Things to consider when listing your property
Common mistakes Airbnb hosts make include poorly written listings with low-quality photos, inaccurate pricing, and neglecting cleanliness and maintenance. Other frequent errors are inadequate guest communication, failing to understand or follow local regulations, and not having a clear pricing strategy or system for operations.
Managing an Airbnb rental can be extremely rewarding, but avoiding some common mistakes is key to long-term success. If you are considering listing your property as a short term rental, consider working with ellini.co, a team of experts in short-term rental management that helps property owners boost profits and guest satisfaction.
Listing and Presentation
• Poor listing photos: Using blurry, dark, or unprofessional photos can significantly deter potential guests. Guests rely heavily on visuals and detailed information to make booking decisions.
• Inaccurate or vague descriptions: Overpromising in the listing description or omitting important details leads to guest disappointment.
• Not understanding guest expectations: A lack of research into what guests in the area expect can lead to negative reviews.
• Over-themed spaces: Too much personal flair or a strong theme can limit the appeal of the property to a broader audience.
• Overlooking essential amenities: Forgetting to stock basics like extra toilet paper, soap, or coffee can quickly turn a pleasant stay into a frustrating one.
Management and Operations
To enforce the new framework, joint inspection teams from the Ministry of Tourism and the Independent Authority for Public Revenue (IAPR) will carry out property audits. Inspections will be announced at least 10 days in advance giving property managers time to gather the required documentation:
• Inadequate pricing strategy: Setting a flat price and failing to use dynamic pricing tools that adjust rates based on seasonality, local events, and demand results in lost revenue and potentially lower occupancy rates.
• Poor or slow guest communication: Delayed responses to inquiries and a lack of clear check-in/check-out instructions frustrate guests and can result in bad reviews and lower search rankings.
• Neglecting cleanliness and maintenance: Guests expect a meticulous hotel standard of cleanliness. Overlooking deep cleaning or delaying necessary repairs of appliances and furniture leads to negative feedback and reduced bookings.
• Underestimating the time commitment: Many hosts new to the platform assume managing an Airbnb is passive income, but it requires significant time for communication, cleaning, and administration.
• Failing to screen guests: Not properly vetting guests can increase the risk of property damage or rule violations.
Legal and Financial
Failure to comply with the new rules will result in significant fines including:
• Ignoring local regulations: Short-term rental laws vary widely by city and are constantly changing. Failing to research and comply with local laws, permits, and tax requirements can lead to fines or legal action.
• Mixing personal and business finances: Not setting up a proper financial system can lead to confusion, messy records, and potential legal issues.
• Assuming you're fully covered by insurance: Standard homeowner's insurance policies typically exclude business use. Hosts need specific short-term rental insurance to be adequately protected.
All fines must be paid within 15 calendar days. Delays may lead to legal enforcement actions such as asset seizures.
Victor S.
As a frequent visitor to Greece I feel the provisions regarding short term rentals is long overdue and insure fairness to locals in theirs search for accommodations.
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Mark G.
How do they get in touch with the owners/managers? Is the contact made through taxis net?
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Franz G.
I think these regulations were long overdue but the amount of the fines is rediculous. The government should just ban them from renting their STR property for a period of time. Just another cash grab for the government. hmmmm.
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George D.
Just more bureaucratic bs from the government. They pass laws everybody panics, the insurance companies sell thousands of liability insurance contracts, and thats it. Nothing gets enforced but a few examples being set and headlines in the media. At the end nothing changes.
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Michael K.
Does anybody know what kind of liability insurance is required? Is their something specific to Airbnb's?
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Robert Y.
I'm generally against regulations of this sort. But as they say all government policies are bad but some are worse than others. I think it's just the governments way of satisfying the larger hotel operators and big business.
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