Critique my listing - Jason in Louisville, KY

[Jason2852]

Hi all. I am new to the platform and we have had our listing up for about three weeks now and the only two booking request we received seemed to be spam. Both guests were trying to book off platform. We have had some success already with competitive booking sites but no luck on Airbnb yet.  Thought it would be a good idea to get other hosts opinions. 

airbnb.com/h/21staveslwmsuite3

[David12880]

Hi there,

I am totally new to this game - have an entirely different property in a different country - but I was interested in your question, so I thought I'd take a look at your site...

... and I think it's excellent! 

If you haven't got the bookings you want yet, then I'm sure you will: the photos are great, the text is great (and appears very honest, too, when you say there might be some slight noise), and the flat looks spanking new, clean and inviting.

The only thing I'd do? Are there any more photos from the windows you could add? Or of the immediate neighbourhood?

Good luck,

 David

[Jason2852]

David

Thank you so much for your input and review of the listing. 

Good luck on the platform.

Jason

[Joelle43 · Accepted solution]

Hello @Jason2852 

I agree with @David12880 - it's a beautiful property😍

Just three things -

1. you are marketing the property for 4 people but there are only two high chairs with a small bar table - where do the other two eat?
2. Ditto for the lounge - can't see how 4 people can sit on the one sofa from the pictures provided.
3. You need to add the air mattress as an amenity so that it shows up in the bed count because currently you have 4 possible guests with 1 bed appearing on your listing.  Add it to the bedroom or to the lounge with it's size and it will appear in the Where you'll sleep section

Jason, are you aware of the difference between a trip request and a booking enquiry and how to handle them and what Airbnb expect from you?  If you need a guide on the subject, let me know and I'll send you a link on the topic.

Unfortunately,  new hosts get targeted by unsavoury "guests" who want to get us off platform to get a cheaper price or ask for a video of our property.  It's part of the initiation it would seem😡 These two guests need to be flagged - tap on the three dots in the message stream and follow the steps or use the flag icon if it shows up. .  

All the best

Joëlle

[Jason2852]

Joelle

Thank you for your feed back and recommendations. 

I would appreciate any info you would like to share about trip request and booking inquiries.

Jason

[Joelle43]

Hello @Jason2852 

Here's the guide on the difference between an enquiry and a trip request:

https://community.withairbnb.com/t5/Host-guides/GUIDE-Handling-Enquiries-and-Bookings/td-p/1895831

All the best Jason

Joëlle

[Jason2852]

Joelle

Thank you for sharing this. 

I think the concern I had with the two that reached out to book with us were they have only been on the platform for a few months or had no profile info. Also neither had a picture or any reviews. Seemed very suspicious. 

Jason 

[Joelle43]

Hello @Jason2852 

You were right to proceed with caution as these people were scammers as you found out.  It's really unfortunate but as a new host you are targeted by this type of person and they hope that you are naive enough or desperate enough to go along with their wishes.  It's like a right of passage it would seem but nerve racking for a new host and believe me, I was targeted in the same way too when I started out.

The fact that they didn't have any picture however is normal - we only get to see a guests photos when we accept their reservation.  I've ticked the box on my listing that if they put a picture of Godzilla or the like,  I can call CS and get them to cancel the reservation with no penalty!

But yes, recent profile, no review = red flag without mentioning the fact that they wanted you to go off platform.  You might get a request for a video too - very popular at the moment😡  But they tend to come through as an enquiry so we just have to reply to that first message saying that we only deal through Airbnb and they tend to disappear after that.

All the best and come back here if you any questions

Joëlle

[Jason2852]

Joelle

Thanks again.

Jason

[Naomi208]

Hallo Jason 

Your listing is absolutely stunning and well done.

However, l noticed it’s 2bedroom, 1 bath and 1 bed.

One bedroom Hosts only two guests not 4 unless it was typo error.

kindly check again 

Thank you 

[Jason2852]

Naomi

Thank you for your input. The space can sleep four with the air mattress but is a single bedroom. Unfortunately there is not an option to select air mattress in the amenities unless you can advise otherwise.  We hate to see a guest look elsewhere if they want to sleep four and the air mattress meets their needs. 

Jason

[Joelle43]

Hello @Jason2852 

Airbnb provide us with a wide choice of bed types to choose from.  If you think that guests would put it in the lounge, just click on Living Room from the photo tour, select Sleeping arrangements just under the photos and you'll see this:

Or select bedroom to include there of course and then that second bed will show up in the "Where you'll sleep" section.  

All the best
Joëlle

[Jason2852]

Joelle

This was very helpful. Thank you.

Jason