Host Academy · Lesson 2 · about 6 minutes
Make your first listing bookable
The short answer
Make your listing a "Short Let" with a price, times and a caution deposit. Our team checks these first. Keep "Take bookings online" ticked, and guests can book.
What you will learn
- Where hosting lives: your business profile and seller dashboard.
- How to set a short let’s price, times and caution deposit.
- Which changes wait for our team, and which go live at once.
- What must be true before guests see the booking box.
Get one listing ready, step by step
Step 1: Open your seller dashboard.
Hosting uses a business profile. After you sign in, pick "List & Sell". Then press "Go to seller dashboard".
Step 2: Start a new listing, or open one you have.
In the menu, open "LISTINGS". Press "Create New Listing" for a new home. Or open "Listings List" and edit a home you already have.
Step 3: Choose "Short Let".
Find "Property Details". It asks "Do you want to Rent it or Sell it?" Pick "Short Let". New short-let parts then appear on the form.
Step 4: Type your price and how often it is charged.
Fill in "Rent Price (₦)". Then pick a "Payment Frequency": "Per Night", "Per Day" or "Per Week".
Good to know: Guests always book by the night. A price per day is charged for each night. A price per week is shared over its 7 nights.
Step 5: Set your check-in and check-out times.
Use "Check-in time" and "Check-out time". If you change nothing, check-in is from 14:00 (2 in the afternoon). Check-out is by 11:00 (11 in the morning).
Step 6: Add a caution deposit, if you want one.
A caution deposit is money the guest pays in case something gets damaged. Type a fixed amount in "Caution deposit (₦, fixed amount)". Type 0 for no deposit.
Good to know: The guest pays it once per stay. They get it back after the stay, less any damage you can prove.
Step 7: Save the listing.
Your price, times and caution deposit now wait for our team. We check them before guests see them.
Good to know: Discounts, free nights and your free-cancellation time wait for our team too. Lessons 4 and 6 show you those.
Step 8: Check that "Take bookings online" is ticked.
On the listing’s edit page, find "Availability, prices and booking rules". "Take bookings online" is on to start with. Leave it ticked.
Step 9: Save the calendar part if you changed it.
Press "Review and save calendar". Then press "Save and publish calendar". This part needs no approval. It goes live at once.
What waits for our team, and what goes live at once
Some changes are checked by our team first. Others go live as soon as you save.
| What you change | Where you change it | When guests see it |
|---|---|---|
| What you changePrice, check-in and check-out times, caution deposit | Where you change it"Property Details" on the listing | When guests see itAfter our team approves it |
| What you changeDiscounts, free nights, free-cancellation time | Where you change itThe short-let parts of the listing | When guests see itAfter our team approves it |
| What you changeOpen and closed dates, price windows, booking rules, cleaning fee | Where you change it"Availability, prices and booking rules" | When guests see itAs soon as you save it |
| What you changeHouse rules, arrival steps, door code, Wi-Fi | Where you change it"Stay information" | When guests see itAs soon as you save it |
A weekly price, worked out
Say you type ₦350,000 (three hundred and fifty thousand naira) and pick "Per Week".
A week has 7 nights. So each night costs ₦350,000 ÷ 7 = ₦50,000.
A guest who stays 3 nights pays 3 × ₦50,000 = ₦150,000 for the nights.
When can guests book?
Guests see a booking box on your listing only when all of these are true. If one is missing, the page looks as it did before.
- The listing is a published "Short Let" that can be sold.
- Your store is published and allowed to sell.
- "Take bookings online" is ticked.
Your practice task
Do this on the real screen. The "Create a listing" button is just below.
- Find "Do you want to Rent it or Sell it?" and pick "Short Let".
- Find "Rent Price (₦)", "Payment Frequency", the two times and the caution deposit.
- Only save if this is a real home you want to let.
- Then answer the three questions below. After that, go on to lesson 3: Price your nights.
Try it yourself
Open the real screen and find each step from this lesson.
Check what you learned
Pick an answer, then press "Check my answer". You can try again as many times as you like.
Questions people ask
Do I need a business profile to host?
Yes. Hosting uses a business profile and the seller dashboard.
Can I stop new bookings for a while?
Yes. Untick "Take bookings online" and save the calendar. New bookings stop. Bookings you already have are kept.
Where do I set a cleaning fee?
In "Availability, prices and booking rules", as "Cleaning fee (₦) (optional)". It is added once to each stay. Discounts never apply to it.
Read next
- Getting bookableHow to make your short let bookable onlineSet your home as a "Short Let". Give it a night price. Then tick "Take bookings online".
- Getting bookableHow to set your booking rules and instant bookChoose how guests book. Set the shortest and longest stay, the most guests and how far ahead. Then say yes yourself, or let instant book do it.
- Getting bookableHow to set night prices for busy days and seasonsYour listing price is your normal night price. You can set a different price for some dates, or for one day.
More on Cabans
Still stuck?
Tell us what happened. If you have a booking number, add it. Our team will help.
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