Listing advice - Casey - Orlando, Florida USA

[Casey464]

I rent my spare bedroom in the home I live in. The dedicated guest bathroom is located in the hallway and, unfortunately, is not attached to the guest bedroom.

I have had a steady stream of guests since I started hosting at the end of December 2024, but June has been crickets. I have only booked 4 nights!

I already added a 20% off discount for the entire month. That resulted in two immediate bookings, but one was already cancelled. (He said they needed to reschedule their vacation.)

My style/home isn't for everyone, and I understand that. I do, however, tend to attract interesting guests with whom I have things in common. I don't have the money for any major upgrades or amenities, but I have been slowly adding items as I can afford them.

I will note that I don't offer keyless entry/self check-in because I don't want strangers to show up when I'm not home and scare my dog. I want to be able to introduce them so she knows it's okay.

Does anyone have any suggestions for my listing that might help? It seems that most of the nearby places booked for the month have pools and private entrances, and are significantly more expensive than mine.

https://airbnb.com/h/popcultureorlando

Shared living room

[Karen114]

@Casey464  I think that you are doing fine!  Summer time in Florida is slower than other times of the year.  Visitors this time of year are traveling with their families to visit the parks etc.  

You have awesome reviews so keep it up. 16 reviews in 6 months is very good, especially all 5 star.

Your listing description is great,  really dialing into all the details of what the guest can expect.  This is why you have 16 5 star reviews, expectations have been set at the beginning. 

Your home is not vanilla and you are clearly attracting the guest that appreciates this and vibes with it.  Nothing wrong with that!

My only suggestion would be to cross advertise on Furnished Finder.  They cater to or used to cater to the traveling nurse.  Today a lot of people use them and they are largely rooms in people's homes so you might pick up some more bookings there.

Keep up the great work! 

[Jennifer3187]

I agree with @Karen114 - it may just be the season. If you haven't you might want to look at your competition - 1 bedroom shared - to see if availability is different. 

[Casey464]

I have tried finding "similar listings," but it's such an apples-to-oranges situation.

Some people have amenities I don't have and can't offer like a pool, private entrance, king-size bed, private kitchen, etc. Or some hosts are more establish than me with hundreds of reviews.

This one listing is pretty similar to mine, but she has soooo many reviews. She's a senior citizen and has a rule that people can't use the kitchen past 7pm! But she still has more bookings than me.

I often wonder about the Airbnb algorithm and how listings are shown to people. If I add a photo or update my description, does that give me a refresh? I work in digital marketing, so I know there is something going on in the back end that decides how listings appear.

I'm still shocked that even with my 20% discount, I'm not getting bookings. I really can't go any lower. Someone suggested that my rate was too low, but I wasn't getting bookings at my original rate or the slightly increased rate I tried.

I think you both are right. It really is the time of the year. This is my first year hosting, and I'm tracking everything. At least next year, I'll be able to compare YoY.

[Casey464]

Thank you so much!

I actually started on Furnished Finder back in October of last year. I reached out to so many leads, and not a single one ever replied. I didn't get my first real inquiry until last month. I had him book on Airbnb. He stayed three weeks. That was enough to pay for the Furnished Finder membership for the year.

Most of the people I'm seeing on FF are looking for a place to live. I see requests for six months to a year. I see very few traveling nurses and people in the medical field looking for a month or two at a time.

I really prefer the short stays anyway. I also worry that people could claim residency after a certain amount of time. I prefer to consider my maximum rental length as 28 days.

[Karen114]

@Casey464  I am with you on the short stays 😁.  I like them in and out too so the space can be cleaned and repaired if necessary and of course the possibility of having a hold over. 

[Joe771]

@Casey464 I think you have a fun place to stay. From my understanding, the Orlando market is tough because people go over the top with themed stays. Here are a few things I think you can do to help getting more "lookings into bookings". I would suggest getting professional photos taken. They will show your place in the best light and at the best angles. 

If you are going to talk about artwork in your listing, I would lean into that more. Make the room and experience feel like an art gallery, whatever that means to you. You are the curator and get to put up the art you like and want to talk about. Show some of the art in your pictures and give a description about it. Have fun with it. Show your passion for the art. You have Van Gogh and Dali in the room.  Channel them and put that in the description. Especially Dali, you know he has some fun things to say about his artwork. 

You seem looks like you are a good host, now you need to take the experience part to a different level. 

As far as trying to stay on the first page or in the top 3 pages. Yes you need to update the listing throughout the year. If the Dali art exhibit is coming to the area change the list 2 or 3 months in advance and talk about your Dali art work. There is no magic formula to get bookings. It is a lot of trial and error. Have fun with the listing and keep it fresh. 

I hope this helps and good luck. You are doing great.

Joe

[Casey464]

Great ideas about the additional photos. I will definitely do that.

I also didn't think about updating the listing around certain events. I will keep on the lookout for opportunities to do that. Very helpful information!

[Jamie600]

Hi Casey,  I love your listing.  I think tourism is slowing right now, and that is probably the reason you are not getting more traction.  I would buy a large area rug for under the bed for a comfy feel. Are you able to put the fridge on top of the file cabinet in the space where the fridge is on the floor? It is a thoughtful and fun listing.  Best of luck to you in the future. 🙂

Kindest regards,

Jamie

[Casey464]

Thank you so much!

I definitely agree with you about tourism. I have an annual pass to Disney World, and the parks have been relatively empty this month. We are seeing a lot less tourism--especially internationally.

I've been wanting to get a bigger rug for that room and agree. It's not in the budget right now, but I stalk my local Buy Nothing groups for giveaways. Haha the rug that is in there now is one I've had for many years and repurposed it for that room. It's better than nothing but agreed, not quite the full effect.

The file cabinet is actually a tiny dresser in the closet. It's not sturdy enough to hold the refrigerator, and there is no outlet in the closet. I should probably update the closet photos because I also have a suitcase rack now too. I do like your idea of finding something to go underneath the refrigerator. I'll keep an eye on Buy Nothing for that too. 🙂

[John5097 · Accepted solution]

Hi @Casey464 !

I'll focus on the bedroom since that's what you are renting out. 

You really have all the basics covered and put a lot of thoughtful touches into your listing and arrangement, which your guest really appreciate. 

A few improvements I would consider:

Move the bed over so that it's not squished into the corner. You do have a nightstand and lamp so add another to the other side. 

It looks like there won't be room for the fridge if you do that. Either put it some place else or just not have it. If they already have access to the fridge in the kitchen will they really miss one in the bedroom? 

To me it looks like it's throwing off your whole bedroom with bed in the corner and mini fridge on the floor, and guest really want a bed, nightstands and reading lamps. 

My bedroom in my listing is tiny, 9 feet wide and 11 feet long, even smaller than yours.




The camera lens makes the bed look skinnier than it actually is. That's why I included another pic from the side, and anyone can see what the entire room looks like in just a few photos.

Guest have also never complained about it being such a compact bedroom and all rave reviews and I have 5.0 average with over 480 reviews.  

You mentioned a luggage rack, guest love those as well. You want to just show those in the listing. 

I fund that a newer iPhone worked well for photos. It's prob the same way with other phones. I even ordered new $500 lens for my dslr but my new iPhone crushed it as the sensor in the 11 year old camera just can't compare. Then just make some adjustments in any basic photo editor, to bring out the colors a little more, and bump up the shadows. Your pics actually are on the right track with lighting but maybe could invite a friend over with a new phone and laptop and take some new ones. 

Well hope that helps. Congratulations on such a great start and hope you continue to get more bookings. 

 




 


 

[Casey464]

Very good and helpful points. I love the direction of focusing on the guest bedroom. That makes a lot of sense.

I am actually considering getting two smaller nightstands and using the current one to prop up the refrigerator (as someone else suggested). There is a bit of space between the current nightstand and the refrigerator, so I might have space with small nightstands like yours. Where did you get those?

I do need to update the photos of the guest room amenities. Up until this last month, I had a steady stream of guests. I need to prioritize that after my current guest checks out.

I took these photos with my Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra. It has a wide-angle lens. Agreed, I should do some light editing.  And I'll do a better job with the lighting this time. I took most of those pictures in a hurry trying to get my listing up. I've slowly replaced some but still need to replace others. My Beetlejuice art wall in the living room has a lot more additions that haven't been photographed! Haha

[John5097]

@Casey464 

I got the nightstands from Pier 1. 

They were the matching set for the table in the living room that I got on Marketplace. I also wanted a counter hight table with bar stools as I always wanted one anyway and happened to find someone selling that one on Marketplace so scooped it up, and the barstools came with it. I then got the two nightstands from Pier 1 before they closed in our area. Not sure if they are still on line or not but those have worked out really well. They match the metal frame on the old sowing machines. Those I also got on Marketplace. A guy was making live edge tables on the weekends in his backyard and selling them for super cheap. He worked at Boeing. Anyway I bought three of the live edge tables and spotted the old sowing machines in this tiny shed of his and asked if he could make those into tables. He was going to do one long table but agreed to chop it up and make the two smaller tables also really cheap! They are heavy but I put felt pads underneath them so they slide around easy.

About the camera, glad you mentioned that. The wide angle will make the bed seem even more narrow. Yours looks really narrow. It looks like a single bed. I'll bet a lot of guest don't realize it's actually a queen size as they don't read anything, or go no that's not a queen. So don't use the wide angle on that view. I've also done this before and the bed just can't look that narrow IMO. I also include the actual measurement in the caption. I've seen other listings say the same thing. "This is a queen size bed 60' x 80' inches. The wide angle lens just makes it look narrow!" But it's best to just not use the wide angle from the base of the bed as over 75% of potential guests won't even wrap their minds around effects of the lens and just be "nope" that looks too narrow! 

As someone else mentioned you could make the bathroom more of a highlight. "Your own private bathroom is located down the hallway a few steps form your private bedroom."

I'm also not sure about the fuzzy toilet lid and rug. I would replace that with a new toilet seat and lid, and have more photos of clean towels etc.  

I do love all your art and things you collect! Your listing is very inspiring! You already cover a lot of things other listings don't have. Sorry I just focused on suggestions to improve which is subjective. Your curtains, art and touches are all really cool! 



 

[Casey464]

@John5097 Thanks for the info, suggestions, and compliments. 🙂

I've been looking for a different rug set. I really want something Star Wars-themed. I had the current set before I started hosting. They are difficult to clean, if I'm being honest. They're high pile. I wash them in the washing machine every few guests, but usually I just vacuum them.

Wow, I did not think that people wouldn't realize it was a wide-angle lens or think that the bed was a twin. At the top of my listing it says "1 queen bed". I'll retake a picture of the bed with the regular lens.

[John5097]

@Casey464 

Glad that helped. I happen to be in the process rearranging a few rooms myself. Some things I've had such a long time when I was at a completely different place, which I think is natural process for everyone. 

I almost threw away my dog's blanket I used to use on top of his bed but just couldn't do it. I'm taking that and all the other extra used blankets, sheets, towels to donate to a local pet helpers shelter for rescue dogs and cats. Some haven't been used either so may take those to a habitat for humanity. 

Anyway I'm not a fan of rugs! 😁 They are super comfy and warm but dirt magnets! So I opted not to have any rugs in my listing and only have one in my living space that I'd like to donate although it is really nice for floor exercises. 

Only two guest out over 500 have suggested some kind of throw rug but my listing already takes a long time to clean. I shop vac and damp mop the floors between every guest so there is no way I'm adding cleaning a rug. I'm guessing it's even a negative to more guest? 

This is all very suggestive and I love the idea of a Star Wars theme! 

So IDK maybe have a Star Wars themed small rug where it wouldn't get walking on a lot like a the foot of the bed? 

I do like having a shop vac with a HEPA filter. It's inexpensive and the filters are easy to change out. I keep two so can just hose off one and pop in the other. I know that's different than most people, as I have construction background,  but the powerful shop vac really sucks up dirt and sand, and all my guest go to the beach and aren't too careful about bringing sand back, and I already go above and beyond with cleaning. 

Yes a lot of listings don't have a nightstand, lamp by the bed, or any curtains. 

I'm also leaning more towards contemporary and fun decorations. 

I have dining room table, 4-5 queen size all cotton bedspreads, new in the box pillow and mattress protectors, closet shelving, that I'll be donating or taking to the landfill. Maybe I should put them on eBay for $1 but thinking that wouldn't be worth it. I've used all of them in my listing and they are still in good condition. I just don't want to store them. It's amazing how much room bedding and linens for one rental bedroom takes up.