Airbnb management in the New Forest

On Airbnb the New Forest is a map full of cottages, barns, huts and lodges, and the guest picks one from a thumbnail and a handful of filters. Sea Breeze, an Airbnb Superhost, builds New Forest listings that win that choice, or co-hosts the listing you already have, and runs it across Airbnb, Booking.com, Vrbo and 20+ channels. It is our Airbnb management service applied to the Forest: photography, pricing, messages and 24/7 guest support, with cleaning and laundry through recommended local companies you pay directly.

The listing a Forest guest is looking for

Forest guests filter first and read later. The filters that matter are dogs allowed, free parking, garden, wood burner and, for cyclists, somewhere to lock bikes. If the property has them, they go into the title, the first five photographs and the amenities list.

The photographs carry the rest. One shot of the heath or the lawn at the end of the lane does more than any paragraph. Interiors need to show the boot room, the outside tap, the enclosed garden and the fence line, because dog owners look for them. We shoot in good light and order the gallery so the guest sees the Forest, the living room and the garden before the bathrooms.

The description should be honest about the things that cause bad reviews: a lane with no street lights, a cattle grid on the way in, patchy mobile signal, the walk to the pub. A new listing is typically live within a week of the photographer's visit.

Ponies, gates and house rules

The New Forest has house rules that no other area needs. Ponies, cattle and donkeys belong to commoners and graze the open Forest, which is fenced off by stock fences and cattle grids. Feeding or petting them is banned under a local order. Unfenced roads have a 40mph limit, and animals walk out of the dark at night. Garden gates must stay shut, and grass cuttings or food must never go over the fence, because they can make a pony ill.

We write these into the house rules and the arrival message so the guest reads them before the first drive in. Good neighbours matter in small villages too, so the rules cover parking, noise after dark and bins.

Guests, seasons and channels

• Families book the school holidays and the end of July, when the New Forest and Hampshire County Show fills the Forest. They often book on Vrbo for whole-house stays.
• Walkers and cyclists book spring and autumn weekends for more than 100 miles of waymarked cycle routes. Cycling is only allowed on those routes, which the listing should say.
• Dog owners come all year. From 1 March to 31 July ground-nesting birds mean dogs should be kept close and sometimes on a lead.
• Couples take Christmas, New Year and winter weekends by the fire, mostly through Airbnb.

We price every night, use Booking.com for late and touring bookings, and take direct bookings through Flexiestays, all from one calendar.

Reviews, Superhost standing and the rules

Reviews decide where a listing sits in search. We answer messages quickly, give clear arrival instructions for lanes that satnav gets wrong, and check the property between stays, so ratings hold up. Owners should also know the planning position: inside the Park the New Forest National Park Authority limits new holiday accommodation, and New Forest District Council charges a 100% council tax premium on second homes unless the property qualifies for business rates. Our guide to holiday let regulations in England covers the detail.

What it costs and who does what

Commission is 16% of booking revenue, with no retainer and no monthly fee; see our pricing. We run the listing, the pricing, the guests and the inspections. A recommended local company cleans and handles laundry, paid by you directly, or you keep your own cleaner. Because the Forest is beyond our Bournemouth base, we agree that partner for your village before the first guest arrives.

Village detail: Lyndhurst, Burley, Sway, Brockenhurst, Lymington, Milford on Sea, Ringwood, New Milton, Barton on Sea and Bransgore.