The 5 Most Valuable Websites and Resources for Airbnb Hosts

Airbnb now operates in 34,000 cities in 190 countries. And yet, the information market for helping Airbnb hosts is relatively slim.

There are only a handful of forums (often thinly populated) and websites (often thin on quality content) dedicated to showing people best practices for hosting that are heart-driven and focus on providing high-quality, intentional experiences.

Here, I’ve compiled a list of sites that meet five requirements:

1) they showcase original writing and advice that can’t be found elsewhere
2) they are inspirational, authentic or connection-based
3) they offer incredible value in their free resources/posts (whether or not they also sell a product)
4) they are sites dedicated exclusively to helping hosts, not one-off pieces on big websites
5) they aren’t the blog of a paid tool or app intended merely to drive traffic toward the product

If you’re looking for quality advice, these five resources merit your coffee-shop browsing time and meticulous note-taking.

The Secret to Consistently Attracting Your Ideal Airbnb Guests

What if you were guaranteed to attract your ideal guest—someone just like you? Someone who respects your space, who respects your privacy, who enjoys and takes pleasure in your surroundings. Someone you might even be friends with. I’ve implemented the following strategies with a 100% success rate for over a year. Here are my best tips for attracting the kind of guests you want in your space.

How to Welcome Yourself Home: The Traveling Host’s Guide

When I come back from long trips, I often struggle with this feeling of emptiness; usually I stay in Airbnbs too, so I sometimes feel like I’m stepping into yet another one. I want to eliminate this as soon as possible. It usually only takes a night or another day maximum. But, doing these things helps speed up the process of slowing down, and soaking in the loveliness of being home.

Guest Perspective: Please, Put Some Soul Into Your Airbnb Listing

I’m staying in a well-designed, inexpensive, clean, modern Airbnb in Florida. So, why should I have any reason to not give it 5 stars? I have five huge reasons that all add up to: it lacks soul. What is the difference between a place that has soul and a place that does not? How can you touch it? You can’t. It has to be felt. The best way I can describe it: A place that has soul exhibits a divine series of touches, accents and actions that bring about the feeling that you are having a human connection, although you’re not physically having one. Here are five things that, totaled, equal a void for me.

How Automatic Pricing Can Boost Your Revenue: A Chat with Ian at Beyond Pricing

I have a special treat for you today! I spoke with Ian McHenry, the co-founder and president of Beyond Pricing, a neat tool that lets you use the kind of sophisticated technology that hotels and airlines use to automatically adjust your prices on Airbnb. This industry is still so nascent and growing so fast, and new tools like this are springing up left and right—I want to make sure that at The Abundant Host, we cover things like this to add more meaning and context to these tools so you can make the decision that’s right for you, your listing and your guests. I spoke with Ian to get a little more information about Beyond Pricing, and to hear his story of hosting and what it means to him. Read on for more!

Don’t Block Off Your Calendar Even When You Think You Should: Here’s Why

If you’re an Airbnb host and you rent out your entire place, you might think that if you know you’re not going to be flying out of town during a certain weekend, you should block that weekend as unavailable on your calendar. I’m here to tell you that in most cases, you shouldn’t block it out. What should you do instead? Price your place accordingly so you can take that beautiful weekend getaway at a moment’s notice. Read on for why!