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[Jo620]

Hi.ive listed my house now for a good part of three months now .I've yet to have my first booking. Ive shared of on social media but still nothing. There are only  a few in my area. Not understanding why I'm going as a guest for others yet nothing has happened for me 

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Jo620 Whilst I do not know Wokingham well your listing looks awfully expensive for a room with shared bathroom. Have you used Airbnb to search for similar listings and compared their prices to yours?

[Jo620]

@Mike-And-Jane0 

Thanks for your input .Its funny as I thought the nearby listings were a bit on the cheapside and shooting themselves in the foot .

I also showed my listing with the Airbnb expert and said the pricing was fine .

 I have recently checked my discounts and have increased it slightly, even though I did have my firs  guest only last week and was happy to pay.I guess people have different views but I do listen and take note what you say and thankyou for it too. 

[Jo620]

@Mike-And-Jane0 

Thankyou for noticing .I have now double checked and increased my discount from 15% to 20% 

So I'm hoping this will help .

[Anonymous]

@Jo620 The first bookings can be the hardest ones to get, because people are understandably wary of new and unreviewed listings - especially in a shared home. You've priced higher than what similar listings go for in some very popular locations, so unless your town is a bigger tourist mecca than I imagined (sorry, I'm not familiar with it) you might consider a deeply discounted introductory rate for your first 3 bookings or so, to get an established reputation.

Shared home hosts are at several disadvantages at the moment - the pandemic has wrecked the appeal of sharing living space with strangers, and hotels with private bathrooms and other appealing amenities are offering some extremely competitive rates to lure guests back. UK-based travelers are desperate to venture abroad, while not many people from elsewhere want to travel to the UK right now. So even if you drop your price dramatically, it could just be that you picked a really bad time to launch. 

[Jo620]

@Anonymous 

Thankyou for your reply..

I am keeping an eye on other listings in my area ,their calendars days are sometimes crossed but you don't always know if they are bookings or not .

I have increased my discount slightly so hope this helps,but i did have my first booking last week! so i am delighted.She was a great guest and respectful for myself ann my partner . 

[Jennifer1773]

Hi @Jo620 , Interesting... I searched private bedrooms in Wokingham, England on Airbnb and got this map displaying listings within it... none of which seem to be in Wokingham.

I moved the map to the southeast and found your place... and Wokingham! Your private bedroom was first on the list once the map was centered on Wokingham. Not sure if this has anything to do with your issue?  

Also I noticed that you don't have a discount listed. Airbnb suggests you offer a 20% discount on the first three bookings to get the ball rolling and get some reviews on the books... I did this and it definitely helped! If you go to your full calendar page, you should find this option under "promotions" in the top right hand corner.  Good luck!

[Jo620]

@Jennifer1773 .

Thankyou so much for in put .

I have had my first guest only last week!! 16th and 17th of June Over the moon as I was  getting worried.lovely lady ,yet to review ,i've done mine on her .so will wait ..ah great on your advice thanks so much I have now changed this .

[Jo620]

@Jennifer1773 

Thankyou for highlighting the discounts I have now changed this to 20% see what happens.

We are now approaching high season here in the UK