This week let’s meet Anna a host from Athens, Greece.
She is renting a beautiful apartment in Athens and she won the Superhost Badge. Get to know her! π
So, Anna, tell us, how long have you been hosting for? How and why did you start? How many properties do you manage?
I reported the activity in June last year (2018). I am the owner of a small, only 50 m2 flat, which I bought with my son in mind. Because my son decided to continue his studies at master’s.
Are you an owner or a manager? Is this a part time or full time occupation for you?
At the moment I am unemployed, so that Airbnb gives me the opportunity for income and thanks to that I can help in my family budget.
What is the best thing about hosting, and what are the biggest problems you face?
I admit that at the beginning I had some concerns about this kind of work, but now I can say with the certainty that it was a very good choice. First of all, the monthly income is greater than when renting with a long-term contract. Secondly, and probably the most important, it is the satisfaction that gives contact with people from around the world. I am in a happy the situation that until now I had no problems with my guests and for my efforts they pay me with a high rating of the apartment and very good critics about me and my husband who helps me in this undertaking (the rating on the booking is 9.9 and on Airbnb – 100% critic is with 5 stars and for the second year I have been continuing as a super host).
What is the most important advise/tip you would give someone interested in becoming a short term rental host?
If I can advice something for future hosts, I advise them to focus on the quality of what they want to offer and secondly on the profit. Important factors here are:
– perfect cleanliness of the whole flat (rooms, kitchen and especially the bathroom)
– full kitchen equipment (dishes, pots, pans, electric kitchen appliances)
– large comfortable bed, good mattress and always fresh linen.
– good heating and cooling of the flat.
You have to understand that if a guest leaves the apartment happy with your services, he will definitely recommend you to his friends and what often happens, if he visits your city again, he will book with you.
Which channels do you list on? How much has your revenue increased since listing on multiple channels?
It is also a very good idea to submit a flat in more than on one platform (channels), it helped me a lot. At the moment I’m working with three such platforms (Airbnb, booking and HomeAway). In all this undertaking, it turned out to be very helpful, that I gave control and synchronization of calendars of these platforms to the company Hosthub. Since then, my only concern is to look after the quality of the flat and let my guest leave the apartment happy.
Besides listing on multiple channels, what other things can a host do to increase his/her bookings and revenue?
Finally, I would like to mention once again that I do not treat all this activity as an obligatory work. I greet each of my guests with a smile (smile is very important in greeting) and treat him like a friend who wants to spend a few days in my apartment and of course for the benefit of both parties. I offer him very well conditions of stay and rest in the apartment and he repays me with a high rating of my services, good commentary, and fair criticism, which are very important and helpful to me.
You can find out more about Anna’s property here:
Here are some photos to give you a better vision of Anna’s apartment (click for larger versions) π§
