Critique my listing - Kharisma in Jakarta

[Kharisma1]

Hi, I'm new to AirBnB and have only hosted 2 people so far.

I've been getting lots of enquiries but not as many bookings as I wished.

I've hired a professional photographer for my listing and tried to fill all the boxes in the description etc.

Could it be that my price is too high?

There's a lot of competition in my area and I've lowered my price before. I don't think I'm willing to lower it further.

Any idea on how to keep my price and still get lots of bookings?

Here's the link to my listing: https://airbnb.com/h/luxmentengapartment

Thank you 🙂

[Ann72]

Beautiful place @Kharisma1.  Don't look at other listings for price ideas - think what 5 people would pay for a hotel and price accordingly.  It's possible the enquiries you're getting are from people who think something must be wrong with such a beautiful place with such a low price.

[Kharisma1]

I see, thank you so much @Ann72 :). I was thinking the same thing about pricing like a hotel, so I don't understand how other nearby listings can have such a low price compared to mine :'(

[Ann72]

They’re just not as smart as you are @Kharisma1 🙂

And wait and see.  You’ll raise your prices and get booked, and they’ll raise theirs.  Be confident in your beautiful listing.

[Kharisma1]

Thank you very much @Ann72 for your kind words 🤗

[Anonymous]

@Kharisma1   Your listing is beautiful - excellent light in the photos, well-written descriptions with just the right amount of detail.

I'm not sure pricing is the main obstacle to attracting bookings. When I do a search for your neighborhood, there's a huge density of apartments with a similar size and amenities, all with completely open calendars. It happens sometimes that a market gets suddenly flooded with too many new Airbnb listings, but the balance can also tip the opposite way in a matter of weeks. 

Have you listed on any other platforms? 

[Kharisma1]

Hi @Anonymous , thank you for your reply. I'm considering listing on other platform as Airbnb is not very popular here in Indonesia. Most people use booking.com, traveloka, or tiket.com where there are more discounts. However, those other platforms are mostly used to find hotels, even though they also have a seperate section for homes & apartments. I'm afraid that people who book through such platform will expect my place to be more like a hotel, and I don't think I'm ready for that kind of expectation.

While using airbnb I don't turn on instant booking and also set up a minimum 2 nights stay. I'm not sure if I can do that with other platform. 

But, if I don't get any more bookings I might have to try listing in other places as I also have bills to pay :')

How about yourself? Any thoughts?

[Gillian166]

lovely listing, although "professional photographer" is a stretch. the only one that fits that is the bedroom, where the light is balanced beautifully. 
your place looks amazing and very cheap! are you charging the same rate for 4 people as for 2? I'd have a base rate for 2 people, although you still might get people who use both beds, but you're basically charging $40pp/night, that's way too cheap for what you are offering. A hotel room doesn't supply a kitchen. 
you're making me think about Indo for a winter getaway 🙂 

if you aren't getting bookings why has abb put this on your listing? your calendar is wide open. 

[Kharisma1]

Hi @Gillian166 , thank you for taking your time to review my listing. 

Yes, I do charge the same rate up until 4 people and then charge extra for additional guests after 4. I also think that it's cheap but other similar properties have a cheaper price than mine so I'm actually afraid to raise my price since my listing is still new and doesn't have a lot of reviews :'(

But then again, it's very cheap to live in Indonesia, you should come and visit sometimes 🙂

As for the rare find, I honestly don't know. I've only been listing for two months, and my first guest booked me for about 30 nights, after that I hosted 2 other guests for about 4 nights each. I also set a cleaning period of 1 day so no one can book me 1 day before and after a guest is scheduled to arrive. So, maybe that's why? 

There's an upcoming long weekend and no one has enquired or booked me so far, so I'm quite worried.

[Gillian166]

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@Kharisma1 wrote:

Hi @Gillian166 , thank you for taking your time to review my listing. 

But then again, it's very cheap to live in Indonesia, you should come and visit sometimes 🙂

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 of course, like half of Australia, I've been to Bali........... haha, I know, not the same! And those touristy places aren't my thing, it was in my 20s.   I think Phillipines is my next wish list, because we have a friend who married a filipina and we'd love to have a locals experience. 

yes you could be right, if you've previously been fully booked that could explain the badge. either way, it's a good thing! good luck and i'm sure you'll do great. 

[Kharisma1]

Thank you so much @Gillian166 . It means a lot to me :')