Starting an Airbnb business or a property management firm is one of the best ways to build a scalable income stream in real estate. But how to start an Airbnb business successfully?

it takes more than just snapping a few pictures of your property (or properties) and hitting publish. If you’re serious about getting into short-term rentals, you also need to stay on top of guest communications, marketing, insurance, local regulations, and more.

Here’s how to start an Airbnb business in 7 steps, from someone who’s successfully scaled from 1 to 75 properties in just 2 years, launched 3 co-hosting companies, and now brings a full-time income on a part-time schedule, Marisa Grover.

Why Should You Start Your Own Airbnb Business?

On average, Airbnb property managers earn 20% to 35% of the total booking revenue. Depending on how many properties you run and your location, this creates a high earning potential for your Airbnb business. Other benefits include:

• Flexible schedule: You set your own hours and can work around your personal life and family time.
• You don’t need to own a property: There are ways to become an Airbnb host without owning property.
• Scalable income potential: You can add more properties to increase your revenue without increasing how much time you’re spending on the Airbnb listings if you have solid systems.
• Growing demand: Property owners increasingly seek professional management as the vacation rental market expands.

Building solid Airbnb systems from the start is VERY important if you plan to manage multiple properties. It’s one of my most important Airbnb hosting tips.

As you grow your short-term rental business, you’ll need to hire a team and create standardized procedures for guest communication, cleaning protocols, maintenance requests, booking management, and more. Without this, your Airbnb journey will quickly turn exhausting and overwhelming.

How to Start an Airbnb Business in 7 Steps

1. Do Your Research

Before officially starting your Airbnb venture, it’s important to research the Airbnb market in your area. Analyze local occupancy rates, average daily rates, and seasonal demand to get a better idea of how profitable your Airbnb business can be and what potential guests are looking for.

It’s helpful to create a business plan that paints the long-term vision for your business. Don’t forget to factor in platform fees (typically 3% for hosts), cleaning costs, maintenance expenses, and other important elements that come with running an Airbnb business.

2. Check Local Laws

Different states and cities have different vacation rental regulations, and it’s essential to comply with them. Some municipalities require specific permits, limit the number of rental days per year, or restrict short-term rentals in certain neighborhoods. Research what kinds of regulations apply to you (if any).

You should also check homeowners association (HOA) rules if you plan to rent out properties in planned communities. You may need board approval before you can do that.

3. Create a Legal Entity

Most Airbnb businesses choose LLC structures for flexibility and liability protection. An LLC shields your personal assets from business liabilities, including guest injuries, property damage claims, or contract disputes. 

You’ll also be able to deduct business-related expenses on your taxes, such as travel, equipment, marketing, and professional services.

You should also open a separate business bank account. I recommend Relay Bank!

4. Prepare Your Airbnb Property

Guest satisfaction is very important for long-term success, so make sure to prepare your Airbnb property with these essential items:

• Smart lock or keypad entry
• High-speed WiFi
• Quality linens and towels
• Kitchen essentials
• Bathroom amenities
• Extra blankets and pillows
• Local guidebook or printed recommendations

Also, take the time to create a property manual explaining how to use different appliances, listing Wi-Fi password, and sharing other logistics. This is also a good time to start looking for reliable cleaning services and maintenance contractors because things WILL break down!

Once your Airbnb listing is properly set up, make sure to take high quality photos.

5. Don’t Forget About Insurance

Airbnb offers some insurance coverage, but many Airbnb business owners decide to take out additional insurance policies, too.

Airbnb includes Host Protection Insurance covering liability up to $1 million and Host Guarantee providing damage protection up to $1 million, but these coverages only apply during active bookings and have significant limitations. You should also consider getting:

• Vacation rental insurance (I recommend Proper)
• General business liability insurance (I recommend Wister)

While insurance is an investment, it’ll help you save money in the long term on any emergencies that happen in your Airbnb rentals. I cover this topic in my recent podcast episode: What I Wish I Knew Before Setting Up My STR Business.

6. Set Up Systems

Without proper systems, you become the bottleneck in every process, answering repetitive guest questions and manually coordinating cleaners. If your plan is to manage multiple properties and run a profitable business, doing this without systems will QUICKLY become overwhelming.

Here are a few tools that I recommend to build solid systems for your Airbnb business:

• Hospitable or OwnerRez as your property management software to handle automated messaging, calendar syncing, and booking coordination. I use Hospitable to manage my 45 properties, and it’s amazing!
• Monday or another project management tool to eliminate missed cleanings, forgotten maintenance requests, and create a centralized task tracking hub for your team.
• Schlage as your smart lock system that integrates with your property management software to generate unique guest codes automatically and eliminate key exchanges.
• Turno for automated cleaning coordination based on your booking calendar that’ll handle payments and provide photo verifications of completed work.
• Happy Guest for signing rental agreements, collecting guest IDs, and creating beautiful digital guidebooks. (the best on the market, IMO!) 

I also recommend hiring a team, including virtual assistants, an operations manager, a bookkeeper, and more. You don’t need a huge team right away, but it’s important to hire the right people BEFORE you think you 100% need them to keep your business running smoothly.

Learn more about how I can help you create seamless Airbnb systems and operations.

7. List Your Airbnb Property

Now it’s time to officially list your Airbnb property! Here are a few tips:

• Write a compelling title that highlights your property’s best features, such as its location or amenities
• Create a detailed property description that mentions nearby attractions, practical information, and what makes your place special
• Upload professional photos in the right order, leading with your best shots
• Set competitive pricing
• Enable Instant Book to increase your booking rate since guests can reserve immediately without waiting for host approval

When you get inquiries, make sure to respond to them quickly. Airbnb’s algorithm favors hosts who reply within an hour or faster! This is, again, another area where systems + team will be super helpful.

Building a Successful Airbnb Business Long-Term

Many Airbnb businesses start out strong but burn out quickly because they try to handle everything personally instead of building processes that work without constant oversight required from you.

When I started managing properties, I answered guest messages at 2 AM, personally coordinated every cleaning, and basically did EVERYTHING myself. I convinced myself that only I could handle these tasks properly, and within months, I was working 100-hour weeks, trapped by my own business.

This is when I realized how freaking important it is to build SYSTEMS. I started documenting every process, automating communications, and training team members to handle issues independently. Once I got it right, my workload decreased while my property count and revenue increased.

If you want to manage multiple properties successfully, you must build and refine your systems continuously!

FAQs

What Percentage Does Airbnb Take?

Airbnb charges hosts a service fee of 3% of the booking subtotal, which covers payment processing and platform usage. Guests pay an additional service fee ranging from 5-15% of the booking subtotal.

How Hard Is It to Run an Airbnb?

Running an Airbnb property is hard when you don’t have proper systems in place. If you try to manage everything manually, you’ll likely end up working 60+ hour weeks handling guest communications, cleaning coordination, and maintenance issues. 

It also makes it very hard to scale and take on additional properties, so at a certain point, you hit the ceiling. However, with solid systems and a reliable team, you can build an Airbnb business that makes money and allows you to live your life to the fullest.

Do You Need a License to Own an Airbnb?

Sometimes. Licensing requirements depend on your location. You might need a short-term rental permit or a business license. It’s best to check with your local government authority.

Why It’s Important to Start an Airbnb Business the Right Way

Starting your Airbnb business with proper systems already in place saves you from a TON of stress and chaos later down the line. If you skip the foundational work, you’ll likely be overwhelmed by the third or fourth property, working around the clock just to maintain basic service levels.

It doesn’t have to be that way! Building your systems early on and anticipating business expansion allows you to grow faster and, most importantly, in a way that feels GOOD.Learn more about my services to see how I can help with VA placement, Airbnb systems education, and Fractional COO partnerships!