How to Build a Stand-Out Profile on Airbnb
We all know the importance of a positive first impression, and as an Airbnb property manager, your profile is the touchpoint where you make this magic happen.
The impression you deliver to your potential vacation rental guests in those first few seconds can literally make or break a booking. Anyone can create an Airbnb account, but a killer profile is where you are able to stand out and impress the guests looking at your properties. So let’s talk about how you can be sure to make your first impression a positive one.
Your host profile is very similar to a professional resume. You want to show your guests why you are the best choice to host them during their stay. Make sure that your welcoming personality shines through and that you also present a professional, reliable and trustworthy image so that potential guests will perceive your property as a safe investment.
To build a top notch Airbnb profile, there are a few different areas to focus on. Let’s dive right in!
1. Picture Perfect: Nailing Your Profile Picture
When it comes to your profile picture, it’s less about how you look and more about what the picture conveys about you. Just like professional headshots for a website or LinkedIn profile, your picture should deliver a message based on the values you want to portray. Don’t forget that your Airbnb profile should reflect the values that are distinct to the platform based on the culture of community and hospitality. Here are some important Do’s and Don’ts to keep in mind when preparing for your Airbnb profile pose.
Do commit to quality: You don’t want to scare away your guests by throwing up a blurred or pixelated image. This creates the appearance that you are unprofessional and don’t put care into how you present yourself. Make sure your profile picture is clear and high quality so you come across in the best light possible.
Do smile: Nothing says “welcome” more than a warm and sincere smile. Your expression can either give the sense that you are an accommodating Airbnb host, inviting guests with open arms or someone they don’t really trust to depend on for a pleasant stay. Use your photo to draw them in with a gracious grin that tells them that you want to make their stay pleasant and memorable.
Do include family members: Including significant others or Airbnb account partners (or maybe even kids or pets) conveys the image of togetherness, community and comfort. The image of a family stirs up positive emotions and this may very well be the final push for a guest who is on the fence about booking.
Do consider color scheme: You can read volumes about the psychology of colors and how they can impact sales, but in short, you want to pay attention that the colors in your photo elicit feel-good emotions like comfort, calmness, excitement and order. Think about what emotions your visitors will feel when they see certain colors and what will guide them to pressing that “book” button.
Don’t be too professional: Since the whole premise of Airbnb is community and accessibility you don’t want to come across as stand-offish or stiff. You want your photo to be casual enough to feel approachable and friendly, while still being professional and sleek.
Don’t include distractions: Keep the background of your photo simple so it doesn’t steal attention away from the main subject, which is of course – you! In the same way you want to keep your listing summary succinct and straightforward, you want to present your visual image with as little background noise as possible.
If a picture is worth 1000 words, your Airbnb profile picture is worth 1000 bookings, so choose your photo with care!
2. Open The Lines of Communication
After selecting your profile picture, the next step is to add in the remaining details of your Airbnb host profile, including your contact information. It’s critical that you fill in your phone number and email address accurately and that you check them regularly to ensure you don’t miss out on any potential bookings. On Airbnb, response time is key!
Despite these efforts, there may be occasions when guest requests do not reach you in time. In order to ensure you never miss a potential booking, you can sign up to Guesty for Hosts and our automated message guest communication function will respond right away to any inquiries that come in. If you are looking for Airbnb Superhost status, this is a must!
In addition to your contact details, include anything and everything “optional” that you feel is relevant and that people might connect to such as your hometown, additional language proficiency or your alma mater. You never know when these seemingly minor details will strike a spark with a potential guest and lead them to book.
3. Let’s Get Personal With Your Description
While this process may feel similar to building a professional resume, you want your Airbnb property manager bio to be a little more personal and give a sense of who you are, not just what you do. Describe your hopes and dreams and reasons for becoming an Airbnb host, but more importantly, help people to get to know you a little better and show how you stand out. Don’t forget that even though your guest bookings are technically clients, Airbnb is first and foremost a peer-to-peer and community-based interface, where sharing comes before profitability. It’s all about relationships, so make sure that your profile is authentic and relatable.
If you’re not sure what to include in your bio, get creative. Include your likes and dislikes, your style of traveling and hosting, your favorite foods or music. The more points of interest that you hit on, the more opportunity you give your potential guests to find a connection with you. It’s recommended to have at least 50 words in your bio so use that to your advantage.
4. In Airbnb They Trust
If you think about it, guests putting their safety, comfort and the success of their vacation into the hands of a total stranger requires trust and the best way to establish trust on any vacation rental listing is to provide verification. The following three words can’t be stressed enough: verify. your. identification.
These days, simply inputting your contact information isn’t enough, so Airbnb has given you the option to verify your contact information (through a simple confirmation text, call or email), along with a scan of your state ID, Driver’s License or Passport, to verify your name. Once verified, you will earn a nice little Airbnb “identity verified” badge on your listing to notify guests of your trustworthy status.
Airbnb does everything in its power to be a trustworthy connector between host and guest communication – and verifying that their hosts are actually who they say they are is key to this promise. The best way to show that you believe in or rely on the trust of the Airbnb community is to contribute to it. This not only benefits the community but benefits your booking numbers as well!
The Bottom Line To Be a Top Host
Aside from direct guest communication and reviews, your Airbnb profile is the only way your potential guests can really gauge what kind of host you are and this is your chance to deliver the image you want to promote within the Airbnb community. Don’t forget that the guests’ impression of you is formed in a matter of seconds, at most, so this is not a task you want to take lightly. Take your time and build your profile with thoughtfulness and strategy so you can greet the Airbnb world as the wonderful and professional host that you are!
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