ManhattanBNB’s mission is to support the NYC tourism economy by supporting both hosts and travelers while revealing the best of what the Big Apple has to offer. Today, we’re excited to share the story of a host in Midtown Manhattan named R (not his real name) who has had a lot of success filling his booking calendar with ManhattanBNB.
Q: R, thank you for agreeing to share your story! Can you start by telling us about why you got into hosting in the first place?
A: I’ve been hosting for over ten years. As a former traveling management consultant while in my mid 20s, I would frequently leave NYC for business trips, and it was amazing to be able to make money on my apartment while I was out of town. I never had a single issue, and had cleaners attend to the unit before and after guest stays. And I love seeing all the delighted reviews from guests from around the world!
Later when I upgraded to another unit, I decided to continue running the unit as a vacation rental because (1) it paid the bills far better than a standard rental; and (2) gaps in the calendar meant that I could enjoy the unit myself or fill it with friends and family.
Q: Why did you decide to list your property on ManhattanBNB?
A: I heard about ManhattanBNB through either a Facebook or Whatsapp group that connects NYC area hosts together (I forget which one). I thought - why not. I’m also listed on other services, but all of them limit stays to 30+ days, which are generally hard to come by.
Q: How has your experience on ManhattanBNB been?
A: I’ve been on ManhattanBNB for about six months now, and it was slow at first. For example, my unit was booked over Christmas 2024, but not New Years - which was unfortunate because that’s when I would usually make a lot of money.
This year, things have really picked up - I don’t know how, but I’ve had tons of bookings from ManhattanBNB so far this year.
Q: Tell us about your bookings
A: All-in, it’s been pretty amazing. From ManhattanBNB alone, I’ve received about $14,000 worth of bookings so far this year - and it's only February!
January was a slow month, but I had a student from Stanford University stay at my place for two weeks while she was looking for jobs. January was a breakeven month for me (meaning that my ManhattanBNB revenue covered the mortgage and other expenses)
February has been amazing. I had a diplomat from Saudi Arabia stay at my place, and received a booking from a woman traveling from San Diego to see her friends. February will be a profitable month for me.
March still has some empty dates, but I have someone visiting from Florida for a week, and a businessman visiting from Hungary.
April is fully booked with a month-long booking on another platform.
I only had a few dates available in May due to my family staying there, but the remaining dates are already mostly booked by a family visiting from Iceland and a couple from Phoenix, Arizona.
June and July were fully booked on another platform by a summer intern.
I have no bookings yet for August - but it’s only February so there's plenty of time.
September still has some empty dates, but for two weeks I have a couple from the Netherlands staying.
October and November are completely empty so far.
Christmas 2025 and New Years are already booked, by a couple from Germany. The rest of December is empty so far.
Q: Wow! How did you get all of these bookings? Got any secrets to share?
A: A few, actually:
First, I respond very quickly when guests inquire about my place - and through all channels: email, text message, Whatsapp, etc. I mean, like within 5 minutes. Whatsapp has been essential, since as mentioned before, a lot of my guests are international. I offer to get on phone and video chats, which I think gives them confidence that they’re dealing with a real human being (at least, that's what I think when I put myself in their shoes).
Second, I’ve been promoting my listing myself on other channels, including social media. Having ManhattanBNB to link to has been nice because guests can see reviews and submit a booking request directly. Even on channels that have a min 30 day requirement, I’ve been able to convert guests to booking with me directly thanks to ManhattanBNB (the Saudi diplomat is one such case).
Third, the improvements to the ManhattanBNB platform have been very helpful - such as with this page: https://www.manhattanbnb.com/mylistings/bookinginquiries. This helps me keep organized and follow-up with hosts who may have requested a booking a few days ago.
Fourth, I’ve learned how to use other sites like Stripe effectively (for processing credit cards). For example, I usually ask for full payments upfront, but for some of the larger bookings - say, for $2500+, this can put a strain on guests’ credit limits. So I’ve been flexible with requesting partial payments through Stripe to block the dates before they can make the additional payments. This means being comfortable with using Stripe and knowing how it works, and potentially other payment methods too (PayPal, etc)
Something I’m thinking about: waiving security deposits. They’re becoming a bit of a pain to administer, and I want things to be easy and simple. Several guests have asked me to waive security deposits - which I’ve usually done - and I’m thinking of removing them completely. Since bookings originated through ManhattanBNB enjoy $50,000 of protection anyway, it seems unnecessary to collect a deposit in addition to that.
Q: What do you like most about hosting through ManhattanBNB?
A: This might sound cliche, but I like the flexibility to decide who I let into my home: this makes me feel reassured. And the ManhattanBNB team always responds extremely quickly when I have a question, and they’re very keen to help hosts and build out the platform (say, when I request a new feature).
One weird thing that I like: being able to collect full payments upfront. Take my Christmas 2025 to New Years booking, which is worth about $2500. The full amount is already in my bank account, and I’ll earn 5% interest on it. This means that I’ll earn about $100 interest alone on this booking before the stay even begins.
Q: Any advice for fellow hosts?
A: ManhattanBNB is great! We’re not back to the “good old days” of 2023, but this is a meaningful step in the right direction. Make sure to keep marketing yourself and your listing through social media and other platforms as well.
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