Airbnb has brought somewhat of a revolution to the holidaying and short term rental space. Uberfication is the popular term as it has allowed millions of property owners to let out their spaces in a comfortable and stress-free manner just like Uber did for drivers with vehicles and time on their hands. Zimbabwe like many other countries in the world has proven that there is demand for the sort of thing that Airbnb does. Perhaps you’ve got a property and are wondering how to get in on there or you are just trying to do some research and weighing your options. Let’s take a look at the process of getting your property on Airbnb in Zimbabwe.

Before registering

There are some things you will need to make sure of before you register your property. The first and foremost of these is deciding on the rental terms you are open to. You will also need at least 5 good photos of the property ready to upload to the site for listing. It helps if you have details of things available on the property listed and also an idea of if and when the property may be available. These things can always be changed later but having them ready beforehand makes the process smoother. As to what details you need exactly, they are detailed in this article so read on.

Registering

You will need to make your way to the host registration portal for Airbnb to start your registration journey.

First, you will be asked to choose the kind of property you want to register. The options include apartment, house, secondary unit (cottage), bed and breakfast and unique space.

Step two will ask you to further choose details of the type of property. This is like choosing a subcategory within the chosen category. You will then have to further explain how much of the space guests will be entitled to. You can offer as little as a room or as much as the entire property

The next step is to enter the address of the property. The process is interactive so they will ask you to identify the property’s location on an interactive map as well. Once you are certain of the location you can proceed.

Next, you will be asked to enter the capacity details of the property. These include the number of guests it can accommodate. The number of beds, number of bedrooms and number of bathrooms for a house. The details will depend on the type of property you choose.

The next step is to highlight any important facilities available on the property. This can include but is not limited to things such as swimming pools, hot tub, braai area, fireplace, kitchen, outdoor dining facilities, exercise equipment, wifi, TV, washing machine, parking, air conditioning and first aid kits.

Next, the website will ask you to nominate a price per night or rental period that matches your type of property. The website will suggest a price range for places similar to yours so you are not exactly shooting in the dark when it comes to pricing.

The next task is to add some descriptions and short copy about the property you are offering. This is where the selling is done so bring out your best descriptions of the space and what it offers.

Those photos we spoke about before now become necessary and you will need a minimum of 5 to proceed. Needless to say, the photos will be a big part of your selling proposition so you really have to have good ones.

Finally, you will choose whether you are listing as a business or a private individual. Depending on which you choose you will need to answer a few additional questions before your property I ready to save. At this point it is not available on the site yet, there’s still a bit more to go.

You will then proceed to a dashboard view which has different tabs that allow you to see details of your property including bookings, calendar, ratings and questions from users.

If you did not confirm your phone number in the initial details gathering process you will have to confirm your phone number before you can publish the property onto listings. Once this is done you are ready to publish the property and make it available to users.

Payments

For payments in Zimbabwe to hosts Airbnb currently only offers payment via Payoneer prepaid debit Mastercards. You have the convenience of creating a Payoneer account through AirBnb or using an existing Payoneer account if you have one. Payoneer offers physical Mastercards to members. The service fee that Airbnb applies before paying you what you are due ranges from 35-5% depending on selections you have made when it comes to the cancellation policy.

It’s a fairly easy process that can be done from a computer or even from your mobile phone. It is a good idea to download the app as it will streamline communication and management of your listing going forward. Airbnb will also offer support and insights to help you get your listing right.