Support with my listing

[Stella743]

Hello everyone,

My name is Stella. I’ve been on this platform for about two months, but I haven’t had any success with clients throughout the summer, with over 200 views on my listing, I will be having my first client tomorrow. However, I would really appreciate any advice that will improve my listing for clients. Thank you!

Link:Home in Fayetteville · ★New · 4 bedrooms · 4 beds · 2 baths

[Content modified by OCM]

[Stella743]

@Marie8425 thank you this is very helpful tips. I will make necessary update.

[Kerry542]

Hi Stella,

in the picture of the bedroom with the gold painting the white duvet is wrinkled.

id fix that, it shows attention to detail.

i think your cover picture is not bright enough and eye catching 

If you have a cleaning fee remove it. People don’t like them. Just adjust your price. 

this year has been tough. I live in a tourist meca in Canada and have had to work hard to get bookings 

I think economy plays a part. 

[Kory37]

Stella,

You have received great advice so far. 

I would add that photos are so important. Not only the quality and number of photos but the arrangement. I like the living room photo the best that shows the high ceilings. Really reinforces the idea they’re getting a big spacious home. Make the first dozen pictures the rooms in the house and move the detailed photos (like decor closeups) to the end, or even delete some. 

You’re a new listing.  Once you get some reviews you’ll get more traction. Really go all out with your first several stays to make sure you get 5 stars. Tell them specifically “Our goal is a five star experience, please tell us what we can do to make your stay amazing!”.

More than anything your lack of booking is simply pricing. Remember this is supply and demand and you’re trying to figure out what the potential is for your property. Until you know I would suggest dropping your nightly rate. Keep weekends, holidays, and special events in your area a bit higher. Discounts are attractive but you don’t want to look desperate. Just lower your nightly rate.

Good luck!

Kory

[Kory37]

Also, is there any reason you can’t advertise more guests? HOA restrictions? If you can you should be advertising 2 guests per room plus figure out a way to sleep a few more like sleeper sofa or blow up mattresses. Try for 10-12 guests!

Kory

[Lilliam7]

Hi Stella. Welcome!! Gorgeous home or course! No doubt. Here are my humble opinions:

-very exclusive home. That can be good and bad.  
-I notice you mentioned lake access but no pictures of the lake. That would be a plus. 
-maybe accepting more guests would be a plus. It’s a house perfect for events in my opinion like bridal showers, girls weekend, guys weekend, family reunions. That doesn’t have to mean parties. I have had many of those and no parties at all. 
-maybe less is more. I know people have mentioned they enjoy my house not having too many things to worry about breaking or damaging. 
-don’t be afraid to be more open to guests. We were so scared at the beginning but in 4 yrs have never had a bad guest or party issues. 

good luck 

[Stella743]

Thank you so much @Liliam7 for your honest opinion. I appreciate this helpful tips!

[Kimberly897]

Hi Stella! You have already gotten a lot of sage advice in particular I 100% agreed with all of Liam's suggestions. Loredonna's suggestion of changing your intro picture to something warm and cozy perhaps a sunny area with a table of breakfast goodies on it- was excellent. I also agree with her regarding a reduction of any duplicate pictures  People seem to really like a cozy home welcoming element. Lois's suggestion regarding increasing the occupancy to 8 or 10 people is spot on. Personally, I agree with what a lot of people have mentioned...start off with a good hefty discount. Once you have a few stays and good ratings it will show up in searches and you will rent it out easier. For myself when I see your house it is beautiful and I imagine that it is most appropriate for 2 types of travelers 1) A group of young couples or singles (such as business groups men and women-) that will chip in together to rent out luxury accommodations for short trips conferences, games, tournaments  or holidays. or 2) shared housing rented by the room by single travelers or childless couples often for business purposes or short stays (this is a continuous market so while you might not always have all rooms rented you would definitely have some rented most of the time if separated. I think offering it to both target audiences would be good with the second option being your mainstay so you would rent by the room instead of the whole house.  I don't know much about the sites and activities in your area but I would highlight those things that appeal to those two groups . Best of Luck! Kimberly

[Stella743]

@Kimberly897 thank you very much. I have gotten a feedback from a host on other ways I could protect my property-Check out instructions. Do you have any?

[Kimberly897]

Hi Stella, outdoor cameras and electronic locks are good. If you wanted to rent by the room each would need to have its own personal lock on the bedroom doors. I would suggest a keypad that you could use remotely to change codes frequently.  You could use individual codes for each booking for front and bedroom doors unless you rented out the whole house where the main door would be the same for all with individual locks still for bedrooms. Not, sure I should mention this but as time goes by and the economy worsens I have noticed that there are a lot of requests from individuals for long term rentals without histories. You should be careful and limit the length of time agreed on initially and the discounts you provide to  booking requests you are uncomfortable with. One thing I did that worked a couple of years ago but isn't working as well now is I provided high end furniture and appliances in some of my properties. Of course there were a few stained sheets or missing towels or cups which I shrugged off as the overall booking covered those things. In the past,  I didn't have damages that were super timely to repair (if I did it myself) But in the last year I've gotten a few travelers that have damaged or taken things that are expensive to repair or costly to replace and those same people have either flat out refused or often not paid for the damages or missing items which then requires the host to file an insurance claim through Airbnb eventually. . Additionally, there are some people who are intentionally looking to book for a few months but have difficulty making payments monthly or they may just want to squat. Luckily, my state is landlord friendly so any overstaying is limited and the police will remove them quickly but I suggest that you know the rental laws well in your area and try to use items that are very strong and sturdy or can be inexpensively replaced if needed . Be sure to rent at a rate that will cover such costs so that you will still make a profit. Also figure in down times on your property . Basically there are some people now making requests that can afford the initial payment but not for the remainder of their stay. And the reason they booked is they don't have the money to pay standard utility deposits or housing deposits and such people may book with the intention of profiting themselves from your rental . There are also people who resent paying cleaning deposits or pet deposits. I generally keep my properties affordable and additional fees low but basically, in the current economy a nice property with nice items means you are going to attract  good and  bad traveler requests. By bad I mean people who are down on their luck and simply cannot afford to pay for their whole booking or  for additional costs they may incur. There are also those that may intentionally book your place with the plan of profiting from it i.e. subletting or using part of it for events or personal storage etc.  So the biggest suggestion I have to a new host to keep your property safe is don't feel pressured to "accept" requests quickly-from people you are uncertain of nor should you feel uncomfortable canceling a booking if you feel uneasy after they have moved in. Airbnb is a great company and they do include help and insurance but the process of requesting ,repairing and replacing items or going through an unanticipated  costly cleaning can take up a lot of your time and can cause down time on your listing and need to be budgeted and planned for. Even with guests that have a long history on Airbnb check out their most recent reviews. If there are none or if their most recent hosts have made complaints pay attention. Unlike in the past where people were looking for a comfy home away from home or an adventurous travel experience there are plenty of people now that are living in survival mode. When I started I was focused on marketing and encouraging a steady flow of visitors and was very pleased when all my efforts concluded with a happy nice review as you described. in the present economy you also need to consider keeping your property safe so your follow up question is smart. 

[Lori2965]

Any outdoor space? Beautiful listing