Update Your Airbnb or VRBO Host Profile TODAY!
To be successful on the listing sites, you are going to need some reviews.
No surprise there.
But...then you find out that nobody wants to be the first to book with you because you don't have any reviews.
It's frustrating, and it can feel like an uphill battle at the beginning for sure.
The first thing you can do and should do is update your host profile.
Most new profiles aren't really earning the trust that they need to, so I'll walk through how you can update your host profile to make sure that you are helping potential guests feel more comfortable booking with you.
If a potential guest likes your property but is concerned about your lack of reviews, then they'll likely check out your host profile, and this can be an opportunity to sell yourself to this potential guest, and alleviate any concerns they might have.
Here are five steps you can use to update your host profile.
Step 1: Profile Picture
The first step, step number one would be updating your profile picture.
A lot of times I see hosts using their home a the profile picture, and you definitely want to include a picture of your face. If you host with your spouse, have both of you in that photo.
Make sure that you're looking at the camera, you're smiling, and you look warm, friendly and approachable.
You want the picture to look professional, but it doesn't have to be stuffy. You don't need to be in a suit and tie or anything like that. Just have a warm friendly picture of you smiling at the camera.
That is step number one, and it will go a long way.
Step 2: Introduce Yourself
The next part of this is really elaborating your host profile bio, and a lot of times I see these bios are filled out, but they're typically one or two sentences and they're not really giving the potential guests a good idea of who they are as the host.
The first thing you're going to do is introduce yourself, and maybe provide something about why you love the area and why you chose this particular vacation home, what you love about it.
Step 3: The Know, Like & Trust Factor
You're also using this area to really sell yourself as a host, and part of that is that you want them to know, like and trust you, so it doesn't hurt to add a little bit of personal information in there.
It can be a fun fact about yourself. It can be hobbies that you're interested in. Don't go too long here, but a sentence or two for them to really get a sense for who you are, so that they can really begin to know, like and trust you.
Step 4: Establish Credibility
Then the next part is that you want to include something else that really demonstrates that you are an excellent host.
You won't have the reviews to demonstrate this for you, so see if you can draw in something that really demonstrates this, whether it's you live five minutes from the home.
You can mention, "I live just down the street. I'm available for anything you may need."
Or it can be that maybe you line of work is already in the hospitality industry of some sort, and how you love serving customers in a certain way, and you can kind of elaborate and make it work to prove that you're going to be a great vacation rental host.
Step 5: Invitation to Reach Out
And then last part of your bio is really opening up the lines of communication.
Encourage them to reach out with any questions or concerns that they might have, and then be sure to thank them for stopping by.
You want to just end on a really friendly note, and taking the time to get to know them does just that!
Conclusion:
So those are a few tips you can use to update your host profile, and start building a little more credibility.
If you are new to this industry and you really want to hit the ground running with your vacation rental. be sure to grab my free marketing guide.
It is called The Vacation Rental Marketing Roadmap, and you can grab that in the link below.
By grabbing this guide, you'll also be the first to know when I launch my brand new program next month which is ALL about optimizing your listing for maximum success!
Be sure to grab your free marketing guide here!
