Hi, I'm Shana, a Long Beach, California-based Airbnb Superhost, Guest Favorite, and the person behind Hosting Decoded.
I've been hosting for about three years, operating a 2-unit rental property in Long Beach. Like most hosts, I didn't start with a system. I started with a spare unit, a lot of enthusiasm, and a steep learning curve. Pricing, guest communication, turnovers, maintenance, reviews. I figured it all out the hard way.
After a while, I noticed a pattern: most of the friction in hosting came from the same few things. Guests arriving without knowing where anything was. Repeat questions about check-out, the WiFi, the parking. Small confusions that added up to extra messages, extra stress, and reviews that could have been five stars but weren't.
The fix I kept coming back to was a proper welcome guidebook, not a Google Doc with a bullet list, but a real, polished guide that helped guests settle in quickly, answered their questions before they asked, and made every stay feel intentional. A guide that worked so well I didn't have to repeat the same information over and over.
I looked for a template that matched the level of care I was trying to put into my property. I couldn't find one. Everything out there was either generic, poorly designed, or obviously made by someone who had never actually hosted. So I designed my own.
The Complete Airbnb Guidebook is now available for any host who wants a faster path to a smoother operation. It's designer-crafted, fully editable in Canva, and takes under an hour to make your own. Built from real hosting experience, not a design brief.
What Hosting Decoded Is
Hosting Decoded exists to help hosts improve their operations, guest experience, and revenue through practical, actionable systems and resources. The kind that actually get used, not just bookmarked.
I write about three things:
- Guest Experience: creating stays that earn 5-star reviews and bring guests back
- Hosting 101: the fundamentals every host needs to get right from day one
- Earnings: pricing strategy, revenue optimization, and scaling your operation
If you're just getting started or trying to sharpen what you've already built, you're in the right place.
Find Me
- TikTok: @hosting.decoded, hosting tips and behind-the-scenes
- Instagram: @11thandNew, my Long Beach properties
- The guidebook: shanadesigns.gumroad.com