New to Airbnb hosting, and I can't get bookings

[Michael9451]

I am hoping someone may be able to offer some guidance, we are new to Airbnb as a host, but have been guests for years. We have had our beautiful Surfers Paradise apartment listed since early October and quickly received 3 bookings, since then nothing. We have also listed on Booking.com and have received 26 bookings. We have offered discounted rates etc. and still nothing. It appears the listing does not come up near the top in searches, to the extent that listings 10-20km from Surfers Paradise appear ahead of ours when you search our location. Surely the location would take preference in a search.....

Thanks in advance for any guidance you can provide.

[Thomas3789]

@Michael9451 Thanks for your post. I'm sorry to hear that you have not had much success in bookings on Airbnb. Great job on booking.com though! Your reviews are also very positive which means you are a great host. The pictures are also gorgeous.

A few thoughts I had as I read your post.

1. Have you done market research/analysis? I'm curious how your listing compares with other listings (i.e. amenities, performance, etc.).

2. Listing optimization and moving higher on the algorithm is not only based on location. Actually, I think that is a bigger advantage for the guest (consumer) rather than the Airbnb algorithm. 

3. I think there are some things in your listing that you could improve. For example, more pictures of the oceanfront view. I see it on your hero photo in the background, but the potential guests need to see it clearly. Make sure you highlight beachfront in the title, one of the first pictures, description, etc. Additionally, more simple, clear descriptions would help readability. You have great content, but a guest scrolling through multiple listings will glaze right over.

4. It looks as though you have Airbnb's dynamic pricing correct? I think a great dynamic pricing that intentionally compares with the competitors could be a powerful tool for you.

Hope this helps!