How to rent on Airbnb: everything you need to know!

Dear WuBookers, we all know Airbnb platform: it was one of the most disruptive innovations of the last decade, through which we learned the word Sharing Economy. You have probably taken advantage of its possibilities to find hospitality solutions as a tourist during your holidays, but, if it’s true that Airbnb offers an appetizing service to tourists, it’s also true that it is an exceptional platform for owners who prefer to rent their own properties for short periods. So let’s see how to rent on Airbnb.

How Airbnb works

Airbnb is a platform that connects “hosts”, ie those who offer the accomodation, and guests who are looking for a hospitality solution, generally for a short period. The large offer is easily browseable and the search can be easily narrowed according to many parameters.

Payment is immediate, registration for both guests and hosts is free and the respective reliability is ensured by the possibility of leaving public reviews: if, for tourists, reviews are useful to refine the search, for the hosts it becomes a way to select the customer.

Airbnb allows anyone to register as a “host”

Airbnb gives the possibility to make one’s own property (or of which one has a legitimate use), without tenants, furnished and with electricity, water and gas active utilities, available to possible guests.

Registration as a host takes place through a series of steps where a series of data and documents are requested and ends with the start of your business on Airbnb.

Once the host profile has been verified and activated, the offer must be submitted. When filling in, it is necessary to specify the type of accommodation (apartment, house, bed & breakfast, etc …). But also what kind of room (whole house, private or shared) is offered to guests; the maximum number of people you can host and, of course, the city you are in. As mentioned for other situations, what is shown is important because it is what the potential guest bases their choice on. The texts must be exhaustive, sincere and the images will convert more if they live up to the offer.

Over time, hosts have the opportunity to be selected by the site according to prestige criteria, such as the “Superhost Program” and the more exclusive “Airbnb plus”, for advertisers who meet particular quality criteria and investments.

How much does Airbnb cost?

Although membership is free, Airbnb retains a percentage of payments. Since the end of 2020 it has retained a percentage on transactions of approximately 15%. Hosts must declare their earnings by completing the 730 form, required for the tax declaration.

But be careful: for those who are hosts but not owners of the property (that means they are intermediaries), pursuant to Legislative Decree n. 50/2017, Airbnb should operate as a withholding agent, like other online booking portals (OTA) operating on the italian market.

This means that it would be required to operate the withholding tax to be paid to the Treasury on behalf of the owners, but Airbnb has chosen not to act as a withholding agent. The choice of Airbnb to not exercise this function obliges hosts, if they intervene as managers and not as owners, to act, in turn, as withholding agents, applying the tax withholding required by law.

Here, when in doubt, the “grandmother’s advice” always remains valid: being a commercial activity, before starting to accept payments, consult an accountant to make sure you do everything correctly for accounting and tax purposes.

Other economic aspects

Airbnb allows you to structure the price lists clearly and suggests all the extras that can be quoted, such as the rate for cleaning at the end of your stay. In this way, guests also have the opportunity to always have a coherent prospect, without hidden costs, in the name of transparency.

Economical advantages

Without taking into consideration hyperboles that you will obviously read on the Airbnb website, earning possibilities are obviously very much linked to the quality of the offer. It is a reasonable estimate to quote the gain at + 50% compared to a traditional rental for the same time spent. However, we keep in mind that the time to dedicate, clean up and keep the house always attractive and functioning is obviously very high.

How to rent on Airbnb: the rules

Over the years, Airbnb has equipped itself with rules and regulations, both to be a guarantee for end customers and to ensure that the business is respectful of segmented and complex legal realities, such are those in Europe related to the ones in North America.

So, when you decide to be an Airbnb host, you will find on the platform a series of updated articles on the issue of adhering to the regulations, including regional ones, which will be of fundamental importance.

And again to provide hosts with more tools, today Airbnb is able to support a sort of insurance policy (which does not replace the one that it would be wise to have already when joining the portal) that makes the business safer. It’s called AirCover and it’s a great tool for raising the security bar for hosts, their business, and their properties.

How to get noticed on Airbnb

A detail that the Airbnb revolution has launched, and which, therefore, has become required by users, is to take advantage of tastefully furnished rooms, which today is also possible with a minimum investment. So whether it is “shabby chic” or “Scandinavian minimal” the important thing is to try to give a style to the rental property. Remember that customer evaluation is fundamental and that, also on the basis of these, Airbnb establishes the ranking of offers. So, together with the courtesy of the host, the cleanliness of the building, the truthfullness of the description, even a furniture with taste and style helps to entice the user to leave a positive review. Again with a view to “social” derivation, the ability to be quick to respond and interact, both in the bargaining and in the stay part, is an important factor in evaluating the experience, so we recommend that hosts be present and available.

How to start renting with Airbnb? By connecting through a good channel manager!

Now that you understand the enormous potential of Airbnb, it doesn’t take much to connect your property to the platform. We at WuBook, in fact, are partners of Airbnb and, if you use our services, here’s what you just need to do:

1) Register on Airbnb;

2)Reach WuBook support and follow the steps to confirm the connection is enabled;

This way, your property, probably already connected to other OTAs and metasearchers, will be connected to another booking platform, in a fully integrated, synchronized way and without the possibility of overbooking.

In summary…

Airbnb is a well-structured service and allows satisfaction and earnings, for those who have availability of properties in places sought after by tourism. For many hosts, the experience that began as rounding has become a full-time job. For those who are already present on other short-term rental platforms and tourist offers, it is one more opportunity to find an efficient sales channel.