Critique my listing - Kailani House in Garden City Beach, SC

[Jamie-and-Jennifer0]

Hi All!

My name is Jennifer and my husband and I are Super hosts. We have a great listing in Garden City Beach, SC. However, getting listings during the mid-season and off-season is particularly challenging (September through April in particular). We have lowered prices, have instant book turned on, and only have a 2 night minimum. Any other suggestions for helping us improve our listing for these seasons would be very welcome.

Here is the listing: airbnb.com/h/kailanihouse

Thanks all!

[Dan574]

@Jamie-and-Jennifer0 I'd think about using your past customer list to market for "off season" holiday events. Suggestions might include family reunions, Thanksgiving, Christmas/New Years, etc.

I'd also promote some of the off season events that might happen at the Inlet during off season. For instance, we have a Concourse D'Elegance event, bourbon festival and so on that go on through mostly off season in Hilton Head.

[Deb-And-Mark0]

hi @Jamie-and-Jennifer0 , this is Deb in Iowa. We find that if we keep our cleaning costs lower and allow one night stays we keep pretty busy! We would love to come your direction! Have a great day!

[Chris21329]

Hi @Jamie-and-Jennifer0 , your place looks amazing. If you are trying to book September through April I would suggest you change up your top 5 pictures when it starts getting close to that time and show some of the interior of the home. You have a beautiful home inside and out so you want to show both especially for the off season guests. I would also offer discounts for extended stays in the October - March months to try and attract snowbirds. Most of the people coming to the beach at that time are not big families. They are couples or small family s. If you want to be booked more you will need to price your listing to be competitive with the one and two bedroom homes in your area since that is where the majority of the visitors that time of year are going to be staying. I have a condo in Myrtle Beach so I am familiar with the area and from what I have seen that is what I would try. You also have to be careful to not price too low so that you can avoid the more undesirable guests. If you aren't already using one I would suggest you look into using a pricing tool. I use price labs and it makes it a lot easier to keep your place priced right and get data on what where you should be pricing your home.

I hope this helps some.

Thanks,

Chris

[Evie351]

@Jamie-and-Jennifer0 Your listing is great! And I think the single biggest improvement you could make, is already done. The hot tub is a huge draw for so many people, so great idea! I agree with highlighting some winter activities, or even pictures of things to do at home (indoor games). I also agree with reducing to the two night minimum. But if it were me, I would find a way to lower the price or cleaning charge. Perhaps you could offer a discount (to be a credit) for smaller parties or shorter stays? 

[Edie75]

@Jamie-and-Jennifer0 

One thing I do is several times a week I change the images or adjust prices. Everytime the house is cleaned or if I add anything new images are updated. Images, description and/or prices are adjusted on a regular basis. 

Hope this helps

[Elke95]

Hi @Jamie-and-Jennifer0 

Such a beautiful house! My property is very different (small studio in a city) but even I struggle sometimes to get a full calendar. 

One thing you can do is add seasonal pictures, show what the place looks like in winter, take pictures with candles, extra blankets, board games, so people can more easily picture their stay in winter. Close-ups of a mug of hot chocolate.

Promote your listing in local Facebook groups and local expat groups, if they exist. Expats sometimes look for a space to host visiting relatives. Advertise it as a place where you can spend a weekend with friends or a family.

Don't just lower the price but add customized promotions.  From 20% and up, you listing is included in mailings from Airbnb and the discount it shown at the top of your listing.

Check local events. Sometimes events need accommodation for staff. 

Offer it as a writer's retreat. 

Just a few ideas. 🍀

[Craig856]

Hi @Jamie-and-Jennifer0 

Great listing with lots of information.

As others have said, It may be worthwhile promoting your home via Facebook groups and enticing prospective guests with special offer pricing when the local season is slow?

One of the things that I did to improve the number of bookings was to remove the cleaning fee and absorb/incorporate this into the nightly price.

I also used the facility of absorbing the Airbnb charge into my pricing which in practical terms means that the price the potential guests sees is the price they pay.

I hope this helps.

Thanks,

Craig

[Cynthia1338]

Hi @Jamie-and-Jennifer0 - Your property is very beautiful! When can I come?

There are so many good suggestions here - so here is how I would think about it:

Who is the person who would come to the area in the winter? And cater to them

Maybe consider changing the listing description and photos for the changing seasons.

So as the cold months arrive - reduce the surf culture written descriptions and move to what is great to do that time of year - perhaps it is really peaceful there with reduced tourism (solitude), good restaurants, show the fire pit lit with blankets tossed over the chairs, steaming cups of cider,  any good winter events in the area would be great to mention.

[Esheen0]

Hello @Jamie-and-Jennifer0.  I'm actually going through the same thing. We are in off season on the island and usually we get last minute bookings but this year we had no one in April and the next few months will be even worse because of hurricane season.  I join sites for the island and when people ask about suggestions on Airbnb I comment with my Airbnb website.  

[David10300]

@Jamie-and-Jennifer0 As everyone has said, your home is beautiful and so are the pictures.  As also mentioned, you may wish to appeal to smaller groups- maybe even just couples.
To appeal to just couples, you might want to consider creating a duplicate listing of the home as a 1-bedroom or 2-bedroom rental.   a 1-bedroom, 2-bath home would be a unique and desirable rental.  Have that price lower and lock the rooms not to be used. Calculate the cleaning costs for just the area and linens to be used so you’re priced competitively.   We do that with a 4/3 home we have.  We rent it as a 4/3, a 3/2 and a 1/1.   The small rentals tend to be booked more last minute.   So you could set a high  price for the small rental, so it doesn’t mess up your full-house rentals, and have a high last-minute discount.  The key is having a separate listing.  And, of course, managing the locking and unlocking of the areas of the home not to be used.
 It’s nice to see individual hosts doing a great job like you’re doing.   Wish you the best! 

[Ellen140]

Hi @Jamie-and-Jennifer0! I agree with trying the one night minimum — it opens up a whole different group of folks who are traveling through. We’ve met some great folks  

[Elwood5]

Hello @Jamie-and-Jennifer0 

Congratulations on your Superhost  Status

We are Superhosts ad well with listings on the Outer Banks NC. Kill Devil Hills. 

I understand the challenge of off season bookings.

There are many unknown factors that can impact your off-season bookings.

Pet Friendly 

Fenced yard

Amenities ( AIRBNB provides a great amenities list suggestions for hosts)

Minimum age limit

Booking window, how far out can guests book your property.  I'd suggest at least 9 months.

Offer discounts for early booking or last minute booking.

Exposure of your listing is CRITICAL!

We started with VRBO and did well. Then put our listing on AIRBNB as well and  improved our performance tremendously. 

I strongly suggest reaching out to your 5 star guests and offer discount rated, knowing they take care of your property. 

As Superhosts we listed 1 property on Evolve with the intent to increase off season bookings.

The good we found with Evolve,  they use professional photographers and handle all the introduction and description of your property .

Evolve promotes and exposes your property on a lot of platforms like Expedia, Booking,com VRBO, AIRBNB and more. 

They have analysts that uses algorithms for dynamic pricing which moves by demand, you can set the minimum rates.

When you need to contact the Owner Success team, you'll speak to a U.S. based member.

The other platforms are global support,  Phillipines,  Egypt,  India and can be somewhat difficult to understand. 

Now, what we don't like about Evolve,  they include cleaning and pets fees as a part of their percentage,  which we protest vehemently with them.

The minimum rate is annual. We prefer to have different minimum rates according to seasonal demand. Something they need to work on.

We're ready to kick of our second property with Evolve now, the good certainly outweighs the not so good by far. 

We sincerely hope this advice improves your off season booking performance. 

Give Evolve a try for a year. If you don't realize a substantial improvement I'm performance,  you can always remove your listing without penalty. 

Elwood & Mary 

[Dave1148]

@Jamie-and-Jennifer0 Beautiful place and I'd love to stay there! 

I'd try pulling on some different levers. I'd put some relatively small weekly and monthly discounts in place, as well as midweek specials at 20% so you are featured in marketing emails. I'd also add some info to your title about "winter special", that sort of thing.

Another avenue I'd look at is posting your listing in buy/sell/trade facebook groups (as allowed) in areas where your guests come from. 

/Dave

[Whites3]

Hi Jamie-and- Jennifer0,
Consider offering special promotions or discounts for longer stays during the off-season. Highlight unique local attractions and seasonal activities to attract more guests.

[Elizabeth3242]

Hi Jennifer,

Thank you for reaching out to me! I checked out your photos and the only thing I'd add would be rugs at the base of the beds and maybe an orchid on the kitchen counter.

I hope that helps!  Best wishes with your property!

Elizabeth