Airbnb host tips: from the listing to Superhost

Photos and the cover photo

Photos are the first thing guests judge. Airbnb's photo guide for hosts recommends cleaning and decluttering first, shooting when rooms get the most daylight, turning off the flash and opening the blinds, holding the phone horizontally and straight ahead, and uploading photos of at least 1200 × 800 pixels. Its photo tour sorts your photos by room, and captions can explain what a photo doesn't show.

Two rules matter more than any technique. Airbnb's ground rules for hosts say photos must accurately represent the space, and Airbnb will ask hosts to remove photos where AI or other editing was used to hide flaws or damage, or to add things the listing doesn't have. Bright and tidy is fine; different from the room is not.

We cover the details elsewhere: choosing the first image in the Airbnb cover photo, and shooting the whole listing on a phone in Airbnb photos with an iPhone.

Title and description

Airbnb gives you 50 characters for a title, and says short titles work best. Its own examples: "Seaside retreat with kayaks", "Romantic Victorian guest room", "Eco-friendly studio near LAX". Its tips:

• Use specific words like "quiet", "bright" or "downtown", and a feature or nearby place guests care about.
• Leave out what search results already show, like the city and the number of beds.
• Capitalize only the first word and proper names; no emojis or symbols.
• Change it any time, for example after adding an amenity or learning what your first guests liked.

For the description, Airbnb's advice is to keep it brief and lead with what matters most, avoid repeating the amenity list, be specific about the experience, and be realistic, because overselling leads to disappointment and negative reviews. Mention anything that could be a challenge, such as stairs for guests with limited mobility, and fill in the sections for the property, guest access and how you'll interact with guests.

Pricing basics and Airbnb's fees

Fees. Airbnb charges a service fee on each confirmed booking, in one of two structures, according to its Help Center page on service fees:

Airbnb says it is moving all home hosts to the single fee, which is already mandatory for most hosts, including hotels and serviced apartments and hosts who use property management software. Once you switch, you can't switch back. Build the fee into your nightly price so your payout still covers cleaning, supplies and your time.

Smart Pricing. Airbnb's Smart Pricing adjusts your nightly price to demand, using hundreds of factors about your listing and area, within a minimum and maximum you set. You can override single nights with a custom price. Note the interactions: discounts such as an early bird discount can take the price below your minimum, weekly, monthly and trip-length discounts override Smart Pricing, and you need to turn it off to set weekend prices.

House rules that hold up

Airbnb's policy on reasonable house rules and requests, which applies to reservations booked on or after November 20, 2026, sets the limits:

• Show them before booking. Rules go in the house rules section of the listing; you can't add new ones after booking, by message, by signs in the home or in person.
• Keep them consistent with the rest of the listing and with Airbnb's policies. You can't ask guests to sign separate contracts or send ID, except where the law requires it.
• No cleaner's work. Hosts generally can't ask guests to strip beds, take trash offsite, or wash and put away dishes.
• No fines. Hosts can't impose fines or penalties on guests, and fees for advertised parts of the listing must be in the price shown at booking.
• Local context counts. Airbnb gives examples of reasonable exceptions, like limiting showers during a drought or using animal-proof bins in bear country.

Rules guests are expected to follow include quiet hours, the approved number of guests, no smoking and no pets where the listing says so. Airbnb's guest ground rules also say cleaning fees cover standard cleaning between stays, and that hosts can't charge guests for skipping checkout tasks, though they can reflect it in the review. If a rule doesn't meet the policy, Airbnb may ask you to change it, show a notice on the listing or lower it in search.

Check-in and communication

Airbnb's ground rules for hosts expect a reliable check-in: correct directions and an updated door code, and access to the home throughout the stay. Send check-in instructions early and test the code before each arrival.

Response times have two different measures:

• Response rate, shown on your listing, is the share of new inquiries and reservation requests you answered within 24 hours over the past 30 days. Accepting, pre-approving, declining, messaging or sending a special offer all count; letting a request expire does not. Airbnb says it affects Superhost status and search placement.
• Expected reply times during a booking, from the ground rules: within 3 days if check-in is more than five days away, within 12 hours during the stay or the five days before it, and within 1 hour for time-sensitive problems close to check-in, for messages received during local daytime hours.

Cleaning between stays

Airbnb's ground rules ask hosts to clean between every stay, including laundry, taking out the trash, vacuuming or sweeping and wiping down surfaces, and to keep the home free of health hazards like mold and pests. Cleanliness is one of the four things Airbnb says great reviews depend on. Our Airbnb cleaning checklist goes room by room.

Reviews and Superhost

Reviews. Guest and host are both prompted to review on checkout day and have 14 days to do it. Reviews are published when both have submitted or when the 14 days are up. A listing's star rating appears once it has at least three reviews, and only you and Airbnb see the subcategory ratings and private notes, which are the most useful feedback you'll get.

Superhost. There's no application; Airbnb checks every host who owns a home listing four times a year, in assessments starting January 1, April 1, July 1 and October 1, looking at the past 12 months. The criteria on Airbnb's Help Center page:

Co-hosts are not evaluated for Superhost through listings they co-host, and it can take up to a week for the badge to appear after an assessment. Airbnb says Superhosts get more visibility and access to rewards.

Safety and local rules

Airbnb's page on responsible hosting in the United States lists the basics:

• A working smoke alarm and carbon monoxide detector, a working fire extinguisher, a marked fire escape route with a posted map, and a first aid kit.
• Local emergency numbers, the nearest hospital, and your own contact plus a backup.
• Safe occupancy limits, no trip hazards or exposed wires, railings on stairs, and either a child-safe home or a clear warning.
• Disclose any security cameras, recording devices or noise monitors. Airbnb doesn't allow security cameras or recording devices inside a listing.

Before you list, check what applies where you live: HOA or co-op rules, your lease and landlord, and local requirements for permits, registration, zoning, business licenses and taxes such as hotel or transient occupancy tax. Airbnb's US page links to rules for individual states and cities.

Fresh photos without a photographer

The October app is one way to refresh listing photos between two stays: it guides you through each room on an iPhone 12 or newer, showing where to stand and keeping the phone level, and an image model then makes finished photos from your capture, usually within a few hours. A place is up to 6 rooms. Photos cost $49 a place, $99 with a walkthrough video, and the first place is free. Check each photo against the room before you upload it, so guests find what they booked. See pricing and October for Airbnb hosts.

Questions