Do you have more than one listing?

[Sybe]

Hey everyone,

There are many different ways to strategize your Hosting business. From offering Short Term Rentals versus Long Term Stays, separate rooms versus entire places, there are many ways to personalise your business approach.

One big consideration in this is how you set up your listings. You might own multiple properties, and have to juggle bookings constantly. Even if you own only one property, having multiple listings can help with renting out separate rooms, and a proper setup can make it very easy to keep track of your listings, guests, and availability.

Do you have more than one listing? Why did you choose this strategy and how did you set it up? Does it benefit you to have multiple listings?

I look forward to hearing from you!

Sybe

[Huma0]

@Sybe 

I have three listings in the same house, which is also my home. I didn't exactly choose this strategy. Prior to using Airbnb, I rented the rooms out to long term lodgers, who lived here for between six months and two years. I rented out one room on Airbnb when I had a few weeks' gap in between two lodgers. It went so well that, when another one of the rooms became available, I put that on Airbnb and, for a long time, had two guest rooms and one long term lodger. Eventually, I decided to rent out all three rooms on Airbnb. 

The reasons for this were partly financial (at that time one could make a profit, but I am not sure that is true anymore for listings like mine) but mostly because I wanted some control back over my own home. I found that some lodgers behaved as if THEY, not me, owned the house. Plus, pre-COVID, I used to travel frequently for work and I got sick of them throwing unauthorised parties whenever I was away.

Managing the bookings is easy as they are on the multi-calendar on the website. I also keep an old fashioned paper diary to note not only who is staying and when, but details like which room they are in, when they will check in, where they are from etc. I also have a weekly blackboard calendar. Since I switched to long term stays, it's really not hard to keep track and I very rarely get more than one check in a day, but it's not unusual for me now to block a day after a stay just in case and so that it's less of a rush as cleaning up after a long termer can take quite a bit longer than after a short term stay.

It does benefit me to have multiple listings simply because it has meant that, even if one or even two of the rooms are empty, I still have some income coming in to help with the expenses of the house (the reason I am doing this in the first place) and also because it's far too big a house to live in on my own.

These are my three rooms:

[Huma0]

@Sybe 

PS, where was the photo in your post taken?

[Sybe]

@Huma0 I'm not entirely sure but I believe this is in Washington DC, the Capitol Hill neighbourhood. I would've thought it was London were it not for the American flag waving in the distance!

[Huma0]

@Sybe 

Thanks. I didn't think it could be London. There's something not very English about the roofs but I don't know why!

I always love streets where the houses are all painted different colours, but there are not that many here (with notable exceptions like Portobello Road of course). I was recently in Hastings though, where all the shop fronts were different colours. 

Just after I pained my house green, the next door neighbour painted hers pink (it is now grey). I hoped it would start a wave on my street, or at least the rest of the terrace would follow suit, but sadly not! 

[Louise0]

Flagler Street, Washington DC. 

Thanks Google Lens.

[Dustin179]

I too think it's DC.

They have a lot of neighborhoods that look a lot like the photo. Capitol Hill is a good guess.

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Sybe we have 3 listings but as they are all in the same building we appear as one 'blob' on the map with the most expensive listing hiding the other two cheaper listings. As such we are not benefiting from having 3 listings but we have no choice as we have 3 apartments.

[Huma0]

@Mike-And-Jane0 

Good point. One of my listings is stamped across another on the map, so is hiding it completely if a guest is searching via map view.

The other one is wrongly shown as somewhere nearby, but not in my nice historic terrace of regency houses but rather slap bang in the middle of a rather ugly council estate.

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Huma0 I think you can specify that the listing location is precise (I am going looking now) which might work for you as stacking listings that are similar(?) is less of an issue as any guest will only look for 1 room.

There are no ugly council estates near us and being outside London a small change in flag placement will probably still not hit another house.

[Huma0]

@Mike-And-Jane0 

Thanks. I will look into it. I was always a bit wary of showing a precise location for security reasons and happy that the map on the listing shows the approximate location. However, seeing as the map views on search do allow you to really zoom in, it would be better for it to be correct, rather than random.

I feel like this is a new thing (not sure if it's since the Summer Release, but I didn't notice it prior to that). I don't remember in the past seeing one of my listings stacked on top of the other. Also, I am not sure at what point one of them moved across the road! 

You are right that similar listings stacking is not as much of an issue and that most (but by no means all) of my guests will be looking for one room. However, I have found that different guests are drawn to different rooms so I would like for a guest to be able to see all of them when the dates are available.

For example, two of the rooms face a busy road and are not suitable for light sleepers. So, if that is a problem for the guest, they might click away not realising I also have a room facing the garden. Two of the rooms are nearer the top of the house so, again, if the guest is not keen on stairs, they might not realise I have another room on the 1st floor. Even though of course it says on the listings that I have other listings, I find that most guests actually miss this.

Your example is more problematic though as one of your listings is more expensive and hiding the other two, whereas my rooms are all roughly the same price, unless the guest is searching within a budget range that excludes the more expensive apartment. 

[Sybe]

@Mike-And-Jane0 I imagine that having little other listings around makes it easier for prospective guests to see the listings are in the same building/from the same Hosts. 

@Mike-And-Jane0 @Huma0 What would you propose to do differently, e.g. on the map search/listing/Host profile/elsewhere, that would make it easier or more intuitive to see the different rooms you have available and match the best one with your guests? 

[Huma0]

@Sybe 

I'm pretty sure it looked different before. My three listings were showing right next to each other, not on top of each other. There are lots of airbnbs in my neighbourhood, but it was not difficult to see them all.

They don't need to be in the exact same spot, just close enough. I thought that guests were not supposed to see the exact location before booking anyway and that's why the map on the listing shows an approximate one, but what's the point in that if people can find the listing on the search and zoom in on the map and see exactly where it is? Isn't that a security risk? 

I mean, if someone wanted to, they could easily identify my house and its exact location and see the contents of it!

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Sybe I would like to see a) some separation of the blobs on the map and b) the cheapest price being shown on top of the pile. I often search for 2 people and our 3 bed price (6 people) is often shown first which is just daft.

[Patti120]

I have 2 listings. The duplex home is stacked with a 2+2 open floor plan on the bottom floor and a 3+2  open floorplan with fireplace,  and ocean and Channel Islands view on the second floor.  It has been interesting to have both listings that have different styles of interior design at two price points. The guests seem to love both of them  for different reasons. The best part of having the duplex is the opportunity for generations of families to stay as well as friends that do not want to stay together in the same space. Although Airbnb doesn't have the ability to rent the entire property on the website, the guests that have come have figured out they can rent the whole duplex home. They book each of the listings on the same date when they want the whole property. The yards are a comfortable size and gates can be opened so the whole property is shared. The property holds 12 comfortably with 5 bedrooms, 4 bathrooms, 2 gourmet kitchens. I love having these two listings: Beach View Deluxe in Ventura and Beach Side Stly'n in Ventura. They offer flexibility for the guests and me. The home stays rented all year long with guests often returning to stay in one, the other or both. I am only listed on Airbnb and have  been pleased with the customer support I have received on various occasions for an assortment of reasons. This has been a great experience.