How to get more bookings on Airbnb?

[Jennifer4]

Hi,

My name is Jennifer and I am an Airbnb Host for almost two years at this time. I have rented to hundreds of clients and have been a Superhost for over one year. In the beginning I didn't get that many bookings, however currently I am 90% fully booked every single month.

This is what I did, to get more bookings per month:

1. Great pictures

In the beginning when I didn’t receive reservations I had pictures made with my mobile phone, they weren’t that great so I changed them. I learned that people are attracted by great pictures. I mean, ask yourself this question. Would I stay in my own place just looking at the pictures I currently have on Airbnb­?

I paid a professional photographer to make great pictures of everything my apartment, the building and the neighborhood have to offer. I have uploaded over 20 pictures per apartment and assured that all important details are being shown, this way my guests now exactly what they’re going to find without even reading the description.

1. Great Descriptions

When writing your property description be as clear and specific as possible, assure that all small details are inserted so potential guests won’t have to send you emails asking for details. It is also very important that your description is attractive to read, and makes the guest feel like they want to stay in your apartment. Once writing a great description about your property, the building, neighborhood etc. Assure that you adjust it into different languages if possible. Most of my current guests are from the United States, therefore I have my descriptions both in English and Spanish.

Another detail is spelling, try to avoid spelling mistakes as this will look unprofessional.

1. Guest Communication

Once your profile has been setup correct, you will see that the first requests and reservations will come in soon. A great way to stay up to date with what is happening and to respond in a timely manner is to download the Airbnb mobile app. I use this on a daily base to stay up to date, as I will receive a text message each time I have a reservation or request I am able to respond quicker. Assume that guests may write several properties, your timely respond is key to be able to get the reservation.

When responding to guests try to respond in a friendly and professional way, in their own language if possible and respond as quickly as possible.

1. Guest stay

After having a complete profile and receiving your reservations, key is to give them a great experience. I always try to overachieve their expectations as this will result in happy guests, great reviews, returning guests and even more guests because of the great reviews.

This is what I am doing: try to make people feel welcome in your accommodation. When a person comes to your place assure a great check-in. Confirm arrival time, who is going to check them in, address details or maybe transportation. Try to surprise them by adding something personal from the Dominican Republic, a personal welcome letter, sweets or a bottle of wine could make a big difference in their first impression.

During the stay keep in contact with your guest to verify that everything is going perfect, be there for them. When checking-out make them feel welcome back and always try to receive as much feedback as possible to improve. Assure your write a constructive review, so they will write you a review back.

1. Prices

Having competitive prices is key. Just take a look around on Airbnb to similar properties in your area who are highly ranked in the search, try to match their rates. Once you have a great profile and good reviews you could eventually higher the price when you are getting enough reservations to fill up the whole month.

Also keep in my mind that you offer specific prices per day, week and month. The longer a guest stays often the better the rate should be to be competitive in the market. Also keep in mind that prices may vary regarding the season. In the Dominican Republic, winter is in most places high season and summer low season. It is advisable to adjust your prices accordingly.

1. Availability

Try to keep your calendar up to date so you won’t have to tell potential guests that your property is already booked. To get more reservations you can turn on direct reservations, in this case people could book directly without having to request if the apartment is available first.

I hope that the above advice helps you to get more reservations. If you have any questions, then feel free to ask me. 

Saludos,

Jennifer

Please find my properties here: [link removed]

[Kirstie · Accepted solution]

Hi @Jennifer4,

This is a great guide! Thanks so much for sharing :). 

We have now added it to our list of Community Help Guides!

Kirstie

[Dev4 · Accepted solution]

@Jennifer4

Good post and great advice! I feel that you have build a stellar reputation on Airbnb with over 100 reviews. If I was a guest, I wouldn't even think once before booking with you. 

I host in Toronto, where Airbnb is a fierce market and highly seasonal due to the four seasons that we see each year. Its tough to keep higher occupancy in the winter months. Also, if you a new host who is learning and building a reputation on the platform than things are more difficult. In addition to the points you mentioned, I would suggest that:

1. Know your guests - Airbnb is a business and in any business you have to know who your customer is. The more specific you are, the better you will get at pricing, guest satisfaction and anticipating problems that guests will eventually bring to your attention.

2. Listing description - once you know your guests, decorate your space keeping the preferred guests in mind. Write the desciption so that it appeals to that segment.

3. Contantly upgrade your property - set asisde a budget to put money on your listing. If you want to remain competitive and earn good reviews, then you have to regularly improve your offering so that the next guest is happier than the previous one.

Regards,

Casadell 

[Tran10 · Accepted solution]

Hi Jennifer,

Thanks for your great word. I am very happy to learn about your sharing.

Hope to hear more your experience.

Best Regards,

Hung

[Jennifer4]

Hi Oomesh,

I own some of the properties that I am renting out 🙂

[Oomesh-Kumarsingh0]

@Jennifer4 That's great all your listings looks superb! Happy hosting 🙂

[Dev4 · Accepted solution]

@Jennifer4

Good post and great advice! I feel that you have build a stellar reputation on Airbnb with over 100 reviews. If I was a guest, I wouldn't even think once before booking with you. 

I host in Toronto, where Airbnb is a fierce market and highly seasonal due to the four seasons that we see each year. Its tough to keep higher occupancy in the winter months. Also, if you a new host who is learning and building a reputation on the platform than things are more difficult. In addition to the points you mentioned, I would suggest that:

1. Know your guests - Airbnb is a business and in any business you have to know who your customer is. The more specific you are, the better you will get at pricing, guest satisfaction and anticipating problems that guests will eventually bring to your attention.

2. Listing description - once you know your guests, decorate your space keeping the preferred guests in mind. Write the desciption so that it appeals to that segment.

3. Contantly upgrade your property - set asisde a budget to put money on your listing. If you want to remain competitive and earn good reviews, then you have to regularly improve your offering so that the next guest is happier than the previous one.

Regards,

Casadell 

[Emily145]

I agree with everyone who says to start cheap and with low standards just to get some 5-star reviews on your page and start towards Superhost status. After a month or so you should be able to raise your rates and be choosier about your guests.

I have a small studio that I started off at $36/night with no cleaning fee and no minimum stay. After a couple of months I now rent it for $46-66 night with a $10/booking cleaning fee and a 2-night minimum, and I never have more than a couple of unbooked nights per month max.

Give some thought to your pricing structure. If you are getting a lot of bookings for 2-3+ months out, you are priced too low - people who plan ahead are perceiving you as a deal they want to snap up before it's gone. You have plenty of time to lower the price if no one wants it at the higher price, and at the higher rate instead of being perceived as a deal, you can get some nice value from of the odd person here and there who is willing to pay a premium to have their plans sorted well in advance.

For me, everything more than 2 months out is $66/night. 1-2 months out is $56 weekday/$66 weekend. Less than a month out is $46 weekday/$56 weekend. If I have a single night free between other bookings I'll drop my 2-night minimum but charge $66 for the night so that it's worth it to me to do a turnover for just one night. If I were to ever have more than 1 night in a row unbooked and it was less than a week out, I'd lower the price to $36, but that hasn't happened to me yet.

But if you start cheap, people who are getting a good deal will often be more forgiving of your early bumps in the road, especially if you gently remind them of the great value you're offering, and by the time you are charging more you will have worked out the kinks and be able to provide a professional quality of hosting that's worth the higher price. People staying for just 1 night are often less critical, too, because they're just after a clean bed to crash on in the middle of a road trip or a business trip. You'll have to bust your butt turning over the unit frequently but it's a great way to really quickly get a bunch of 5-star reviews on your profile. (Remember to ask/remind your guests to leave you reviews! Especially when you're dealing with people who booked your place even though it didn't have any reviews - they are less likely than other guests to leave reviews themselves because they just don't put as much weight on them, and you need 50% of your guests to review you to make Superhost.)

[Marie344]

Great you share this helpful post! 

[Nixie0]

https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/14949914?guests=1&adults=1&children=0&infants=0&s=q0jYiben

https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/14991035?guests=1&adults=1&children=0&infants=0&s=mikq2RP2

https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/15041647?guests=1&adults=1&children=0&infants=0&s=mikq2RP2

[Nixie0]

Do you think you can look into our listing and see how we can improve it? We haven't had any consistent booking since October of last year. And theres been so much more competition in our neighborhood as well. Any advice would help. Thanks in advance! I posted my listings on early message 

[Daniela301]

Thanks four you help!

[Fran39]

Hi there,

Thanks for posting this.  As a new host, I'm struggling to see my cabin listed all the time.  Today, I can't see it at all.  I've had 5 guests thus far, of which only 3 gave reviews. The other 2 told me they loved it, but didn't leave a review.  I do leave water, bread, eggs, even PB&J for new guests to use as a courtesy in case they arrive late.

I had a friend do a search in Fairplay, CO, and she couldn't see our cabin either, using 3 different dates.  I've made a few edits in pricing & description to see if it would help, but to no avail.  I'm not sure how to keep it on there.  I do see it when I log in as myself.

Can anyone tell me what else I may be doing that's wrong? 😞  

Thank you,

Fran

[Karyn15]

HI,

I'm having the same trouble.  Did you get a resolve?

Karyn

[Clara116]

@Fran39 Hello - I just searched Fairplay, Co and your cabin came up on the first page!!! So that's good. 

If I can offer a suggestion that might help with more bookings;  as I looked at your listing I had to click through 10 photos to see the inside of the cabin -

you might want to shift all the beautiful outside shots AFTER the inside - What I have been told and learned is that folks shopping for a place only give a few minutes and a few clicks to know if they want to book......people are looking to book the Cabin and 

want to know quickly what they are getting - and if they like it.  Also make all photo shots horizental - they present much better on all computers/phones and such.

Happy Hosting and best of luck, Clara

[Karyn15]

I am new to Airbnb and when I first put our condo up, I received lots of inquiries and bookings, but now inquiries have come to a stop. When my husband tried to find our listing, it didn't even come up until we refined the search very specifically.  Is there a way to help it come up faster when folks search?

Thank you.

[Javier141]

Hi guys. We are pretty much new on Airbnb and Vacation Rentals and I have to confess we are loving the experience. However, we are trying to increase our booking and inquiry rates and would like to know is there any sort of study, report or guideline related to what upgrades are more appealed to guest. Thanks for your help and keep this type of forum since are extremely useful for newcomer like us!

[Kristen66]

Hi!

Thanks everyone for the assistance with this information! I have used many of the suggestions with great success!

Kristen

[Rochelle19]

Came across this new social tool and wanted to get everyones thoughts on generating more listings using things like facebook ads.  Heres the link [Link hidden]