Managing an Airbnb listing can be a supremely stressful endeavor and honestly, not everyone is cut out for it. Maybe you need an Airbnb co-host! You might have business savvy, but a close friend or business associate of yours might have a fantastic eye for detail. Imagine you’d like to bring them on board as a partner in your Airbnb listing – does Airbnb offer co-hosting capabilities?
Well, yes, they do. In fact, co-hosting on Airbnb is so popular that it’s practically a separate industry all on its own! There are a number of professional co-hosting businesses across the globe and some are recording very impressive business figures.
Airbnb categorizes a co-host as “someone the listing owner already knows. Co-hosts are usually family members, neighbors, trusted friends, or someone the host has hired to help with the listing. Hosts and co-hosts agree on who’s responsible for what, how much of the reservation income will go to the co-host, and how the co-host will be reimbursed for expenses.”
What Does an Airbnb Co-Host Do?
Co-hosting makes the most sense when a property owner lives a considerable distance from their property but a close relation or friend of theirs lives closer and is willing to manage said property in their absence.
These sort of arrangements always work better when duties, jobs, and responsibilities are clearly spelled out and agreed to by both parties. Without a co-hosting agreement, things can fall through the cracks, and neither party benefits from unhappy guests, especially on a platform like Airbnb where reviews are so highly regarded.
How Does the Airbnb Co-Hosting System Work?
Primary hosts who have listed their properties on Airbnb need to add their co-host via the Airbnb interface. Go to Listings, select the listing that you’d like to update, click ‘Co-Hosts’ and ‘Invite a Friend’. You can add up to three co-hosts per listing, but remember that you will all have to agree to the co-host Terms of Service
What Does the Airbnb Co-Host Terms of Service Say?
Airbnb’s Co-Hosting Terms of Service are there simply to make the co-hosting relationship as official as possible, and protect Airbnb and its users’ interests. If you want to register a professional as a co-host, you’ll need to get express permission from Airbnb directly. This is very possible and there are a few professional co-host companies that have seen huge success as of late!
Co-hosting allows members of Airbnb’s host community to enlist help from their friends and family in an official capacity in order to get extra support for the management of their listing. Critically, it is not the same as a host or owner hiring a property management company.
How Can Having an Airbnb Co-Host Help Me?
Generally speaking, if you live within commuting distance from your listing, then having an Airbnb co-host might not make sense for you. Unless of course you work full-time and cannot dedicate the amount of time necessary to manage your property listings accordingly.
If you find yourself in a restrictive position like the above, co-hosting is a way to bring someone you know and trust on board to help and pay them a pre-agreed percentage of your income, calculated per booking. The same goes for hiring a professional co-host.
Airbnb’s Terms of Service for Co-Hosting stipulate a few of the possible duties for co-hosts and they include: adjusting calendars and prices, handling guest check-in and check-out, managing guest communications, interacting with Airbnb for claims, and troubleshooting, and more. You can read the Terms of Service here.
What Are Some of the Best Practices for Airbnb Co-Hosts?
Communication is undeniably the most important attribute that any co-host relationship must prioritize. Without communication, no business relationship can flourish and succeed. Be sure to actively communicate and make very clear which duties are the responsibility of which party.
Discuss any limitations that you have identified and look for ways to address them. A co-host is a fresh pair of eyes on the property. Perhaps they will identify issues of which you as the primary host may not have been aware.
Reliability and dependability are important factors in any successful co-hosting relationship.
Where Does Dynamic Pricing Come In?
Co-hosting makes the Airbnb hosting process easier than ever. And more efficient, of course. Co-hosts are paid a percentage of the bookings that they manage. Dynamic pricing gets you more money for every booking and that benefits both you and your co-host.
We designed our dynamic pricing tool to find the best possible price for your listing in every market environment. It reads market fluctuations, changes in demand, changes in supply, global travel trends, exchange rates, and more before it creates the optimal price. It then automatically updates your prices every single day.
Business in 2021 is all about optimization. Technology has given us all amazing opportunities to increase the profitability of our businesses and DPGO is no different. Start pricing more intelligently and sign up for your free 30-day DPGO trial now! Register here!
The best STR hosts know the importance of insurance and the terrible consequences if you don’t have it. Check out our vacation rental insurance guide! If you’re looking at investing in a new Airbnb property, try Markets by DPGO! We whipped up a quick guide on how you can use Markets to find your next STR location.
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