How to Prevent Burn-out as an Airbnb Host

Starting out as an Airbnb host can be an exhilarating time as you prepare your Airbnb, anticipate your first guests, and begin gaining reviews. However, after a while, it may begin to feel repetitive and just a little mundane the more reservations you host.

The thrill of meeting new guests might wear away, which can result in making less effort to go above and beyond and therefore not receiving as much positive feedback in return. You may begin to get annoyed with guests ignoring instructions and repeating the same questions. Or new responsibilities may come up in your life that make it hard to dedicate so much time to your Airbnb.

This is quite a common experience for many Airbnb hosts unfortunately as time goes on. However, there are ways that you can prevent burn out as an Airbnb host by remembering these five pieces of advice:

Outsource or Automate as much as possible:

If hosting is not your main gig, then it can easily feel like a chore if you’re having to keep on top of reservations alongside your full-time job. If you can automate the repetitive tasks, such as messaging and sending check-in instructions among others, then you will likely save a lot of your time and energy.

Finding someone to outsource these tasks too is also another option. Depending on how involved you’d like to remain, you could either hire a Virtual Assistant to take over the administrative side of things while remaining the host or you could completely hand over the reigns to an Airbnb management company.  

Stop being a perfectionist

No matter how great you are as a host; you will never be able to please everybody. People’s interests and travel styles are all completely different and many Airbnb guests have varying definitions of what makes a perfect Airbnb stay.

Therefore, if you receive a negative review do not let it shake you. You should respond to a bad review politely and professionally – do not try to argue with the guest even if you believe they were unreasonable. A well-written response to a bad review can work in your favour as potential guests will see that you are doing your best to improve as a host and taking the criticisms on board.

Superhost Status is not everything

While there are many perks and benefits to being a SuperHost, you do not need to be a SuperHost to run a successful Airbnb. Therefore, if you do not make the cut one year, don’t panic! Bookings will still come in and your guests may even have lower expectations giving you a chance to really wow them and rebuild Superhost Status.

Get to know other Airbnb hosts

As with anything, it makes it easier knowing that you are not the only person going through what you’re experiencing as an Airbnb Host. Share with and learn from other hosts by joining a community group. You can join our New Zealand Airbnb Facebook group here.

Experiment with your hosting

If you’re feeling bored or not totally inspired by your hosting method then make sure to mix things up! Perhaps you could try giving your guests little welcome gifts if you don’t already or offer to show them around your hometown. Ask your guests for feedback so you can keep finetuning your Airbnb experience. Airbnb can begin to feel like a chore if it’s repetitive. Get to know your guests individually so that you can feel more motivated to deliver exceptional service for them.

Just like any other job or income stream, you are likely to go through different periods of fulfillment and stress with Airbnb hosting. If you remember the above though, then you are likely to be less harsh with yourself when things do not go completely right.