Getting started in serviced accommodation and knowing where to begin can be difficult, especially when there are many things that can go wrong. We have made a list of the 5 common mistakes people make in Airbnb and how to avoid them. This will help you to gain a positive experience within this industry and develop positive relations with your tenants overtime.
1. Having a ‘that’ll do’ attitude when investing in a property
When purchasing or renovating a property, one of the first mistakes that people make is having a ‘that’ll do’ attitude. Buying a property based on its cheap price or not renovating to a high standard may potentially lead to problems in the future.
When you are having paying guests paying for overnight stays in your serviced apartments, they will have high standards and expect designs and appliances that are in top condition. When you invest in your property and pay for high standard renovations, you are more likely to get better reviews from your paying guests and an increase in bookings.
2. Treating guests like tenants instead of customers
How you treat your guests is an important factor when you are hosting a serviced apartment. You shouldn’t think of yourself as a landlord, but rather as a hotel employee whose goal is to meet their guests’ needs.
Serviced accommodation is part of the hospitality business, therefore you need to be able to professionally deal with your guests without making them feel that their requests are too much effort. They should feel comfortable in your accommodation, that potential issues will be fixed with no hassles and that they are getting the most out of their break away.
3. Relying too much on Airbnb
It’s a good idea not to rely too heavily on one property management service, such as Airbnb, and the guests they supply you with. There are so many other places where you can post listings for your serviced apartment. Many guests still don’t use airbnb and use other websites like booking.com. It’s also important to think of your competition and where they are listing their serviced apartments.
As a vast majority of property owners use Airbnb the market has become flooded and can make it harder for your property to be found by potential guests. By posting on other sites, including booking.com and Google Hotel Ads, posting on social media, or even having your own site will help your properties to stand above the crowd and increase bookings.
4. Feeling overwhelmed by trying to do everything in the business yourself
Managing a serviced apartment requires a lot of hard work and energy. Often property owners feel that they can juggle the aspects of the business themselves, however these tasks can start to build up and overtime you can end up feeling burnt out and overwhelmed as a result.
It’s important that you don’t take on all of the work and responsibility yourself. This will start to take over your life outside of work and you will find it hard to take a break away from your business. There are different ways that you can lessen your workload, including using automatic emails when replying to potential guests and investing in cleaners or management companies who will run the property for you.
At Central Belfast Apartments we offer management services to property owners who are feeling the pressures from running serviced apartments. We will be able to take the hard work off your hands while you can relax knowing that your properties are under control.
5. Not effectively screening your guests before they enter your property
When you are listing your property for guests to stay in, it’s essential that you know who will be staying and what their intentions are. Serviced apartments differ to hotels as they do not have door security or other guests who can complain if the noise gets too loud. There is also the risk of potential parties or illegal activities which may lead to property damage and can be too much for the cleaners to manage the morning after.
This is why it is essential that you are careful of who you let into your serviced apartments. It is a good idea to check the reasons why they are staying overnight in the property and you should only accept bookings from guests who you are comfortable with staying in your property.Entering the world of serviced apartments can be daunting and it is difficult to know where to start. At Central Belfast Apartments, we can help you to manage your property and your guest relations and avoid these mistakes that are commonly made in Airbnb. For more information on our property management services, get in touch with us today.