Should I Include My Airbnb on My Resume? Let's Find Out

Yes, you can include your Airbnb experience on your resume if it's relevant to the job and shows transferable skills like customer service, operations, or marketing. You just have to be specific about your role, responsibilities, and measurable results.

When Airbnb Hosting Can Belong on Your Resume

Adding your Airbnb property management experience to a resume makes sense when it directly demonstrates transferable skills that align with your target job. It’s not just about listing “host” and moving on. It’s about how you frame the role and its impact.

Here’s when it makes sense:

1. You’re applying for customer service, hospitality, or property management roles.

Airbnb hosting shows real-world experience in managing bookings, resolving issues, responding quickly to inquiries, and delivering quality service, all essential in hospitality and customer-facing roles.

2. You’re targeting positions that value entrepreneurial thinking.

If you ran your Airbnb like a small business, optimized listings, increased bookings through better descriptions or photography, or created efficient cleaning systems, that’s business acumen. Startups, project-based roles, and self-managed teams will often value this.

3. You were a Superhost or earned other recognition.

That’s not just a badge, it’s proof of consistency, attention to detail, and guest satisfaction. These metrics can be framed like performance achievements.

4. It filled an employment gap.

If you took time off from traditional work but managed an Airbnb full-time, including it can explain what you were doing and show you were still developing valuable skills.

When It’s Better to Leave Airbnb Off

There are definitely cases where including Airbnb on your resume might raise more questions than it answers. Think carefully about the message it sends before writing about it.

You may want to skip it if:

1. It’s not relevant to the role you’re applying for.

Applying for a role in healthcare, engineering, or education? Unless you’re highlighting transferable soft skills, Airbnb might seem out of place. Relevance is very important.

2. It was a very short-term thing.

Hosting a single guest or managing a listing in one location for a couple of weeks isn’t substantial enough to be considered meaningful work experience.

3. You were a co-host with limited involvement.

If someone else handled the day-to-day and you were just listed as a co-host, don’t oversell your involvement. Hiring managers can spot fluff.

4. You’re already struggling to fit in your professional experience.

If you have a strong work history in your industry, and space is tight, prioritize experience more closely aligned to the job description you want.

Skills Airbnb Hosting Can Highlight on a Resume

Hosting on Airbnb develops real, valuable skills for candidates. The trick is presenting them in a way that makes sense for hiring managers. Use action words and focus on outcomes.

Here are some of the skills you can highlight:

1. Customer Service

Responded promptly to guest inquiries, ensured a smooth check-in experience, and resolved issues quickly to maintain a consistent 5-star rating across all stays, resulting in repeat bookings, positive guest reviews, and overall property success.

2. Communication

Coordinated effectively with guests before and during their stay, maintained clear communication with cleaners and repair staff, and created step-by-step check-in instructions to reduce confusion and minimize guest questions.

3. Marketing

Improved listing visibility by rewriting descriptions on accounts with targeted keywords, capturing high-quality images, and running seasonal pricing adjustments, which led to a noticeable increase in search rankings among potential clients and confirmed bookings.

4. Operations Management

Oversaw the full turnover process as a property manager by scheduling cleaning services, restocking supplies, managing laundry cycles, and handling routine maintenance with several online management tools, ensuring the property remained clean, functional, and guest-ready at all times.

5. Conflict Resolution

Addressed unexpected guest issues such as late check-ins, noise complaints, or booking errors on the first chance with patience and professionalism, de-escalating tense situations to ensure a positive outcome and strong guest satisfaction.

6. Time Management

Balanced managing the Airbnb property with other personal or professional obligations by efficiently scheduling cleanings, responding to messages with online apps, updating calendars, and staying on top of every task without delays.

7. Entrepreneurship

Treated the Airbnb like a small business by setting competitive pricing, tracking earnings and expenses, implementing cost-saving measures, and gradually increasing profitability through hands-on improvements and consistent guest satisfaction.

Frame each of these skills as you would in any professional experience section, with specific actions and results.

Airbnb and Resume Gaps: What You Should Know

If you’ve been out of traditional work and spent that time running one or more Airbnbs, it’s worth including on your resume, especially if the gap spans more than a few months since your last job.

Recruiters want to know what you’ve been doing. If you’ve been actively managing listings, dealing with guests, handling maintenance, coordinating teams, and tracking finances, that’s not a gap, it’s business management.

Just don’t list Self-Employed without detail. Stay away from generic descriptions and be specific. Give the role structure. Add bullet points. Show results.

You can even mention it in your cover letter, for example:

"During my time managing multiple properties, I developed strong operations and customer service abilities that I’m now excited to bring to new opportunities with more structure."

If you're applying for jobs and want to include your Airbnb role, don’t just wing it. Use our Resume Builder to craft a clean, tailored CV that turns your hosting experience into a real asset.

Final Thoughts

Running an Airbnb is real work, often harder than a standard job. But how you present that work matters. Done right, it can help fill resume gaps, showcase transferable skills, and tell a compelling story about your resourcefulness and ability to self-manage. Just keep it relevant, honest, and structured like any other professional experience. Let your skills speak clearly, and hiring managers will listen.