Co-Hosts
Airbnb co-hosts take on hosting responsibilities for your listing and offer extra support whenever you welcome guests to your place.
Adding co-hosts is a simple way to allow family members or trusted friends to help with some of the hosting responsibilities from their own account without needing to give them access to your personal Airbnb account, personal details, or payment information.
When you add a co-host to your listing, you enable them to accept, decline, cancel, or alter reservations. They are able to see and respond to guest messages. They can edit pricing and availability, as well as edit your listing descriptions and photos. Co-hosts can also interact with Airbnb customer service on your behalf. Below is a summary of the key things an Airbnb co-host can do for you…
- Getting your space ready: Your co-host can help prepare your space so it’s ready to welcome guests. They can do a little informal interior design and decorations, recommend repairs to prepare the space, purchase necessary items,create a list of supplies to be restocked after each guest stay (e.g. soap, toilet paper, etc.), setup a lockbox, create a house manual, and more.
- Listing your space: Your co-host can create a listing for your place on Airbnb. They can help with writing listing descriptions, coming up with an appealing listing name, taking and uploading photos, and help with determining the optimal pricing for your place.
- Messaging with guests: Your co-host can message guests on your behalf. Your co-host will communicate with guests using their own Airbnb account to get to know guests, answer questions they may have and coordinate their arrival and departure.
- Handling reservations: Your co-host can handle reservations by responding to booking inquiries and accepting or declining reservation requests in a timely manner.
- Welcoming guests in person: Your co-host can welcome or coordinate in-person guest check-in's for you. You can ask your co-host to meet your guests in-person (or you can provide access to your home via alternative options).
- Responding to guest issues: Your co-host can help handle guest-related travel issues for you. Guests might lock themselves out, the shower may stop working, or the internet may go down. Your co-host can jump in to help with the unexpected. Have a conversation with your co-host about your expectations for these types of situations.
- Reviewing guests: Your co-host can review your guests and leave feedback on your behalf.
- Updating calendar and pricing: Your co-host can update your calendar and pricing. Keeping your listing’s availability up-to-date is important so that guests know when they can book your place. Your co-host can help you decide whether to set prices manually or use Airbnb’s Smart Pricing tools.
- Restocking essential supplies: Your co-host can help stock your place with a few basic guest necessities like towels, toilet paper and soap; based on an agreed frequency of hosting and purchasing, and with an understanding of how expenses are going to be handled.
- Coordinating cleaning and linens: Your co-host can coordinate the cleaning and turnover of your space for you. Some hosts choose to clean their place themselves, whilst others prefer to work with a cleaning service.
- Coordinating maintenance: Your co-host can coordinate repairs for you. If something needs a fix, you and the co-host can determine what repairs are needed, when the repairs should take place, and how any relevant expenses will be handled.
- Interacting with Airbnb: Your co-host can contact Airbnb to report and work towards the resolution of any issues you or your guests have during their stay.
Co-hosts can’t access your payout information or personal details. As the listing owner, you can remove a co-host at any time.
At all times, your co-hosts will be using their own Airbnb accounts – you do not need to share a username, password or profile. This means that when you or your co-hosts message a guest, the guest will know exactly who it is they’re talking to.
You’re also able to designate your co-host as the primary host for your listing. This means they become the main point of contact for guests, both before and during their stay.
Guests will see the primary host whenever they look at your listing online and will then expect most of their interactions to be with the primary host during their stay.
Guests will see your co-hosts’ picture and contact information on your listing page, their Airbnb reservation itinerary, and in all messages sent from the co-host’s account. This becomes especially useful when your co-host is responsible for most of the guest communications and interactions.
To add a co-host: