Searching for Instagram story ideas for AirBnB hosts? You’ve come to the right place! Instagram stories are an incredibly powerful way to connect with your community, and can show off your property in a way posts alone can’t.
What are Instagram stories?
In case you aren’t familiar with Instagram stories (or need a refresher!), they are a more temporary form of content compared to the posts that live on your grid. They stay up for 24-hours after publishing (unless you save them to a highlight), and are typically viewed by your most engaged audience.
What makes Instagram stories get great engagement?
Unlike feed posts, there are a lot of options to get your viewers to interact with your stories. From poll stickers, to mentions, to quizzes, to sliders, to countdowns, you can create an experience rather than simply a photo they scroll by.
Why Instagram Stories Are So Important for Your AirBnB
In a blog article published a couple years after Instagram stories launched, Planoly shares that
Instagram Stories has been growing exponentially since its debut in 2016. According to TechCrunch, as of January 2019, there are 500MM daily Instagram Stories users (half of Instagram’s 1 billion total users)! To add to the power that Stories has, in January, Instagram has had a 100MM daily user increase in just six months since their 400MM daily user tally in June 2018.
And if that was in 2019, you can only imagine how many more people are using Instagram stories in 2023! Stories are a way to go beyond your feed and create interactive, more “raw” content. From polls, to question boxes, to showing off the day to day at your rental, there are so many ways to use stories to highlight all the best features of your property. Don’t sleep on it!
Seven Instagram Story Ideas for Airbnb hosts
Need help figuring out what to post? Sometimes that black story screen staring back at you can be a little overwhelming. Here are a few ideas to get you started:
A walkthrough of your property
Use stories to share short clips of the spaces in your AirBNB. Take guests on a mini-tour, showing them the property from their eyes.
Your Availability
Your Instagram stories are usually viewed by your most-engaged audience. Take advantage of this and share your availability frequently! You never know who is going to be watching, hoping to find the perfect spot for their couples trip or bachelorette party.
A guide to the local area
Curate a guide of the best things to see + do in the area your AirBnB is located! Pro tip: This is perfect to save to a highlight, so current and future guests can always see what they should experience during their stay.
Fun, interactive polls
Don’t feel like every story has to be sales-y! Post polls asking your audience’s preferences (a game of this or that always gets great interaction!) or quizzes about your property and the local area.
Answer frequently asked questions
Put yourself in the shoes of potential guests. What would they want to know? What information will help them make the most of their stay? Share the answers to these in stories! You can also pop up a question box to crowdsource questions from your audience.
Tell your AirBnB story
Every host has a reason they got into the short-term rental industry. Share yours – either via text, or through a video of you telling the story.
Highlight some guest reactions + reviews
Received an amazing 5-star review? Or did a guest leave a sweet handwritten note? Share these to your stories! Not only does this make for great story content, it also serves as social proof to potential guests considering your property.
Want more where that came from?
Check out these related blog posts:
- 4 AirBNB Marketing Mistakes To Stop Making
- Why Your Vacation Rental Should Have an Instagram
- 10 IG Post Ideas for AirBnB Hosts
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