Get more of the Guests You Want
There's a huge difference between being in a party, and being party-adjacent. Instead of wasting your time screening guests, write a listing that attracts the guests you want.
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Determining your hosting objective up front is a really important, and often overlooked step when preparing to host. Is your goal to book as many guests as possible? Or to earn as much income per effort as possible? What is your risk tolerance? How comfortable would you be telling a group of guests they need to behave better? Below are several groups of guests, each with their tradeoffs, and corresponding style you may want to host in to attract each type. For example, a group coming to party won’t select a home wherein the host also lives, whereas a business traveler may appreciate knowing the host is onsite to help ensure a smooth check-in or directions to good local places to eat. By emphasizing different aspects of your home, you’ll stand a better chance of getting the types of guests you’d like to have around. Of course, the below are gross generalizations and no person or group will fit neatly into one, but the tenor and objective of your listing is still worth considering.
The party crowd
What they are looking for: A fun home base that can hold a good number of people. Any fun onsite activities help (e.g. game room, hot tub, etc).
Possible advantages: If you’re located in an area that attracts enough groups of large people to keep booked, this may be your most lucrative option. Because the entire place is booked under one listing, you won’t need to communicate with as many people overall.
Possible disadvantages: Booking may be harder if the place is very large, and all rooms/sections are rented under one agreement. If you’re also living in the home, getting a good nights rest may be difficult at times. If things get out of control, the likelihood of accidental property damage increases. Though Airbnb is likely to cover the cost of the damage, it will likely be somewhat of a headache nonetheless.
How to tailor your listing: Highlight fun in-house and nearby activities. Consider including a pull-out couch to accommodate additional capacity, and a fully stocked kitchen. In my experience, so they don’t need to worry about late-night noise, these types of guests typically prefer not to have the host on-site.
The backpacker
What they are looking for: Value and perhaps some local knowledge about the area. If you are located in a large city, access to public transportation is likely to be a key factor. Having the nicest linens and other thoughtful touches are not as necessary.
Possible advantages: No need to worry too much about having the latest decor and in my experience the backpackers were pretty low-maintenance and considerate.
Possible disadvantages: The per-night income for these types of travelers was typically pretty low.
How to tailor your listing: Emphasize your proximity to local attractions and public transit. It’s fine to list quiet hours if that is important to you.
The business traveler, tourists, and parents visiting kids
What they are looking for: A hotel without the hotel price tag. This includes decent linens, towels, little snacks, prompt host availability, pristine home. More likely than the backpacker to require parking.
Potential advantage: Often willing to pay a little more to stay in a nicer home, I found these guests to be courteous when it came to late-night noise and generally leaving the place tidy.
Potential disadvantage: A little more up-front work and expense to create the type of place they liked to stay in, and really had to stay on top of cleaning. These types of guests tended to think of the home as a hotel that happened to be in a home, rather than the other way around. As a result, they expected any issues to be addressed very promptly. If this is the type of ship you keep anyway, it’s worth the extra effort.
How to tailor your listing: Look at listings for nearby hotels, and basically try to replicate those. Show pictures of the nice work area and office chair, and cleanly pressed towels and sheets. Also be certain to emphasize that parking is onsite, and that you live on the property and are available to provide local direction or help with issues that may come up.