How to Get More Customers as a Airbnb Host in Melbourne

Introduction

Most Airbnb hosts in Melbourne rely on the platform's algorithm and word of mouth to fill their calendar. That approach worked five years ago when competition was thin. Today, Melbourne has over 25,000 active short-term rental listings, and guests have more choice than ever.

Here's the reality: 97% of travellers research online before booking accommodation. They're reading reviews, comparing listings, checking independent websites, and increasingly asking AI tools like ChatGPT for recommendations. If your property doesn't show up in those places, you're invisible to the majority of potential guests.

The good news? Most of your competitors aren't doing any of this. They upload a few photos, write a generic description, and hope for the best. That creates a massive opportunity for hosts who treat their Airbnb like a real business — because it is one.

Whether you manage a single apartment in Fitzroy or a portfolio of properties across the CBD, Southbank, and St Kilda, the principles in this guide apply. We're going to walk you through exactly how to get more customers as an Airbnb host in Melbourne, step by step, using strategies that work right now in 2026.

Average nightly rates for Melbourne Airbnbs range from $150 to $400 depending on location and property type. Even a modest improvement in occupancy — say, five extra bookings per month — can mean an additional $2,000 to $6,000 in revenue. That's worth paying attention to.

TL;DR

Step-by-step guide to getting more customers as an Airbnb host in Melbourne
Covers Google Maps, reviews, website optimisation, content marketing, and AI search
Average Airbnb job value: $150–$400 per night
Most hosts ignore digital marketing entirely — that's your competitive advantage
Actionable tactics you can start implementing today

Step 1: Claim and Optimise Your Google Business Profile

Your Google Business Profile (GBP) is the single most powerful free tool available to you as a Melbourne Airbnb host. When someone searches "short-term rental Melbourne" or "Airbnb near Melbourne CBD," Google displays a map pack of local results before anything else. You want to be in that pack.

How to set it up:

First, go to business.google.com and claim your listing. Choose the category "Vacation Rental" or "Short-Term Rental." Add your property's address, phone number, and website URL. Make sure these details are identical everywhere they appear online — consistency matters for local search rankings.

Optimisation essentials:

Business description: Write 750 words that naturally include phrases like "Melbourne Airbnb," "short-term accommodation," and your specific suburb names. Describe what makes your property stand out — proximity to landmarks, unique amenities, the neighbourhood vibe.
Photos: Upload at least 20 high-quality images. Google rewards listings with more photos by showing them more often. Include the kitchen, bathroom, bedroom, living area, building exterior, and neighbourhood shots.
Posts: Publish weekly updates. Share local events, seasonal promotions, or Melbourne travel tips. This signals to Google that your listing is active and relevant.
Q&A section: Seed it yourself. Add common questions like "Is parking available?" or "How far is it from Flinders Street Station?" and answer them.

Most Melbourne hosts don't even know GBP exists for accommodation providers. That alone puts you ahead of 90% of the competition. We've helped dozens of short-term rental operators across Melbourne set up and optimise their profiles — if you want us to handle it, reach out for a free audit.

One critical point: Your GBP drives direct bookings through your own website, which means you skip the 15% Airbnb service fee. On a $300/night booking, that's $45 back in your pocket every single night.

Step 2: Get Your Website Ranking for Local Keywords

Relying solely on Airbnb's platform means you're competing inside their ecosystem, playing by their rules, and paying their fees. A direct booking website changes the game entirely.

Why you need your own site:

A well-optimised website ranks in Google for searches like "Airbnb host in Melbourne," "short-term rental Southbank," or "holiday apartment Fitzroy." These searches represent people who are actively looking for what you offer. Capturing them on your own site means higher margins, direct guest relationships, and less dependency on a single platform.

What to build:

Start with a clean, mobile-friendly website. Include these core pages:

Homepage: Target your primary keyword. "Melbourne short-term rental" or "Airbnb accommodation Melbourne CBD" should appear in your title tag, H1 heading, and opening paragraph.
Individual property pages: One page per listing with unique descriptions, photos, amenities, pricing, and availability.
Suburb pages: This is where most hosts miss the mark. Create dedicated pages for each area you serve — "Short-Term Rental in St Kilda," "Airbnb Accommodation in South Yarra," "Holiday Apartment in Docklands." Each page should include 500+ words of genuinely useful content about that suburb, what's nearby, transport links, and dining options.

Technical SEO basics:

Ensure your site loads in under three seconds. Use schema markup for local business and lodging. Add your NAP (name, address, phone) in the footer of every page. Submit your sitemap to Google Search Console.

For a deeper dive into this, check out our full guide on SEO for Airbnb hosts in Melbourne. We build these sites from scratch for hosts who'd rather focus on hospitality than HTML.

Step 3: Build a Review Generation System

Reviews are the lifeblood of short-term rental success. They influence Airbnb's algorithm, Google's local rankings, and — most importantly — guest booking decisions. A property with 85 five-star reviews converts at dramatically higher rates than one with 12.

When to ask:

Timing is everything. The best moment to request a review is within 24 hours of checkout, when the experience is fresh and positive emotions are strongest. Don't wait a week. Don't rely on the guest remembering.

How to ask:

Send a personalised message. Generic requests get ignored. Try this template:

"Hey [Name], it was great hosting you! I hope you enjoyed the rooftop views and the walk to South Melbourne Market. If you have a minute, a quick review would mean the world to a small local host like me. Here's the direct link: [link]. Thanks again — hope to see you back in Melbourne!"

Notice what's happening there: you're referencing specific details from their stay, which makes the request feel personal rather than transactional.

Where to collect reviews:

Don't just focus on Airbnb. Ask guests who book directly to leave a Google review. Google reviews boost your GBP ranking, which drives more direct bookings, which means more revenue. It's a virtuous cycle.

Systematise it:

Set up an automated email sequence through your property management software. Message one goes out on checkout day. A gentle follow-up goes out three days later if they haven't left a review. Keep it friendly, never pushy.

Aim for a response rate of 30–40%. If you're hosting 15 guests per month, that's 5–6 new reviews monthly. Within a year, you'll have a review profile that crushes the competition.

Step 4: Create Content That Attracts Customers

Content marketing isn't just for tech companies and lifestyle brands. For Melbourne Airbnb hosts, publishing useful content builds authority, drives organic traffic, and converts browsers into bookers.

What to write:

Think about what your ideal guest searches for before, during, and after booking:

"Best restaurants near Melbourne CBD"
"Melbourne weekend itinerary 3 days"
"Is St Kilda safe for tourists?"
"Melbourne hidden gems locals love"
"What to pack for Melbourne in winter"

Each of these is a blog post waiting to happen. Write genuine, detailed guides that answer real questions. At the end of each post, include a natural mention of your property: "Staying in Fitzroy? Our apartment is a 5-minute walk from everything mentioned above. Check availability here."

Frequency:

Publish two to four posts per month. Consistency matters more than volume. A steady cadence of quality content tells Google your site is active and authoritative.

Local expertise wins:

You live in Melbourne or know it intimately. That local knowledge is your unfair advantage over generic travel sites. Write with specificity — mention the exact tram line, the name of the barista at the corner café, the best time to visit Queen Vic Market to avoid crowds. This level of detail builds trust instantly.

Over time, this content compounds. A post you write today might drive 50 visits per month for the next three years. That's 1,800 potential guests seeing your property — from a single article.

Step 5: Optimise for AI Search (GEO)

Generative Engine Optimisation — GEO — is the newest frontier in digital marketing, and it's reshaping how travellers find accommodation. When someone asks ChatGPT, Perplexity, or Google's AI Overview "Where should I stay in Melbourne for a weekend?", you want your property mentioned.

How AI tools select recommendations:

These systems pull from structured, authoritative, and well-cited content across the web. They favour businesses with strong review profiles, detailed websites, and consistent information across multiple platforms.

What to do:

Ensure your property appears on multiple trusted directories: TripAdvisor, Booking.com, Google, and niche short-term rental sites.
Publish FAQ-style content that mirrors how people ask AI tools questions.
Get mentioned in third-party articles, local guides, and Melbourne tourism blogs. These citations increase the likelihood of AI tools surfacing your brand.
Use structured data markup on your website so AI crawlers can easily parse your property details.

We've written extensively about this in our GEO guide for Melbourne Airbnb hosts. It's still early days, which means the hosts who move now will dominate when AI search becomes the default way people plan travel.

Step 6: Track Your Results

You can't improve what you don't measure. Set up tracking from day one so you know exactly what's working and where to double down.

Key metrics to monitor:

Google Business Profile insights: Track how many people view your listing, click to your website, and request directions.
Website analytics: Use Google Analytics 4 to monitor organic traffic, page views, and conversion events (booking enquiries, form submissions, phone calls).
Search rankings: Track your position for target keywords like "short-term rental Melbourne CBD" and "Airbnb host in Melbourne" using a tool like SEMrush or Ahrefs.
Direct booking rate: What percentage of your total bookings come through your own website versus Airbnb? This number should grow over time.
Review velocity: How many new reviews are you gaining per month? Are they trending positive?

Review these numbers monthly. Look for patterns. If a particular blog post drives significant traffic, write more content on that topic. If a suburb page converts well, invest in optimising it further.

When to Hire a Professional

Everything in this guide is doable yourself. But doing it well takes 10–15 hours per week. That's time you could spend improving your property, managing guests, or scaling your portfolio.

Consider hiring help if:

You manage three or more properties
Your occupancy rate has plateaued below 70%
You've never built a website or done SEO
You want to reduce Airbnb dependency and increase direct bookings

At MoneyNearMe, we work exclusively with local Australian businesses, including short-term rental operators across Melbourne. Our packages range from $500 to $2,000 per month depending on scope — covering everything from Google Business Profile management and local SEO to content creation and GEO strategy.

For a host averaging $250 per night, just two additional direct bookings per month more than covers the investment. And those bookings come without the 15% platform fee.

Book a free strategy call with our team and we'll show you exactly where your biggest growth opportunities are.

Frequently Asked Questions

How can Airbnb hosts get more customers online? Optimise your Google Business Profile, build a direct booking website, generate consistent reviews, publish local content, and establish presence across multiple platforms.

What's the fastest way to get more calls as an Airbnb host? Claim and fully optimise your Google Business Profile. Most hosts see increased enquiries within 30 days of proper setup.

How much should I spend on marketing as an Airbnb host? Allocate 5–10% of gross revenue. For a property earning $5,000/month, that's $250–$500 invested in growth.

Is Google Ads or SEO better for Airbnb hosts? SEO delivers better long-term ROI. Google Ads works for immediate visibility but costs stop the moment you pause spending.