How to Get Your Airbnb Summer Ready

With warmer weather fast approaching New Zealand and the summer rush following close behind, it’s now the perfect time to start preparing your Airbnb property for the holiday season. Summer is likely to be the busiest time for Airbnb hosts in Auckland and the rest of the country. It’s a great opportunity to capitalise on the increased local and international tourism, regardless of whether you’re a veteran host or new to the journey. During peak-season, Airbnb hosting is highly lucrative. With an abundance of potential guests, there are a lot of opportunities to earn, learn and see the return Airbnb can offer. With the chance to host many times, experienced users are able to continue building their reputations on the platform and beginners can get off to a powerful start with reviews and ratings.It’s worth considering that your property will likely go through a lot during this time, especially if you’re thinking about hosting full-time throughout the duration of the summer. For this reason, it’s important to plan ahead, to prepare and to follow through on your Airbnb hosting duties carefully. Being busy isn’t an excuse to drop your level of hospitality. To have a positive outcome as an Airbnb host, you’ll need to keep on top of things throughout the entire process.

Preparing Your Airbnb for Summer and Peak-Season

Prior to summer starting, Airbnb hosts should strategise the best approach to Airbnb hosting during this period. This involves thinking about how much time and energy you want to put in, whether or not you’ll be managing the property yourself and how you’re going to go about pricing your listing. Planning ahead is always beneficial when running a vacation rental and with competition only increasing amongst Auckland Airbnb hosts, those that want to see the most return should get on top of it sooner rather than later.

Start Early

The earlier you begin getting ready for peak-season, the better. This doesn’t mean you have to disrupt your current efforts, the best way to strategise is to integrate your future bookings in with your current ones. Some people won’t book accommodation until a few weeks before, so depending on where your listing is based, you may find yourself bombarded with last minute booking requests and enquiries. For this reason, you want to be sure you’re ready for everything.

Don’t Bite Off More Than You Can Chew

Some hosts may find that they have already begun to receive requests for the next few months. It’s during this stage that considerations must be made about your level of commitment. Try not to overbook yourself if you’re not ready or not confident enough to handle it, you may find yourself in difficulty when the time comes. The wisest plan of attack is to make sure your property is ready for the increased guest stays that summer brings. This way you can be confident that your property will continue to delight and provide quality stays throughout the summer.

Do a Deep Clean Before the Beginning of Peak-Season

Your Airbnb is likely to get a lot more foot traffic through it if you’re planning on hosting throughout the peak-season so, it’s a good idea to undertake a complete deep clean at the very start of summer. While you will obviously still need to clean between bookings, a thorough preparation should include a total overhaul of everything to reduce the time you’ll spend on it later. Focus your efforts on areas of the home that are usually neglected during regular spruces. This includes ovens, storage areas, exteriors, gardens and ceilings. You want to present your home in its best light at this time, which means you need to keep it as tidy as you can.

Stock Up On Supplies

For your guests, it’s really important that you provide all the necessary supplies and amenities to make their stay as comfortable as possible. Before the rush, a smart move for Airbnb hosts is to really stock up on everything they need. Toiletries, cutlery, cleaning supplies, towels and bedding should all be readily available. You want to have everything you need on hand to have a seamless summer on Airbnb. Buying in bulk can also help you reduce expenses too.

Consider Local Events Happening Near You

Large-scale events are known to draw huge influxes of guests to Airbnb, especially in Auckland. If you live in the vicinity of a stadium, concert venue or event centre, you should check out the planned events for this period. These are likely to be popular dates on the platform and you should adjust your strategy accordingly.

Get Everything Serviced and in Working Order

The last thing you want as an Airbnb host is to have one of your appliances or amenities break down right before peak-season. This would really throw a spanner in the works and disrupt your potential earnings. Take the time to assess all of your electronics, your oven, your fridge, your air-con and your outdoor entertainment systems to reduce the chance of things going wrong. If things turn south on any of your amenities during a guest’s stay, it can sometimes lead to a bad review and in turn, hinder your progress as a host. It’s really important to take the necessary steps to make sure this doesn’t happen, for a lucrative holiday season.

Having a Profitable Summer as an Airbnb Host

With more stays and more guests, slip-ups can happen during peak-season if you don’t plan ahead. To cement the chances of success and continued profit, it’s a great idea to use these tips and strategise for the best outcome. Airbnb hosting does require effort, but by putting in the work, you can expect to see a fantastic return as we enter the new year.