Becoming an Airbnb host can be an exhilarating and daunting experience. There is so much to learn, from booking management to communicating with guests and maintaining the property, that you feel like you have a full-time job on your hands quickly, before you even get to hosting.
But what if you could make it much easier and simpler? If you are asking yourself how to automate your Airbnb and make hosting easier, more efficient, and fun, you have found the right post. In this post, I will cover the best tools, strategies, and tips you can utilise to automate your Airbnb while keeping the guest experience personal.
How to Automate Your Airbnb
Before we dive into the how, let’s quickly talk about the why. As a new host, you might think that managing things manually gives you more control. But over time, it becomes draining. Automation helps you:
- Save time and energy
- Improve guest experience
- Increase booking rates
- Minimise errors
- Scale your hosting business
Whether you’re managing one property or several, knowing how to automate your Airbnb can help you run your business.
Automate Guest Communication
One of the biggest time sinks in terms of hosting is guest communication. It can quickly become overwhelming to reply to every message, have check-in instructions prepared, and manually respond to FAQs.
By allowing guest communication to be automated, you allow guests to receive quick and consistent responses while also not having to be online at all times. Many automation services, like Hospitable and iGMS, allow you to create pre-programmed messages to be sent when certain booking triggers occur. You can automate booking confirmations, pre-arrival instructions, reminders on house rules, and even thank you messages post-checkout.
You will save yourself hours of work each week and help present a professional face to your guests that they will appreciate.
Automate Pricing and Calendar Management
Maximising the income you can make on your rental property also means adjusting your rates based on demand, as well as avoiding double bookings. Updating prices across multiple platforms, such as Airbnb, Vrbo, and Booking.com, among others, can be time-consuming and lead to mistakes.
Dynamic pricing tools like PriceLabs and Beyond Pricing analyse market trends, local events, and seasonality to automatically adjust your nightly rates. Combined with a channel manager, you can synchronise your calendars and availability seamlessly across all platforms.
This automation ensures your property stays competitively priced and prevents the headache of double bookings.
Automate Cleaning
Cleanliness is a critical factor when it comes to receiving a 5-star review, but finding convenient, effective ways to coordinate the cleaning schedule can be challenging, especially if you have guests coming and going frequently. Automating your cleaning process means that your property will be clean and ready for the next guest without rushing at the last minute.
Websites like TurnoverBnB link your booking calendar and cleaning service or individual cleaner. Once a guest checks out, a note goes to your cleaners, complete with the property details and any special instructions.
With this level of automation, the chance of human error is reduced, the property stays clean, and your hosting runs smoothly.
Automate Self-Check-In and Check-Out
Traditional keys and working with guests to exchange them can be a hassle and limit your flexibility. Many hosts now use smart locks or lockboxes to give guests the option to self-check in and out of the property, all contactless.
There are several smart locks on the market, like August, Schlage, or Yale, that will allow you to generate temporary access codes that will only work during the guest’s stay. You can even set these up to send automatically via your messaging system before the guests arrive.
When you automate the check-in process, you provide seamless, stress-free guest experiences while also freeing yourself from coordinating the key exchange.
Automate Review Requests
Reviews build your credibility and improve your listing’s visibility. However, many hosts forget to ask guests to leave a review, losing valuable feedback and ratings.
Automated messaging tools can help you ask your previous guests to leave reviews shortly after checkout and can increase the chances of obtaining a positive review. You’d be amazed at how often a simple and friendly reminder is all it takes for guests to find the time to leave a review.
Don’t forget, obtaining regular reviews will also help raise your profile’s ranking and attract more bookings.
Automate Financial Tracking
Reviews enhance your credibility and elevate the visibility of your listing. The fact is, however, that many hosts will simply forget to ask guests to leave a review for them, consequently failing to benefit from valuable feedback and ratings.
Accounting software like QuickBooks or Xero can integrate with your Airbnb payouts and track expenses, helping you monitor profitability effortlessly. Some property management platforms also offer built-in financial reporting.
Automating this aspect of your Airbnb business keeps your finances organised and helps you make informed decisions.
Enhance Guest Experience with Smart Automation
Automation goes beyond basic property operations; it also improves guests’ stays. Smart home devices such as thermostats, lighting, and security cameras can be programmed to meet the needs of the guests, making them feel safe and comfortable.
Automating a digital guidebook is another example; simply send one to every guest at check-in. It can include local recommendations, house rules, and emergency contacts, all in one easy-access place.
Believe me when I say that small touches, by way of automation, will improve guest satisfaction and reviews.
For Airbnb hosts and short-term rental owners, learning how to automate your Airbnb is a game-changer. Automation helps you work smarter, not harder, so you can grow your rental business while providing a top-notch experience to guests.
Know how to automate your Airbnb guest communication, pricing, and cleaning schedules, then gradually introduce smart locks and financial management tools. The more you automate, the more time you’ll save, time you can reinvest into expanding your portfolio or simply enjoying your life.
By embracing automation, you’re setting yourself up for long-term success in the competitive short-term rental market.
