Airbnb Host Spreadsheet: What to Track to Run Your Rental

You can run a rental from memory and a pile of texts, until something slips. Here is what a simple host spreadsheet should track, and the ten minute weekly habit that keeps it useful.

By JueliaSuperhost for 5 years. Hosted in California, Oregon and Tennessee.

When I started hosting, I kept track of supplies, cleaner pay and repairs in my head and in text messages. It worked until it did not. A guest ran out of toilet paper, a cleaner asked if she had been paid for a job I forgot, and I had no idea what one property actually made that month.

A simple spreadsheet fixes all of that. You do not need fancy software. You need a few tabs you actually keep up with.

The tabs worth having

• Income and expenses. Every payout and every cost, so you can see profit by month and by property.
• Restock tracker. Each supply with a minimum amount, so you know what to buy before it runs out.
• Room inventory. How many plates, glasses, towels and pillows each room should have, so missing items get replaced.
• Turnover log. The date, property, cleaner and hours for every clean.
• Cleaner pay. What each cleaner earned and what you still owe, so pay is always right and on time.
• Damage log. What happened, the cost, and whether you filed a claim and got the money back.
• Lost and found. What was left, where it is, and whether it went back to the guest.

Set minimums for every supply

The restock tab is the one that pays off fastest. Decide the least you ever want on hand, like 12 rolls of toilet paper or 20 trash bags. When your cleaner counts after a turnover and something is below its minimum, it goes on the shopping list that day. That one habit ends most emergency store runs.

Excel or Google Sheets?

Either works. Google Sheets is easier to share with a cleaner or co host, since everyone sees the same file. Excel is fine if you are the only one using it. Keep the formulas locked and only type into a few input cells, so nothing breaks by accident.

A ten minute weekly habit

1. Add the week's payouts and costs.
2. Log each turnover and mark cleaners paid.
3. Check the restock tab and order anything below its minimum.
4. Note any damage or lost items while you still remember the details.