Your Airbnb profile is your handshake before the handshake. Potential guests see it before they see your property, and they’re making snap judgments about whether you’re trustworthy, responsive, and worth booking with. A weak profile creates hesitation. A strong one builds confidence before guests even read your listing description.
Think of your profile as a trust-building tool. Guests are deciding whether to stay in a stranger’s property. Your profile answers the unspoken question: “Is this person safe, reliable, and going to make my stay easy?” Answer it well, and you remove a barrier to booking.
TL;DR
- Your profile photo should be clear, friendly, and welcoming. Smile. Look approachable.
- Complete every verification option Airbnb offers. Verified profiles earn significantly more trust.
- Write a bio that shows personality while demonstrating you’re a reliable host.
- Include accurate contact information you actually monitor.
- Build references and reviews over time to strengthen your profile’s credibility.
Why your host profile matters
Guests research hosts, not just properties. Before booking, many travelers click through to the host profile to assess who they’re dealing with. They’re looking for signals:
- Does this person seem trustworthy?
- Will they be responsive if something goes wrong?
- Do they take hosting seriously?
A complete, thoughtful profile answers these questions positively. An empty or careless profile raises doubts that may cost you the booking, even if your property is perfect.
| Profile element | What guests assess | Impact on bookings |
| Profile photo | Trustworthiness, approachability | High – first visual impression |
| Verification badges | Identity legitimacy, platform trust | High – reduces stranger anxiety |
| Bio/description | Personality, hosting style, reliability | Medium – builds connection |
| Response rate/time | Communication reliability | High – displayed prominently |
| Reviews from guests | Track record, consistency | Very high – social proof |
| References | Character vouching (for new hosts) | Medium – helps when reviews are sparse |
Choose the right profile photo
Your photo isn’t about appearance. It’s about the qualities you convey. Guests want to see someone welcoming, trustworthy, and normal. Give them that.
Photo guidelines:
- Smile genuinely. A warm expression signals hospitality better than anything else.
- Use good lighting and image quality. Blurry or dark photos suggest carelessness.
- Show your face clearly. No sunglasses, distant shots, or heavy filters.
- Keep the background simple. You’re the focus, not your surroundings.
- Look approachable, not overly formal. This isn’t a corporate headshot. Friendly beats polished.
What to avoid:
- Group photos where guests can’t identify you
- Photos with sunglasses or hats obscuring your face
- Overly staged or artificial-looking images
- Party photos, heavily filtered selfies, or anything unprofessional
- Logos or property photos instead of your actual face
If you host with a partner or family, including them in your photo can work well. It conveys warmth and suggests a household guests can trust.
Complete every verification
Verification badges signal that Airbnb has confirmed your identity. For guests weighing whether to trust a stranger with their travel plans, these badges matter enormously.
Verification options to complete:
- Email: Confirm your email address responds
- Phone: Verify your phone number via text or call
- Government ID: Scan your driver’s license, passport, or state ID
- Social connections: Link Facebook, Google, or other accounts if comfortable
Verified profiles appear more trustworthy in search results and on your profile page. Guests filtering for verified hosts won’t even see unverified profiles. There’s no downside to verification and significant upside.
The verification process takes minutes. Complete it before your first listing goes live.
Write a bio that builds connection
Your bio helps guests understand who they’re booking with. It should feel personal without oversharing, professional without being stiff.
What to include:
- Why you host (passion for hospitality, love of meeting travelers, connection to your area)
- A bit about yourself (profession, interests, family situation if relevant)
- Your hosting style (hands-on and available, or respectful of privacy)
- What you enjoy about your location
- Languages you speak
Bio principles:
- Write at least 100 words. Sparse bios suggest low effort.
- Show personality. You’re a person, not a corporation.
- Be genuine. Guests can sense when bios feel templated or fake.
- Focus on what matters to guests (your reliability, responsiveness, local knowledge)
Example approach:
“I’ve lived in Austin for 15 years and never get tired of showing visitors what makes this city special. I work in architecture, which probably explains why I obsess over making my guest space both beautiful and functional. I’m around if you need recommendations or have questions, but I respect your privacy and won’t hover. I speak English and conversational Spanish.”
Avoid clichés (“I love to travel!”), excessive exclamation points, and anything that sounds like marketing copy rather than a real person writing.
Set up reliable contact information
Include contact details you actually monitor. Missed messages mean missed bookings and frustrated guests.
Contact setup:
- Use an email address you check daily
- Provide a phone number where you can receive texts
- Enable Airbnb app notifications so messages reach you immediately
Response time matters. Airbnb displays your response rate and typical response time on your profile. Slow responses hurt your visibility in search and signal unreliability to potential guests.
If you can’t monitor messages constantly, automated messaging tools send instant responses to inquiries, confirming receipt and setting expectations while you prepare a detailed reply.
Build references and reviews
Reviews are the most powerful trust signal on your profile. But new hosts face a chicken-and-egg problem: you need bookings to get reviews, but guests hesitate to book hosts without reviews.
For new hosts without reviews:
- Request references: Ask friends, family, or colleagues who know you well to write references for your profile. Airbnb allows references from your social connections.
- Price competitively: Lower initial rates attract guests willing to take a chance on new hosts.
- Overdeliver: Your first guests set the tone. Go above and beyond to earn strong initial reviews.
- Ask for reviews: After successful stays, politely request that guests leave feedback.
Building reviews over time:
- Deliver consistent, excellent experiences
- Communicate proactively throughout each stay
- Address any issues immediately so they don’t become complaints
- Follow up post-stay with a thank you and gentle review reminder
Reviews compound. A host with 50 positive reviews converts browsers to bookers at much higher rates than a host with 5. Treat review-building as a long-term investment.
Guesty’s Unified Inbox helps you monitor and respond to guest feedback promptly, ensuring reviews don’t slip through the cracks.
Maintain your profile over time
Your profile isn’t set-and-forget. Update it as circumstances change.
Regular maintenance:
- Update your photo every few years so it remains accurate
- Refresh your bio if your hosting style or situation changes
- Respond to reviews (both positive and negative) professionally
- Monitor your response rate and time metrics
- Add new verifications as Airbnb introduces them
A profile that looks current signals an active, engaged host. A profile that looks abandoned suggests the opposite.
FAQs
Aim for 100-200 words. Long enough to convey personality and build trust, short enough that guests actually read it. Quality matters more than length, but very short bios (under 50 words) suggest minimal effort.
Airbnb displays first names only to guests until booking is confirmed. You can include your last name in your bio if comfortable, but it’s not required. Focus on building trust through verification, reviews, and a complete profile rather than personal details.
Create a profile that represents you as the property manager. Be transparent about your role. Guests care about who they’ll communicate with, whi
ch is you, not necessarily who owns the property.
Respond professionally, acknowledge any legitimate concerns, and explain what you’ve done to address the issue. Don’t be defensive or argumentative. Future guests reading your response judge your character by how you handle criticism.
For property management companies, a professional headshot of the primary contact works better than a logo. Guests want to see who they’re dealing with. Logos feel impersonal and don’t build the trust that vacation rental bookings require.
Guesty’s talented marketing team is comprised of passionate professionals who share insightful industry knowledge and shape brand narratives. By bringing a diverse blend of expertise to the table, we are the visionary architects behind the Guesty brand and innovative campaigns that help people understand our product.
