We have been on Airbnb for 2.5 years, have had no problems w...
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We have been on Airbnb for 2.5 years, have had no problems with the instant book option until now. Our listing availability i...
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Hi Mirlene, we all started out from square one where we had no idea what that first guest was going to be like. We just accepted then because it was a booking. But each guest will teach you something but first of all you need to get started.
Here are my 10 tips for setting you up for success.
1/.........Make your listing description fun, not boring. Make it grab a searchers attention, but don't list it as a 'Chateau' when it's a 2 bedroom suburban house. Your listing description if you do will just breed mistrust. Be real!
2/........Complete your listing thoroughly........Fill in every detail possible. Guests are not good at guessing. Write your listing description with the help of an acquaintance, a friend so that guests will notice things that you think are bleedin' obvious!
3/........Stay away from 'fashion shoot' photography. Guests don't want to be let down when the reality doesn't meet the expectation. Professional photographers will use lenses to make the property look much larger than it in reality is. Those slick, quirky accessories which attracted the guest will disappear along with the photographer and you will have to cope with the explaining. Let me give you an example. This is one I had to deal with!
Here is, from the listing description, what the guest thought they were going to get.........
This is the reality of what they got..........
You can guess what happened can't you? The guest required a refund!
Professional photography is great for catwalk models, it doesn't cut the mustard with Airbnbs! Daily support have to deal with accuracy complaints, most of it due to professional photography!
4/........To improve your listing search placement, keep some activity happening on your site. Keep changing details, photos, description. Put the price down for a week and then raise it. Get some friends to send an enquiry. It doesn't commit them to anything, after 24 hours the enquiry just drops off the system. The search algorithm responds to..........activity.
5/........Make sure your place is super-clean. Many guests think old is dirty, you have to be not just thorough, you have be seen to be thorough! A stray unattached human hair is the kiss of death for a host, Guest will tolerate most things but definitely not hair that isn't their own!
6/........Adjust your listing to suit the season. Guests don't want to see snow when they are after a summer getaway. Not that I imaging snow would be a big issue in Arizona!!!
7/........Send guests a warm, welcoming personal message. They don't want to feel like they are a small cog in a big wheel. Lack of personal contact is a big red flag to potential guests
8/........Answer guest enquiries/requests immediately. Guests will look elsewhere if they have to wait 4 hours for an answer. They want to make other travel plans that will mesh in with their accommodation. Don't leave them hanging in the air!
9/.........Provide an awesome guest experience. Give them something nice they were not expecting. I personally provide a cheese plate for every guest, even overnighters......
10/.......Remember, last impression will be their lasting impression. Send them a nice departure message wishing them well for the future and hope your paths will cross again some day!
Mirlene, this will get you off to a good start, attract guests to book with you and get some nice reviews under your belt. Airbnb is now in 198 countries and available in 100,000 cities/towns around the globe, and on any given day Airbnb processes $94m worth of hosting transactions...... competition is fierce particularly in somewhere like Phoenix and you need to have that something that will make a potential guest choose your listing over someone elses!
I do it with my electric bed, my garden and my cheese plate. Small niceties don't have to cost you a fortune. I have a deal going with the manager of one of our local supermarkets and when cheeses get within a week of their use by or best before date, or they get a bit 'handled'in the display cabinet they either go in the dumpster or, I get them for between 30c-90c per cheese/ I turn on a $40 cheese plate for less than $1. I have the same deal going with other sealed perishables and guests just love it and most make mention of it in the review process.....This Mirlene is what brings in your future business.
Try to keep your add-ons to a minimum. You have a substantial cleaning fee and that coupled with the Airbnb service fee and taxes turns your $155 pr night listing into a $324 pr night booking. That turns potential customers to look elsewhere!
My listing is nothing special, it's just a humble little converted garage in the backblocks of nowhere, and there is just as much competition here as there is in most areas. Just in my small town of 43,000 people there are 157 Airbnb listings, quite apart from those on other booking platforms. But in the last 6 months I have had 4 nights where I have not had a guest booking.......
Click on the image to enlarge.......
The crossed nights were bookings outside of Airbnb, apart from one 2 weeks Feb/March slot where I closed the listing down for a holiday with my family! The only nights I didn't have a booking were those nights where a pricing option is still displayed.
Just because you have a property available doesn't mean guests are going to flock to it Mirlene, you need to give them a reason to book you over someone else and I hope something I have said here can hope you achieve that.
All the best Mirlene.
Cheers........Rob
Hi Mirlene, we all started out from square one where we had no idea what that first guest was going to be like. We just accepted then because it was a booking. But each guest will teach you something but first of all you need to get started.
Here are my 10 tips for setting you up for success.
1/.........Make your listing description fun, not boring. Make it grab a searchers attention, but don't list it as a 'Chateau' when it's a 2 bedroom suburban house. Your listing description if you do will just breed mistrust. Be real!
2/........Complete your listing thoroughly........Fill in every detail possible. Guests are not good at guessing. Write your listing description with the help of an acquaintance, a friend so that guests will notice things that you think are bleedin' obvious!
3/........Stay away from 'fashion shoot' photography. Guests don't want to be let down when the reality doesn't meet the expectation. Professional photographers will use lenses to make the property look much larger than it in reality is. Those slick, quirky accessories which attracted the guest will disappear along with the photographer and you will have to cope with the explaining. Let me give you an example. This is one I had to deal with!
Here is, from the listing description, what the guest thought they were going to get.........
This is the reality of what they got..........
You can guess what happened can't you? The guest required a refund!
Professional photography is great for catwalk models, it doesn't cut the mustard with Airbnbs! Daily support have to deal with accuracy complaints, most of it due to professional photography!
4/........To improve your listing search placement, keep some activity happening on your site. Keep changing details, photos, description. Put the price down for a week and then raise it. Get some friends to send an enquiry. It doesn't commit them to anything, after 24 hours the enquiry just drops off the system. The search algorithm responds to..........activity.
5/........Make sure your place is super-clean. Many guests think old is dirty, you have to be not just thorough, you have be seen to be thorough! A stray unattached human hair is the kiss of death for a host, Guest will tolerate most things but definitely not hair that isn't their own!
6/........Adjust your listing to suit the season. Guests don't want to see snow when they are after a summer getaway. Not that I imaging snow would be a big issue in Arizona!!!
7/........Send guests a warm, welcoming personal message. They don't want to feel like they are a small cog in a big wheel. Lack of personal contact is a big red flag to potential guests
8/........Answer guest enquiries/requests immediately. Guests will look elsewhere if they have to wait 4 hours for an answer. They want to make other travel plans that will mesh in with their accommodation. Don't leave them hanging in the air!
9/.........Provide an awesome guest experience. Give them something nice they were not expecting. I personally provide a cheese plate for every guest, even overnighters......
10/.......Remember, last impression will be their lasting impression. Send them a nice departure message wishing them well for the future and hope your paths will cross again some day!
Mirlene, this will get you off to a good start, attract guests to book with you and get some nice reviews under your belt. Airbnb is now in 198 countries and available in 100,000 cities/towns around the globe, and on any given day Airbnb processes $94m worth of hosting transactions...... competition is fierce particularly in somewhere like Phoenix and you need to have that something that will make a potential guest choose your listing over someone elses!
I do it with my electric bed, my garden and my cheese plate. Small niceties don't have to cost you a fortune. I have a deal going with the manager of one of our local supermarkets and when cheeses get within a week of their use by or best before date, or they get a bit 'handled'in the display cabinet they either go in the dumpster or, I get them for between 30c-90c per cheese/ I turn on a $40 cheese plate for less than $1. I have the same deal going with other sealed perishables and guests just love it and most make mention of it in the review process.....This Mirlene is what brings in your future business.
Try to keep your add-ons to a minimum. You have a substantial cleaning fee and that coupled with the Airbnb service fee and taxes turns your $155 pr night listing into a $324 pr night booking. That turns potential customers to look elsewhere!
My listing is nothing special, it's just a humble little converted garage in the backblocks of nowhere, and there is just as much competition here as there is in most areas. Just in my small town of 43,000 people there are 157 Airbnb listings, quite apart from those on other booking platforms. But in the last 6 months I have had 4 nights where I have not had a guest booking.......
Click on the image to enlarge.......
The crossed nights were bookings outside of Airbnb, apart from one 2 weeks Feb/March slot where I closed the listing down for a holiday with my family! The only nights I didn't have a booking were those nights where a pricing option is still displayed.
Just because you have a property available doesn't mean guests are going to flock to it Mirlene, you need to give them a reason to book you over someone else and I hope something I have said here can hope you achieve that.
All the best Mirlene.
Cheers........Rob
