How can a Bachcare managed Airbnb listing work for me? All you need to know.
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Maximise your rental income Looking for ways to maximise the rental income on your holiday home? One proven way is to extend your reach with a Bachcare managed Airbnb listing.
We’re thrilled to be able to offer you the opportunity to list your home on Airbnb, with the benefits of your managed Bachcare service. Since introduction, Bachcare owners listing through our direct connection with Airbnb, have seen an average lift in bookings of around 10% - with an approximate 50/50 split of that growth coming from international and NZ domestic markets. And, thanks to our investment in technology, it’s really simple to achieve. When you’re ready to list, we can activate your Airbnb listing with the click of a button. But first you’ll want to understand how it all works. So we’ve created this guide to explain all you need to know to make your decision whether or not to list, including: Setting up your Listing Key differences between Airbnb and other Bachcare bookings Some Airbnb T’s & C’s you need to know about What happens once a booking is made How it works after the guests have stayed When you’ve read the guide, if you’re looking to maximise your rental income and the Bachcare managed Airbnb sounds like it’s of interest to you, get in touch. We’ll make it easy.
What’s required to set up the listing? Photography Requirements Airbnb has pretty strict criteria on photo quality - for good reason. Their data shows that professionally photographed listings get booked twice as often as those without. It also helps with fairly representing your home and its amenities, which is important for your customer satisfaction scores. Their key photo requirements: • High resolution only – low resolution, older photos are typically rejected • All bedrooms and aspects of the property need to be covered – all bedroom photos with all beds showing is a must, as well as all other key rooms and bathrooms If it’s time to get some fresh professional photos for your property, we can help arrange that for you and at a preferential rate. Airbnb assesses each property listing’s photos carefully, but don’t worry – if any issues come up, your Relationship Manager will help you through the process.
What if I have an existing Airbnb Listing? Airbnb doesn’t allow the transfer of change of ownership of existing listings. The good news is that a new Bachcare managed listing can be created for your home and your existing listing will simply be deactivated. And we can help manage the transition on any existing bookings you may already have in place.
What about my reviews? While Airbnb does not currently allow existing reviews to be transferred to the new listing, that is set to change. Because of the strength of the relationship we have with Airbnb, we now have commitment from Airbnb to work with us on a tech solution to allow reviews to be transferred. That’s a huge win for you as our owners and, of course, for our guests! We will keep you informed as we work through this exciting new initiative.
What is Airbnb’s dynamic pricing? Airbnb uses what is known as dynamic pricing to adjust rates to maximise rental opportunity. This means that by agreeing to list your home on Airbnb, your rates will be expected to be raised or lowered to meet peak and off-peak fluctuations in demand and to adapt to market conditions. Our expertise in dynamic pricing means we will do this on your behalf, on the Airbnb website, as well as on our own website and any other distribution channels used. To set this up, we’ll work closely with you to agree a base nightly rate for key rental periods. And then we’ll fine tune the rates to meet market conditions, never going below the agreed base rate.
What are the minimum nights? We normally have a three-night minimum on any Bachcare managed Airbnb listing. This is based on our experience of managing Airbnb listings in order to attract a good quality calibre of guests. A three-night minimum provides the ideal balance between home security and income returns. In certain situations, if an owner is solely focused on maximising occupancy and revenue, without concern for the impact of guests on the property, we can set up a 2-night minimum through Airbnb outside of key demand periods. Higher minimum nights for key demand periods still remains in place.
What are the differences with Bachcare bookings?
Guest screening Airbnb’s instant online booking does not have provision for the same screening of guests. However, we do still liaise with your guests prior to the booking and meet them on arrival (where possible). And, of course, we keep a watchful eye on your property during their stay. If your Airbnb guests book more than the maximum guest numbers you allow at your property or we see they have had bad reviews from previous Airbnb bookings, we still have the ability to cancel the booking for you.
Maximum numbers for adults and babies Bachcare has flexibility in relation to setting limits for maximum adults and children / babies. Unfortunately, Airbnb does not have this functionality. If your property has a maximum adults limit, (e.g. a max occupancy of 8 but max 6 adults and 2 children) this cannot be catered for by Airbnb. It is possible bookings may come through for total persons all being adults (e.g. 8 adults in the example). Airbnb also does not count babies (under 2 years old) toward the total occupancy of your home so, like the example above, it is possible that a booking above the total occupancy allowed on Bachcare bookings can be made. We will try our best to spot these through our booking reviews, and as mentioned earlier, we will never knowingly allow bookings to exceed the maximum number of occupants you have set for your home.
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Linen & Cleaning Inclusions
Airbnb has less flexibility than you’re used to with Bachcare for additional payments.
Guest expectations through Airbnb are like those they would have for a hotel, in that linen and cleaning will always be included. Hence with Airbnb these services are mandatory, with the additional costs simply being passed on to the guests. Bachcare will manage the delivery of these linen and cleaning services for you.
Any additional unit costs (i.e. for sleepouts or other sections of the house) cannot apply to your Airbnb listing. It’s important to note that as your listing will still show these extra spaces, we cannot guarantee a guest will not access the wider area, if it’s accessible without a key. We have found from existing owners who are already listing on Airbnb, switching across from the ‘additional unit’ charge to an ‘additional person’ charge works well and can help maximise revenue. Your Relationship Manager can explain this in more detail and work with you to set the appropriate rates.
What happens once an Airbnb booking is made? Owner Cancellations Other than for reasons already identified above [where we can cancel a booking for you based on problems with occupancy or concerns with reviews of the guests], Airbnb bookings are best understood as not cancellable. Any cancellations by owners are strongly discouraged by Airbnb. Even with a good reason for cancelling a booking, Airbnb levy high fees and guest compensation, regardless of the reason for the cancellation or the speed in which the cancellation has been notified. These fees would also be in addition to Bachcare’s fees for a dishonoured booking that you would also be obliged to pay.
In addition, if cancellations were to occur, Airbnb would also lower the ranking of all Bachcare properties through Airbnb’s search algorithm. This is another important reason that we state these bookings need to be understood as non-cancellable. If you feel you would not be able to honour 100% of any bookings through their site (for example, if you are considering selling your property in the near future), we recommend you definitely don’t list with Airbnb.
Guest Cancellations Peace of mind vs maximising booking opportunities - It’s your choice Based on Airbnb’s cancellation policies, we can offer you two choices of guest cancellation policy:
1. Super Strict (30 days): This is the default policy for Airbnb listings and is similar to our standard 30-day cancellation policy. This cancellation policy entitles a guest to a 50% refund of accommodation fees up until a full 30 days prior to check in. If the reservation is cancelled within 30 days, then the guest forfeits 100% of the accommodation cost. 2. Strict (grace period): If you’re focused on generating revenue and maximising bookings, this cancellation policy entitles the guest to cancel their booking with a full refund of accommodation fees within 48 hours of making their booking. This policy also entitles the guest to a 50% refund of accommodation fees if cancellation is made at least a full 7 days prior to check in. If a reservation is cancelled within 7 days, then the guest forfeits 100% of the accommodation cost.
It’s important to note that if a guest approaches the Airbnb Resolutions Team directly and proves that the reason for the cancellation is a case of ‘Extenuating Circumstances’ then guests may be granted a cancellation and partial or full refund, with Bachcare being unable to appeal this decision. Should this be the case, we would not be able to provide income for the nights cancelled.
Your Holiday Manager & Airbnb Bookings Airbnb bookings are almost identical to your regular Bachcare bookings in that the guests will liaise directly with your Holiday Manager before and during their stay. And, where possible, your Holiday Manager will meet your guests on arrival. This way, we can make sure that the group checks out in relation to their booking information.
What about after the Airbnb guests have stayed?
Commission Charges on Airbnb With the transparency in the current connected world and market dynamics, nightly rates are the same on Airbnb as on our Bachcare website. The nightly rate needs to include the Airbnb commission you will pay. The commission charged is determined by the cancellation policy that you have selected, and we simply pass this to you at cost, with no Bachcare margin. • Super Strict (30 days): 5% commission + GST of the costs the guests pay. • Strict (grace period): 3% commission + GST of the costs the guests pay. These commission payments are simply deducted from the booking income, along with the normal Bachcare management fees, and are included in your monthly payment cycle with Bachcare. Please note that as part of the terms of Airbnb fees, guests will also pay a service fee of between 8% to 12% of the total cost of the booking. This is paid directly to Airbnb and is not a part of any Bachcare transaction.
Potential issues arising from guest stays We work closely with Airbnb, on your behalf, to claim for any damage incurred from guest stays. However, we need to be 100% transparent with you and let you know that we have found, over the last 18 months of working with them, we occasionally have had issues with bookings made through Airbnb. Along with this, Airbnb doesn’t make it as easy as you have come to expect from us to resolve these guest issues. In our experience, Airbnb does not release funds for what they deem fair wear and tear. So there needs to be proof that any damage is intentional and negligent, and you would of course need to provide proof of purchase to successfully recover funds. If Airbnb decides in the guest’s favour on a damage case it is a final decision, with no right of appeal and no payment made to you for damage. Airbnb has a philosophy that property owners should expect a level of repairs and maintenance as a result of renting out property.
Guest reviews Airbnb expects all their listings to deliver a 5-star experience to the guests. We think this is an admirable position to take. But it can’t be taken lightly. The impact of such a strong quality commitment is that Airbnb will penalise any property listing [and the entire account] that gets lower than five-star reviews through their search algorithms. We take this very seriously, as it means it affects all Bachcare managed Airbnb listings in our account. If your property were to get a 4 star or below review, we would work closely with you to identify and fix the problem – to bring the guest offering back up to a 5 star level. If lower review ratings were to continue, we would reserve the right to remove your listing from our Airbnb feed.
Next Steps We are thrilled to be Airbnb’s only partner in Australasia to offer access to this direct connection and to have an Airbnb listing fully managed by us on your behalf. Adding additional channels of distribution is a good option for any of our Owners looking to maximise their rental returns. Airbnb listings have proven they can increase occupancy. We hope this guide can help you arrive at making an informed decision about whether to list your property with on Airbnb with us, now that you understand the associated nuances and differences from your usual Bachcare experiences. If you do want to request a managed Airbnb listing from us, you need to be comfortable with the content of this guide and agree that you are happy to sign up for – and comply with - the listing requirements described. If you have any further questions about Airbnb or any other distribution channels or ways to maximise your income potential, get in touch with your Relationship Manager for a chat – they will be more than happy to help.
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0800 42 22 42 bachcare.co.nz