01 Aug Do You Know Where Your Airbnb Guests Are Coming From?

In the past, AirDNA has been an invaluable tool for independent market research. Knowing your personal niche and where your Airbnb guests originate from has not been previously possible. Well, at least, you haven’t been able to search all the current live listings on Airbnb all at once for this information.

Recently, AirDNA has contacted me about a brand new feature called MarketMinder: Guests. I truly believe that this ingenious feature is going to impact how Airbnb hosts anticipate future clients.

Knowledge is power, and preparing yourself with all the necessary information is the best way to improve your business.

What is AirDNA?

Started by Scott and Will Shatford, AirDNA is a company that offers two independent data services for their clients. This involves MarketMinder (the one we’ll focus on) and Investment Explorer. MarketMinder is a web-based application which showcases metrics for every active Airbnb rental currently available worldwide.

Airbnb hosts use MarketMinder to understand their own situation and research other niches for the future investments. Paying the tool’s subscription allows you to view data for over 40,000 cities worldwide. Knowing how to correctly analyze markets pertinent to your experience will help create clarity in choosing future investments.

An example with this would be if your Airbnb guests are coming from widely different areas. This can be the case if your listing is located in a heavily tourist-visited area compared to a less-popular, suburban town. However, any two individuals looking at the same data can often come to completely different conclusions. The data you see from AirDNA is only valuable when mixed with your entrepreneurial background, personal preference, and experiences.

AirDNA is a powerful tool that provides accurate information. However, it’s up to you to educate yourself on how to use this information properly. I frequently get asked on how to start investing in an Airbnb space and more importantly where to seek out potential locations for Airbnb rental arbitrage.

It really is impossible for me to answer these questions without a one-on-one personal session. I need at least ten minutes to talk about your current situation to accurately provide any type of financial advice for your business. Picking out a great location for your Airbnb rental is the first out of many beginning steps towards success. Everyone can use a little bit of guidance every now and then.

Getting To Know Your Guests With AirDNA: MarketMinder

With the launch of MarketMinder in late 2017, it quickly became the industry’s most reliable source of short-term rental data. Since then, they have only been improving this tool through the feedback that hosts leave. AirDNA also takes a huge concern in what attributes their customers are looking for the most. They combine both of the information to provide their users with frequent updates and accurate information.

The property data is displayed to the host on a color-coded interactive map. It sits on a dashboard with unique, filterable aspects. This allows for easy customization and focuses in on exactly what you need. The days of having to run off gut instinct on how to best run your Airbnb business are in the past. Using smart and data-driven decisions to optimize your business will have you moving successfully upwards in the Airbnb market.

AirDNA’s interactive map also includes an: interactive GIS, currency data, market grades, daily travel demand, and booking lead times. More features are being progressively added over time as the site gets feedback on how to better improve their tools.

While some of these features are straightforward, others need a little bit of clarity. Market Grades is AirDNA’s way of creating a snapshot of critical KPI, or key performance indicators. The tool works to bridge the gap between real analytics and much-needed important data. The tool focuses on six different key indicators including demand, growth, season, regulation, and ROI.

So What Does This Have To Do With Airbnb Guests?

AirDNA’s newest feature is a data set involving where your guests are in the world. Knowing if your travelers are domestic or international can help anticipate any needs or complications in cultural barriers.

Knowing the most-popular native languages for guests that visit in your area creates a golden opportunity. This data can allow you to change little things on how you showcase your listing. For example, if you have a lot of native Spanish-speaking guests in the area you can update your Airbnb Guestbook. Having your listing translatable for ease of use can bridge gaps that might exist otherwise.

Guests appreciate when you go the extra mile. They want to feel comfortable when they’re a long way from home. Personally, I love the idea of being able to see where your listing attracts guests from.

As mentioned previously, it is clear that touristic situations have clearly influenced travel to particular areas. This data may be more useful to a host in a large city. That doesn’t mean that it’s useless information to a host in a small town in the middle of Nebraska, for example. For those that it does assist, AirDNA gives hosts the opportunity to leverage travel patterns and optimize your overall Airbnb experience.

Going That Extra Mile

So, do you think that this new feature from AirDNA will be beneficial to your business? Do you already have a good idea of where your Airbnb guests are coming from? Or was this something that you’ve never even thought about previously?

All I know is that even as hosts we come from a large variety of backgrounds and experiences. My current Facebook group now has over 700 members and we’re growing larger every week! The members that join to learn about rental arbitrage are from all over the world. It’s a great place to come together as a community, get your questions answered, and network with other Airbnb hosts in the industry.

If you have a burning question, or just need to pick someone else’s brain, chances are the group will have the answers you’re looking for.