Help Please - Requesting Critique for My Listing

[Brigit-And-Randy0]

First off, thank you very much for any help you can offer!

We've been hosting for 2 years (exactly) and always seem to be struggling to get more bookings... especially compared to many similar homes in our area.

We're constantly updating our photos, description, pricing, etc., blindly hoping to hit on the secret to landing more bookings. But nothing seems to move the needle. Here it is late October, and we haven't received a single new booking since mid August.

In these past 2 years, we've had 49 guests and have 100% 5-star reviews. When I interview the reps from VACASA and other hosting services (largely to see what suggestions they offer), their only recommendation is that we get a hot tub. (But, we have too many safety and investment concerns about that.)

The only recommendation our guests have mentioned is to get an electric vehicle charging station.

Our home can be reserved in one of two ways:
The main home only (ideal for groups of 3 or less): https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/52918485

The main home plus optional, add-on guest suite (ideal for groups up to 5 guests): https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/52882647

Any recommendations you can offer for how we can generate more bookings would be greatly appreciated!

Thank you!

[Brigit-And-Randy0]

I forgot to mention that our number of bookings seems to align with our number of views in the 'insight' section of our airbnb hosting dashboard. 

One more thing I might mention for insight into our request for feedback on our listing:

Please forgive me if it sounds like I am laying fault on Airbnb for why we are not getting more bookings because I know that we still have a lot to learn and things we can improve on. But every once in a while, the 'Hosting dashboard>Insights>First-page search impression rate' line graph will show that we received many more views than similar listings. And on those weeks, we've received as many as 8 bookings per week. But the great majority of weeks, we fall below average views and we receive no bookings. And this wild-swinging variation in views seems to occur whether or not we've made any changes to our listing.

(It is hard to believe that the factors that guests look for can vary that much from week to week. It almost seems like Airbnb simply 'throws us a bone' and boosts our listing every couple months to keep us motivated.)

Any thoughts on how we can boost our 'First-page search impression rate' would be greatly appreciated!

[Andrea6232]

Buongiorno @Brigit-And-Randy0 , beautiful house and beautiful photos! I can only tell you that I too have noticed that bookings on Airbnb go "in waves" 😉

[Brigit-And-Randy0]

Hi @Andrea6232  in Bergamo, Italy,

Thank you for your response.

I was thinking that, perhaps, we were the only ones experiencing  'feast or famine' when it comes to bookings. So your comment is reassuring that it isn't happening to just us.

It does seem odd, however, why this happens. I would imagine that the demographics of guests coming here to Asheville remains pretty consistent from month to month. So, to receive 8 bookings in a single week in August but no bookings in the 2 months since doesn't seem quite normal.

I can't help but think that one of our calls to hosting support or something else we did must have given us that brief visibility boost or triggered some sort of penalty.

And I agree that @John7474 suggestions share a lot of wisdom.

Thanks again! We wish you great success.

[Andrea6232]

Ciao @Brigit-And-Randy0 , I think it depends on Airbnb's search algorithm 😉

[Andrea6232]

P.S. check out the suggestions on @John7474  post, it's very well done!

[John7474]

@Brigit-And-Randy0 

Hello Brigit and Randy -

What a beautiful home - farm you have!!  It's no wonder you have had such success with your listing!

I think you listing looks great! Photos are amazing! Lots of details!  

I have found that there isn't really much rhyme or reason for up or down ticks in bookings..  Just be patient and bookings will return. 

I would hold on the hot tub. That's a whole  other world for liability and cleaning. 

My only suggestion is to make very small changes to your title, listing description, and The Space section. Give the reader a bit more of a story... Tell us about life at your home!

I suggest: 

For Title: Clean it up a bit, "Beautiful Farm with mountain views - 11 miles to Asheville"

For your Listing and The Space: Keep all of the details, but tell a bit more about the house/farm.  

Look at your home/farm as if it's an experience. Tell us about it in the form of a story. If you can interact with the animals... tell us about it..

"The simple  life in the country with all of the comforts of luxury home" 

For example (I am making this up): "On the farm there are 6 cows.  They often come up to the fence, and there are bails of hay that you offer them an afternoon treat!".  "If you like chickens.. we have 8 of them.. kids are welcome to feed them, there is ground corn.  Our hen, Hellen, can be a bit bossy!"

But in my opinion, you have done a really wonderful job! 

If you want to take a look, I recently wrote an article for the Community Center about how to improve your listing, maybe it might give you a few ideas with story telling, but again, you have a wonderful listing!

Best, 

John 

[Brigit-And-Randy0 · Accepted solution]

Hi @John7474  in LA, CA,

Thanks for your input and encouragement!

I think your recommendation of creating more of a story, rather than being so facts-driven may be right-on.

A couple of months ago, I copied and pasted our listing description into ChatGPT and asked them to rewrite it to be more engaging and inviting. It was so overboard with adjectives and  descriptions of the farm experience that I discounted it. But they did exactly what you are suggesting (although to an extreme degree, I thought). They wrote a picture of what guests will experience from the moment they approached the farm.

I've pulled up your '[GUIDE] Tips To Improve Your Listing' and will try to have fun creating more of a story-driven description.

Thank you again!
We wish you all the best!

[John7474]

@Brigit-And-Randy0 

Hi!  My pleasure!  

Yes, AI can be helpful, but needs to be monitored.  

Again, your home and farm is so beautiful.  Staying there has to be an amazing experience!   So tell them about it.. facts and some story.  

Allow the reader to understand the comforts and enjoyment they can have at your place!

All the best, 

John 

[Kia272]

@Brigit-And-Randy0  It amazes me that so many hosts fail to understand that the travel industry is dynamic. It has everything to do with supply and demand. That being said, there's nothing wrong with your listing. You've got great reviews and it looks like a lovely place to stay. 

I suggest you live life and stop worrying about updating photos, pictures, description, pricing, etc. You can do all that, but if a party of 1-3 people who are interested in a farm stay outside of Asheville isn't looking to book, then you won't get a booking. It's really pretty simple. (I didn't look at the other/connected listing at all.)

The STR market is oversaturated in many places. All the tweaking in the world won't help if the demand isn't there. I don't look at any of the AirBnB statistics, as I'm not going to do anything in reaction to them. 

The only thing I would suggest is removing many of the reviews you've included/quoted in your listing description. Potential guests can read your reviews on their own, and it takes up space and detracts from the details you actually want them to pay attention to. You can also list on other platforms if you haven't already. Good luck. 

[Brigit-And-Randy0]

Hi @Kia272  in Takoma Park, MD,

Thank you for your suggestions!

I just can't figure out why a few properties around us seem to be booked constantly. (They have a dozen or more reviews for almost every month of the past year.) So they are apparently doing A LOT of things better than we are. But from studying their description and photos,  just can't see what it is that makes them so irresistible.

As for the embedded reviews in the property description...I agree that they may be redundant, as you mentioned. They got added in my most recent rewrite, as I continued to throw spaghetti at the wall to see if anything would make a difference in our page views and conversions. I will probably delete them if you feel they are redundant... especially since they haven't seemed to move the needle.

Thank you again for your input!

[Fred13]

Hard to critique your place, it is so beautiful. I never look at things  from the inside out, but at the 10,000ft level (aka the big picture). So pardon my radical thoughts.

1. Why call it a farm, which I suspect it was - once. Today its best description should be 'country estate' or 'country getaway', or country ranch or retreat. These have a broader appeal.

2. Why the odd 3 and 5 guest numbers, that can't disqualify 2/4/6 couples thinking of coming. 2 bedrooms naturally suggests 4 guests, 3 bedrooms insinuates 6 people and so on. Look at your competitors, what do they do?

3. Odd prices: any price that is not in divisibles of 0 or 5, comes across as established by a computer or a 'bean counter' (aka accountant). $195, $225, $250 feel more real, easier to calculate.

4. If it is 35 acres, there must be a thousand opportunities to see and experience great natural features and areas, like you mentioned woods, streams, etc. Imagine trails throughout your property now showing so many different things. It would lead to wider appeal. Then is an experience, a country experience.

5. Vacasa/Chat GPT - neither impresses me in thought. My tecky son showed me examples of Chat GPT, and personally its output sounded like a hustle, like it probably struck you. Vacasa oftentimes relies on Airbnb, besides too expensive and divorces the owner from a place, so new ideas tend to come to a stop.

6. Today's market: A very nervous one. No wonder, consider the backdrop. Subconsciously,  people may feel they do not know what is next so they become cautious.

In a nutshell, I would move to distinct myself from the competition. Good luck, you really won't need much since you have so much to work with.