If you’ve been procrastinating on opening your Airbnb listing. You’re not alone! Anxiety and fear are all natural feelings when embarking on a new journey as a host. Having doubts and feeling scared are all completely understandable feelings…. After all, you’re going to be opening your home to complete strangers.
I know this can be scary but the hardest part is getting started. I thought I’d share with you the #1 reason why well meaning people, just like you, procrastinate and delay getting started. Maybe you can relate!
#1 Reason: “My house isn’t ready… I can’t have guests!”
So you put off all those home improvement projects you’ve been meaning to do for the past few years and now it all seems so overwhelming. There is no way you could let someone see your house in such disarray! You want everything to be perfect for your future guests, especially if they’re going to be paying customers. I get it… You have a vision of what you want and you’re not going to be satisfied until it becomes a reality. A lot of people think their space needs to be perfect before they have guests in their home. I’m here to tell you that there is no such thing as perfection. Remember, even your “lowest standards” are someone else’s “high standards”.
I’ll share a little secret with you…
When I posted my first private room listing on Airbnb I didn’t know what I was doing. I had the room setup with the bare essentials: a bed and a night stand. Sure, I wanted my guests to have the most amazing room but I also knew that I needed to put my listing out there as soon as possible to see if there would be any interest. So I did the bare minimum and opened my room for business. I quickly learned there was interest and little by little I started getting feedback from guests and learned the pros and cons of my listing. For example, I learned that I needed to have a mirror in the bedroom so that if the bathroom was busy the ladies could do their hair or apply makeup. The important lesson I learned was that I could improve little by little, my listing didn’t have to be perfect from day one.
Get your listing going as soon as possible
And that is what I want you to do too. I want you to get your listing going as soon as possible knowing that you can tweak things as you go. There will be plenty of opportunity along the way to improve and get your listing as close to perfect as possible. Prepping your space for Airbnb isn’t a sprint, it’s a marathon. You will learn many things along the way and learn that your likes and dislikes are different from those of your guests… so always be open to change.
Disclose and ask for feedback
So you might be thinking… “Ok. I get it, I can start hosting with a flawed place and make it better as I go. But won’t I get bad reviews and have unhappy guests?” The answer is no! Far from it. As long as you disclose what your guests can expect from the get go this won’t be a problem. Meaning, let them know exactly what their experience will be, be upfront about everything on your listing. If you’re honest and upfront about what you’re offering your guests will be able to make an informed decision before they book your place. Once you start having guests the most important thing to do is to talk to them to get their feedback. Ask them why they chose to stay with you and how your place can be improved. Always ask for feedback so you can improve along the way.
In the end, having a perfect place will be the least important piece of the puzzle. What will matter the most is the guest experience you provided and how you made your guests feel during their stay. I love this quote from Maya Angelou:
People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.
If you keep the guest experience top of mind as you improve your listing; you are well on your way to a successful hosting experience.
I’d love to know… what has been keeping you from listing your place on Airbnb? Let me know in the comments below.
Happy hosting,
P.S. If you enjoyed this blog I think you will also enjoy Why Financial Freedom Must Be Your #1 Focus! (Part 1).
Want to start hosting on Airbnb? Start earning money now and see how much you can earn!
