10 Beginner Steps to Setting Up Your Airbnb Business

10 steps to setting up your first Airbnb guarantee most people skip number nine hi I'm Sarah carakan and I'm Anette Grant and together we are thanks for visiting we've been hosting for well over a decade welcome tens of thousands of guests and earn thousands of five-star reviews our portfolio continues to bring in over 1 and a half million year-over-year and supported not only by the industry's leading Brands but also some of the biggest media outlets and we're here to help you with your furnished step one you're going to create your LLC and get your business

banking account I would say that a lot of people don't do this I didn't don't be me I had was comingling oh my gosh comingling funds that was not a fun thing to unravel that is why we make this step number one because if you can start off right from the beginning knowing your numbers and having them separated you are going to be Off to the Races first of all when we say create your LLC we should caveat that you should talk to attorney and your CPA and make sure you're setting up this entity in

a way that really serves you and your goals but having having it in some sort of protection entity protection is going to be really good for you especially if it's a piece of real estate like it is where you are open for liability with your personal assets with other assets you have like this will help you protect it but again we are not attorneys we are not CPA so just let us this is just your like go talk to someone who knows more about you friendly reminders and your goals when it comes to Business Bank

banking we do have a favorite bank that we've been using for a couple years now that we'd be happy to share with you yes because you can do everything online it's so good no having to go into the physical location anymore it's called relay and we'll link down below but you can set it up all online they will ask you for your business information so like your EIN number which is a number that the IRS will give to you once you set up your LLC or your entity like your business social security number right um

and then you you'll need the name of your business when you're setting up this business banking and anyone who owns a property with you who you want to have access to this business banking they'll ask for their information too but this is so great because when you set up your Airbnb and you get to the part where it asks you where you want your funds to be sent to you can just have it sent already ready to go that bank account and that routing number goes straight to that account get properly licensed and insured let's

start with the license this is one of those things you are going to have to do your research again that you might need to have a license in your area you might not heck we know a lot of hosts that they didn't need one but by the time they actually got up and running they did need one so you are going to have to do your due diligence here now that you're a host it is literally your job to stay up to date with regulations in the area in which you have your shortterm rental not

knowing is not an excuse they will still find you they will still shut you down so you need to know cuz it could it can change at any time you also need to be properly insured yes and this is before you open like once you purchase that property you want to get insured right away because even when you're moving your furniture in you want to make sure you're covered let's give you some really basic things to talk with your insurance broker about when you make that phone call so as you're setting up your your Airbnb

physically you could be making these calls and I would get I would get some quotes too from different Insurance Brokers but ask some questions such as like do will you cover my Prof property because it's being run as a short-term rental do not hide this from them because you want to make a claim about you know personal injury or something happens to your property and they learned that a short-term rental guest was in there and you're not covered it's not then what's the point of you paying and doing all those things like it's it's not

going to not going to get covered loss of Revenue will they give you money should you have to shut down for any reason whether it's like fire water squatter bed bugs right loss of income and all those things I said will they help you cover those things are those claims that you can submit for it's expensive to get rid of bed bugs it's expensive to get rid of a of a squatter it's expensive to clean up you know a bathroom if it's um if the water damage water damage right so ask all these questions and

document and really make sure that you understand what they C what they cover and what they don't and let the let them know are you personally going to be using it is it going to be a short-term rental potentially a midterm rental will it ever sit vacant you want to make sure you're giving them as the full of story that you can number three you're going to want to learn your market and Shop your competition you're a business owner now remember our tip number one where he told you to open up an LLC and that

business banking so now that you're a business owner you always need to know what your competition is doing what are they doing well what are they doing better than you what aren't they doing that you should be doing like you need to be on top of this at all times that you can be informed and make decisions on how you operate your short-term rental and what's great about the doing this right now is before you go and do all the design and Furnishing on your property you can see maybe what is missing in the marketplace

are there are there amenities that you could bring in or are there people that are really crushing it in your marketplace with certain amenities so you want to do this research ahead of time before you go way too far with a design and Furnishing tfb Pro tip this is a little Advanced I know it's your first Airbnb so but let's go next level if you're going to do it let's do it yeah so what you can do a little trick is go like an that just said go to all your competition like all the shter

rentals that are surrounding where you're going to be not all of them but a good amount of them go to their review section right and I want you to just highlight copy as many like as many as you can just keep letting your your website page scroll down okay end it at some point right and then you're going go over to the free version of chat GPT and you're going to paste what you just copied into jat gbt and before you press enter you're going to say going to prompt you're going to prompt the GPT

and you're going to say pull out from this list of reviews anything that guests are saying they love about the property and then chat GPT is going to tell you what guests are raving about and then you can do that whole thing again and say tell me what guests are complaining about and this is a really cool way for you to have this list of things that you want to make sure you include and the things that guests are complaining about it's like how can you nip those things in the buds essentially ing hundreds of

people before you've even opened your doors for business yes you don't want to be caught running back and forth at Target or ordering on Amazon or instacart in between guests so make sure that you watch our simple Supply system video and then get our download below for find and train your cleaner it's so important and it's going to continue to be important throughout your whole entire hosting career and it's okay if like the finding your cleaner part is something that you have to like repeat right like maybe you maybe you have we do recommend having

a backup cleaner maying a backup cleaner to your backup cleaner you can never have too many like backups but also maybe the first cleaner you meet maybe you even get to training them and you're not vibing it's okay like look keep looking because this role this this relationship has to like it's the backbone of your it's the backbone of your business um and the reason that we're having you do this early on is you can start training them ahead of time you don't want to be caught with your first reservation and have no idea um

who's going to clean during that turnover or there's act there's going to be cleaning that needs to take place before you even have that first overnight stay so we recommend this is something we don't want you to rush we want you to make sure you find a great person and so you're going to do this ahead of time now it's your first a BNB so maybe you're going to clean it absolutely you should clean it we actually we we recommend that cleaning a few times so you get what tools do they need what's missing what

are some things that are awkward in your house cuz for instance try to make people put bunk beds in places or push beds up against wall you try to change those sheets it's not fun yeah it is good for you to to clean it but if you're planning on if that's your plan to clean your your Airbnb as part of that Revenue that you're going to bring in and to yourself like additional Revenue that's okay too this does not mean that you shouldn't already start planning like Annette said like cuz the we're going to move

into Furnishing your first Airbnb but as you're Furnishing it think about how easy it's going to be to clean it so if you're already thinking like the cleaner whether it's you or someone you're going to hire as you move into the next steps of actually Furnishing your short-term rental think about the materials you select right the the the sofa material the are you going to put curtains up when are you going to clean those like all the things that you like are imagining your mind that are beautiful how easy is it for you going to

be to go from guest to guest especially if you have what we call a backto back that means a guest is checking out that morning and another guest is checking in that evening and that's really optimizing your rental and making as much money as possible but you've got to optimize that time of getting it ready for that next guest and what you choose now before you put things in that home matters matters tip number five furnish your rental we know you're so excited because like step one two three four like oh my gosh I just

want to get I want to get into designing and Furnishing and building that furniture well we're here now this is the fun part it's probably going to take a little longer than you think does no I'm on my like 30th and I'm still like why are we a month behind what I thought so and we planned a ton so we're going to give you tips here but just know like it's so because there's so many things that you can't control too when you're Furnishing shipping you wanted this and they had it when you ordered it

now they don't you got to make a new decision like just get ready to make decisions and be prepared to Pivot too um we don't want you delaying let's say you had your eye on this amazing couch but it is back ordered for 6 months let's go we got to open those doors we want you to be hosting guest so this is an important part just um there will be some decision fatigue you will have to Pivot but we just want to prep you for that so give yourself ample amount of time and then add

on some time create a budget ahead of time too and then add on a little money to that budget but we want to share right now too this is when you're ordering everything especially if you're starting from scratch when you're ordering everything for your short-term rental this is the time that you want to be saving all of the receipts all the information of everything that you are purchasing if there were ever to be any um damages even if you need to return or exchange it uh damages while shipping damages if a guest is there you

might need it for tax reasons too your CPA might request all the things inside the walls of your short-term rental you might be able to take some tax advantages there so you need proof of purchase and how much you purchase them for so there are tons of reasons why you need to reference receipts and where you got them from and all that stuff so I would have a spreadsheet I would have a file full of your receipts it's great if you can digitize them so you don't risk losing it or the print wearing away after

a long period of time but yes tracking it and this Furnishing this is a time this is where you really want to just you're you're going to be hosting these overnight guests so there's so many things to think about not only how your beds are going to be really important your sheets your towels everywhere people are going to sit I mean you have to order everything forks knives uh we have an Essentials checklist we'll make sure to link that below so you can make sure that you have everything have this checklist and get everything on

it we've been creating this list for years and years and we use this very checklist to this day and I'm telling you the reason why things are on this checklist are because guests Rave about them I also want to give you a little story of a recent short-term rental we just opened and again we've been doing this for a really long time we've opened a ton of them and we we are doing it at this point in three phases so I want to give you some permission to not let things that either either aren't there

or you know are going to take longer than anticipated to open your doors because the longer you wait to open your doors the more expensive it actually takes so for example we just set up this one bed one bath short-term rental it's so cute um but we knew we wanted to get wallpaper over the bed it's like this big bold print in our minds it's going to be the first image most of the time on Airbnb we changed around a lot of times but this is be the image that we'll have first because the colors

and the print are very different than our competitors but the paper got delayed right so we didn't want to wait any longer to open our doors so we made sure the wall had to be painted anyway so we opened our doors and just took decent photos with our iPhone um and uploaded them to the OTAs and we put it in the listing like hey this is our soft opening we're still waiting for some final Decor material so photos will be updated soon this tells people who are booking like you are on top of your stuff

you are you realize these photos could be better they realize that like there might be something missing in the wall that you might see but Comm and say the hospitality is still going to be incredible and it was and then we blocked off some time when the paper finally came in installed on the wall phase three we want to put a runner on the stairs that's been a whole thing but we're not going to not open our doors up to before these things happen so just a little permission to like phase it out but also

do the phases though because we can share this with you once you open your doors your doors are open so you want to give yourself some time to to get that stuff taken care of no you do it right and like you're going to have to block off time because you're like shoot I'm probably going to get booked like you follow our advice and that's going to be exactly what happens for you but yeah number six set up your Supply Closet disclaimer your Supply Closet might not even be in your property I learned years ago

that like heck properties in Arizona don't have basement like we do here in Ohio so take this all with a grain of salt and make it applicable to wherever you you live and what you have in terms of storage but you do need some storage and just supplies in general you need your toilet paper your paper towel your coffee your tea your salt your pepper all of these supplies obviously aren't going to be ordered when you're doing your Furnishing so you're going to have to do this whole Supply audit make sure that you have all

of those we like to call them consumables shampoo conditioner dish pods laundry detergent essential list goes on and on but um we want to let you know you got to make sure this is organized okay because guess what your guests are going to look in every closet they're going to open every drawer and every cabinet so you want to make sure you're stocked loaded and it's organized for that guest tip seven get professional photos you are a professional host you need to get professional photos I still cannot believe when I skim Airbnb the amount of

people that have not made this investment it is a game changer level up you are going to stand out in a crowd with getting these professional photos plus you're hiring an artist in your town who doesn't want to do that you're giving some you know another small business owner a job and I'm telling you this is a standout way to get your property noticed you spent so much time energy money don't stop now you want to make sure you do that one last investment get those professional photos the only way a guest can even like

look at a property to be interested like they don't come to a property and walk it before they book you this is how you're selling your property this is how you're selling your St you just said like you bought the property you furnished it you're doing all these things and then you're going to like not have the best depiction of like what you're offering right and go go go to Airbnb right now go to your town you will scroll through and you will immediately notice someone that was taking their own photos versus hiring a professional

and they might be Sarah phase one right right absolutely maybe your photographer can't get there let's get it let's get it up just remember that not all photographers though are created equal right oo that's a not just any photographer you know you you know it's not just a real estate photographer a lot of Real Estate photographers who are selling a property remember most people are going to come and walk the property before they make that typical real estate for sale right and those that style usually is like in every four corners of the rooms that's

about it remember you're selling an experience you're selling a lifestyle while they're away from home and so what can you do to really sell the story The the experience your guest is going to have while in your spot so you might want to share have them have the photographer somehow romanticize your coffee station right or how Comfy your bed is those Pillow options that you have or that fire pit outside um if you don't offer a lot of amenities like a lot of our properties or one bedrooms Downtown Columbus we still want to be able

to highlight how comfy and clean it is and it's not going to be told in just taking photos in all the corners of the property so when you find a photographer interview them ask them have you done photos for Airbnb and verbos and other furnished rentals can I see your work how do you feel when you see them do you want to go in there and experience that place if not if you don't like the vibe interview someone else and you want to have a shot list ready for them and this is a great opportunity

for you to take your profile pick you can be all you know ready to go you and potentially your business partner life partner but listen have a shot list prepared for them you want to go room by room and have that list ready for them so you know exactly what you want them to take and have that inspiration too if there are other airbnb's that you love the photos make sure you gather those inspo pictures for them too that is really going to make sure that you feel that you know you're this service that you're

paying for you want to prep them for what you want and need number eight set up your Airbnb listing this is an exciting time this is when you're finally all your all again your time your money everything like you got to you got to put all of your info into Airbnb though so you can Market to the world and that's what's so amazing you're going to be marketing to the world so we hear a lot of hosts get hung up here though they get nervous and there there's so many questions that you're you know how

many bedrooms how many bathrooms all of the amenities that you have but listen this is not set in stone you're going to be able to go back and if you need to make alterations no stress don't don't let this um roadblock you at all we want you to go in and just get excited about this part of your listing and your profile let me give you some highlights about this experience okay when you go to list your first property Airbnb is going to be Airbnb and make it so simple and it is it is simple

but I want you to take away that it's not your complete listing isn't done once they walk you through that initial that initial process okay you will have to go back they're going to celebrate you're going to see Brian chesky's like CEO head shot it's very exciting and that's great but you do make sure that you know that that is not the end of setting up your listing because they haven't even scratch the surface of asking you questions about about your property and setting up really important things like you will set your your price like

your base price but they don't give you the opportunity to to set up um other aspects of your pricing which is a whole other video um or uh other things like your cleaning fee and that which is really important that might be the number one thing that people forget to go back and set you get booked and then you're not charging a separate fee or at least making it a part of like your your pricing structure so that you get compensated for that so just know that this is like the quick win that they give

you so it's like the condensed uh the condensed version like the cliffnotes version so you can get up really quick but you're going to have to go back in and do detail work let me go over some of the the major components of your listing okay your title do not waste space here with fluffy words with words that your competitors around you are using with aspects about your rental that are listed elsewhere like how many beds and baths you have okay think about right now if you're going to open it up in the next you

know couple days or next few weeks what are some words that people might be searching for in your area like if it's summertime maybe those words should be about your outdoor patio or your pool or something like that if it's winter maybe it's about your fireplace or or your sores kit you know what I'm saying so like think about seasonality with your title and that title is important the next up is the um the description and it's the description that they see before they press you know see more so again I know that you're in

love with your rental but try not to use fluffy words try not to write like a romantic novel you want to get to get to the point they're they're shopping through a sea of listings so the more information you can give them con with the good stuff like whether it's because of your location to other things whether it's the amenities you offer like be very like the more clear you can be be comprehensive but keep the really important stuff towards the top of this big block they give you so that people can see it without

having to press show more and then the next thing that you should do is the the amenity section is super comprehensive and it's going to ask you for things like what brand name is your microwave your fridge your oven so how many burners do you offer um so you're going to really need to I like to be in the rental when I do this part it's very helpful um and the more boxes you can check there the better so if there's a small amenity that you don't have that is inexpensive you can get quickly add

that and you can always go back and add more those are the components about setting up your listing that I think are appropriate for this video here but just know you're also going to have to upload like your license information your bank information um your photos upload them and you can add text underneath them and that's real estate you should you should optimize it so just know there information about your property and to be very to the point and try not to get too fluffy and look how your competitors are are sharing their listing see

what you like and don't like about it so you can make decisions for yours number nine host a test day why do I sometimes skip this and I shouldn't because let me tell you a story I told you a story about another listing we did it for that one for this other one that I just did I don't know why I thought I was like I got this I don't need to take my own advice anymore and I didn't do a test stay I was working there till 2:00 a.m. like I'm like surely I go

to the bathroom there I've washed the towels there like before the guest surely it's ready no the guest checked in and pointed out that we didn't have a trash can and there's something else we didn't have either so like the the the the pressure test stay the test stay is so important don't skip it and this is where you have you don't do your own testing okay you have a truth-telling friend come all right and you treat them as if they were a paying guest okay you want to send them the check-in instructions you know

the Wi-Fi instructions you want them to pack a bag you actually want them to spend the night because you want them sleeping in your bed you want them uh watching TV you want them using your hot water you want them making um they can make some dinner maybe also coffee in the morning go outside enjoy the outdoor space and you want them to take a shower and like oh where am I going to put my towel there wasn't a hook or oh I went to make uh decaf coffee you only had caffeinated coffee this truth-telling

friend you want them to take notes and let you know of the good the bad the ugly but the stuff that maybe you potentially forgot that's where you really want them to just pressure test it and I mean it's all the things too little things things like turning on all the light switches you know these small things end up being really big if you don't have them covered especially when you have your paying guest Come For the First Time tip number 10 go live okay we say this is a tip because you're like well we'll

know duh but it's like no like go live like press like do it and here's the thing the thing we hope you consume all of our videos we also have a podcast go over there check it out you're still going to you'll make less mistakes but you're still going to find things out about your property because every guest is a snowflake every home is a snowflake so then you marry the two and they they stay with you and every stay is now a snowflake which just means that like there's so many details that are just

different about about it and that's good but you got to go live you got to get started and then just know that this really is just the beginning yeah you've crossed that finish line of all of these steps but now there's a new starting line of becoming that super host and hosting guests for hopefully a really long time and with that I am Sarah carakan I'm Anette Grant and together we are thanks for visiting