There are so many things you can do with your Airbnb listing to create additional streams of revenue, yet few do this. If you’re a host, then you’re running a business. Think like a business (wo)man. I have ordered this list in terms of the time commitment (least to most) involved to implement these additional revenue streams.
What types of additional revenue streams have you created with your Airbnb? Click To Tweet
Before we jump in, I would be a fool not to mention the interior design of your Airbnb listing. This does have an upwards effect on your nightly price, forever. It can be costly, but it’s an investment that will bring you a return over the next years.
Increase Average Reservation Length
Increase weekend pricing while lowering Thursday/Sunday night pricing is a strategy that results in slightly longer stays on average due to some guests tacking on an extra ‘cheap’ weekday. I give credit to AirDNA for discovering this trick. You’ll find that all good pricing tools do this automatically for you.
Pro Tip: If you have an available day on either side of a reservation you can use Smartbnb to automatically send a message to the guest offering a small discount to extend. Do you already use Smartbnb? Optimize your messages.
According to AirDNA, you can increase your average trip length by lowering Thursday + Sat pricing. Click To Tweet
Add Referral Codes into your Listing
Uber, Lyft, food delivery, etc. Add some of them into your listing. Guests will use them and get free credits, and so will you. You can test verbiage to see which results in a high conversion. Adding ‘airport’ seems to work good, as in, ‘Free airport ride with my Lyft/Uber code: EXAMPLE’.
Add your referal codes (ie Uber) to your Airbnb listing to earn free credit. Click To Tweet
Provide Souvenirs
Lots of travelers on vacation want to bring back some souvenirs for their friends and family. But, what if they forget or don’t have time or just prefer not to haggle at the markets? Have some unique souvenirs the guest can purchase from you. Provide some cheap, free souvenirs, but also offer betters ones for purchase. You can mention this in your electronic guidebook and host profile.
Apply for the Airbnb Super Referral Program
Available to hosts across the globe, you can refer Airbnb hosts and earn $300 as opposed to the standard $100. You have to apply and be accepted into this program.
Do you know there's an Airbnb Super Referral Program? Click here to apply. Click To Tweet
Send a Guest Questionnaire
This has the two-fold benefit of increasing their experience (celebrating anything, favorite wine for the welcome gift, etc.) plus upselling them on additional services (airport pickup, fridge stocking, hire a chef, etc.). Don’t add more than 5 questions.
Showcase your Paintings
If you’re an artist, a great way to earn some extra income is to showcase your paintings. I would not add price tags to the artwork, but instead, mention this in the electronic guidebook and wait for the interested guest to ask.
Offer an Airport Transfer
Either offer to pick up the guest yourself or secure a deal with a local travel company. In either case, clarify the price up front.
Charge For Early Check-ins/Late Check-Outs
If a guest wants to check-in 30 minutes early, then you should not try to charge for this. But, if a guest wants to check-in 2+ hours early, I think it’s reasonable to charge a bit extra. You can use GuestBook, a property management software, to do this automatically. Otherwise, you can use Airbnbs Resolution Center to do this.
Offer Additional Services
Cooking class or hired chef…laundry or dry cleaning service…pre-stocking the fridge…tickets to local activities or restaurant reservations. Brainstorm a bit and come up with a list of 4-5 additional services your guests may benefit from. These can be routine errands the guest may have to do upon arrival that doesn’t add anything to their experience (going to the grocery store for longer reservations). Think, how can you save the guest some time?
Rent Your Car
There are many companies that allow you to rent your personal car. In the United States, there’s Getaround, Turo, and a bunch more. But, these exist across the globe, just search ‘car rental [city]’ and scroll down a bit below the larger, traditional car rental companies. If you live in an area without these services, then offer www.EasyCar.com to your guest which offers traditional car rentals, but it’s available almost in any city on Earth and allows for easy price comparison.
Earn a Commissions on Local Activities
Find two or three unique, local experiences the guest wouldn’t have found had they researched online for 30 minutes prior to arriving. Work out a deal with the provider where you’ll earn a small commission for every guest you send their way.
Pro Tip: Avoid listing either too many or common nearby attractions in your listing. If they’re common, the guest already knows about them. If too many, you’re taking the guests’ attention away from sellable features of your listing. Your Airbnb listing is not a trip planner.
Collect Guest Personal Emails
This is more effective if you have many Airbnb listings, but you can collect personal email addresses of prior guests to target them with future promotions. Be sure to get their permission first. Services like Guesty do this automatically.
What other ways have you added to your revenue through your Airbnb rental activities? Share with the community in the comments section.
