Tony Russell 
Airbnb does not = cheap sleeps. Far from it. If anything quality is becoming more and more important in the world of Airbnb and short-term rentals, and we’ve seen this recently with the introduction of Airbnb Luxe as this article on theverge.com shows. So in this article, we address some great tips to create a … Read more
Managing an Airbnb can be time-consuming, and if you are looking for an efficient way to reduce your workload, increase the occupancy rate, and reduce the execution of repetitive tasks, all with minimal time investment, then one sure way to do this is to leverage technological advancement to automate your whole Airbnb process. Besides that, … Read more
After my first winter running my Airbnb apartments I realized that saving money on your heating bills was extremely important to stay profitable because (unless you’re in Australia!) in most places in the world, it gets cold. Really cold. The last thing you want is for your utility bills to suddenly go through the roof. … Read more
The benefits of hosting in your own home are numerous. The obvious benefit is extra money, but there are many other benefits too. I have several Airbnb properties where we host the entire property, but I also host a room in my home too. Let’s take a look at what the benefits of hosting in … Read more
One of the biggest ‘bumps’ in my bookings has come from specifically targeting business travelers for my Booking.com & Airbnb apartments! Contrary to what most people in their 20s believe, I know from experience that business travel isn’t always that much fun. You tend to run late from meetings, arrive late, and leave early. With … Read more
Getting into Airbnb can be tough if you don’t own the property, but if you’re serious about it, you can do it, and there’s more than one way to make money! The simple answer to this question is yes, you can. Rent-to-rent scenarios where you rent a property with explicit consent from the landlord to … Read more
Avoiding bad guests is a real issue for Airbnb owners. Bad guests cause problems for you in many different ways, they can upset your neighbors, damage your property, and more. So you really don’t want them. Here’s how to avoid them: The real answer to this question is to trust your gut instinct: We’ve been … Read more
The fact is that if you don’t get on well with your neighbors your Airbnb let will have problems from the start. Whether your lets are in an apartment building or a house, you must follow this vital rule: To keep your Airbnb neighbors happy, build strong relationships by getting to know your neighbors. A … Read more
Online travel agencies are awesome, and we get great bookings from them, but they’re also expensive. You’ll sometimes have to (or opt in to) pay commissions of up to 25% per booking. That’s a big chunk of your revenue. The standard answer when people renting out their property on booking.com or Expedia or Airbnb when … Read more
The fact is that Airbnb can be an extremely fun, profitable way to earn money. But it can also be an extremely stressful experience if you don’t take steps to minimize this. Luckily, I’ve found several ways to cut down on the stress and make hosting on Airbnb as streamlined as possible. 1. Have a … Read more
There are a ton of articles on the internet about how to “handle” guest complaints, or how to deal with the complaint. If that’s what you want to know, click here to Forbes or this from trainingmag.com and they’ll all give you a ton of tactics about how to “handle” the situation, stay calm, listen … Read more
The fact is, most people who start Airbnb and then get more involved and decided it’s a business they want to pursue, are not professional cleaners and maybe, like me, don’t (or rather didn’t) have the first clue about how to clean to a high standard. However, the fact remains, that if you don’t know … Read more
One of the biggest costs to anyone running an Airbnb / Booking.com etc operation is cleaning/turn-around costs. In this article, I share some tips I’ve found to make your beds look great, in no time at all! The short answer to making your beds look great is: Use fitted sheets (they stretch naturally) Place the … Read more
Booking.com is by far the most profitable channel for me. Almost 8 out of every 10 of my bookings are from booking.com. They have a fantastic, highly sales focussed infrastructure which includes free promotions, google ads, and more. They have been the largest online travel agency (see this article) for more than two years in … Read more
Reviews are absolutely essential to running a short-term let on a site like booking.com. They build trust in the property, they allow guests to read real feedback, and unlike other review sites, all reviews on booking.com are from guests who’ve actually stayed at the property, as you’re not able to leave a review if you … Read more
Put simply a Channel Manager, when talking about running a hotel or renting out your property for short-term lets is a centralized system for storing and organizing bookings. They link Expedia, Airbnb, Booking.com, and many other travel websites. They can message your guests, set your prices, prevent over-bookings, and much much more. When I started … Read more
Of course, this subject covers complaints when you’re on Airbnb, booking.com Expedia, and deals with handling complaints about any short-term rental property you have. The key, fundamental, must-do action to deal with complaints about your short-term rental is to talk to your customers. You must talk! Talking allows you to listen, and listening means that … Read more
In over three years of letting out apartments on Airbnb, Booking.com, and many other websites, I have realized that there are a ton of opportunities to increase your revenue while still presenting yourself in an honest, ethical, and professional way to your customers. The real truth is that the best guests are the ones that … Read more
How to Furnish An Airbnb Rental (the short answer) I’ve furnished 7 Airbnb rentals, and all of them have had excellent comments from my guests. In this article, I will show you how to furnish an Airbnb apartment and show you what (I think) is the best furniture for Airbnb and why. My short formula … Read more
Do you know why refurbishing your Airbnb, booking.com or other short-term rentals cheaply is a good thing? Because obviously every pound or dollar you over-spend on renovations eats directly into your profits, and in a business where margins are tight. There is a fine line between massive success and massive failure. In this post, we … Read more
Minimizing Your Airbnb Laundry time and expense is one of the biggest wins when looking to minimize the stress around Airbnb. When I first started hosting, my biggest variable cost was laundry. The cleaner would do all of the laundry on-site, and it would take forever. Now it’s a different story. Airbnb Laundry Tips (the … Read more
What many people fail to realize when they start on Airbnb (or booking.com, Expedia etc) is that they are running a business. It might be a micro business, but it’s a business all the same. Therefore treat it as such, and keep the following truism in mind: Business, and specifically sales decisions are largely based … Read more
I have hired a number of cleaners at my short-term rental property that I let out on Airbnb and other websites. I have had two successes and one big failure. Hopefully, these tips will help you hire awesome cleaners as they will save you time, make you money, and save you a whole bunch of … Read more
I have been running a two-apartment business with lets on Airbnb.com, Booking.com, and Expedia.com, etc for about 3 years now. I love the business, and – with all modesty – we’ve done well. We’re rated 9.3 on booking.com, 9.9 on Expedia, 10/10 on TripAdvisor and I have been an Airbnb “super host” (more about that … Read more
