Dear AirBNB Hosts (& Property Managers)

How to provide a top-notch, turnkey experience

Dear AirBNB hosts & property managers,

We enjoy staying in your properties (we stayed in 19 of them across 9 countries over the last 9 months) and know there’s a lot you do from your end to ensure your properties are ready for guests. We appreciate it! Some of you are especially attentive and it really makes a difference. We wanted to document what the best hosts and property managers do that made a notable difference for us (of course, others may have a different perspective!). Some of this may seem like a lot, but it really is what makes the best properties stand out for us.

Before we even book

When you provide a comprehensive overview of your property, it helps us determine whether or not it’s a good fit. This starts with using a variety of well lit photos of rooms so we can assess their size and how the furniture is configured in them, plus what the shower/bath looks like. (Dark photos, partial views of a bed, incomplete photos of bathrooms and kitchens, and closeups of decor and art don’t help us make this assessment.) Clearly distinguishing the bedrooms and including bed sizes, which aren’t standard across the world, is also so helpful for us to know whether the sleeping arrangements will meet our needs. (Side note: Thank you for not counting a living room with a sofa bed as a bedroom. If other rooms with beds don’t have doors, we also appreciate when you note this.) Details like whether there are blackout blinds and extra blankets are also useful.

We often don’t know much about the neighborhood/area your property is in, so describing what it looks and feels like and how easy or difficult it is to arrive with luggage, sometimes at off hours, helps us make smart decisions. When you share information about nearby markets and cafes, it helps us know we’ll be able to feed ourselves not long after arrival, when we’re tired and not at our best. And when you list a few nearby activities or places to see, it gives us confidence that we’ll have some fun things to do.

Even the most thorough listings are just a starting point for our decision making, so we especially appreciate it when you respond to our questions in a timely manner. This contributes massively to our decision to book or not.

We value feeling like we have a fairly accurate understanding of what kind of accommodation we’re going to be staying in. The best hosts help paint this picture. We never want to arrive at a property that’s been incompletely (or deceptively) described only to realize it won’t work well for us. That’s not a win for anyone. We will leave an honest review of what did and didn’t work so that other potential guests can better assess how well the property may meet their needs.

Our arrival

Proactively communicating about the check-in procedure helps tremendously. We aren’t picky about whether you offer self-check in or prefer to meet us in person, so long as any self-check in is clear and you’re available remotely if we have trouble. If you’ve hidden a key or if the door or lock sticks, we appreciate when you send a video in advance of exactly how to navigate things. Sometimes we find ourselves without good cell reception and trying to navigate entering a property can be tricky, so extra communication in advance helps a lot. If you’re the host but are going to have someone else meet us in person, we appreciate when you tell us ahead of time so we aren’t surprised.

We don’t have a preference for keypads versus keys, as long as there are at least two sets of keys for times when we do separate activities; using lock boxes other than for initial checkin is cumbersome. We truly appreciate when you accommodate early or late checkin, as flight/transportation schedules don’t always line up well with narrow check-in windows and we are often exhausted after traveling and just want to lay down and relax.

It makes it easy for us when you have the basics of how to navigate the property written down somewhere, including how and where to:

• operate the climate control (A/C or heat)

• turn the TV on

• connect to WiFi

• to take the trash out

• navigate any common areas like a pool or gym

• get hot water in the kitchen (if a separate valve is involved)

• use the stove (if a separate switch or key must be turned)

• reset the WiFi router and breaker box

If you have a special shower or other appliance that isn’t intuitive to operate, it’s helpful to include those instructions, too. We may not speak your native language or the language the appliances are in, so an easy-to-follow guide or manual and some troubleshooting tips can be a huge help. Dishwashers and laundry machines especially tend to be tricky. Beyond this, letting us know how best to reach you during our stay gives us peace of mind should we have additional questions.

Bonus things

The logistics of having to make a store run for key items as soon as we’ve arrived can be tricky, especially if it’s a day of the week or time of day when shops may not be open, so providing them helps us make a smooth transition. This includes some shampoo and soap/body wash in the bathroom showers, and dish soap, paper towels, and extra garbage bags in the kitchen. Also, offering salt and pepper, olive oil, and maybe balsamic vinegar or soy sauce (depending on what’s typical for the part of the world you’re in) in the kitchen is fantastic, as those get expensive for us to buy and then leave behind. If we use them up, we’ll replace them, and we know your next guests will also value having them.

We really appreciate when you share relevant cultural information, such as: Grocery stores are closed on Sundays, or restaurants tend to close in the afternoon from 4pm to 8pm, or Friday is a national holiday and here’s what you can expect. We likely aren't familiar with local customs/rhythms yet, so giving us a brief heads up is incredibly helpful.

If nearby public transportation requires cards or tickets that are challenging to obtain or figure out, we value when you leave some to help us get started, along with information on how to get to the best nearby stations or stops. If parking at the property is available but tricky to navigate, we appreciate guidance on how to best do so.

We love when a property feels like a home. That doesn’t mean that it’s cluttered, but it does mean it has artwork and decorations, books we can read, games we can play, and touches that make it feel homey versus like a sterile corporate space. Don’t be afraid to give the place some character and personality, especially when it represents your country’s culture.

Super bonus things

We especially treasure having flour, sugar, and coffee; a small container of milk or cream is rarely provided but is such an amazing touch. A bottle of wine and some chocolate is lovely, but an even better arrival surprise is if you leave something we can immediately eat upon arrival, like fresh fruit and bread or pastries. (Some cheese would be a dream!)

If there happens to be an extra universal travel adapter available, that makes our lives so much easier. We try to always have these with us, but sometimes they’re buried in our luggage or we’ve accidentally left them behind. Nothing incites panic mode like not being able to charge our devices!

During our stay

We love when you’ve provided a local guide with suggested activities, whether digital or on paper. Yes, so much information is available online, but you’re local and we value your perspective and inside information. Plus, you can suggest authentic opportunities or local/seasonal events we might not otherwise be aware of.

Occasionally we have questions like: Where’s the nearest local market for produce? Or, Where do we buy a deck of cards? We appreciate when you can serve as a bit of a concierge. Sometimes you’re the only person in the entire city or country that we know, and you’re a lifeline for anything we can’t easily find clear answers to online.

Sometimes things in the property don’t work the way we might expect them to or something breaks. We appreciate when you help us troubleshoot or get them fixed quickly. If they can’t be fixed, we appreciate when you come up with creative workarounds or just offer to quickly replace something.

We sometimes find that we need certain items in the kitchen so we can cook. If they’re inexpensive, we’ll buy them and leave them behind for the next guests. We’ve bought mixing bowls and spatulas, for example. And when you offer to get them for us (like a microwave)? Even better, not only for us, but also your subsequent guests.

After our stay

We try to leave helpful reviews for future guests. While we want to share the very best of our experience, we’ll also be honest about what may not have worked well for us. We’ll provide any suggestions for things you could do to make the property or the stay even better in the future.

Things we tend to recommend are related to the kitchen:

• Offer better and/or more (non-stick) sauté pans with lids (many are poor quality or at end of life and we really need at least two but often only have one);

• provide potholders and/or kitchen towels;

• provide multiple sets of silverware and glasses/plates/bowls so that they don’t have to be washed after every meal (four of each item isn’t enough);

• sharpen the kitchen knives (they often become so dull they’re hard and unsafe to use); and

• ensure there’s a can opener and coffee maker of some sort.

You can read our Top 10 Tips for Cooking in an AirBNB for more ideas about how to ensure your kitchen supplies are better than adequate.

Final thoughts

Thank you so much for offering a space that feels like home away from home. We work hard as a family to leave every property we stay in as close to the way we found it as possible (without doing a full cleaning, since we pay for that) so you can continue to provide a stellar experience for others.

PS: We aren’t the only family who writes letters to AirBNB hosts! https://adventurefamilyjournal.com/open-letter-to-all-airbnb-owners/