Steps You Should Take to Become an Airbnb Host in Malaysia
Malaysian tourism is growing by leaps and bounds. As more and more tourists pour into Malaysia every year, Airbnb is sought by most. As an Airbnb host in Malaysia, you have an excellent chance of earning huge profits, especially in the holiday season.
Malaysia is presenting a great market for Airbnb to grow. The world’s leading hospitality company encourages renting out your available spaces, ranging from a single room to a whole house. But it also insists on you know your local rules and regulations regarding the same.
Let us see how you can become an Airbnb host in Malaysia.
Register
To become an Airbnb host in Malaysia, you should first login to their website and register yourself as a host. You can list your property by submitting photos and descriptions of the space you wish to rent. Once listed, the property can be viewed by travelers looking for places to stay in the host area. Airbnb listings are searched using several different keywords like area, dates of availability, fees, amenities like breakfast, hot water, stove, etc., number of rooms, including washrooms and balconies, view, host language and facilities like parking or accessibility from the road. Make sure you list all the relevant information to get on to of relevant searches. A guest can also contact the host directly through the Airbnb messaging service for further information before booking.
Provide Security
The host should be able to provide the required identifications to Airbnb for security reasons. As Airbnb is a worldwide community of trusted contacts, this step is vital for both the hosts and travellers. Travellers can post reviews regarding accommodation and hosts can post reviews regarding their guests without anonymity.
Set Fees
The host decides the fees for lodging. Based on that, Airbnb charges the following fees:
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- 3% payment transaction fee from the host
- 6-12% booking fee from the guest
- Guests may need to pay a security fee and a cleaning fee
Know Your Laws
Before you decide to become an Airbnb host in Malaysia, you need to make sure that you are legally allowed to do so. Local laws differ from city to city and what holds true for one area may not be applicable in another. Some provinces are very strict about hosting paying guests, while some are lenient. Some locations do not allow paying guests at all, while some do, after collecting an occupancy tax. Airbnb has a set of rules and regulations included in its Legal and Regulatory Issues and Responsible Hosting pages.
If you live in an apartment, make sure you are allowed to host paying guests on your premises. Society rules and apartment landlords usually have certain rules that disallow subletting, or allow to sublet only for certain categories of people. In Penang, some property owners had to pay a fine of up to RM250 for hosting without a license.
Before becoming an Airbnb host in Malaysia, you also need to consider your neighbours. A noisy or rowdy Airbnb guest can cause you much trouble.
Additional Checks
Becoming an Airbnb host in Malaysia is like starting any other business. You need the drive and desire, combined with the willingness to do what it takes. All this, with proper planning and research, will surely kick start your business successfully. You require time for becoming an Airbnb host as you will have to manage your bookings, respond to potential guests, meet the guests to hand over the keys, keep the property clean and keep supplies ready according to whatever facilities you are providing, handle maintenance issues and coordinate with and be available for your guests any time of the day, in case of any issues.
Set Realistic Financial Goals
While planning your business, you will, of course, look into the financial aspect. First of all, you should be clear whether you want it to be your main source of income or to make a little money on the side. Once you decide that, you should typically include the target market and potential revenue on your property. Income from an Airbnb property depends on various factors like demand, location, scenery, accessibility, and seasonality. If you are planning to make it a full-time business, you should conduct very careful research of the rental rates in the area your property is situated and the booking frequencies of other Airbnb properties in that area. In addition to this, there are some additional costs that you have to bear as an Airbnb host. These costs include insurance, business license costs, and maintenance costs.
Improve Your Host Ranking
Describe your property accurately, but make it stand out from others by making your brand known. You have to “sell” your property, so you need to market it in a similar way. A competitive price helps immensely in bringing up your property. If yours is the cheapest property in a locality, most likely, guests will select it and it will also result in the property being continuously booked. Ultimately, an Airbnb ranking is like an internet search ranking; the higher it is on the search results, the more likely is it to be selected by guests. A good ranking can be achieved only by building trust and giving your guests a great experience, that will, in turn, result in good reviews.
Airbnb offers wonderful opportunities for property owners and you should try to keep yourself updated on the latest trends and implement whatever is possible, to achieve high profits. Giving service equivalent to a five-star hotel will not only get you good reviews but great guests and a loyal client base and reliable recommendations too. Airbnb is a rapidly developing community for business and is slowly overtaking the hotel industry. Invest wisely, list accurately and watch the profits come in as you successfully become an Airbnb host in Malaysia.
