Latest / Thanks For Visiting / 568. 10 Simple But Genius Hacks for a Better Airbnb Setup

Transcript

568. 10 Simple But Genius Hacks for a Better Airbnb Setup · Thanks For Visiting

• 1:04
  Sarah Karakaian: Welcome back to another great episode.
• 1:07
  Sarah Karakaian: My name is Sarah Karakaian.
• 1:09
  Annette Grant: I'm Annette Grant, and together we are...
• 1:11
  Annette & Sarah: Thanks for Visiting.
• 1:12
  Sarah Karakaian: The difference between a good Airbnb and a great one is almost never the property itself, it's the hundred small decisions about how that property is set up that guests notice, mention in reviews, and the reason they come back.
• 1:24
  Annette Grant: Mm-hmm.
• 1:25
  Annette Grant: And most of these cost almost nothing and take minutes to implement.
• 1:29
  Annette Grant: And a lot of hosts, they have never even thought of them.
• 1:32
  Sarah Karakaian: We're not talking about a renovation, okay?
• 1:34
  Sarah Karakaian: We are talking about specific low-cost setup details that turn a forgettable stay into a five star review.
• 1:43
  Annette Grant: We have been hosting for over a decade, built a multi-million dollar portfolio and work with hundreds of hosts through our private coaching program Strategic Hosts.
• 1:51
  Annette Grant: These are the hacks we put in every property we touch.
• 1:54
  Sarah Karakaian: Let's get into it.
• 1:56
  Sarah Karakaian: And make sure you stick around for number 10.
• 1:58
  Sarah Karakaian: This easy setup will save you time and the guest review.
• 2:04
  Annette Grant: Hack number one: zip encasement mattress and pillow protector.
• 2:08
  Annette Grant: These zip encasements fully wrap around the entire mattress and pillow, and it is one of the most important things in the bedroom that most hosts don't have, and you better believe I look for them on each and every
• 2:20
  Annette Grant: one of my stays.
• 2:21
  Sarah Karakaian: Mm-hmm.
• 2:21
  Annette Grant: Worst case, it is your bedbug protection, number one.
• 2:26
  Annette Grant: But beyond that, it protects against so many things; stains, pet hair.
• 2:31
  Annette Grant: It extends the life of the mattress significantly in a high use property, and it makes the whole bed easier to just keep clean.
• 2:39
  Annette Grant: Guests never see it under the fitted sheet.
• 2:42
  Annette Grant: Sometimes they'll peek like I do under the pillowcase.
• 2:45
  Annette Grant: But if you put it on every mattress and every pillow, this will protect you and your guests.
• 2:51
  Sarah Karakaian: And yet you're gonna protect the investment too of nice pillows.
• 2:54
  Annette Grant: Mm-hmm.
• 2:54
  Sarah Karakaian: Hopefully you have nice pillows.
• 2:55
  Annette Grant: Mm-hmm.
• 2:56
  Sarah Karakaian: And a nice mattress.
• 2:58
  Sarah Karakaian: My favorite, I have to share this.
• 2:59
  Annette Grant: Hmm.
• 3:00
  Annette Grant: This is, this is a sub hack on the hack.
• 3:03
  Sarah Karakaian: Yeah.
• 3:03
  Sarah Karakaian: Yeah, yeah.
• 3:03
  Sarah Karakaian: You're welcome, you guys.
• 3:04
  Sarah Karakaian: It is actually through HostGPO.
• 3:07
  Sarah Karakaian: You have to be a HostGPO member which is totally worth it.
• 3:10
  Sarah Karakaian: We'll link to it in the show notes below.
• 3:12
  Sarah Karakaian: Uh, but it's through Standard Textile, and the reason why I love it, Annette, is because it is two separate pieces.
• 3:19
  Sarah Karakaian: It, the bottom part goes over the bottom of the mattress and the sides, and then the top zips on all the way around you guys.
• 3:27
  Sarah Karakaian: Why do you care about this?
• 3:28
  Sarah Karakaian: Well, when a guest inevitably does have a stain on the bed whether they spill something or other things happen.
• 3:36
  Annette Grant: Oh, there's things.
• 3:36
  Annette Grant: Stuff.
• 3:36
  Sarah Karakaian: And things happen ...things happen.
• 3:37
  Sarah Karakaian: Stuff and things happen, and it goes through the fitted sheet, and it does go onto the mattress protector.
• 3:42
  Sarah Karakaian: All you have to do, all your cleaner has to do is unzip the top, throw it in the washer, and then zip it back on when it's done.
• 3:49
  Sarah Karakaian: I mean, it can happen during the turnover too depending on how many loads of laundry you have.
• 3:53
  Annette Grant: Super quick.
• 3:54
  Sarah Karakaian: We'll never go back to not having a zip.
• 3:56
  Annette Grant: Full zip.
• 3:57
  Sarah Karakaian: Yes.
• 3:58
  Sarah Karakaian: Hack number two: I want you to set your guests up for the best sleep of their trip.
• 4:04
  Sarah Karakaian: I'm going to say their life.
• 4:04
  Sarah Karakaian: I'm gonna set the standards really high.
• 4:06
  Sarah Karakaian: Blackout curtains in every bedroom so a guest who wants to sleep in can sleep in.
• 4:12
  Sarah Karakaian: A sound machine in every room.
• 4:15
  Sarah Karakaian: If you're in a metro market or anywhere near road, road noise, that's hard to say, this eliminates one of the most common complaints before it ever happens.
• 4:26
  Sarah Karakaian: I would say earplugs provide as a backup option, but actually our safety guy- Yeah Justin Ford...
• 4:33
  Sarah Karakaian: Shout out to Justin Ford.
• 4:34
  Sarah Karakaian: So they're not the safest thing.
• 4:35
  Sarah Karakaian: You don't wanna like block your guests from being able to hear smoke detectors.
• 4:39
  Annette Grant: Mm-hmm.
• 4:39
  Sarah Karakaian: And so now I'm more, much more of a fan of a, of a noise machine.
• 4:42
  Annette Grant: Mm-hmm.
• 4:42
  Sarah Karakaian: Just has, you know, black noise.
• 4:43
  Annette Grant: And even if you're in a quiet area you think, "Oh, I only need a sound machine when it's noisy."
• 4:49
  Annette Grant: But those people who are light sleepers, when it's super, super quiet, that brings them peace and calm too.
• 4:55
  Annette Grant: And listen, a well-rested guest is in a completely different head space for the rest of their stay, right?
• 5:02
  Annette Grant: You feel me on that.
• 5:03
  Annette Grant: And these three things combined together, they cost very little, and the impact will show up in your reviews.
• 5:09
  Annette Grant: Hack number three is providing extra blankets for your guests.
• 5:14
  Annette Grant: Nobody wants to be cold.
• 5:15
  Annette Grant: I'm with Sarah all the time, she's freezing all the time.
• 5:17
  Sarah Karakaian: So cold.
• 5:17
  Annette Grant: And if a guest gets cold they should not have to dig around or message you.
• 5:22
  Annette Grant: We keep ours folded neatly in a clear storage container on the closet shelves so they're easy to find and they look very intentional rather than strewn about and thrown out on all the furniture.
• 5:33
  Annette Grant: And by the way, obviously when you stay in a hotel what do you do when you look for If you bring in a rollaway bed or they have a, um, a foldout couch, all of that extra bedding is
• 5:43
  Annette Grant: stored in the closet so guests are already prepared on where to look for, for those items.
• 5:48
  Sarah Karakaian: And I know that I'm kind of a weirdo in this, in this realm but yes, I'll go into a hotel or into short term rental and I'll go in the closet and see if they have an extra blanket
• 5:58
  Sarah Karakaian: for me.
• 5:58
  Sarah Karakaian: But if it's just like on the shelf and not either really intentionally folded or in a plastic container, I'm just wondering like...
• 6:06
  Annette Grant: Mm-hmm.
• 6:06
  Sarah Karakaian: Where has that blanket just been?
• 6:08
  Sarah Karakaian: Like, is it clean?
• 6:09
  Sarah Karakaian: Is it ready for me?
• 6:10
  Annette Grant: Mm-hmm.
• 6:10
  Sarah Karakaian: So I just...
• 6:11
  Sarah Karakaian: If you wanna go above and beyond for the Sarahs out there and just be very intentional with the reset of your extra blankets for your guests, I think they'll appreciate it.
• 6:21
  Sarah Karakaian: Hack number four, your coffee setup should cover every guest.
• 6:25
  Sarah Karakaian: Okay, so drip coffee for the group, a Keurig for the guest who wants a single cup, maybe a French press or a Chemex, um, if, if it fits your property and if you've got the budget to do so.
• 6:36
  Sarah Karakaian: I want you to try to cover every coffee drinker in the house, especially if you have a larger property.
• 6:41
  Annette Grant: Because coffee matters.
• 6:43
  Annette Grant: And we're talking...
• 6:44
  Annette Grant: Make sure you're stocking decaf too.
• 6:46
  Sarah Karakaian: Yes.
• 6:46
  Annette Grant: And tea.
• 6:46
  Sarah Karakaian: Yes.
• 6:47
  Annette Grant: But the thing that gets mentioned most in our reviews, then please this is so easy, do it today, is our to-go cups with our coffee station.
• 6:58
  Annette Grant: Guests are potentially heading out for their adventures of the day.
• 7:03
  Annette Grant: Maybe they’re heading to the airport or maybe they’re just heading back on the road.
• 7:07
  Annette Grant: They wanna take their coffee with them, and it is such a nice surprise and delight, and like, oh, they thought of everything.
• 7:13
  Annette Grant: A set of to-go cups with lids next to the coffee station.
• 7:16
  Annette Grant: It’s maybe a $10 purchase, and it gets noticed every single time.
• 7:20
  Annette Grant: Guests love it.
• 7:21
  Sarah Karakaian: For my sustainable hosts out there, you can get coffee lids, um, and coffee cups that have been recycled and that can easily be recycled too.
• 7:30
  Sarah Karakaian: So if sustainability is a concern of yours, we've heard it before, so I just wanna address it now, that you can have that o- on top of mind as well.
• 7:37
  Annette Grant: Hack number five, stock your kitchen to cook a full Thanksgiving dinner.
• 7:42
  Annette Grant: Your kitchen is the single biggest advantage you have over every hotel competing for the same guest.
• 7:49
  Annette Grant: So we gotta stock it like this is that important advantage.
• 7:53
  Annette Grant: You need to have enough pots, enough pans, baking dishes, utensils, serving ware, that a family could cook a full holiday meal if they wanted to.
• 8:02
  Annette Grant: The professional host with the best kitchen is going to win.
• 8:06
  Sarah Karakaian: I want you to start with the basics that should always be there, okay?
• 8:09
  Sarah Karakaian: The very least.
• 8:10
  Sarah Karakaian: I actually just stayed at a short-term rental.
• 8:12
  Sarah Karakaian: Gosh, it was disappointing.
• 8:14
  Sarah Karakaian: Um, I want you to have salt, pepper, and olive oil in every property, always stocked.
• 8:19
  Sarah Karakaian: And actually Airbnb offers this up as a specific amenity that you can check off on your listing, which is good for you, right?
• 8:27
  Sarah Karakaian: I went to always be fresh too.
• 8:29
  Sarah Karakaian: Don't have your salt be sticky inside the salt shaker.
• 8:31
  Sarah Karakaian: I want you to care.
• 8:32
  Sarah Karakaian: Guest cooking in your home should not have to run to the store for pantry staples or wonder how old and disgusting is the olive oil and salt and pepper, okay?.
• 8:43
  Sarah Karakaian: That is, that is base.
• 8:45
  Sarah Karakaian: That is your floor, and then I want you to, like Annette said, be able to cook Thanksgiving dinner and build up from there.
• 8:52
  Sarah Karakaian: By the way, this is the exact kind of work that we do with our private clients inside of our coaching program Strategic Hosts.
• 9:00
  Sarah Karakaian: I want you to join us live and see if it's the right fit for you.
• 9:04
  Sarah Karakaian: The link is in the description to save your seat.
• 9:08
  Sarah Karakaian: Hack number six, the forgot something basket.
• 9:11
  Sarah Karakaian: This is a TFE original.
• 9:13
  Sarah Karakaian: All right, so every property we manage and own has one of these.
• 9:17
  Sarah Karakaian: We call it The Forgot Something Basket.
• 9:20
  Sarah Karakaian: Toothbrushes, toothpaste, shaving supplies, hairspray, a nail file.
• 9:25
  Sarah Karakaian: The things guests most commonly forget or run out of, we stock it and refresh it on every single turnover.
• 9:33
  Annette Grant: And we already hear you.
• 9:34
  Annette Grant: We get asked this all the time, "Aren't you worried guests will take everything?"
• 9:38
  Annette Grant: No, we're not.
• 9:39
  Annette Grant: In all of our years in the hosting, we have never had someone that completely like dumped the Forgot Something Basket in their luggage and left.
• 9:47
  Annette Grant: But here's what does happen.
• 9:49
  Annette Grant: This is what we, we gain on every single stay.
• 9:52
  Annette Grant: The guest feels looked after in a way that they didn't expect, whether they even need to use something from the, from the basket or not.
• 10:00
  Annette Grant: We did an entire video on The Forgot Something Basket, and we'll make sure to link it for you.
• 10:06
  Annette Grant: Hack number seven, you need to have hooks everywhere
• 10:11
  Sarah Karakaian: Mm-hmm.
• 10:12
  Annette Grant: Okay?
• 10:13
  Annette Grant: In the bathroom so guests can hang multiple towels to dry.
• 10:16
  Annette Grant: Think about your guest count; think about your towel count.
• 10:19
  Annette Grant: At the entryway, so coats, bags, purses they have somewhere to go right when the guest walks in.
• 10:27
  Annette Grant: And be, you know, be strategic on your placing everywhere
• 10:30
  Sarah Karakaian: When guests walk in and there is nowhere obvious to put their things it creates friction they might not name but they definitely feel.
• 10:38
  Sarah Karakaian: A well placed hook solves that instantly.
• 10:42
  Sarah Karakaian: You'll never be sorry for having too many, but you might be sorry for not installing the hook correctly.
• 10:47
  Sarah Karakaian: I want you to make sure that you're using the right kind of hardware to withstand a decent amount of weight.
• 10:53
  Sarah Karakaian: And the hardware exists, so just do it right the first time and let them hang up their purses and their bags with confidence.
• 11:01
  Sarah Karakaian: Hack number eight.
• 11:02
  Sarah Karakaian: Backup key mounted next to smart lock.
• 11:05
  Sarah Karakaian: Okay, so I want you to mount a backup key in a lockbox right next to your smart locks because smart locks can fail, all right?
• 11:14
  Sarah Karakaian: A dead battery, connectivity issue or you have those guests who just can't figure it out, and it happens.
• 11:21
  Sarah Karakaian: Right next to every smart lock in our properties mounted to the wall is a backup key in a small lock box.
• 11:28
  Sarah Karakaian: If a guest ever can't get in either are team or we can even give the guest immediate access without them having to wait on a locksmith or for us to drive there and, and let them in.
• 11:40
  Annette Grant: Mm-hmm.
• 11:41
  Annette Grant: A guest locked out at any time especially, you know, at midnight in an unfamiliar place is a five star review that is just not gonna happen.
• 11:50
  Annette Grant: So have the back up because we told now you know.
• 11:53
  Annette Grant: Mount it next to the door and put the code in your instructions.
• 11:58
  Annette Grant: Hack number nine, photos in your guidebook and welcome message.
• 12:02
  Annette Grant: If you have to explain something to a guest, it probably needs a photo.
• 12:07
  Annette Grant: Potentially how to enter the property, which buttons to press on the thermostat, where the extra towels are, how to work the TV.
• 12:16
  Annette Grant: We show guests exactly what to do with our written, written instructions and with corresponding photos in both our welcome message and our printed guidebook.
• 12:25
  Annette Grant: I am a visual learner.
• 12:27
  Annette Grant: This is what helps me because when I see a bunch of letters they just fall into the void.
• 12:32
  Sarah Karakaian: No one likes it.
• 12:33
  Sarah Karakaian: No.
• 12:34
  Annette Grant: Yeah.
• 12:34
  Sarah Karakaian: When a guest has a question at 10:00 PM and there's a clear photo of exactly what they need to find, they solve it themselves without messaging you.
• 12:41
  Sarah Karakaian: And listen, they don't want to message, I know you don't wanna hear from them at 10:00 PM, and they don't wanna have to message you and wait for you to respond and walk them through it; all those things.
• 12:50
  Sarah Karakaian: If you're explaining something more than once, you need a photo.
• 12:56
  Sarah Karakaian: There are so many creative ways to do this too.
• 12:57
  Sarah Karakaian: You can do it via a QR code.
• 13:00
  Sarah Karakaian: You can do it via a printed welcome book.
• 13:02
  Sarah Karakaian: I know we all love the digital ones.
• 13:03
  Sarah Karakaian: You can have that too.
• 13:04
  Sarah Karakaian: Like get creative.
• 13:05
  Sarah Karakaian: Know who your ideal guest is.
• 13:07
  Sarah Karakaian: Know who you usually attract and cater to them.
• 13:11
  Sarah Karakaian: All right, here's the one that I think is really great.
• 13:15
  Annette Grant: Mm-hmm.
• 13:16
  Sarah Karakaian: Hack number ten, the bulbs and battery box.
• 13:20
  Sarah Karakaian: All right?
• 13:21
  Sarah Karakaian: So in every property we manage, there's a small clear box in either the utility closet or sometimes I put it over the sink in the kitchen cabinet, that cabinet up there, that contains spare light bulbs for every fixture
• 13:33
  Sarah Karakaian: in the home.
• 13:34
  Sarah Karakaian: So you can't just give them the regular bulb if you also have candelabra or other specialty bulbs like, so every single light.
• 13:40
  Sarah Karakaian: Extra batteries in all the sizes that th- they would need for your remote control and anything else in your home that requires batteries.
• 13:47
  Sarah Karakaian: A flashlight for safety.
• 13:50
  Sarah Karakaian: And a key for any interior door that could get locked from the inside.
• 13:53
  Sarah Karakaian: So it doesn't have to be like one, like a key key but you know those like.
• 13:56
  Annette Grant: They're like those, a hairpin key.
• 13:57
  Sarah Karakaian: Yeah, a hairpin.
• 13:58
  Sarah Karakaian: Thank you.
• 13:58
  Sarah Karakaian: Mm-hmm.
• 13:59
  Sarah Karakaian: Yes, extra ones of those.
• 14:00
  Annette Grant: Because listen, when something minor like a light bulb going out or a battery dying goes wrong during the guest stay, they can handle it themselves.
• 14:09
  Annette Grant: It's right there.
• 14:10
  Annette Grant: It's self serve.
• 14:10
  Annette Grant: They can fix it fast.
• 14:12
  Annette Grant: They don't wanna wait on us to get there or call somebody to help them.
• 14:16
  Annette Grant: And they don't wanna have to run to a store.
• 14:18
  Annette Grant: Uh-uh, no way!
• 14:19
  Annette Grant: We're not making them doing that.
• 14:20
  Annette Grant: So listen, that box, you set it up once, you check at it after every guest day, and you just let it do its job.
• 14:32
  Annette Grant: None of these hacks require a renovation or a giant budget.
• 14:37
  Annette Grant: They require paying attention to how a guest actually experiences your space and making sure that you have thought of it before they have to ask, and that right there is the difference between, between between a good property and
• 14:50
  Annette Grant: one that people want to come back to again and again.
• 14:54
  Sarah Karakaian: Inside of Strategic Host we help hosts get more nights booked, charged what their property is worth, and stop leaving money on the table.
• 14:56
  Annette Grant: Join us live and see if strategic Host is the right fit for you.
• 15:04
  Annette Grant: Link in the description to save your seat.
• 15:06
  Sarah Karakaian: And with that, I am Sarah Karakaian.
• 15:08
  Annette Grant: I'm Annette Grant, and together we are...
• 15:10
  Annette & Sarah: Thanks for Visiting.