Preparing your Airbnb Listing for the Trans-Tasman Bubble Opening

Last week, Jacinda Ardern announced that the long-awaited Trans-Tasman Bubble will finally open on April 19th allowing New Zealanders and Australians to travel across the ditch without needing to quarantine. After a year of closed borders and primarily Kiwi guests, the return of Australians to New Zealand is sure to boost the number of Airbnb bookings that hosts receive for the remainder of the year. 

With many hosts wanting to welcome Australian travellers to their Airbnbs, here are three tips that will make your listing stand out above the rest:

Give confidence in guest’s bookings
Although we finally have a date for the opening of the Trans-Tasman bubble, both New Zealand and Australia have warned that if a concerning number of cases arise on either side of the border, the bubble can be closed again in order to protect both countries and control the spread. To help increase the number of bookings, you could add to your listing that guests will be refunded if travel restrictions are imposed again that stop travellers from being able to get to your Airbnb.

Offer discounts for longer stays
It is predicted that there will be a lot of travellers coming for the purpose of visiting family and friends that they have not seen since before the pandemic. Due to this, visits are likely to be longer in one place so adding discounts for longer stays will be highly attractive for these travellers. You could either edit your weekly and monthly discounts on Airbnb or use the Special Offer tool to give guests arriving from Australia a special discounted rate.

Encourage local tourism
With the borders still being closed off to the rest of the world for the foreseeable future, the opening to Australian visitors is a much needed boost for many tourism operators, with Tourism New Zealand predicting the move could inject $1 billion into the economy by the end of 2021. By offering your guests recommendations for local tourism businesses it will help the revival of tourism in New Zealand which could lead to more travel and more Airbnb bookings. Speak to owners of local businesses near your Airbnb to see if they can offer your guests any special deals if you recommend them to come - your guests will thank you!

While there is still uncertainty about whether the Trans-Tasman Bubble opening will be successful, it is a great start to returning to Pre-Covid levels of occupancy and nightly rates. If you prepare your listing with these tips, your Airbnb is likely to appeal to many Australians planning their trips here.