Airbnb What is it and how does it work?

En is fast “Airbnb What is it and how does it work?” We tell you a little about a “relatively” new accommodation system, it is increasingly used in Mexico and the world…

For travel lovers, innovations on the subject are always welcome, new services that contribute to a better experience become attractive and become an option that must be tried.

Hotels are the traditional form of accommodation, location, price and quality are the keys to analyzing which is the most convenient; There are also hostels, an alternative for those who have no problems sharing a room with a stranger.

Likewise, in many tourist places, renting vacation homes is another alternative, without as many services as in a hotel, there are those who prefer it and it is that market niche that will be exploited as what we know today as an Airbnb.

What is an Airbnb?

Airbnb is a company that began in 2008 when two designers who had free space in their home received three travelers looking for a place to stay.

Today, Airbnb is a platform that connects guests and hosts around the world, forming a huge community of people whose interests focus on the supply and demand of accommodation.

We can say that it is a network of contacts between people looking for a place, house, cabin, apartment, etc. to stay, with people who offer these spaces in different parts of the world.

Advantages of an Airbnb

What this platform does may not be new, since renting a house to go on vacation is something that has been done for a long time.

However, Airbnb came to, in some way, “organize” the supply and demand of vacation homes, achieving certain advantages over the classic forms.

In this sense, an Airbnb, thanks to the community it has formed for years, can connect people all over the world. You may be in Mexico and looking to rent a place for a week’s vacation in Turkey, Indonesia, Peru or in some magical town in Mexico, something that was previously unthinkable.

Airbnb minimizes the risks of losing money, that is a great advantage of the platform since you are not depositing money with a strange person in exchange for a reservation or the rental of a place that you are not sure if it exists or not.

Airbnb speeds up your search to the extent that you can select the destination and a list of the different hosts in the place will automatically appear with an approximate location.

Likewise, Airbnb will allow you to access very important information to choose the right place thanks to the fact that it gives you photos of the place, references of the person who receives you, location references of the place, among other details that will surely be useful and give you something more confidence when choosing your ideal site.

An apartment in San Miguel de Allende with good ratings and a friendly and helpful host is not the same as an apartment with negative comments about it.

More advantages…

Furthermore, with the platform, security is greater for hosts who will have certain guarantees about a reservation, in addition to references from the person who is going to host.

Another important point is that through the platform you can be in contact with the host, ask questions, agree on your arrival, etc., which greatly facilitates your trip.

The prices may be a little better than a hotel; Likewise, we cannot fail to mention the good thing about this type of vacation rentals that allow you to enjoy living in a house as if you were a “local”, practicing certain customs as if you were in your own home.

Surely there are more points in its favor, discover them…

How does Airbnb work?

As we mentioned before, Airbnb is a digital platform that brings together two groups of people, on the one hand, those who offer their properties as places of temporary accommodation, and on the other hand, those people who are looking to rent a place to stay in a specific destination.

To achieve a match between one group and another, people must complete certain actions that allow them to be part of the community; Below we give you some details about that…

The first step for hosts and guests will be to create an account on the Airbnb platform, it is free and requires basic information in addition to an official identification.

¿How to be a host on Airbnb?

In the early years of this company, being an Airbnb host was limited to being the owner of a space that you were willing to rent temporarily; However, today the possibilities are greater, the ways to host are currently:

1. Sharing your accommodation as a host, this means that you can choose whether to rent an entire property or a room or a particular space.
2. Offers an experience as a host, this modality is for those who have proposals for events (experiences) that are distinguished; You can host it in person or you can share it via zoom.

Hosts must comply with certain rules established by Airbnb and summarized in 4 items:

Commitment to the reservation, if the host has a confirmed reservation, he or she must do everything possible to maintain and complete it, avoiding cancellations except for special circumstances that the platform itself has already pre-established.

Quick communication, the host is asked to have a certain level of response depending on the moment in which the reservation is made and finalized in order to provide better service to the guest.

Veracity of the advertisement, refers to showing details of the property offered, description of the place, services, location, privacy, house rules, etc.

Cleaning of the accommodation, priority is given to the cleanliness of the place and also that there is nothing that could represent a risk to the health and safety of the guest, for example, pests.

Maintain a high positive evaluation in returning guests.

If the host does not comply with Airbnb’s rules, guests are asked to inform the platform’s customer service center so that action can be taken.

Price of your Airbnb

For many, setting the daily collection rate for a property on Airbnb is not very easy, perhaps one may have some idea of ​​what they would like to receive but the doubt about whether it is expensive or cheap is present.

For this reason, the platform has a function called “similar ads” that allows you to compare your price with that of other similar accommodations that have been booked in your area.

Additionally, you can consider whether you want to include concepts such as cleaning, extra for pets, fee for additional guests, etc., which should already be included in the price you decide to put on the daily rental of your property.

Applying discounts for rentals on specific dates is also an option.

How does Airbnb work for users, travelers, guests?

In the same way as for hosts, Airbnb asks guests, travelers, and users to comply with some minimum instructions.

In principle, you are asked to complete the profile with your personal information, photo, means by which you can be contacted, configuration of other account information such as language, type of currency, etc.

After that, it is recommended to carefully choose the place to rent and if in doubt contact the host. It is also important to inform the number of people who will occupy the chosen place.

To make the reservation the steps are:

Access the advertisement with the chosen place and check availability.

Select dates, number of guests and then click Book. If the Confirm and pay option appears, you can reserve the space immediately.

Keep in mind that each host has their own style, there are those that allow you to book immediately, but there are also others that require you to first send a request that they must approve.

As soon as the reservation is confirmed, the corresponding amount is charged from the platform to the payment method indicated by the guest.

It is worth clarifying that no matter how far in advance you make the reservation, the host will not receive payment until 24 hours after the scheduled arrival date, this way enough time is given to both (host and guest) to ensure that everything What was agreed upon in the reservation is in order.

Another detail that may interest you is that Airbnb does not charge a security deposit and does not allow hosts to do so, but it does have a policy on how to request a refund for damages, lost items, or unexpected cleaning expenses caused by the guest.

This means that the guest knows that, if they commit any damage to the property, Airbnb will proceed to collect their damages using the same payment method from which the reservation was charged.

Useful information on how to pay for an Airbnb

Finally, it can be very useful to know that Airbnb allows you to make payments by electronic means such as debit and credit cards and also other means such as Paypal or Google Pay, for example, you can consult all of them on their website.

Keep in mind that Airbnb payment cannot be made in cash and you must always do so through the platform since it is the way in which they can efficiently provide their service and avoid fraud.

On the other hand, Airbnb allows you to pay a portion when the reservation is confirmed and the rest can be charged in payments; The dates will be indicated on the payment page. Payment plans are allowed for certain stays, you must confirm whether or not they apply when you make the reservation.

How much is the commission that Airbnb charges?

The services provided by the Airbnb platform will have a commission cost that applies to both guests and hosts; The amounts are already fixed, although there are some special cases.

Airbnb deducts the host fee, which is generally 3% of the subtotal, and pays you the rest.

Guests pay another fee that is usually 14% of the subtotal and that amount is added as an extra to the total price for the nights rented.

It is also good to consider that there will be other taxes that are included in the rate paid by the guest and will depend on where the property is located and the taxes that the government of that destination applies, for example VAT.