How to become an Airbnb host in 2023 (9 Steps)

If you’re seeking out new ways to make money or looking for an additional income source, becoming an Airbnb host could be the right option for you. Airbnb is a popular platform for travelers seeking authentic homestays in different destinations and countries and continues to be a popular choice.

As an Airbnb host, you can earn income by renting out apartments and homes on the platform to travelers for short-term and long-term stays.

This article will look at how to become a host for Airbnb. It will also introduce the Wise Business account as a low-cost way to receive your Airbnb payments.

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Table of Contents
1. Understand the business requirements 2. Consider Airbnb policies, refunds, cancellations 3. Do you have a good place to rent on Airbnb? 4. Get your space ready for guests 5. List your space 6. Decide how you’ll host 7. Set your price and get paid 8. Think about Airbnb hosting alternatives 9. Consider ways to get paid: Wise Business

How to Become a Host for Airbnb

To become a host on Airbnb, you will first need to create an account on the website. Once you have an account created, you can start to create a listing for your property and include relevant information about the property, such as location, amenities, and pricing. Additionally, you will need to verify your identity, set up payment information, and agree to Airbnb’s terms and conditions for hosting.

1. Understand the business requirements

Becoming an Airbnb host does require meeting certain business requirements, such as having a property that meets safety and cleanliness standards and following local laws and regulations in your location.

There are a few different steps that you will need to take prior to becoming an Airbnb host to set up your business and ensure you are in the best position to attract guests and earn income from your listings.

Do you need to create a business?

Depending on your country of residence and local laws, you will need to research whether or not you need to create a business entity to be legally compliant.

If you need to create a business entity, your Airbnb hosting business will require a name, and you will need to register your business based on the operation type (e.g., sole proprietor, LLC, etc., depending on the nature of your business)

Do you need to create a business account?

Some individuals prefer to create business account while others stick to receiving funds to their personal account. However, your choice of a business or personal account will be important during tax season when you need to declare earned income.

To keep your business income and personal income separate, it is recommended to create a business account for your Airbnb host income. You can use business banking solutions such as Wise and others to operate a business bank account and keep your Airbnb income streamlined and easy to manage.

How to use your Wise Business details for Airbnb:

1. Get started with Wise: First things first, sign up for a Wise Business account and pay the one-time fee for your local account details. 2. Create a currency balance: To get your banking details for a specific currency, you'll need to create a balance for it. Head to your account's "Balances" section and click on the desired currency. Make a note of the country your account is in (e.g., for EUR, it's in Germany) – you'll need this info when setting up your payment preferences. 3. Update your Airbnb payment preferences: Now, simply add your Wise Business account details to your Airbnb payment preferences using the appropriate country and currency information. 4. Receiving payments made easy: With everything set up, it's time to enjoy seamless payments from your guests! Just make sure you've added the correct account details to your invoices based on the currency you're receiving (e.g., EUR details for Euro payments, USD details for US Dollar payments). 5. Watch the money roll in: Guests will send money to your Wise account as if it were a local bank in their country, making the whole process smooth and hassle-free.

Consider taxes

Before becoming an Airbnb host, you should also consider local laws, regulations, and policies that may affect the income you earn as an Airbnb host. You should also research relevant tax laws based on the type of business you are creating and any specific tax laws and regulations around short-term and long-term rental income from sources such as Airbnb.

2. Consider Airbnb policies, refunds, cancellations

As an Airbnb owner, it’s also crucial to consider the platform’s policies, especially around refunds and cancellations. Airbnb offers different cancellation policies ranging from Flexible to Strict, which can affect the kinds of refunds guests receive if they cancel their bookings.²

Understanding how the policies work and what you are entitled to in the event of cancellations can help you manage your Airbnb host income. Airbnb also has policies relating to extenuating guest circumstances, wherein guests can receive full refunds, despite cancellation policy rules, in the event of unforeseen circumstances.³

3. Do you have a good place to rent on Airbnb?

Before fully going forward as an Airbnb property manager, think about the property you would like to list and how it can stand out from the rest of the market to attract travelers and repeat bookings.

How to locate an excellent place to rent

There are several factors that make up a good Airbnb that travelers will love. A good place to rent on Airbnb should be in a prime, central location close to all attractions. Additionally, the apartment or property should have the latest amenities to create a comfortable stay for travelers and maintain a high standard of cleanliness. Any listing you create on Airbnb for your property should include clear, high-resolution photos of the property and a detailed description of the property, including nearby attractions.

Making your Airbnb stand out

As an Airbnb owner, there are several things you can do to make your listing stand out. You can ensure that all photos uploaded on the listing are high-quality, good resolution, and show the best your property has to offer. Additionally, you can write a detailed and engaging description highlighting your property’s benefits and uniqueness.

You can also include information on the amenities offered and what kind of experience travelers can expect. For new listings with no guest reviews, you may want to consider offering initial discounts or promotions for first-time guests to encourage bookings. Once guests start to book and stay at your property, you should regularly encourage guests to leave positive reviews to bolster your listing on Airbnb.

4. Get your space ready for guests

If you’re ready to become an Airbnb property manager, getting your space ready for guests will involve a few different steps. The goal is to ensure that your space makes guests feel comfortable, welcome and give them all the information they need about your property to feel confident.

Basic amenities

An Airbnb property should include basic amenities such as clean linens, towels, toilet paper, soap and shampoo, and Wi-Fi. Other amenities can include a functioning key or lockbox for easy check-in and check-out, heating, or air conditioning.

Consider house rules

If you’re an Airbnb owner looking to minimize disruption and protect your property, consider setting up some house rules for guests. These can include establishing check-in and check-out times, quiet hours, smoking policies, and rules for shared spaces, if applicable. House rules should be communicated to guests beforehand to ensure guests have a smooth experience.

Setting up booking and calendar as an Airbnb owner

For Airbnb owners and Airbnb property managers, making the booking process easy and friction-free for guests is crucial. Setting up a booking system and calendar to manage reservations is essential. You can set up availability, pricing, and minimum stay requirements to simplify the booking process for guests. Additionally, you can set up your Airbnb calendar to synchronize with other calendars you may use, such as Google Calendar or Outlook, to stay organized.

Get answer from a superhost

If you’re looking to develop your Airbnb business, you can also get answers from a superhost on Airbnb. Superhosts are experienced and successful Airbnb hosts that have earned a badge on Airbnb identifying them as such, which means they have provided exceptional guest experiences. You can reach out to Airbnb superhosts through the Airbnb messaging system, or you can attend Airbnb events to meet superhosts.

5. List your space

Once you’re ready to become an Airbnb property manager, you can list your property on Airbnb. You can create a listing on the platform and fill out the relevant information to populate the listing and publish it on Airbnb. This will include adding descriptions of the property, photos, amenities, pricing, and house rules. You will also need to update your calendar to include availability so guests can start booking your property.

6. Decide how you’ll host

As an Airbnb host, you will need to decide your hosting duties based on your availability and how much time you have to dedicate towards being an Airbnb property manager. Hosting may require tasks such as checking guests in and out of the property, coordinating cleaners, maintaining amenities, and keeping the property in good shape for travelers. You will also need to consider guest preferences and needs and be ready to adjust your Airbnb property and the guest experience based on what is needed.

7. Set your price and get paid

Once your listing is ready, you will need to set a price for your property. You can use Airbnb’s pricing tool as a guiding factor, or you can manually set up prices for your Airbnb. Once guests book your Airbnb, you are paid within 24 hours of their check-in.

Choosing a price and fees to consider

Setting up pricing for your Airbnb property will include a variety of factors. You will need to balance pricing with fees, as well as how much income you will need to be financially independent. When choosing pricing, it’s crucial to look at the rest of the market and your location to select attractive pricing that encourages guests to book.

You can look at similar properties in your location to get an idea of what the average rental price is looking like and what travelers are willing to pay for your location. Other factors to include are the property’s location, size, amenities, and competition in your area. Additionally, you should also account for cleaning fees and other additional charges in your overall pricing. Lastly, consider fees in your price and how that will affect the final payment once guests begin booking your Airbnb property.

8. Think about Airbnb hosting alternatives

Before settling on Airbnb as your primary income stream, you may want to look at alternatives to see if they may be a better fit for you. There are many platforms now available where you can list a room in your property or the entire property for a short-term or long-term holiday stay. Each platform has its own unique features and may cater to different kinds of travelers, so you can research and compare to see which one is the right choice for you.

Vrbo

Vrbo is part of Expedia Group and gives travelers exclusive access to premium properties for holiday rentals worldwide.⁴ Vrbo provides access to a large user base of travelers looking for all kinds of holiday rentals and is a great way to earn holiday rental income. Additionally, Vrbo provides tools such as real-time data insights to help you grow your holiay rental business.

Booking.com

Booking.com is one of the most popular sources for holiday stays and has a large user base. Booking.com features hotels, resorts, apartments, and other types of properties that can be rented by travelers from all around the world. Having listings on Booking.com can be a lucrative income source and be financially independent – so there is a lot of opportunity to build a short-term holiday rental business.

9. Consider ways to get paid: Wise Business

With so many payout methods available for Airbnb hosts, selecting the best option for your needs can be tricky. While solutions like PayPal, Payoneer, and Western Union are available, fees are associated with transactions on the platform.

Additionally, many of the payment methods offered on Airbnb do not account for international currency transfers or other factors, making it difficult to find an affordable solution for Airbnb payments that can work with different currencies.

With Wise Business, Airbnb hosts pay a one-time fee for their account, but can then receive in 9+ currencies in their account: USD, GBP, EUR, CAD, AUD, and more. They can send or spend at their own discretion, and most importantly, they can rely on low-cost fees if transferring their funds between currencies afterward.

Looking to save when sending and receiving overseas payments?

Receive money
with Wise Business >>

300k businesses use Wise every quarter
Trustpilot Score: 4.3 /5 - Excellent ¹
Use Wise account details on Airbnb and Booking.com

Learn More:

How to become an Airbnb Host
How does Airbnb work with PayPal?
How to start an Airbnb business
How do Airbnb payments work?
Booking.com vs. Airbnb: Which is better for you?

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Wise is not a bank, but a Money Services Business (MSB) provider and a smart alternative to banks.

Sources:

1. https://www.trustpilot.com/review/wise.com
2. https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/475
3. https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/1320
4. https://www.vrbo.com/en-us/list