# Your First Airbnb — The Guide

## Launch legally and profitably, before you buy a single towel

Most first-time hosts start with linens and photos. The ones who profit start with what you can't see from the setup screen: the local law that decides if you're even allowed to list, the 15.5% fee most guides still get wrong, and the behaviors that outrank hosts charging less. This is that checklist — 34 sourced pages, every claim cited in the margin, current to the late-2025 fee change older guides describe wrong.

Inside — the eight gates:

• The legal gate first, not the decor (NYC listings fell ~70% after Local Law 18)

• The fee stack you actually keep — why net runs ~25–35% of payout

• Ranking that rewards behavior, not a lower price

• Smart Pricing's conflict of interest (it can underprice you 15–30%)

• Superhost as four numbers — 4.750 keeps the badge, 4.749 loses it

• Cancellation policy as a revenue dial

• No deposit — AirCover and a 14-day clock

• Reviews compound on a 14-day double-blind window

You get: the full 34-page guide (PDF), instant download, yours forever.

One avoidable mistake costs more than this. Read the eight gates before your first guest checks in.