Advice on my listing

[Melanie1602]

Hi everyone and Happy New Year,

My first time on this forum and I only just discovered I could ask for this advice (!), even though we have been running for 12 months.  I'd love some feedback on our property and setting rates, especially as the bookings seem a bit slow coming in this year.  We are in a regional area, 150 km south-west of Sydney, Australia.  Thank you.

https://www.airbnb.com.au/rooms/1266235617615127451?search_mode=regular_search&check_in=2024-11-19&c...

[Elisa]

Hi @Melanie1602 😊,

Thank you for asking for a critique of your listing here and welcome to the community center!

How have the last few months been for you? Have you been getting many bookings?

I’m tagging a few hosts to see if they have any suggestions for you: @Cindy1764, @Tariq52, @Supriya29, @Naomi208, @Doan39 and @Casa-De-La-Tierra0.

Thank you in advance, everyone!

[Melanie1602]

Hi Elisa,

Thank you for your reply, and for offering this service.

The first 12 months met my expectations - we had 122 nights booked, of which 28 were one night bookings, 25 were two night bookings, 5 were three nights and 3 were four or more nights.   I offered a blanket one night minimum to get runs on the board.  We are close to a few wedding venues, so about 50% of the bookings were for that. 

This year I am trying out 2 night minimum bookings on Friday/Saturday.  Bookings have definitely been slower coming in, but it's too early to tell if that is the reason.

best wishes

Melanie

[Naomi208]

Hello Elisa,

@Meline, your listing truly stands out. You are already a guest favorite and highly recommended for your excellent service.

Keep up the great work!

Naomi

[Melanie1602]

Hi @Naomi208

Thank you for your kind comments - that's very reassuring.

kind regards

Melanie

[Tariq52 · Accepted solution]

Hi @Melanie1602 ,

It didn't take long for me to make up my mind, your place is very charming. You are doing a lot of things right, the pictures, the details, and walkability info. 

I wasn't able to check prices as nothing is available on your calendar? As you're in Sydney I can't advise much on price - but I would say it always comes down to related listings. You want to price relativity in the same bracket --- if your category is "premium" then go a bit higher, if it's "budget" then price more competitively.

For me, if I want to get someone booked asap and I'm not getting any bookings, then I'll wait a bit then go a bit lower. That's kind of what I love about Airbnb, it's easy to test out different pricing strategies. Use the insights page.

One thing I noticed about your description, you mention there's no accessibility for disabled multiple times, as well as rules about children. However, you also say there's an additional fee for children. Unless this is has been an issue for you, I would suggest moving all of those things out to your house rules page. Personally I'm not a fan of two many rules in the description as a guest. The no smoking rule is an easy one you could move to house rules.

Also, depending on the way your approval is set up, you can filter out guests with children or follow up with additional fees at the point of booking. Perhaps other hosts may know if you can automatically adjust the price when children are added to the booking request?

Cheers mate,

Tariq

[Melanie1602]

HI @Tariq52,

Thank you very much for taking the time to critique my listing - I really appreciate it.

I don't know why the availability couldn't be seen on the calendar?  Seems ok at my end.  Anyway, I appreciate your suggestions re rates,

About children - this has been a tricky one for me.  Despite stating the Loft is unsuitable for children because of ungated stairs, I've had two bookings with infants and subsequent dirty diapers left in the garbage, and extra cleaning of mucky fingerprints and marks on the walls.  It's not that I'm against children - I've had them (!) - I just don't want to be cleaning up after them.  AirBNB suggested I put it more clearly in the description.    I don't want to remove instant approval, so it's a balancing act, I guess.  I certainly take on board what you say about too many rules being off putting. 

Once again, I really appreciate your input,

kind regards,

Melanie