Critique my listing - Steve in Santa Fe, New Mexico

[Steve4564]

I just listed my house that I’ve lived in for 19 years after moving into a smaller house I built on the same property.  My problem is I’m not sure if I’ve filled out all I could have and what else I should do.  Of course it is slow season here and I just listed it so have no bookings yet.  From what I can see there is a lot of places besides mine for people to choose from.  I haven’t added many house rules as I’m not sure what kind of rules I should have or if what I have is enough.  Didn’t make a custom URL, as not sure how to do it and what it does. Because it’s winter here, I don’t have a lot of inviting pictures so I added some from summer even though I’ve done some painting since then on the house.  I also don’t know what is standard cancelation fees or policies.  There could be other things I’m missing so a critique I think would be helpful.

https://www.airbnb.co.uk/rooms/1332716483955696360 

 

[Joelle43]

Hello @Steve4564 

What a lovely property😍 Here are a few things that you could add:

For your 4 bedrooms to appear under the "where you will sleep section" you need to go back into each room and under the photos you'll see sleeping arrangements.  By putting in the bed size provided in that bedroom, that bedroom will appear in the where you'll sleep section.  Any adjoining bathrooms can be included by clicking on Privacy info.  You'll also see amenities just below and I highly recommend ticking everything that is provided in each bedroom but also all the rooms that appear in the Photo Tour.  Guests tend to look at just the photos so it's a good idea to fill all this information in so that they can see at a glance what you provide.

Photos

Your cover photo is inviting but the next four are equally important and I would swap out the one of the side table for one of the terrace or outside.  I feel that the outside pictures could be better as I don't see the full potential from those provided.  This is a big house and is there room for a big group (10 max) to eat outside and enough seating to get together for a drink?

It's important to have up to date photos of the inside of the house if you say you have painted some of the rooms.

Here on the forum, if you click on your profil page, you'll see a sub heading Guides for hosts.  There are some excellent guides that may help you too.

House rules

Big house = big potential for parties especially with a minimum stay of 1 night!!  So yes, work on creating house rules that you can send to guests and ask them to approve them.  Didn't look to see if you were on Instant Book or not?  You can take a look at hosts house rules by clicking on their profil here on the CC but also check out what other hosts in your area say.

Well that's it for now, all the best
Joëlle

[Steve4564]

Hello Joelle43,  Thanks for all the info.  Funny when originally filling out the basic info I put down 3 days as the minimum, but I guess it didn’t transfer so I’m glad you pointed out it was only 1 day stay.  I’ve done a lot of your suggestions and I just figured out how to move that picture of the table with the basket on the cover page and replace it with an outdoor photo.  I find not everything is intuitive on the site for an older guy.  I think I got most of your suggestions taken care of.  All my best wishes 

Steve

[Shelley159]

Hi @Steve4564 

The custom URL is not very important, but it does make things easier if you want to share your Airbnb page with people. Go to the listings tab and click the listing. Scroll all the way down to Custom Link. When you click there, it allows you to customise a link - you can go back to it at any time to copy it and to share it.

[Kia272]

@Steve4564 You have a beautiful house with a lot of beautiful things in it. I'd suggest that you'll have to screen guests very carefully, because you stand to lose a lot if the wrong type comes to stay. 

On that note, I'd remove direct references to Tiffany lamps, etc. You may even want to imply that they are copies rather than the real thing. Think about all the lovely things you have in that house, and how you'd feel if they disappeared. I appreciate that you've been a world traveler and collected many nice things, but somebody else might appreciate that in a different way. 

The only other thing of note for me is that you need more living room seating if you're going to host up to 10. 

I strongly suggest keeping your prices high, and being very discerning about who you accept as guests. I would not have instant book on, but obviously that's up to you. 

It's a beautiful place. Good luck! 

[Steve4564]

Thanks for those suggestions.  Which brings up a question I have - what kind of protection is there for theft of things?  Can I make a claim against a guest who takes something?  I have kept the most important collectibles in my house but wanted to make the guest house somewhat special.  My Navajo rugs would be easy to disappear but if they are documented on the walls, does one need more prove of theft?  Hate to remove all of them and some of the carvings.

[Kia272]

@Steve4564 There's VERY little protection. Air "Cover" is mostly lip service. You can get a lot of information about the painful process and denials in the community center here. If they do pay out, it's pennies on the dollar. 

Most people operate on the "if you don't want to lose it, don't have it in your AirBnB" motto. 

I had a lovely oriental rug in my place when I first started up. I took it to be cleaned after about a year of having it in my AirBnB. After I found out what it was worth, I took it out and bought a (nice) polypropylene rug on Amazon. I wasn't willing to take a chance with spills or theft. At a minimum, don't indicate the authenticity of anything that might indicate value. Basically, don't have anything in your property that you aren't willing to sacrifice.  

[Steve4564]

@Kia272 Thanks so much for that straight up information.  I’ve got $1,000 rugs in there.  Guess those will have to come out and I’ll reshoot some of the photos and not stress the collectibles.  

[David1668]

Hi Steve, 

One thing I would do is mention that you lived there for many years and tell why you moved and didn't sell the home.

Another is to avoid if possible wintertime outdoor photos.

Three, I can't understand the layout of the outdoors from the photos. Shoot from many angles so that people see outdoor places more than once. Maybe include a sketch?

Four, I would include a photo of the front of the house.

[Steve4564]

@David1668 Thanks for these points.  I did have a picture of the house I put in a couple days ago.  Unfortunately I don’t have summer pictures of the outdoor spaces as I was making some of those this last fall and winter.  Still making some more.  I will definitely update the pictures as the spring comes and the flowers show up.  I will work on the other suggestions though.  

Steve

[Hannah1463]

Hi Steve, nice house and very different. The only thing I can say is to me its craving some color and perhaps more modern bedding?

[Steve4564]

thanks - I’ll be redoing pictures soon with flowers and brighter color accents based on your’s and others suggestions. 

[Jon-Håvard0]

Dear Steve,

You have a wonderful property, and I'm sure you'll get a lot of visitors!

In general, the ad is appropriate. I have one comment though, on some of the pictures. It seems as if light seeping in from the windows disturb the picture quality, looks as if the pictures are overexposed. You might consider retaking some of the pictures. The headline pic is a bit dark though and not so inviting, maybe change for another?

Good luck with your hosting!

Best regards,

Håvard, Norway

[Steve4564]

I plan on retaking a lot of the pictures based on the feedback I’ve been getting.  Like put some color and flowers in the pictures.  I’ll be removing some of the rugs on the walls as I’ve been advised  to remove anything I don’t want to see disappear.  Thanks for taking the time to help me out.

[Josh2384]

Great listing. Couple of comments: 

Photos: Pay for professional photos....it will really make all the difference IMO. Small price to pay for a professional look. 

I dont offer one night stays unless they ask first, avoids parties and also helps since cleaning can be so costly, sometimes more than a nights stay. 

Really work on your headline, it will be as important as photos. "Family/Pet Friendly House near Hiking and Hot Springs" for example. 

In your description, really work on broadening it. Focus on the things that make it unique...the spacious this and that, the proximity to this popular place. How close it is to restaurants, liquor, convention center, or the opposite....how great it is to be close to nothing. Talk about wildlife, if thats a thing. I feel like you are near hot springs as well...maybe a short drive to Ojo Caliente for instance. Remember key words.     Sometimes Chat GPT can help you refine the message you are after.