How to list your hotel, boutique hotel or homestay on Airbnb

Airbnb has a page of standards for hotels and professional hospitality businesses, and says those that don't meet them may be ineligible to list or may be removed. Its expectations for these properties are:

• High-quality photos of rooms and common areas that show the design.
• Detailed listings, with amenities and accessibility features.
• Clear information on fees and charges, including any security deposits or card holds.
• Accurate categorisation as a hotel or professional hospitality business.

The standards apply to property types including boutique hotels, hotels, bed and breakfasts, serviced apartments, aparthotels, heritage hotels, hostels, nature lodges and resorts. By listing, Airbnb says, a hotel represents that it holds all the business licences that apply, is legally responsible for running the property and may sell its rooms directly to the public. Hotel rooms may only be listed by the hotel, or by a professional hospitality business the hotel has authorised.

Homestays: Airbnb's own lists of property types don't use the word. Its listing types are the ones guests choose between: an entire place, a private room, or a shared room in a hostel. A family that lives in its home and rents rooms to guests can list each room as a private room. Airbnb's rules for its Room category say the host must be a person using their own name, with no business names, and that hotels, boutique hotels, guest houses, serviced apartments, hostels and resorts are not listed as Rooms. A guest house or homestay run as a business, or one that rents the whole house, lists under the property type that describes it, such as Bed and breakfast, which Airbnb defines as a hospitality business offering breakfast with a host on site, or Boutique hotel, a hospitality business with a unique style or theme.

Airbnb asks every host to declare whether they host as a business or as an individual, during listing or later, and its article on the question gives a boutique hotel as an example of hosting as a business. If you set up an account for a business but aren't its owner or an executive, Airbnb may ask for proof that you are authorised to manage the account.

• List it yourself: an Airbnb account, switched to hosting, and a listing built in Airbnb's host area. This is the way for a homestay or a small hotel without software, and is set out step by step below.
• Through your software: if your channel manager or property management system is integrated with Airbnb, you set up an Airbnb account, grant the software permission to manage it, and choose which listings to publish from the software. Airbnb emails to confirm when they are published.
• Through Airbnb's hotel team: Airbnb has a page titled “Talk with Airbnb's Hotel Team”, at airbnb.co.in/e/hotels, for boutique and independent hotels, which says a member of its hotel team will be in touch once you submit it. The page doesn't say which countries the team covers.

Several rooms: without software, Airbnb's way is a separate listing for each room, each with its own calendar and page, and you link their calendars so that a booking of one blocks the others: “Calendar”, then the listing, “Availability”, “Connect calendars” and “Connect multiple Airbnb listings”. With software, Airbnb's Room type inventory groups identical rooms into one listing with a daily count of rooms free. Airbnb says the rooms must share the same amenities, bed configuration, size, decor and address. Airbnb's single page for many units is open only in a few countries, and India isn't one of them.

With connected software you can sync everything or only prices and availability; with the second, you add the listing's content and booking settings on Airbnb itself. Airbnb warns against disconnecting the software or deleting and recreating a listing to fix a calendar mismatch: talk to your software provider first. Listings created through software are usually set to Instant Book.

• An Airbnb account: sign up with an email address and password, a phone number, or a Google or Apple account. It is free to create an account and list.
• A government ID. With an Indian ID, Airbnb accepts a driving licence, a PAN card or a passport, or your e-Aadhaar through DigiLocker; it asks you not to send Aadhaar details any other way. The ID must be an original, not a photocopy or PDF, and not expired.
• For Airbnb's verification in India through AuthBridge: your name, proof of your current address, your past addresses, and a copy of your PAN card or passport, all matching your Airbnb profile.
• Your legal name and date of birth as on your ID, and your home address.
• If you host as a business: its registered address, registration number, exact legal name as on its documents, any trade name, its type, anyone who owns or controls a quarter or more of it, and one decision-maker's details. Airbnb first checks public records, and may then ask for documents. For India its list includes a registration certificate of establishment, a GST certificate, a certificate from the sales tax, service tax or professional tax authorities, and a sales tax or income tax return.
• Photos: landscape, at least 1024 by 683 pixels, with at least one photo of every room or space. For a hotel, photos of rooms and common areas.
• A bank account in India for your payouts: Airbnb says the account must be in the same country as the address you give, and that hosts in India add it in a web browser, not in the Airbnb app.
• Your PAN, which Airbnb needs to withhold the lower rate of TDS, and your GSTIN if you are registered for GST.
• Any registration your state requires for a homestay or guest house, and your FRRO registration if you will host foreign guests (see the tax and rules section below).

Airbnb's Resource Centre names three stages: tell Airbnb about your place, make the listing stand out, and finish up and publish. Inside them, Airbnb's help gives these steps:

1. 1Create your Airbnb account on airbnb.co.in or in the Airbnb app, or start from the footer link “Airbnb your home”.
2. 2Set the account to hosting: in a browser, next to your profile photo, click “Switch to hosting”.
3. 3Tell us about your place: the property type, such as Boutique hotel or Bed and breakfast, whether guests get an entire place, a private room or a shared room, the location, the bedrooms and bathrooms, and how many guests you can host.
4. 4Make your listing stand out: upload your photos, write a title and description, and choose your amenities from the short list shown.
5. 5Finish up and publish: set your weekday and weekend prices, decide whether to offer a new listing promotion to your first guests, and choose how guests book, instantly or with your approval.
6. 6Declare whether you host as a business or an individual, if Airbnb asks you at this stage.
7. 7Publish. Airbnb says the listing stays pending until you have verified your identity.
8. 8Verify your identity. In India, Airbnb emails you instructions for its process with AuthBridge.
9. 9Add a payout method in a web browser: “Menu”, then “Account settings” and “Payments”; click “Payouts”, then “Add payout method”, choose your billing country, select the method and click “Continue”, add the details and click “Next”.
10. 10Add your PAN for TDS, and your GSTIN under Taxes in your account if you are registered for GST.

The title: Airbnb suggests fewer than 50 characters, a capital only on the first word, and no symbols or emojis. The description: keep it brief and realistic, since Airbnb says overselling can lead to disappointment and poor reviews. Amenities: once the listing is published, add the rest from Airbnb's full list of nearly 150, since many guests filter by them.

To list through software instead, Airbnb's steps are: set up an Airbnb account if you don't have one; connect it by granting your property management system or channel manager permission to manage it; and select the listings to publish from the software.

• Your identity: every host must be verified, and Airbnb says your listing won't be published, and you can't accept bookings, until you are. It says verification typically takes less than an hour after you submit.
• In India, AuthBridge: Airbnb says you'll receive an email with the status within 2 weeks, and that AuthBridge will contact you by phone or email if anything is missing.
• A business, if you host as one: checked against public business records, which Airbnb says can take up to 3 days, during which payouts may be held. Airbnb lists the EU, Brazil and South Korea as the places where this must be done before publishing.
• Your authority, if you manage a business account without being its owner or an executive: you have 30 days to send proof, such as a letter of authorisation or a board resolution, or Airbnb pauses payouts.
• Your listing's location, for some home listings: Airbnb may ask you to show the place is real, at the address listed and that you can get in, by photos or short videos in the app, by documents such as a utility bill or property tax document, by public records, or by a code sent by post. It says it lets you know within 24 hours of each check whether the listing is verified.
• Its standards and rules: a hotel that doesn't meet Airbnb's standards may be ineligible or removed, and every host must be authorised to host and keep bookings and payments on Airbnb.

Airbnb also checks account information for all hosts from time to time, and says it notifies you when it is your turn.

Airbnb's fee article describes two ways of charging, a split fee shared with guests and a single fee taken from the host. It says the single fee is mandatory for most hosts, including traditional hospitality listings such as hotels and serviced apartments, hosts who use property management software, and hosts in countries where it applies. Airbnb's “Airbnb your home” page still describes the older split fee, so go by the fee article.

Airbnb says the fee pays for processing guests' payments, marketing listings to guests and support around the clock. Your payout is your nightly price plus any extra charges, less the host fee, any co-host's share and any tax withheld.

• When Airbnb sends it: its payments terms say by the end of the business day after the guest's scheduled check-in, and its help puts it at about 24 hours after the guest checks in.
• New hosts: until you have two completed stays, unless you have verified your listing's location, Airbnb releases payouts for your first 2 reservations by the end of the business day after checkout instead.
• How long the bank takes: Airbnb says a bank account takes 3 to 5 business days after release, and banks don't process payments on weekends or holidays.
• A new payout method shows as pending, and a bank account takes 3 to 5 business days to be ready, so add it early.
• Reviews of payments: Airbnb says any payout may be reviewed before it is sent, which could delay it up to 45 days after check-in.
• Who you contract with: for a listing in India and a guest resident in India, Airbnb's payments terms name Airbnb Payments India.

GST: Airbnb collects GST from guests on the accommodation charge, including any cleaning fee, when the host lives in India and the listing is in India. What happens to it depends on your turnover:

• Add your GSTIN under Taxes in your account: Airbnb says it then sends you the GST for bookings accepted after that, about 24 hours after each guest checks in, and can't pay out GST for payouts already made.
• GST is worked out per unit per day: a whole home listed as one unit counts as one unit, while rooms listed separately with their own rates count one by one.
• Airbnb's fee isn't worked out on the GST: it is calculated on the booking subtotal, before fees and taxes.
• The tax invoice is yours: Airbnb says the host issues it at checkout, with the booking fee and taxes broken down.

Airbnb deposits what it withholds with the tax authorities each month and emails Form 16A tax certificates each quarter. It may hold payouts until it has your taxpayer details.

Rules for hosts: Airbnb's page on responsible hosting in India asks hosts to look up the permits, zoning, safety and health rules that apply to them, and to keep a register of guests, with passport details for foreign guests. Anyone hosting a foreign guest for payment in India should register with the FRRO and submit a C-Form within 24 hours of the guest's check-in, and again at checkout. Airbnb's pages for some states add their own rules, for example:

• Goa: homestays and bed and breakfasts in Category D must register with the state's tourism department, and the registration number must be shown on the listing, in a field Airbnb provides.
• Karnataka: homestays must be registered with the state's Department of Tourism.
• Uttarakhand: hotels, bed and breakfasts and homestays must register with the Tourism Department.
• Delhi: lodging houses and boarding houses need a licence from the Delhi Police first.
• Maharashtra: residential hotels register under the Shops and Establishments Act.

Airbnb says these pages aren't legal advice, so check the current rules with your state's tourism department. Our guide to registering a homestay in India covers the state schemes.

Airbnb says the quality, popularity, price and, for homes, the location of a listing weigh most in where it appears. Quality covers photos, ratings and reviews and how you communicate with guests; listings priced below comparable ones nearby tend to rank higher; listings that can be booked instantly may rank higher; and more open dates make a listing more likely to fit a guest's plans. Set these up before your first guest:

• Price: “Calendar”, then the listing, “Price settings” and “Per night price”; enter the nightly price and “Save”. Airbnb suggests starting lower to attract your first guests and reviews.
• Discounts: weekly (7 nights or more) and monthly (28 nights or more), under “Calendar”, then “Discounts”. Airbnb requires every discount to be a true saving on the usual price for that date.
• Cancellation policy: “Listings”, then the listing, “Listing editor”, “Your space” and “Cancellation policy”, then “Edit”. Changes apply to future bookings only.
• Availability: open the calendar for the next 3, 6, 9, 12 or 24 months, choose how much notice you need, and set the shortest and longest stay. Airbnb says the calendar is open and bookable as soon as you publish.
• Other calendars: Airbnb refreshes a connected calendar from another site every 3 hours, which can still leave room for a double booking, so a channel manager suits a hotel selling on several sites.
• House rules: “Listings”, then “Listing editor”, “House rules and requests” and “Add house rule”. Check-in and checkout times sit under “Arrival guide”, with a check-in method such as building staff.
• Photos: Airbnb sorts photos into rooms and says the first five matter most, the first being the large one in search.
• Your guests' ID: Airbnb suggests a line in the listing saying that every guest needs a government ID, and foreign guests a passport and visa, to meet India's registration rules.

Airbnb's cancellation policies for stays under 28 nights, in its words:

• Flexible: guests can cancel until 24 hours before check-in for a full refund.
• Moderate: guests can cancel until 5 days before check-in for a full refund.
• Limited: a full refund until 14 days before check-in, and half between 7 and 14 days.
• Firm: a full refund until 30 days before check-in, and half between 7 and 30 days.
• Strict and Super strict: by invitation from Airbnb only.
• A non-refundable option: a discounted rate you can offer beside your policy, where you keep the payout if the guest cancels after any free cancellation period.

Airbnb also gives guests 24 hours after booking to cancel for a full refund, when the booking was made at least 7 days before check-in, though it says some non-refundable hotel listings are exempt.

Only one discount applies to each booking, and Airbnb says hotels can't use its separate custom promotions.

1. 1To publish, click “Today”. If you see a banner with “You’re ready to publish”, click “Publish”. If it says “Required to publish”, click it and complete what it asks.
2. 2Allow time: Airbnb says a listed home is usually visible within 24 hours, and can take up to 72 hours to show in search.
3. 3Choose who can book first, under “Account settings”, then “Your first guest”: any Airbnb guest, or only an experienced guest. After the first guest checks out, the listing opens to every guest.
4. 4Watch for booking emails, and check the reservation in your upcoming reservations, your calendar and your messages with the guest.
5. 5Answer a booking request within 24 hours, before it expires. Airbnb says declining within 24 hours doesn't affect your search ranking, but frequent declines can.
6. 6Reply to every enquiry and request within 24 hours: your response rate counts those you answered within 24 hours over the last 30 days, and affects your place in search.
7. 7Add check-in instructions: guests see them 48 hours before check-in.

Airbnb says its search is designed to help new listings show up well while hosts get started. Reviews: you and your guests have 14 days after checkout to review each other, and reviews stay hidden until both have written or the 14 days end. Guests rate cleanliness, accuracy, check-in, communication, location and value, and your overall rating appears once you have three reviews and can affect how you rank. Airbnb says your first few reviews are especially important.

Keep the calendar right from day one: Airbnb charges hosts who cancel a booking a fee, counts a double booking among the reasons, and says keeping your calendar up to date is the way to avoid cancellations. Once your listings are live, compare their nightly price with your own website's for the same nights, signed out, as our guide to checking your hotel's price on every booking site sets out.