Communicate effectively
Communicating effectively with guests can help turn a good stay into a great one. Use Airbnb’s messaging features to share important details and reminders, respond to questions quickly and extend a warm welcome.
Starting with the basics
How you deliver information helps set the tone for a stay. Do your best to:
Be available. Turn on notifications to receive and respond to guests’ messages quickly. Annette, a Host in San Francisco, says that even for minor issues, she asks guests to ‘contact us immediately and we’ll take care of it’.
Be transparent. Accurately portray what guests should expect. ‘What you tell your guests they’ll be getting and what they get when they arrive need to be congruent’, says Daniel, a Host in San Francisco.
Be open. Ask guests how you can help them feel comfortable and welcome. ‘There are going to be things that we as Hosts don’t anticipate’, says Sadie, a Superhost in Santa Fe, USA.
Be caring. How you respond to a problem can leave a lasting impression. ‘You can turn a tough situation into another booking if you handle it correctly, by showing empathy and working fast to resolve it’, says Felicity, a Host Advisory Board member and Superhost in New South Wales, Australia.
Messaging at key moments
Anticipate what guests need to know to provide a smooth experience and minimise questions. Key moments in trip planning and travelling include:
Booking enquiry or request. You have 24 hours to respond when guests reach out, but it’s best to reply as soon as possible. The majority of Hosts do so within an hour.
Booking confirmation. Send a ‘thanks for booking’ message to connect and let guests know you’re available to answer any questions.
Arrival. Remind guests a day or two before arrival of where they can find your check-in instructions in the app, and share any important notes about getting inside.
During a stay. Ask guests shortly after they arrive if they have everything they need to make their stay comfortable. You can recommend your favourite local shops, restaurants and things to do.
- Departure. Send a note shortly after checkout thanking guests and asking them to leave a review. Review them as soon as you can.
Automating your messages
Having a good response rate is one of several factors that can help your listing appear higher in guests’ searches on Airbnb.
Use these features in the Messages tab to anticipate and respond to routine questions without delay:
Quick replies
Create message templates to easily share information, like where to park or whether guests can drop off luggage before check-in.
You can personalise these templates with shortcodes that automatically fill in guest, reservation and listing details.
Once you set up quick replies, a feature in the Messages tab uses AI to understand a guest’s question and automatically suggest your most relevant reply.
Scheduled messages
Create standard messages and schedule their delivery to guests at key moments, like those mentioned above.
You can personalise these messages with shortcodes as well.
Information contained in this article may have changed since publication.