An Airbnb co-host runs the day-to-day work of a listing for the owner: guest messages, the calendar and prices, cleaners between stays, check-in, and the small repairs that come up. The owner keeps the apartment, the payouts and the big decisions. What an Airbnb co-host does is easier to see as a week than as a list.
What does an Airbnb co-host do before a guest arrives?
Most of the work happens before anyone walks through the door.
- Answering enquiries. Questions come in at all hours: is there parking, is the building quiet, can a baby cot be arranged. Speed counts on Airbnb. To qualify for Superhost, a host has to respond to 90% of new messages, and accept or decline new reservation requests, within 24 hours.
- Accepting or declining requests. A co-host reads the guest's profile and message, checks the dates against the calendar, and decides within the rules the owner agreed to.
- Keeping prices and the calendar current. Airbnb names price as one of the things that heavily influence how a listing appears in search, along with quality, popularity and location. A co-host adjusts nightly rates, minimum stays and blocked dates, and keeps the calendar the same on every site the apartment is listed on, so the same night isn't sold twice.
- Sending arrival details. Address, how to get in, parking and Wi-Fi, plus whatever is particular to the building: which of the two entrances to use, whose name is on the intercom, where the key box is.
What happens on turnover day?
Turnover is the few hours between one guest leaving and the next arriving. Whatever gets missed in that window is what the next guest walks into.
- The cleaner is booked for the right window, with a backup known if they cancel.
- Linen and towels are swapped, and toilet paper, soap and coffee are counted and restocked.
- Someone checks the apartment after cleaning, rather than taking the cleaner's word for it. A hair on a pillow is the kind of detail that ends up in a review.
- Anything broken or missing is noted, photographed and dealt with before the next check-in.
What does a co-host handle during the stay?
A guest asks for the Wi-Fi password at 23:40. The air conditioner stops working on a hot afternoon. A neighbour complains about noise. None of these is hard, but each one needs a quick, calm answer from someone who knows the apartment.
During a stay, a co-host answers guest messages and solves what they can remotely. When a message isn't enough, they send a cleaner, a technician or a spare key. The owner hears about anything that costs money or affects the apartment itself.
What does a co-host do after checkout?
- Reviews. Guests and hosts have 14 days after checkout to write a review, and neither review is published until both are in or the 14 days end. A co-host with full access can write the guest review. The things guests notice before they write theirs are covered in what earns a five-star review.
- Damage and claims. If something was damaged, a co-host with full access can manage the Resolution Center request.
- Reporting. The owner gets a clear account of bookings, payouts and costs for the period.
What does the owner still decide?
On Airbnb, the owner chooses how much access a co-host gets, and there are three levels. Only full access lets a co-host change prices, the listing or reservations. The other two, calendar and messaging or calendar only, can view the calendar but not edit it.
Some things stay with the owner whatever the access level. Only the listing owner can set up or edit a co-host's payouts, co-hosts can't see the owner's payout method or taxpayer details, and the owner is responsible for every co-host on the listing, including any that a full-access co-host added.
Beyond the settings, agree in writing who does what, how the co-host is paid, and how expenses are reimbursed. Airbnb's introduction to co-hosting names the same three points. The money side, including how a co-host's share is worked out, is in Airbnb co-host fees. Settle one more line too: which repairs a co-host can approve alone, and which need a call to the owner first.
With Mert, that split is set by the plan. On Basic (12%), he writes and tunes the listing, answers every guest, manages bookings and sends a monthly owner statement, and the owner keeps pricing, cleaning and maintenance. Full service (17%) adds pricing, cleaners, laundry and maintenance through his local team.
Is Airbnb's Co-Host Network available in Israel?
No. Airbnb's Co-Host Network, where owners find a local co-host inside Airbnb, is available only in the countries Airbnb lists, and as of September 2026 Israel isn't one of them.
Owners here find a co-host through recommendations, other hosts, or a co-host's own website, and the options are laid out in Airbnb co-hosting in Israel. Before handing over the keys, ask to see listings the co-host runs as a host themselves, and the rating on those.
Questions owners ask
Does a co-host need to live near the apartment? Someone has to reach the apartment when a lock jams or a cleaner doesn't show. That can be the co-host or a local team they work with, so ask who that person is.
Can I stay involved? Yes. You choose the co-host's access level on Airbnb, and you can change it at any time without affecting the co-host's payouts.
Do I lose my reviews if I stop working with a co-host? Not if the listing is in your name. Guest reviews are written about stays at the listing, and once it has three, the listing's rating shows next to its title and on its page. For co-hosts, Airbnb says guest ratings and reviews don't appear on their public profile or count in their host rating.
How soon can a co-host start? With Mert, a new apartment goes live about a week after the first call.
If you'd like to talk through your apartment, start with the two plans on the pricing page.
