This week let’s meet Stefanos 😊
Stefanos is a superhost from Athens, Greece. He manages his own property in Mykonos, a small cosmopolitan island in Greece, along with his brother. They have been hosting since 2017 and they enjoy meeting new people from all around the world.
Let’s hear their story! 🔊
So, Stefanos tell us, how long have you been hosting for? How and why did you start? How many properties do you manage?
Me and my brother started hosting in 2017 and we manage one property. We had an old house in Mykonos and decided to invest in it and start a short-term rental. So, we did a full renovation inside out and started our journey in hosting.
Are you an owner or a manager? Is this a part-time or full-time occupation for you?
I’m the owner along with my brother and the manager. This is a part-time occupation for me.
What is the best thing about hosting, and what are the biggest problems you face?
I think most hosts will agree, the best thing about hosting is meeting people from around the world, different cultures, and mindsets. Also, providing our guests with the good old saying “Greek hospitality” is very important to us and helping everyone enjoy holidays to the most.
The biggest problem we face is managing the workload during the summer season, where things get crazy busy. We both work full time, so it’s a struggle coordinating everything on time and being always there for our guests asap. Also, another thing that’s hard to deal with, is when people do not respect our house. We’ve put so much hard work into this, that we can’t help it to take it personally, but thankfully we had very few incidents so far.
What is one thing you wish you knew when you started hosting?
One of the things that I wish we knew when started hosting is the importance of culturally diverse guests. As I mentioned, our guests are from all over the world. So, you must adapt a little bit your approach to every different culture, the way you reply to their messages, the way you explain how things work in the house, even the way you greet them. Small things matter and for some guests mean everything.
What is the most important advice/tip you would give someone interested in becoming a short-term rental host?
The best advice I could give to future hosts is to be consistent to respond to guest messages (questions, recommendations, transfer arrangements, etc.) as soon as possible. It is also very important to keep your property sparkling clean!
Besides Hosthub, are there any tools, devices, or software (eg. Remote keylocks, cameras, local guide apps, power meters, etc) you use? What is your experience with them?
No, we do not use any other tools apart from Hosthub.
Which channels do you list on? How much has your revenue increased since listing on multiple channels?
We have our property in the following channels:
- Airbnb
- Booking.com
- Expedia
- Vrbo
- Tripadvisor
Most of our reservations come from Airbnb and the rest fill the gaps in between that we have. The nice thing about having your listing in multiple channels is that when one is not performing as you expected, the other ones pick up, so you basically don’t experience any losses on your income.
Besides listing on multiple channels, what other things can a host do to increase his/her bookings and revenue?
You can use social media for advertising and marketing and that could bring some direct bookings. Also, trying to have a positive review always counts, and NEVER respond rudely to a negative one.
You can find out more about Stefanos’s properties here:
Airbnb
Booking.com
Expedia
Vrbo
Tripadvisor
Here are some photos to give you a better vision of Stefanos’s property (click for larger versions) 🧐
