Step-by-Step Airbnb Host Checklist Anyone Can Follow
A reliable Airbnb checklist is an essential tool for beginner and experienced hosts alike. Keep this checklist in your back pocket to ensure your Airbnb is always well-stocked and ready to provide a memorable experience.
Key Takeaways
- Follow the steps to create an outstanding listing and welcome your first guests.
- Find a checklist for stocking essential supplies and amenities so you don't waste time thinking about what you need.
- Improve day-to-day operations by automating tedious tasks and using tools that boost your profitability.
We’ve compiled an Airbnb host checklist to guide you through daily hosting tasks, such as stocking essentials and preparing your rental. Follow these checklists to avoid mess and chaos while preparing your property for guests.
We also suggest automation and operational tips to help your business run as efficiently as possible.
Use these checklists to start your short-term rental business on the right foot.
Kickoff Checklist: Before Your First Guests Arrive
Once you’ve purchased all the nitty-gritty furniture and supplies and added the extra bells and whistles, it’s time for your property to shine on the Airbnb platform and land its first bookings.
Here’s a checklist to help you create an outstanding listing and secure your first 5-star review.
1. Take high-quality photos
Let’s face it: when it comes to choosing an Airbnb to spend a vacation in, we all judge a book by its cover, namely by its cover photo in the listing.
It’s highly recommended to hire a professional photographer to snap appealing photos of your property.
To save money, you can also go the DIY route and take photos yourself. Here are a few tips to keep in mind:
- Remove clutter and tidy up your space before the photoshoot.
- Let natural light in — open all the curtains and blinds.
- Shoot at eye level, as this will allow potential guests to look at your property as if they were there in person.
- Turn on the gridline mode to use the Rule of Thirds to create better compositions.
- Mix different types of shots — wide, mid, and portrait shots.
- Select the cover image that represents your property and is capable of attracting your target guests.
- Photos of the Airbnb should showcase unique features.
- Photos should be in high resolution.
2. Compose an enticing title
The next step is to craft an eye-catching title for your listing. Follow these tips to nail your listing title:
- Highlight your major advantage compared to competitor properties.
- Use abbreviations to squeeze more information into your title.
- Don’t use all capital letters.
- Make your titles specific and avoid generic words such as “good,” “nice,” and “beautiful.”
- Use all 50 characters to convey as much information about your short-term rental as possible.
- Compose a title that will speak to your target Airbnb guests.
3. Create an appealing Airbnb listing
Snapping visually attractive photos and composing an enticing title is just a job half done. The next step for every host who wants to make money with Airbnb is to create an exceptional listing.
Here are a few practical guidelines to keep in mind while working on your Airbnb listing:
- Create an engaging and informative description of your property. Underline your best-selling points.
- Complete your Airbnb profile — add a bio, your profile picture, and verify your identity.
- Outline your house rules briefly to avoid irrelevant inquiries and any miscommunication with guests.
- Create a special offer to attract initial bookings.
- Enable Instant Book to make the booking process easier.
- To get extra publicity for your listing, promote it on social media.
4. Think about safety and insurance
Safety comes first. On Airbnb, you have automatic AirCover insurance. It's build in insurance package designed to protect hosts. It consists of up to $3,000,000 in compensation for property damage during an Airbnb stay and $1,000,000 in Host liability insurance.
But AirCover might not be enough to cover you in all possible scenarios. It's advisable to have an additional insurance package.
Standard homeowners' insurance probably won't cover short-term rental activity. You need to find specialized STR insurance.
Protect your property and guests by installing key safety devices like smoke detectors, carbon monoxide alarms, and a kitchen fire extinguisher.
5. Prepare a welcome package
Compiling a welcome package can be a great avenue to put your creative skills to good use and amaze your guests.
If you struggle to create a welcome package, here are a few ideas to ponder:
- Start with a pre-arrival welcome message that will include a digital welcome book and a list of house rules.
- Include snacks and a bottle of water in your welcome basket. You can offer crackers, local cheese, chocolate, sweets, and a bowl filled with seasonal fruits. You can also add local wine or a bottle of champagne.
- Add branding to the items in your welcome package for a top-notch guest experience.
6. Clean up your rental
It goes without saying that your property should be spotless every time a new guest checks in. Even a stray hair in the bathroom can ruin the overall positive impression.
Not to overlook any hidden corners or hard-to-reach crevices, follow a detailed cleaning checklist. Working from a checklist will help you tackle cleanings more thoroughly.
A cleaning checklist is also useful if you hire cleaners. Schedule professional cleaning between guests and regularly restock supplies for an Airbnb.
An Airbnb Hosting Checklist for Stocking Essential Supplies
1. Cover the basics
To make your guests feel at home, Airbnb hosts start with basic supplies and amenities. Hosts should regularly check the inventory of toiletries between guests.
Here’s a complete list of basic amenities and supplies to turn your accommodation into a real home away from home and provide an enjoyable stay:
Bedroom essentials
- High-quality, clean bed linens
- A clean, comfortable mattress and mattress protector
- King-size bed (ideally)
- Extra pillows and blankets
- Hangers in the closet or wardrobe
- Luggage rack or a clear place for suitcases
- Bedside table or nightstand
- Bedside lamp or reading light
- Trash bin
- First aid kit accessible somewhere in the home (many hosts keep it in the bedroom or hallway)
- Spare linens if guests are staying longer
Kitchen essentials
Many Airbnb guests prefer to cook during their stay, so a well-stocked kitchen is essential.
- Basic cookware: pots and pans
- Plates and bowls
- Cups and mugs
- Utensils: forks, knives, spoons
- Cooking utensils: spatula, ladle, serving spoon
- Coffee maker
- Tea
- Basic condiments: salt, pepper, cooking oil
- Dish soap and sponge
- Dish towels or paper towels
- Cleaning supplies for quick cleanups
- Disposable bags
- Trash bin with liners
Bathroom essentials
Bathrooms should be clean, well-stocked, and convenient for guests. Using bulk-sized or refillable toiletries will help reduce waste.
- Shampoo
- Conditioner
- Body wash
- Hand soap
- Bath towels
- Hand towels
- Bath mat
- Mirror
- Toilet paper
- Trash bin
- Hair dryer
Living room essentials
The living room should feel welcoming and give guests a comfortable place to relax.
- Comfortable seating
- Coffee table or side tables
- TV or entertainment setup
- Remote controls with working batteries
- Lamp or adequate lighting
- Trash bin
- Extra blankets or throws
- Wi-Fi information visible for guests
2. Add extras to maximize the guest experience
If you want to get positive reviews after each guest turnover, it’s in your best interest to add finer details to your Airbnb host checklist.
On top of essential furniture and basic amenities, you should provide items that will delight your Airbnb guests and take their stay from good to stellar.
Free Wi-Fi is a feature many Airbnb guests have come to expect.
Here’s a list of all extras that you can offer at your rental:
- Access to streaming services like Netflix, Hulu, etc.
- Board games
- Welcome gift
- Luxury toiletries
- Bathrobes and slippers
- Smart devices
- WiFi booster
- Universal charger and adaptors
- Outdoor hammock
- Barbecue
- Washer and dryer.
3. Must-haves by guest type
If your vacation rental attracts certain types of guests, make sure it’s well-equipped to cater to their specific needs.
For example, to arrange a comfortable stay for families with kids, you need to go beyond a standard checklist and include amenities and supplies necessary for creating a kid-friendly space.
Here’s a list of items that you need to offer, depending on the audience your property attracts.
Family with kids
- Crib and a small mattress
- Portable crib
- Blankets and pillows
- High chair in the kitchen
- Safety items (baby gates, cabinet locks, and window locks)
- Sippy cups, cute plates, and bowls
- Washer and dryer
- Toybox
- Coloring books and pencils
Travelers with pets
- Water and food bowls
- Pet toys
- Dog beds or cat beds
- Extra leashes
- Extra collars
- Cat scratchers
- Treats
- Dog gates
- Crates
Business travelers
- Stable WiFi connection and a WiFi booster
- A laptop-friendly workspace with a comfy chair
- Self-check-in option
- Free parking
When aiming to draw in a certain type of guest, mention in your listing title and description that your vacation rental is “kid-friendly” or “pet-friendly,” so it will be featured in search results.
Operational Tips to Make Your STR Business More Efficient
Follow this Airbnb host checklist to maximize your business efficiency and save time on day-to-day operations.
1. Automate your routine tasks with vacation rental software
When you manage your rental, you need to handle many tasks at once.
As an Airbnb host, your daily list of to-dos includes replying to guest messages, updating a property calendar and availability across several platforms, organizing cleanings, meeting your guests, writing reviews, etc.
You can take advantage of automation tools and have control over the whole process. Vacation rental software such as iGMS can automate a big chunk of your daily tasks:
- Manage multiple accountsand listings on the top vacation rental platforms
- Use the unified inbox to organize your messages into a single feed
- Automate guest messaging and reviews
- Manage direct bookings from your own website
- Receive payouts and create invoices by connecting your Stripe account to iGMS
- Share daily schedules with your team and auto-assign tasks.
2. Use a dynamic pricing tool
One of the main concerns of every host is whether their rental is adequately priced. You don’t want to price your rental too high, as this can drive away potential bookings.
At the same time, pricing it too low means that you leave money on the table.
Again, automation can be a game-changer in setting the appropriate pricing. Dynamic pricing tools such as Wheelhouse, Pricelabs, or DPGO are designed specifically to help hosts maximize revenue by optimizing their nightly rates in response to market fluctuations.
iGMS has integrations with all three tools so that you can utilize dynamic pricing in combination with iGMS’s advanced features.
3. Set up a self-check-in
In the battle between a regular in-person check-in and self-check-in, the latter seems to be getting the upper hand.
There are several options to set up a self-check-in. You are free to choose between lockboxes, electronic and smart locks, and key exchange services.
With a smart lock, you don’t even need to have physical keys, as the lock will be controlled via your smartphone. Also, you can opt for a keyless entry service like Lynx. Lynx allows you to control your door remotely and get notified every time the door is accessed.
Key exchange services like Keycafe also come in handy to set up a smooth self-check-in. KeyCafe enables you to leave your keys in one of the SmartBoxes for guests to collect whenever it’s convenient for them.
4. Outsource cleaning and property maintenance
Cleaning is one of the most challenging and time-consuming chores for every host. Depending on your budget, you can either hire a subcontractor or a professional cleaning service.
To automate communication with your cleaning and maintenance teams, you can use vacation rental software such as iGMS.
The software allows you to auto-assign tasks and track them to completion so you can rest assured all the cleanings and repairs are carried out on time.
5. Grow your business with market research tools
Finally, market research tools such as Alltherooms, Airbtics.com, and AirDNA will allow you to dive deeper into vacation rental data and analytics, monitor your competitors, and track industry benchmarks.
This way, you ensure you’re on the right track to hitting your goals, becoming a thriving host and growing your portfolio.
