Critique my Listing - Mark in Pocono Lake PA

[Mark5821]

Hello, 

New Host here. My listing has been up for about two months and so far I am pretty happy with the number of bookings I have received and the overall hosting experience. However, I noticed a drop in the velocity of new bookings once the "New" callout sign disappeared from my listing. I want to clean up my listing to rank higher in search and attract more guests. If anyone wants to take a look at the listing and provide feedback it would be greatly appreciated!

One pain point I have experienced so far is how to properly manage fees. I charge a cleaning fee equal to the amount my cleaner charges me per turnover. This is at cost and I do not attempt to profit off this number. However in addition to my cleaning fee, my home is in an HOA that charges separate fees for STR reservations. This varies on the number of guests and vehicles being registered but it is typically around $100-$160 per reservation. However because of the variable nature of the fees, I am not really able to make a separate line item for the Fee on Airbnb. I have the fees clearly detailed in the description but right now I have to gather the info from incoming guests and charge them them the fees through a resolution request once I have the total. I feel like this process confuses the guests and leaves a bad taste in their mouth that they are being asked to pay more after they already paid for the initial reservation. Just curious how everyone else would handle this?

Here is my listing:

https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/1259669754198708930?source_impression_id=p3_1733801467_P3_C2-lWkEBsknSo

Any feedback would be greatly appreciated!

[Marie8425]

@Mark5821 

None of your 3 guests complained about the fees, so I don't see a bad taste.  I would suggest though maybe a more winter season ad.  I am not looking for beach and pool access in January.  Your description does mention beach and skiing but maybe write seasonal listing descriptions that you change depending on season.  Guidebooks focused on season and maybe pictures that also relate to season.  

[Jim-and-Caroline0]

Hi @Mark5821 , congratulations and welcome to AirBnB and good job on the three lovely reviews. In our opinion, your place looks great 😊 

You could cater to a smaller size travel market - copy this listing and have it available for 2 to 4 people and then charge extra per person beyond that number of guests.

Also be patient and consider the time of the year , the attractions close by and who’s traveling.

We like to include all fees in the final guest payment through as pointed out here your  previous guests have  you top reviews.

All the best in your future 

respectfully jim-and-Caroline 0

[Karen114]

@Mark5821  You have a lovely place Mark!  Your pricing looks good for nightly rate and even the cleaning fee that everyoe eschews 🤣.  I do think your weekly discount of 28% is too high... Do others in your area discount that much?  Personally I never do more than 10% for weekly and 20% for monthly. 

You have only been hosting a couple of months so this will be difficult to ascertain at this juncture.. The HOA fees ugh!  Once you get through your high season which I assume is the summer,  I would then drill down to the average number of cars and average number of guests and add that as a flat management fee to your listing. Some bookings you will make out and some you will lose,  but it's better than having the guest take out the calculator and whiteboard to figure out this fee schedule.  It will also be gamed I am afraid..  

Hope that helps!