you’re juggling another career or job. It’s highly recommended to hire a professional cleaning service to tend to your listing so you can focus on the other pertinent tasks of being an Airbnb host.

With a professional cleaner, all you have to do is set a cleaning appointment each time you have incoming guests or periodically as agreed upon in the listing if you have long-term guests (more than 28 days). Instead of taking hours of your day to inspect and clean your listing, you’ll be able to focus on other things while your cleaning service tackles the “dirty work.” And since the guests pay a cleaning fee, the cost helps offset your professional cleaning service to ensure a sparkling-clean listing all year round.

Aim for Superhost status

After you’ve become an Airbnb host and have gotten into the groove of hosting, you may be wondering what the requirements are for attaining the highly coveted designation of Superhost status. After all, as a Superhost, you receive priority placement when guests run a search, higher occupancy rates than non-Superhosts and 60% more revenue per available day. As the name suggests, Superhosts are the top hosts on Airbnb. They are trustworthy and safe. And they have a consistent record of outstanding customer service.

The following criteria are required to obtain Superhost status:

There is no application process to become a Superhost. If you meet the program requirements on the quarterly assessment date, you’ll qualify for Superhost status. Annual quarterly assessments start on January 1, April 1, July 1 and October 1. Airbnb would notify you of your Superhost status at the end of each assessment period — which usually finishes 10 days after the assessment begins. Every host should aim for Superhost status if they are serious about bringing in constant income from hosting their place.

Bottom line

Whether you’re renting out a single room in your home or an entire apartment, it pays to treat your Airbnb as a profession. With the above tips, you should be able to get up and running and build income with your vacation rental. Over time, you’ll also have the opportunity to become a Superhost and greet more and more Airbnb customers. It’s a process that will take time but is completely possible.

Bnb Duck Blog

P. Duckworth July 14, 2020 Host FAQs

So, how much does an Airbnb co host make? It’s a common question, yet a quick Google search leads you down a rabbit hole with no definitive answers. Therefore it’s time I answer this question once and for all!

The types of duties you perform will determine your potential earnings. So it’s up to you as a co host, to enter into an agreement with the primary host for a fair price. Below, I will give you a sample Airbnb co host agreement template.

There is plenty to think about out, so let’s take a look at the important questions.

How much does a co host make?

The real answer? It depends. I know that’s not the answer you want, but there honestly is no set amount. There are so many variables. From my research 20% sounds like the average figure.

Some hosts may receive a flat fee each week or month, that both parties agree upon. The graphic above will help give you a general indication of how much you can earn as a co host.

How much you’ll earn as an Airbnb co host hinges entirely on your duties. Will you be handling everything, including the cleaning? Perhaps you’ll only be responding to guests and leaving reviews?

In other words, the more you do, the more you will earn. So therefore, I think the best thing to do next is look at some duties of a co host.

And finally, being a co host is one of the best ways to make money without owning an Airbnb.

How do Airbnb Co Hosts get paid?

It used to be easy for a co host to get paid, but Airbnb has made things harder with some recent changes.

Back in the day, Airbnb allowed you to split payments with co hosts, but gone are those days (to the disgust of hosts!). While things are now a little trickier, there are some good workarounds.

Let’s look at some ways that Airbnb co hosts get paid.

#1 – Bank Transfer

You could do things the old fashion way and do a simple bank transfer. This would be the most common way for a co host to get paid and it’s reliable. The only issue is it may take 1-2 business days to receive a payment. If this is not a problem, then it would be my recommended payment method.

Most popular method. Well trusted and no fees Slow. Can take up to 1-2 business days

#2 – PayPal

Another great option is PayPal and the benefit here is that payments are instant. Just be aware that you will have to pay fees with every payment you make, however these are minimal. Again, it is a trusted payment method and well known.

Payments are instant. A well trusted brand around the world PayPal charge you fees. Also, not everybody has an account

#3 – Payment Apps

There are plenty of great apps out there that allow you to send and receive money, similar to PayPal. Popular ones that I have seen co hosts use include Cash.app, Zeller and Veller. You can do it via your mobile phone, or use their website. One negative is most people are unlikely to have accounts, as they are not well known brands. They will also charge fees.

Instant payments. Can transfer money from your mobile phone Added fees. Not many people will have accounts. Less trusted.

#4 – Hosting Services

Using a hosting service is a fantastic way to pay an Airbnb co host. Some good examples include Lodgify, Whome.pt and GuestReady. It’s a secure way of putting co hosts together with Airbnb owners. You can also make payment transfers, but drawback is it’s more costly than the other options.

Trusted, secure and a good reputation Fees are more expensive than other options

What does an Airbnb Co Host do?

An Airbnb co host will perform many responsibilities. It may be as simple as meeting guests at the front door, or it may be handling the entire booking process.

Below are some of the main responsibilities that you may be expected to perform.

Common Responsibilities:

Co Host Duties in Detail

#1 Dealing with guests

Your main responsibility will be dealing with guests. Usually that means communicating with guests before, during and after their stay.

I recommend checking out my Airbnb message templates to assist you with this.

In other words, your duty will be to coordinate the arrival time and check in details for each guest. Some co hosts will meet the guests in person on arrival, but this is optional.

Another task is likely to be dealing with any issues a guest may have during their stay. For example, a guest may have locked themselves out, or broken something, and so on.

#2 – Getting the space ready

Guests will expect a clean and tidy space upon their arrival. As a co host, it’ll be your responsibility to coordinate the cleaning of the Airbnb property.

Now you may clean the property yourself, or a cleaning service may maintain it for you. However, it’s your responsibility to ensure the cleaning is of a high standard. My Airbnb cleaning checklist may be a good starting point.

Another part of your duties is to stock the property full of essential amenities. You must provide bare essentials such as toilet paper, towels and soap for guests. I explain in detail in my article on Airbnb amenities explained.

Also, sometimes things will go wrong. You’ll need to deal with maintenance workers such as plumbers, electricians and so on.

Earlier I asked the question how much does an Airbnb co host make? Well, co hosts that do the cleaning themselves make a lot more money!

#3 – Maintain the listing

Maintaining the listing is another key role of a co host. The most basic role is leaving Airbnb reviews for guests.

Getting 5 star reviews is very important and you must ensure those great reviews keep rolling in.

Other roles may include writing catchy Airbnb titles for the listing or creating professional photos. In other words, little jobs that will make the listing look snazzy and bring in new guests.

Keeping tabs on the right price and updating the calendar often is also a role of an Airbnb co host.

Sample Airbnb Co Host agreement

It’s important to have an Airbnb co host agreement in place, so I want to give you a sample. Both parties need to cover themselves, so I urge to have a contract in place protecting yourself.

This area is something I recommend you see a lawyer about. You could easily download a sample Airbnb co host agreement online, but will it truly cover you?

When creating your agreement, look to include the following things:

This is just a rough guide to get you started. You’ll find some great samples at BnbSpecialist.com and some good discussion here.

Remember, Airbnb is a very niche area, so many lawyers may be unfamiliar with Airbnb laws. Also, rules and regulations change greatly from area to area. For this reason, it makes it hard for me to give you good advice.

If a friend or family member is your co host, it’s unlikely you’ll need an Airbnb co host agreement. However, if you are a landlord and have a hosting service manage your property, get a contract in place!

There is a good guide on this topic at Airbnb.com that you should familiarise yourself with too.

How do I become a co host on Airbnb?

Becoming a co host on Airbnb is a simple process. The owner of the Airbnb can add you to the account in a couple of east steps.

How to add an Airbnb co host:

Once in your Airbnb hosting dashboard, there will be a link to Listings in the top menu. Click on that.

This will take you to a page with all your Airbnb listings. Select the one you wish to add a co host to.

Next, from here, click on Co Host on the sub menu near the top. It should be the second last item on the menu.

From within this page you can add your new host. Simply click the Invite A Friend button and they will receive a prompt to join your team.

How do I add a co host (example):

How to find an Airbnb co host?

There are two ways that I suggest when people ask me how to find an Airbnb co host?

First, I recommend asking a friend or family member to do your co hosting. The main reason is you know you will be able to trust them, plus it is often a much cheaper option. The drawback though, however, is that they are often inexperienced.

The second option is to use an online hosting service. For example, the awesome website cohostmarket.com is a great place to start.

With a service like Co Host Market, you can easily find Airbnb co hosts in your area in a matter of seconds. Simply enter your city into the search field, and they will provide you with a list of hosts in your area.

The beauty is that you’ll be able to see at a glance what each host is like. Data such as their average star rating and estimated price will help you choose a suitable co host. Take a look at the screen shot below for an example.

Example of cohostmarket.com service

Summary

If you’re thinking of becoming an Airbnb co host, I hope this article has been informative for you.

To sum up, you should expect to earn between 10-20% per booking. That includes simple duties such as responding to guests and leaving reviews.

The more duties you do, the more you can expect to make. For example, you will earn more if you’re doing all the cleaning and replacing amenities. More again if you are covering maintenance, or doing laundry, etc.

Listing yourself on a service like Co Host Market will help you get your name out there. If your price is right and you have great reviews, an Airbnb host will happily use your services.