Advice on space, pricing and party goers oh my!

[Phil5677]

Hi All,  

Relatively new listing in Costa Rica (started around Christmas) and it's been going pretty well.   I know a part of that is that I priced pretty aggressively for my area (and who doesn't like a great deal?)    So the things I want to solve for as I start planning for next season are:
- boost my price but, ideally without sacrificing occupancy 

- I want to try and filter out party goers.   My rules explicitly state 'no parties' and I have a 2 day minimum.....but I've had a couple of bad clean-ups that I had literally had to get 3 crews in to get prepped for the next set of guests.    

In general.....any critiques and suggestions - as a new host I'm all ears! 

Thanks! 

Phil 

https://www.airbnb.ca/rooms/963201947984004995?source_impression_id=p3_1771615847_P32288nIf0IlNpDI

[Emiel1 · Accepted solution]

@Phil5677 

You could consider adding an extra guest fee for guests above 4th (or 6th) guest.

https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/1507

[Phil5677]

Good idea.   Definitely doing that.   

[Marie8425]

@Phil5677 

I agree additional pricing for 7 and 8 because you show a picture but one of your reviews talks negatively that there not real beds.

Also it is nice so private, I would suggest exterior cameras so potential Guests don't vision no witnesses.  Haha

If you have dark towels for the beach, families with kids want to visit.

One Guest negative comments about no close restaurants.  Purchase a gas grill.  Vacation Guests want ease for eating.  Other thing you might do prior to check in stop at this store or this store delivers people want to eat and they don't know your neighborhood.

Separate bathrooms big plus but also what bathroom does the two daybed occupants use.  Have  a good answer if just kids they share with this bedroom.

Private is good for families.  All your fun outside animals fun for children.  You have to advertise for that group to attract.  Beach towels, plastic buckets, pool floats that blow up set the stage

[Lorna170]

@Phil5677  Perhaps increasing your minimum nights to 3 or 4.  Where have your past guests come from?  Flying in and staying for a week or longer?  Who do you want to attract?

[Phil5677]

Almost 40% of my booked nights are local from San José for a weekend.   A little concerned that pushing to 3 nights or more would disenfranchise a big chunk of my commerce especially during the offseason. 

[Shelley159]

Hi @Phil5677 

You should take a look back at the problem-bookings to try to see a pattern. Were they mainly some of the 2-night weekend bookings that caused the trouble?

One option is to go to the availability settings and click the minimum stay block - there you can set a minimum per day of the week. Perhaps increase only Friday to a 3-night minimum, and leave all the other nights at a minimum of 2?

For me (keep in mind that markets can be very different) there's almost no risk in a single-night booking on a Sunday, Monday or Tuesday, so maybe you could even drop those nights to a 1-night minimum in the off season if needed. One-night stays are a good way to get bookings in the off season, as many competitors may not bother to drop their minimum stay. You just need to do it selectively to control risk.