Like many things in life, to be successful at Airbnb requires practice. But unlike other hobbies, missing the mark on Airbnb can cost you a lot of money!

Below are 5 common Airbnb mistakes, and how to make sure you're not falling foul of them.

Going cheap on Interior:

Your Airbnb profile is like any shop window. If it looks great, people are going to want to stay there. If people want to stay there, they are willing to pay more.

These two things compound to make a big difference.

• £100 per night for 200 nights a year = £20,000
• £75 per night for 150 nights a year = £11,250

The easiest way to get around this issue is to invest in nice furniture. Here at Pass the Keys, we use interior designers and furniture financing companies to help our clients make the most of what is fixed. i.e the size and location of their property. You should make sure you do the same.

Bad Photos:

It doesn't matter how good looking your place is if you don't have nice photos to prove it! Make sure you take proper photos,  or pay someone to do it! Here are some common mistakes:

• Taking photos on your phone
• Taking photos at night
• Taking photos at the wrong angle

Think of Airbnb as a search engine. You want your property to be served higher up the list. Therefore you need to play by their rules, and take seriously what Airbnb takes seriously.  A key battleground here is response time. Airbnb wants their guests to be looked after and therefore measure how long it takes you to respond to enquiries. If you are slow, your listing with be penalised.

Wrong price:

You need to be 'dynamic' on your pricing. Unfortunately, the pricing guide on Airbnb sometimes doesn't work brilliantly,  so the best way to ensure you price your property right, is to do it manually. Pass the Keys, and most other decent Airbnb Management companies will have both a dynamic pricing programme, and a human overseeing pricing. If you do not want to use a property management company,  the best method is to price a bit lower than the market rate, get bookings and good reviews, then gradually increase the price. This can take some time, but it will get you in the right ballpark at least!

Starting too late:

This is a big one. Getting going on Airbnb takes time. There is a lot of work involved, even writing great copy takes a surprisingly long time. Then, once you've got your property listed, you are going to need to wait for people to book it, and then for them to arrive. This whole process can take several months. The point being - you need to plan ahead!  We have lots of clients who come to us saying they need to start hosting ASAP. Everything is possible, but life is a lot easier if we all have more time. 

If you want help with any of these things, let us know. Pass the Keys take care of all these things, so our clients don't have to!

As a UK's leading short-let property management company, Pass the Keys aims to deliver end-to-end services that can help homeowners and landlords to boost their income hassle-free. Besides, we also provide information and advice that can support Airbnb hosts during their hosting journey via our blog and are currently included in "Top 100 Short-term and Vacation Rental Blog List on the Internet" made by Padlifter. 

If you want to speak with our host advisors, please call 0208 050 2818 or book a call with our host advisors now.