Airbnb Business Card Hacks: Attention-Grabbing Design Ideas & What to Include

With the boom in online advertising, more traditional and paper-based forms of Airbnb communication and advertising have taken a backseat — including using an Airbnb business card. However, because some Airbnb hosts tend to overlook it, you could use it as a secret weapon to impress prospective guests. 

When an Airbnb business card is done right, it has the potential to be a pocket rocket that guides travelers right to your doorstep. Read on to find out how to use business cards to your advantage. 

What Is an Airbnb Business Card?

An Airbnb business card, much other business cards, is a small, usually rectangular piece of cardboard that contains important information about your vacation rental business. It is handed out by property owners and property managers to prospective guests in order to generate interest in their Airbnb business. 

An Airbnb business card typically includes information like:

• The property name
• The host’s name
• Contact information
• A short description of the property
• A website URL
• Visual elements like an image and/or logo

These are the essential elements needed for your guests to make a booking if they are interested in your Airbnb rental.

Are Airbnb Business Cards Still Useful? 

While other vacation rental advertising techniques might be more effective for getting your Airbnb listing seen faster, Airbnb business cards still have a place in your marketing arsenal. Here are some of the key benefits of having your own Airbnb business card:

• Communicates key information quickly

One of the best advantages of an Airbnb business card is that it can communicate a lot of important information about your Airbnb listing on a small, inexpensive vessel. 

• It can be passed around 

A business card can be passed around from past guests to their friends and family when they recommend your vacation rental. Therefore, one business card has the potential to reach many different potential guests. 

• It may encourage repeat bookings

If a guest has enjoyed their stay at your Airbnb, finding your business card in their wallet or car could remind them of their enjoyable stay and act as a sign that they should make another booking.

• It creates an impression about your business and brand

A business card may be the first impression of your vacation rental that a potential guest sees. If you’re able to impress them from the get-go with a stunning business card, it could help turn their interest into a concrete booking. 

What Should I Include On My Airbnb Business Card?

When it comes down to it, every host can include whatever they want on their Airbnb business cards. 

Generally speaking, there are a few elements that will make no sense if it is left off, such as a website or at least some contact details. Then, there are other elements that you can decide which to include on your own cards, or mix and match elements to suit your style. 

Here are the main things most hosts include on their Airbnb business cards: 

1. Host’s or property manager’s name

If you are including traditional contact details like an email or phone number, it is a good practice to include the name of the person on the other end of the phone or computer. Adding the name that guests can use to address their communication will personalize the experience and show that there is a human behind the operations.

You could also include your job title, like “property manager” so that guests have a better idea with whom they are communicating. 

2. Property name and description

If you have given your Airbnb property a unique name, it is a smart idea to include it on your business card. It gives your prospective guests a name to refer to in their communication, as well as something to search for online to find your property among the millions of Airbnb listings. 

It is also a good idea to include a very short description of your property. Get straight to the point in your description with phrases like “3-Bedroom Beachside Villa” or “Modern New York Apartment“. This will entice travelers who are looking for a property like yours to enquire more about the vacation home and search for your property online. 

3. Website

In general, a website is a must-have for all vacation rental hosts who are serious about scaling their vacation rental business. Not only does it help avoid Airbnb service fees, but it provides the ideal place for potential guests to visit when they like your Airbnb business card and want to learn more about your rental property.

Designing a website from scratch may seem daunting if you don’t know much about it already. Luckily, there are great website builders available that can build a professional vacation rental website for you, with no coding or web design knowledge needed. In fact, the iGMS website builder is able to convert your Airbnb listing into a professional website that is ready to receive bookings in minutes. All you’d need to do is share the URL link to your listing.

iGMS also enables you to:

• Automate triggered messaging and organize your chats into a single feed via a unified inbox to ensure prompt replies
• Manage multiple accounts and listings across the top booking platforms from a single interface
• Streamline your guest communication with PROtrack, a unique add-on functionality for tracking your guest support team’s productivity
• Synchronize reservations across multiple platforms to eliminate the risk of getting a double-booking
• Connect your Stripe account to iGMS to receive payouts and create invoices 
• Automate guest review send-outs
• Share daily cleaning schedules with your cleaners and auto-assign cleaning tasks
• Manage direct bookings using a direct booking management toolkit
• Create essential reports on your performance and results within minutes
• Take advantage of smart pricing adjustments through integrations with PriceLabs, DPGO, and Wheelhouse to increase revenue.

4. Logo

If you don’t already have a logo designed, an Airbnb business card presents the perfect opportunity to get one. A vacation rental logo makes your business more identifiable and will help your brand to stand out. 

Read more about how to design your own business logo in this article: Vacation Rental Logos: How to Create One + Top 5 Logo Tools

5. Image

Including a photo of your property is optional, but highly encouraged. A high-quality photo that shows off the best features of your Airbnb property will attract more attention and encourage potential guests to make a booking.

Find out how to take high-quality photos of your property in our guide: How to Take Great Airbnb Photos: An Essential Guide for Success

💡Design hack: Use the back of your business card to print a full-size image of your property, so that it does not interfere with the text.

6. Contact details

One of the most important things to include on your Airbnb business card is a means for prospective guests to contact you. Some hosts leave off contact details and only include a website address. But it’s a better gesture to include your phone number and email address too so that those trying to contact you can choose their most preferred method of contact.

How Do I Design A Vacation Rental Business Card?

Now that we know what to include on Airbnb business cards, it’s time to take a closer look at how you can create them. It essentially boils down to two options: creating it yourself, or hiring a professional to do it for you.

• Do it yourself with design software and business card templates

Creating your business cards yourself is the more budget-friendly option as you won’t need to pay for professional services. There are lots of free or affordable tools and design software options to choose from, with many of them offering business card templates to get your creative juices and inspiration flowing. 

Try out some of these software options to see which template might be your next business card:

• Canva
• Moo
• Ps Print
• Instantprint 

• Hire a professional graphic designer

If you have the budget available to hire a professional graphic designer, it will also be worth the investment. A professional will be able to give you an entirely original design and will be able to translate your brand ideas to the business card. 

When choosing a designer, be sure to research the most popular ones in your area with lots of good reviews. It’s also a smart idea to view their past work to make sure you like their design style. 

7 Airbnb Business Card Design Tips Guaranteed To Help You Stand Out From The Competition

Once you’ve got the basic building blocks of your Airbnb business cards, it’s time to make them shine. Here are our top design tips to make a good impression on your prospective guests.

1. Triple and quadruple check all spelling

A spelling mistake is the easiest way to turn away a potential guest. It comes across as unprofessional and communicates that you don’t really care about your business. Subconsciously, it could even communicate to guests that you will be careless with their vacation stay too. 

So, to avoid this, the best advice is to triple and quadruple check that all the information on your business card is spelled correctly and is factually correct too. 

2. Show off your brand

If your property aims for a modern and sleek style, you could mimic that with your Airbnb business cards to show off your brand. Similarly, if your property has a coastal theme or offers a unique feature, you could highlight these themes and ideas on your business card too. 

3. Play with negative space

When you’re designing something as small as a business card, your natural instinct will be to fill the space with as much information as possible. But, from a visual perspective, less is more. Playing with negative space will help make your text stand out because it guides the viewer to where they need to look. 

4. Play with geometric shapes for a modern look

If you’re going for modern design, play around with geometric shapes and designs like stripes, circles, and triangles. It’s a designer’s trick for creating depth, introducing different colors, and making a design look interesting without overcrowding it with photos.

5. Try a vertical layout

Most business cards are designed with a horizontal layout. By giving your Airbnb business cards a vertical design instead, they will automatically look creative and modern without you having to do much else.

6. Don’t be afraid of color (but don’t overdo it!)

A splash of color can help make your Airbnb business cards pop. It will attract the eye and hold the viewers’ attention. However, it’s crucial that you don’t overdo it either, because it can quickly start to look confusing and unpleasant if too many bright colors are used. 

7. Try a black background

While most business cards tend to use a white base with black text, you can help your business card stand out by using a black background with white text instead. This is another low-effort design hack that instantly transforms your Airbnb business cards to make them stand out among your competitors. 

Final Thoughts

At the end of the day, a lot of what ends up on your Airbnb business cards depends on you and your preferences. While it’s a great idea to include popular design hacks, the most important thing is to be true to your own company brand so that you don’t go overboard. And, as long as you have the latest version of your property information and contact details, your Airbnb business cards will still be able to do their job.

About the Author
Callan Riddles is the Content and Social Media Specialist at iGMS. Callan has a passion for finding new ways to help vacation rental businesses thrive. In her free time, she loves to travel, read, and experience all the new things that life has to offer.