New Host Looking For Feedback

[Keith-and-Lori0]

Greetings!

We entered the world of short term rentals with AirBnB in early June. Our home had exception results in June and July during which time we continued working on our listing, incorporated Hospitable to help manage and coordinate tasks for our property. We are now undoubtedly entering the slow season and are looking for any feedback from experienced Super Hosts for potential improvements on our listing and marketing tips to keep the slower months profitable. If you would be willing to help, please let me know. 

Listing link : Prairie Falls Oasis | Entire home in Post Falls, Idaho, United States 6 guests3 bedrooms4 beds2 bath... 

Thank you,

Keith

[Content updated by Community Manager]

[Joanne1065]

@Keith-and-Lori0 Not sure if you are in a college town but my rental is and I might see some students out and about and share that I have a place if their family or friends want to come and visit them. Same goes for my family and friends who might not have capacity during holidays and offer friends/family discount and I truly believe word of mouth is good marketing. 

[Jeff3383]

@Keith-and-Lori0 I've been hosting on Airbnb for a month now, and I'm practically fully booked. I only had two vacant days because I blocked them out myself to do a thorough clean after a 7-day stay. I think I'm so busy because my prices are low and I accept one-night stays. But honestly, it's exhausting. Changing linens, scrubbing the bathroom, and sanitizing everything after every one night stay makes me feel like the room fee doesn't even cover the cleaning fee. Above is my experience, just FYI.

[Susannah68]

Same!

[Jim-And-Linda0]

We have found that the main way to get bookings off season is to lower the price far enough to start booking rooms.

[Gina2863]

Hi @Keith-and-Lori0, I took a look at your listing, and my first suggestion would be to invest in professional photos of the property. I can tell your place is really cute and has a lot of potential, but I don’t think the current photos, especially the first one, are showing it off as well as they could. Since that first image is usually what gets someone to stop scrolling and click on a listing, I think stronger photos could make a noticeable difference.

I’m a professional photographer and took the photos for my own Airbnb, and I genuinely think that has played a big role in keeping my bookings consistent, even though I’m priced higher than many comparable properties in the area.

[Keith-and-Lori0]

Thank you Gina. I will take a look at our photos again. As a photographer are their angles or features you feel are better to highlight?

Keith

[Ian58020]

@Keith-and-Lori0 I asked Chat GPT about events in your area. Post falls and surrounding. It gave me a mass of information but I cannot post it because of the links.

if you do the same search, then find the social media pages where people are discussing events so

you can advertise your listing on them.

[Keith-and-Lori0]

Thank you, Ian. Lori did a lot of work on a guest book highlighting a number or things in the area. I never thought about trying Chat GPT for a deeper dive.

[Joan3949]

Congrats on a great start in June and July! The slow season is a great time to audit photos and tweak your listing descriptions. Best of luck!

[Keith-and-Lori0]

Joan, would you have any suggestions on edits to our listing descriptions?

Thank you,

[Christine4922]

(I just shared this with someone else.) I don't think you need a professional photographer but I'm going to give you tips and you can get more from videos on YouTube:

- Use a tripod, always. Put the camera phone at about chest height. (Blurry photos of the one bedroom and the kitchen tell me you didn't use a tripod.)

-When you click your iPhone camera on, select 0.5, not the default 1.0.  This is the wide-angle choice; you can always crop the finished product. This is why some of your photos looked too zoomed in (laundry and bathroom photos for sure)

-Take photos on a sunny day.

-Edit your photos with ALL of the filters available on the iPhone, then copy them and apply the same filter to every indoor photo. Have a different set of filters for the outdoor photos. Again, use the same for all.

Again, get on YT and search how to take real estate photos on an iPhone. Watch several videos. Everything I talked about here is in those videos. Definitely learn about the different filters and what they do. 

[Aya3860]

Hi! Congratulations on such a great start! For slower months, I’d focus on competitive pricing, strong photos, and highlighting what makes your property unique. Longer-stay discounts and targeting guests who travel during the off-season can also help keep bookings consistent. Good luck!

[Jill1657]

I think your photos are fine in showing the space accurately. But it would help to add some more creative/romantic photos in beautiful light, or with your home decorated for a seasonal holiday, showing more character and creating a narrative. Gourds and pupkins on the porch in golden afternoon light, for example.

Basically, you want to tell guests why, if they're even thinking of spending a night in a one-hour radius, they'd want to stay in your specific location. Can they grill with family at your outdoor kitchen? Take a sunset photo with BBQ stuff, firepit and smores all set up. Can they enjoy coffe at sunrise from rockers on your porch? Take that picture.

Similarly, you could add in some well-labeled photos of scenic area attractions and create a narrative of why guests might want to visit the area. Like, throw in a pic of the nearby lake and offer the use of some fishing gear, or post a winery trail map, or photo of cute downtown antiques stores, etc. if that's nearby. these are just examples. Good luck!