Last Updated on June 16, 2023 by Rental Recon
Like all hosts, I always try to maximize the occupancy of my Airbnb. In the past, I have listed multiple rooms inside my house to bring in even more cash than just Airbnb’ing my entire house.
This can get a little complicated, but setting yourself up for success in the beginning is key. As long as you stay on top of managing all of your listings, you’ll see a big increase in rental income and a much higher occupancy rate over time.
How do you Airbnb Multiple Listings for the Same Property?
- Don’t just duplicate the entire listing
- Make sure multiple listings at one Airbnb are allowed in your area
- Don’t get double booked
- Manage all your listings effectively
Follow along for the rest of the article to find out how you can maximize your Airbnb income by having multiple listings for your property!
What is a Duplicate Listing on Airbnb?
Duplicate listings are somewhat of a broad category on Airbnb. Technically, duplicate listings could include both copying an entire listing and listing multiple rooms within the same house. However, duplicate listings are usually defined by the Airbnb community as reposting an entire listing and pretending it is a separate property.
Reposting the same listing as if it were a separate one in order to deceive people is not allowed! This is not fair to anyone for several reasons.
First, hosts participating in listing duplication are trying to beat out other hosts with whom they would normally compete. By making multiple listings for the same property, they are taking up much more space in the search area than if they had been honest and only listed the property once.
Second, it is also not fair to guests when hosts duplicate listings. They often do this in order to deceive potential customers. Lots of dishonest hosts who have gotten bad reviews will simply deactivate an old listing and make a new one of the same property in order to hide them. Some people also make fake profiles with the help of friends or staff and list the same property as well.
However, listing multiple rooms within a house as separate listings is allowed and encouraged. This helps hosts get more guests, maximize their rental income, and fairly show up in search more frequently. While I don’t necessarily consider these types of listings to be “duplicate listings”, they often fall under that broad umbrella category.
Are Multiple Listings at the Same Address Permitted on Airbnb?
Yes, they are, with a few caveats. As mentioned above, it is not permitted to simply repost the same property over and over in order to have a higher chance of being seen in search. What is allowed is to list individual bedrooms within a house as their own separate listing while also listing the entire house.
One thing to mention is that there is an exception to what I stated above: if you operate an Airbnb in San Francisco or New York City, you are not allowed to list multiple rooms within a home. You can only list the entire home. These cities also have rules regarding minimum stay lengths which are typically 30 days and up.
These minimum stay lengths can make it difficult, if not impossible, to operate a standard short-term rental in one of those cities. I will say that a lot of people ignore these rules and do it anyway, but I do not recommend this.
For one, you risk legal action. Two, your homeowners insurance won’t cover you and neither will most short-term rental insurances since a single guest for 30 or more days is often considered a tenant. If you have a tenant, you are now technically a landlord which brings on its own set of rules and issues.
However, if your Airbnb is somewhere other than New York City or San Francisco, I highly recommend making the most out of your rental and listing individual rooms. But probably worth checking with your local city or county to make sure!
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How can I Prevent Accidental Double Bookings?
In you’re listing multiple rooms within a house as well as the whole house separately, it’s vital that you don’t let anyone’s bookings overlap. Known as a “double booking”, these accidents are embarrassing and could potentially leave a guest without a place to stay.
The easiest way to manage this is by linking all of your Airbnb calendars. This can be accomplished with a third-party management service (more on that below), or simply within Airbnb itself for less complicated situations.
To do this within Airbnb, go to the Listings menu and click one of the listings you want to link with another. Next select Availability. Then, near the Linked Airbnb Calendars button, click Link.
Next you’ll need to hit Create Linked Calendars, and click on the listing for the entire home (since this is what would cause a double booking). Hit Next, and then make sure to select all the listings inside that home. Once you save your changes, you’re done!
What is the Best Way to Ensure Guests Click on My Listings?
There are tons of different “hacks” that you can do to help increase the chances of a potential guest clicking on your listing. Most of them are just common sense, but there seem to be a lot of people who miss out on crucial points that end up losing them a booking.
The listing photo is probably the number one thing that will get someone to click. The price is obviously a consideration, but two similarly priced options with different quality pictures will lead the guest to choose the better looking one almost every time.
Next is the description, which should answer any and all frequently asked questions along with outlining your basic policies (such as pets, extra guests, etc.). Finally, be sure to price competitively. The best way to do this is often to use a designated software such as Wheelhouse that analyzes complex data to help you find the optimal price point.
How do I Manage Multiple Listings on Airbnb?
Managing even one Airbnb listing can be extremely difficult. If you add others into the mix, even within the same house, it can quickly become too much for one person to handle.
This is where adding a co-host becomes an appealing option. Co-hosts have many of the same privileges as the host themselves. They can respond to messages, send instructions, write reviews, and more. The only things they cannot do are access the account’s payout information or the host’s private profile.
If you have a trusted family member or even someone that you would consider an employee, making them a co-host can take a lot of work off of your shoulders.
Another way to drastically decrease your workload is to use a third-party management software such as iGMS, Lodgify, Your Porter, or SmartBNB. All of these programs have slightly different features, but do essentially the same basic things.
They allow you to sync your calendars across multiple listings (and even platforms, such as HomeAway and VRBO), analyze data to help you make better business decisions, automate messages and responses, and so much more. I highly recommend them and feel that they are worth the affordable fees that they charge.
Rental Recon Tip: Make sure to shop around before committing to a management service! They all offer free trials, so there’s plenty of time to try a few out before making a final decision.
Related Questions:
How Do I See All my Listings on Airbnb?
It’s easy to view all your Airbnb listings in one place. Once you’ve logged into your Airbnb profile, find the Manage Listings button. This will bring up a menu with all of your listings at a glance. If you want to edit one of them, just click the Manage button next to it.
