Asking for honest helpful feedback and tips

[Angel9945]

Hi my name is Angel. I’m new to Airbnb. I have 1 listing, 7 reservations and a 5 star rating. I get very good feedback back but my reservations are far apart. My listing is  located 1 town away from the main popular college town. Just today as an upgrade I added a private entrance with a deck being installed this weekend. It is not on the listing because it is not completed. Other than the private entrance what can I do to get my reservations. Thanks in advance for all advice and tips. Angel’s Oasis

[Rebecca]

Hi @Angel9945 👋

Welcome to the Airbnb Community Center! It's wonderful to have you here and thanks for asking your question! 

Have you had a look around on the Community Center already? There are some fantastic host guides written by some of our experienced hosts. Speaking of experienced hosts, I'd like to tag @Brenda1830, @Snehal1 and @Elise43 who might be able to pop by and share some useful tips! 😊

[Elise43 · Accepted solution]

Hi Angela! 

Like Rebecca said, there are some great guides Airbnb has put together about improving the quality of how you present your listing that will be helpful.

Here's a great starting point – it hits all the highlights to help you build a listing that is successful: https://www.airbnb.com/resources/hosting-homes/g/setting-up-a-successful-listing-3

I mentor new hosts through Airbnb’s SetUp program, and these are some key things that help

hosts get more bookings:

Spend some time making sure you fill out every single part of your listing – captions on photos, creating local guidebook, and including your house, rules and check-in and check out instructions. Thorough listings do better.

I also recommend turning on the smart-pricing feature and instant book, especially your first year. Both make getting booked a lot more likely. The Airbnb algorithm will list your property higher in a search if both are turned on, and that's especially important when you don't have many (or any!) reviews. If you don’t mind hosting pets, that will also open up a larger field of potential guests, and allowing short stays, even just for one night, can really beef up your reviews. Your business will get more and more successful the longer you are on the site and the more 5 star reviews you amass.

The more amenities you can offer, the better-- lots are easy, like a hairdryer and shampoo & conditioner. Some are bigger, like a hot tub (but a hot tub was the best investment I have made-- it paid for itself in a month!) Any upgrade I made to my property paid for itself quickly, so I really recommend looking at your listing with a critical eye and think about what you can add, and when you can add it. A well-organized, stylish, thoughtful listing gets noticed. Design is a great investment. 

I usually recommend hiring a professional photographer within the first year. I often recommend to my hosts that they host a few times and get guest feedback and tweak the space-- once they feel on surer footing, then it’s time to hire a photographer to capture the details of the space. It’s usually about $200 and well worth it-- great photos lead to so many more reservations!

I hope this helps! Feel free to reach out with more questions! 

warmly,

Elise

[Rebecca]

Hi again @Angel9945 👋

How are you getting on since you first posted? Has @Elise43's support below given you anything to take away?