So You Wanna Be an Airbnb Host? Part 4: Ongoing Maintenance

After you get a few reviews and bookings, you’ll need to figure out how to keep the gravy train rolling. But, good news – the hard parts are over!

If you found a place, set it up, and listed it on Airbnb’s site, that is easily 90% of your whole Airbnb journey. The rest is just pruning and perfecting.

Your Airbnb calendar will be your lifeline

This is the part where you can be hands-off, travel, drop things off here and there. Basically, the whole reason you started this whole crazy thing: to have mostly passive income roll in.

Airbnb Hosting Index:

Part 1: Finding the Right Place
Part 2: Setting It Up
Part 3: Attracting Guests
Part 4: Ongoing Maintenance
Part 5: Taxes, Expenses, and Making It All Work

This series is meant for peeps who want to list an entire home separate from their primary residence on Airbnb.
Stock it up

From here on out, your life is mostly going to consist of cleaning supplies and toiletries. I leave shampoo, conditioner, and body wash for my guests.

And my top cleaning purchases are:

TP
Paper towels
Toilet bowl cleaner
Green spray
Garbage bags
Hand soap refills
Dishwasher tablets

My Airbnb “overflow” *crying laughing emoji*

I stock up like a crazy person. I probably have a 6-month supply of toilet paper in my places. I use discounts from Boxed, Amex Offers, office supply stores, and shopping portals to generate points and miles on these purchases. And I have more overflow at home.

Basically, I check in on my places once every 6 weeks or so. I go through and make a list of what’s running low (on Todoist), then head home and order those items. The next time I go, I take them with. And repeat.

I like this system because it’s extremely low-maintenance. An hour every 6 weeks is nothing. And sometimes, I go more just because I like to check in, or happen to be in the area.

To stock up is divine. You’ll save yourself a lot of running around if you get everything you need in one shot.

Find reliable help or clean it yourself

When I had 4 Airbnbs in New York, I was such a nut about keeping them clean that I did them all myself. Yes, it sucked, but I didn’t want to trust a cleaning person.

One day, I cracked under the pressure of it all and called a number a friend gave me. I met with a wonderful lady named Patricia – and she became my go-to cleaning person slash lifesaver.

I paid her $60 a pop, which was a great price in NYC. But it was so worth it because I got to be even more hands-off.

In Dallas, I didn’t even try. I hired a cleaning service from the get-go. The first few times, I’d swing by after and do the “white glove test” to make sure everything was up to my standards. After trying out a few different housekeepers, I found one I liked.

My places usually book up a month or two in advance. So every 3 or 4 weeks, I’ll sit down and type up a list of the dates I need the places cleaned and text them to my housekeeper. This takes me probably 15 minutes a month to schedule the cleanings. It’s so easy.

Use email templates for Airbnb hosting

Beyond that, all I have to do is send pre-written template emails to the guests for check-in and checkout.

Saved messages are king

These take me a few seconds to send from the Airbnb app. So little time that I really don’t even count it.

I recommend setting up templates for:

Check-in
Checkout
Wifi info
Directions from airport
List of places to do/see in the area

Write them once, then never again. So easy.

Sometimes things mess up

Not to make it all sound effortless. It’s mostly smooth. But things do happen.

I’ve never had anything too major come up. Mostly annoying things like someone forgot their watch, or took the key home by mistake. Or stained the comforter so now I have to wash or replace it. Stuff like that.

Nah, I don’t mind heading to downtown Dallas. Find a place you don’t mind going when the going gets tough

That’s why I recommend finding an Airbnb reasonably close. What’s reasonable is up to you. One of my places is 5 minutes on foot; the other is 10 minutes driving. In New York, they were 45 minutes on the train.

I’d say an hour or less, to be on the safe side. Pick a place you don’t mind popping by. Or a place that’s near family or friends just in case you can’t drop everything and run in.

It doesn’t happen a lot, but, ya know, it’s probably gonna happen a time or two. If your housekeeper can help you deal with little things, like replacing light bulbs or refilling the hand soap, even better.

You’ll hit a groove that feels good. Most of the time, things are good. But every once in a while, there’s an issue. Just be open and responsive. Oh, and any time something happens, it will definitely be at the worst possible time. Of course. Just roll with it, life continues.