5 Ways to Become an Airbnb Superhost by solving a simple problem

“Can I leave my bag here after checkout? My flight is in the evening”

Chances are, if you are an Airbnb host, you heard it before.

When guests check out in the morning, invariably their flights are not until later that day. City breakers understandably want to cram as much sightseeing as they can before catching a train or a flight, doing so while lugging a luggage can make everything that much harder.

As an Airbnb host, it is always appreciated if you go the extra mile. If you can provide a quick and safe solution, it will go a long way into making your guests feel extra pampered and securing a good review.

There are 5 possible options available to help your guests:

1. Stasher — A sharing economy solution

The pioneer of sharing economy luggage storage, and known as the ‘Airbnb of Luggage’, Stasher connects travelers with local shops and hotels for a very reasonable price — it costs £6 for 24h, including insurance.

An advantage of Stasher left luggage is its convenience — booking can be done by your guests online in less than 5 minutes. The 300+ locations available, or StashPoints, are also an added benefit, as this means that potentially they can find storage right around the corner from your Airbnb! When guests ask if they can leave their luggage at your apartment, instead of getting a headache trying to figure out how to fit that in your turnover schedule, direct them to the closest luggage storage location.

If you’ve faced this problem before, you might want to check out our exclusive promotions for Airbnb hosts. By signing up to our mailing list, you’ll receive a discount code to share with your guests. Less headaches for you, better Airbnb experience for your guests, more 5* reviews. That’s a win-win all around! Head here to receive an exclusive coupon code.

2. Station Lockers

There are left luggage facilities or lockers at most cities’ main train stations. They range from relatively affordable to ludicrously expensive as they charge by the hour or by bag size. Something to bear in mind is that most train stations only have a limited number of lockers, resulting in long queues or insufficient storage space.

Something worth considering is that not all Airbnbs are located in the proximity of a train station. Moreover, while travelers eventually need to head there to catch a train, they usually want to do a last bit of sightseeing before leaving — spending their last few hours around a train station is not generally ideal.

3. Free storage at Museums

It is sometimes possible to leave bags with museums or galleries. This can be for free or for a small charge. However, these services are only intended to store your bags during your visit in the venue and you will likely be refused if you try to use these services as a left-luggage service.

An example would be the British Museum and Le Louvre, they both have a cloakroom where you can store small bags during your visit.

4. Store it yourself

If none of these are available, the last resort is just to store the bags in your Airbnb. The easiest solution would be to set aside an area for storage and make it available for your guests to briefly store their luggage.

Managing your guests’ luggage after or before check-out can be a logistical nightmare though. You have to be available to meet guests for a much larger window of time each day, which is not always possible unless you already have a very flexible schedule. Moreover, when guests give an approximate pick-up time it’s usually off a bit — they arrive either far earlier or later.

Another way of dealing with this issue without having to be personally present while they pick up or drop off their bags would be to install a keypad, which many Airbnb hosts already use regardless of left luggage.

Unfortunately, Airbnb forums are full of horror stories about guests pestering them about leaving their luggage before check-in or after check-out. When guests leave their luggage in your apartment, they are not emotionally checked out and often use the apartment facilities. This causes the house to be not as pristine as it would have been otherwise and could potentially have a backlash on your reviews from the next guest. Exactly the opposite of what you were trying to achieve in the first place!

5. Not your problem

As many will tell you, Airbnbs are not hotels and hosts are not required to offer a luggage storage service. If a guest asks to leave their luggage with you after checking out, you are under no obligation to organize it for them. Still, the whole point of being an Airbnb host is to make sure travelers have the best possible experience. And let’s be frank, you want those 5* star reviews so as to attract more guests and build your reputation on the platform.

Considering the options above, you might as well direct them to the closest StashPoint, give them a discount code, and you can all go on your merry way!