Critique my listing - Stacy in Bentonville, AR

[Stacy363]

 

I would appreciate it if someone would critique my listing. Looking for help in obtaining additional bookings, making my listing “pop,” etc.  Suggestions of any type are welcome! 

https://abnb.me/m9LX34KLpub

[Gillian166]

@Stacy363 

everything looks good for a starting point, i'm sure you'll be tweaking for a while.
 

you should take photos in landscape format as they display better, although I do like some of your detail shots (like the bike basket hanging storage thingy). the first kitchen photo is out of focus. I think it's fine to have less than perfect pics as you don't overpromise. your first 5 photos are what you need to grab a guest's attention, so use them to highlight 5 different things about your listing, the foosball table is cool! i'd put that in the top 5. I like the bike wash station too, very thoughtful. 

Not sure why you've called the house Magnolia house, i don't see a magnolia tree, nor any references to that. If that's the name then fine, but if you made that up for airbnb, I'm pretty sure you could do better and highlight the tree from the front yard, or some local thing that you can tie back to your home. Once you know who are your target demo perhaps you'll have an idea. I do think it's great to give your listing a name though, that personalises it, but why would anyone remember the name "magnolia" when there isn't a single magnolia anywhere? (my bad if you do have a tree we can't see, and if you do be sure to include a photo of it in bloom)

Your listing info could have so much more info in it, and you might want to flesh out those house rules. And you might want to consider a profile pic with your face, so guests feel comfortable knowing you are a real person. oh, and I now write "family owned and operated" on our listings, because we are all competing against those corporate listings run by "professional" STR management, and those types aren't always great, so we need to highlight our personal, customized service we owner hosts can offer. 

You might want to reconsider the travel size shampoos, it's not very "save the planet" and also people just take them. Better to have large size shamp/cond bottles (get nice ones on sale, not cheap supermarket stuff) and you'll only have to replace them once every 3-6 months (well that's a guess of course!). your shelf unit that is full of trinkets is just unecessary, a hazard for guests to avoid breaking, and just stuff to clean and dust at turnover, it's not bringing in income.

you've got great reviews so far so you're off to a wonderful start. 👍🏼

typos:
SAFE THE PLANET!

[Stacy363]

Thank you for the tips! I will work those into my listing.  The name of the house was chosen because it is located on Magnolia Drive.  

[Trude0]

It looks great - not much to improve!

I understand from your competitors' listings that there is a lot of focus on biking in the area? 🙂 Looks like you have a lot of competition, so it might take a while to get high up in searches, but keep giving excellent service to the guests you have, and you'll soon climb.

As Gillian mentions, your first 5 photos are the most important ones, as they are the ones showing up first when someone clicks on your listing.

You've chosen 5 photos that look great together, and that is one way of doing it, looks nice and tidy. But if people are browsing a lot of listings, then it might be a better idea to try to show as much as possible in the first 5 photos. Having 3 of the outside (same side of the house) and 2 related to the bicycle wash, may not be optimal. I think your no 2 photo is nicer than no 1, it looks sunnier and better balanced, so maybe make that your main photo? Then keep the one of the chairs. Keep only 1 of the 2 bike wash photos (the one with the fence?). Then add another 2, from the inside. Not bathrooms/bedrooms, something to show how cozy it will be to stay there. Maybe the foosball one, and then one with the fireplace, or the comfy chairs under the clock? See if you can take new ones of these areas, landscape format.

Good luck!

[Gillian166]

@Stacy363  just thinking, you know what artwork would look great.... photos of local trails.  you could try unsplash and see if there are any of your local area on there, or generic looking hiking/biking pics. if lots of your guests are coming for hiking/biking then offer heaps of things to do with that. 

we live in a wine region, so we make sure all our wine glasses are awesome, plus beer, cocktail and whisky glasses. and we have cheese boards and many cheese knives. I need to do photos for our listing as well, local pics are the best and make your place unique

[Fred13]

  Looks good, very good. Besides the suggestions above that have a lot of merit, I would consider adding things to make the guest's stay even more exciting. Adding bikes for guests to use may be a good move. Maybe just two bikes will do.

   I 'think' there is an outdoor grill, maybe show it more prominent and add some cool outdoor cooking. With a cover it gives the impression is covered for winter.

   Maybe charge more, in the order of $199 a night, if not $250 IF you feel the market will bare it. At $149 it comes across too inexpensive. $149/6 guests is about $25 a night per person, your place seems better than that.

   Never be afraid of competition, rather out think them and/or outdo them. 😉

[Michael5047]

@Stacy363 

I really liked it!!

[Stacy363]

Thank you!

[Sudsrung0]

@Stacy363 

I changed your title a bit 

Magnolia House is a short walk or bike ride from downtown Bentonville.