Crafting Memorable Experiences: Hosting Airbnb Events and Experiences

One of the main reasons for Airbnb’s popularity is that it gives travelers the opportunity to enjoy more authentic and interesting experiences.

As host, you can use this to your advantage by exploring the idea of hosting Airbnb events. Not only will it help you to make your space more attractive, but you can also maximize your revenue in the process. However, there are a few considerations and legal issues that you need to keep in mind.

Rules About Parties to Keep in Mind

Airbnb emphasizes that both hosts and guests must be mindful of their local communities. This means that they need to refrain from throwing parties or events that will lead to excessive noise and behavior, like vandalism and littering, that will disturb neighbors.

To help enforce this global ban of disruptive gatherings during stays or Airbnb Experiences, the platform has created a Community Disturbance Policy. In short, any party or event that has the potential to become disruptive is prohibited (irrespective of how many people will attend). According to this policy, hosts are also not allowed to advertise that their listings are event-friendly.

Repercussions of Throwing Unauthorized Parties

Guests who violate Airbnb’s policies regarding parties and events can be suspended or removed from the platform altogether. The same applies to hosts who ignore the guidelines.

If you choose to advertise your listing as event-friendly, you risk the chances of getting your listing suspended. The platform will only reactivate your listing when you’ve updated your description by removing the part about allowing parties or events. In fact, they might explicitly ask you to include it in your house rules that parties and events aren’t allowed.

In the event that the property causes serious event-related issues or continuously ignores Airbnb’s policy regarding the matter, the platform may even choose to remove the listing permanently.

The Alternative: Creating Unique Online Experiences

Airbnb Online Experiences can be a great alternative for those hosts looking to maximize their unique expertise and listing. Thanks to tech, hosts are presented with more ways to make a stay special. There are several online tools and platforms that you can use to create unique and safe events that your guests can enjoy online.

Here are some fun ideas for creating unique online experiences for your guests:

1. Virtual coffee classes that guests can follow along with a professional barista from the comfort of their Airbnb property.
2. An online wine-tasting session presented by a trained sommelier during which guests can sample different wines in their own space without having to leave the property.
3. Motivational talks presented by professional athletes
4. An online game night where guests can connect with each other and enjoy some entertainment together

By getting creative with technology and connecting people virtually, you can offer one-of-a-kind online experiences that will keep your guests coming back time and again. Not only will it help you attract more guests, but it will also help you to maximize revenue potential during slow periods or times.

Speaking of technology, have you considered using vacation rental management software?

Tips for hosting online experiences

Create a detailed description

Just like your listing’s description should give an accurate account of what guests can expect, so too should the online experience’s listing page. You should take the time to answer all the possible questions when writing this description. This will help interested guests to know what they can expect and be prepared. Take care to highlight any safety precautions or physical requirements. For example, if it’s a cooking class, warn guests with allergies that it might include nuts or gluten.

Connect with others

Hosts can use these types of events and experiences to build relationships with local companies and individuals. Perhaps there’s a chef, caterer, or bartender in your city that has unique expertise geared towards teaching teams? Maybe there’s a local yoga instructor that can share tips about the art of meditation?

In addition to reaching out to service providers, you can also connect with other hosts close to you. You can, for example, create a WhatsApp group where you share advice and tips regarding hosting and safety.

Target teams

Airbnb online experiences have become a popular activity among teams. Instead of appealing to a group of friends, you can also tailor it to focus on a corporate team. Increasingly more companies have employees that work remotely from all over the world and to help the team bond or recognize team milestones or individual team members, they turn to the vacation rental site.

Using Tech to Connect Better With Guests

Whether you want to appeal to younger solo travelers or corporate teams, thanks to advances in tech and the mass adoption of software like Zoom, homeowners can now reach hundreds more. By using your space to host a fun online event, you can boost your bottom line and learn a new skill or two. An Airbnb property can be an ideal backdrop to get people talking and feeling connected virtually.

Alternatively, if you don’t want to try your hand at hosting the actual online event, how about letting your guests enjoy Airbnb online experiences hosted by others from the comfort of your property? Consider what your target audience will enjoy and explore the possibility of partnering with a local company. You could also use a website like Openings24 to view new grand openings events in your area. It’s a great way to find a local partner. 

You can, for example, use a tool like iGMS and create a check-in form to help you collect information and learn more about their specific requirements and the purpose of their stay. It can also be a useful tool for sharing rental agreements to ensure that guests won’t decide to hold their own unauthorized events at your property.

iGMS can also help you manage the daily operations of your short-term rentals, such as:

• Synchronizing reservations across multiple platforms to eliminate double bookings.
• Using the unified inbox to organize your messages into a single feed to ensure prompt replies.
• Using automated templates and triggered messaging to improve communication.
• Automating the process of guest review send-outs.
• Creating and coordinating cleaning tasks with live tracking to completion.
• Task creation and team management with access control.
• Securely processing payments via integration with Stripe.