10 tips to Automate AirBnb – remotely manage a vacation rental from anywhere in the world

In The 4-Hour Workweek*, Tim Ferriss speaks of building dreamlines. I prefer to think of building perpetual motion machines but they have the same effect – creating businesses that provide consistent output without you needing to provide constant input. This is achieved using automation, delegation and streamlined systems.

I tried this technique in my Airbnb and it worked a treat. After laying the groundwork and building the machine, I could lay back and just watch the wheels spin by themselves. Guests would book, pay, check themselves in and out and then the cleaner would get the place ready for the next guests. All without needing my input – I would just watch my bank account fill up in the process.

So here I’m going to share with you my…

10 tips to Automate AirBnb 

1. Check-In
2. Communication
3. Cleaning
4. Gardening
5. Restocking supplies
6. Guest Gifts
7. Phones
8. Contractors
9. Home Warranty
10. Payments

1. Check-In

Get yourself an electronic keypad door lock*. This is most effective way to automate Airbnb’s check in process. It also gives you brownie points with Airbnb, and makes you eligible for their Work collection. 

Don’t be cheap and try to use one of these key lock boxes*. Giving your guests a physical key is asking for trouble. It would be very easy for them to cut their own copy. But more likely, a guest will lose it or forget to put it back in the lockbox when they leave. 

So don’t be cheap. Pay a bit extra and get the Schlage Camelot*. They are easy to install, and work great. Here’s a video of how to set one up in under two minutes. 

There is one draw back. The battery could die on your guests, leaving them locked out. But you get a lot of warning when the battery is starting to fade (the light turns red). In case the worst happens and guests arrive at the door and the keypad won’t work, I’ve taken a double cautious approach – the electronic keypad is the primary option, but I also have a spare key in a wall mounted manual lockbox* in case the keypad should malfunction. I don’t give the code to the lockbox out but could send it to a guest in an emergency. You can read my complete guide to picking the right Airbnb lock for your house here.

2. Communication

The second most effective way to automate Airbnb is with automated messages. 

Communicating with your guests can take a lot of time. You need to thank them for their booking, let them know how to access the property to check in, remind them of check out procedures, and answer their enquiries. And you will be scored on this when they leave you a review. It’s one of Airbnb’s 5 main criteria. So getting communication right is very important. 

But it’s also pretty repetitive. 

I use Your Porter* to send the pre written messages for me. The app is pretty clever and it uses hashtags to automatically populate the messages with unique details like the guests name and arrival date and checkout date. I find it invaluable.

UPDATE – I’ve negotiated $20 off for my readers! Just use code “curious” at check out.

I’ve published my full Airbnb communication strategy here. 

3. Cleaning

Get the best cleaner ever.

You need the best cleaner ever. 

They need to be so good you would trust them with your darkest secrets. They need to be so good, you can ask them to do more than just the cleaning. They are your right hand man.

Granted, this is more delegation than automation, but it has the same effect. 

A roomba* would be a good idea if you wanted to do some of the work yourself, but that’s not the point here – we want to build a system that takes care of itself, not be changing sheets and doing dishes. The point is to totally automate Airbnb, so that we are completely removed from the process.

You need a good cleaner who doesn’t have too many other clients. If you have a last minute booking, you want to be sure the cleaner will be free to clean again straight after check out. If their schedule is too busy and they can’t get to you for a couple of days, you will have greater vacancies. 

I prefer to use non-professional cleaners. I use neighbors. They know the house, don’t want to burn bridges, and are more likely to be willing to help with other issues above and beyond cleaning requirements. I’ve agreed with my cleaner a $25 call out fee if I ask her to pop to the house for anything other than cleaning – such as when she had to let the plumber in. 

If my cleaner ever quit on me, I’d probably have to move to a professional service. I’ve noticed lots of app services popping up lately trying to connect owners with cleaners and service providers. Now that Amazon are in the mix with Amazon Home*, I think the service will improve dramatically.

4. Gardener – but also instal low Maintenance garden 

You need to keep the garden looking tidy for your guests. So you need a gardener. I pay $60 a month and the guy comes around every one to two weeks to give it a trim. He gets it looking really sharp. Again, I’ve gone with a local guy, but there are services available now that connect lawn care pros with homeowners to make the whole transaction easier. TaskEasy is one such company that looks really good, and again Amazon Home* is getting into this niche. I’m watching this space with anticipation.

I considered getting one of these*. My inner geek loved the idea of a robot lawn mower. But the price put me off. I could have the gardener come for a year and a half before the price justified itself. It it won’t do the edging either. 

It’s also worth considering putting in a low maintenance garden. The less work it needs the better. This will be one of my next projects. For mild climates like the UK the RHS has this guide to help you plan. In Florida’s tropical climate a different approach is needed – I’ve been thinking of doing something along the lines discussed here. 

5. Restocking supplies

Again, This is where systems come in to the process. If you are letting out the entire house, it’s worth setting aside a closet for cleaning supplies and other storage. If you leave this unlocked you will get guests helping themselves. I simply changed the closet door handle to this one* which has a key lock on it and gave a copy of the key to the cleaner.

I keep bulk amounts of the following:

• Tea and Coffee
• Dishwasher tablets
• Laundry detergent 
• Cleaning supplies
• Toilet rolls
• Paper towels
• A few spare cups and plates etc that match the set in the kitchen incase a guest breaks any. 

I subscribe to Amazon Prime* so can order re-supplies to be delivered to the house at the click of a Botton. Clicking on that link will give you a 30 day free trial.

6. Guest Gifts

A lot of Airbnb hosts leave welcome gifts for their guests. I don’t. The guests are already getting a great deal with my place, and putting gifts out each time makes it harder to automate airbnb turnovers. If you were really keen to do this (especially if you are chasing reviews at the beginning) I would suggest preparing a handful of pre-made gifts in advance and putting them in the store cupboard for the cleaner to set out before each guest.  

7. Phones 

If you want to operate your Airbnb from anywhere in the world, you need to be contactable anywhere in the world. Calls from guests are pretty rare if you have a good communication strategy, but you still want them to be able to get hold of you in an emergency. Plumbers and contractors will also want a phone number for you when you use them.

For my Airbnb in the USA, I used Google Voice. It looks like a local number. Guests can call me on it and I can pick it up anywhere in the world.

For calls relating to my UK property, I use a SIM card from Three which has the brilliant Feel at Home feature for 71 destinations around the world (including America). This let’s you keep data roaming on and use your data, and call and text back to the UK, just like you do at home.

I might eventually get one of these dual sim phones* for even smoother phone communication. If you go down this route, make sure to get a quad band phone so that it works in any country.

8. Contractors on hand

Again, this is more of a system than automation. But you need a system in place for when things go wrong. I compiled a list of contractors and tradesmen who I could call on in the (inevitable) event that things break. If you know these people personally so much the better. Plan ahead of time and reach out to those tradesmen and let them know the score. If they are willing to let themselves in the house without someone needing to be there so much the better – that’s what the key code is for. 

9. Home Warranty

You might also decide to take out a home warranty – you’re not on hand to deal with even the most minor issues, so those call out fees will add up unless you have a warranty in place. I used 2-10 Home Warranty and have been impressed with their service, but didn’t renew the subscription as I found I wasn’t needing that many call outs. 

10. Payments

If you are going to remotely manage a vacation rental from anywhere in the world You are going to need to have an easy payment system in place. I signed up to Venmo to pay my gardener and cleaner. But its only designed for use within the USA. It worked when I was in the UK, but when I updated my phone the app required two factor authentication to my US phone number, and so I was blocked out. I had to move to PayPal instead, which wasn’t ideal as it charges the receiver a commission – I ended up paying my cleaner and gardener these commissions back.

Keep those wheels spinning!

Of course, there’s no such thing as a true perpetual motion machine. Eventually, the momentum slows down and the wheels stop spinning if you don’t keep tinkering with the machine. But the better the machine is built this more smooth you can make it run and the less you need to do to keep things spinning. My Airbnb business became a pretty well oiled machine, and I was able to manage the property remotely from anywhere in the world.

If you have any better solutions to Automate Airbnb, I would truly love to hear them in the comments below. To sign up as an Airbnb host, click here*.