No bookings as a new(ish) listing

[Sara11128]

We listed our cottage at the end of last summer and immediately had multiple bookings. It was booked solid August thru October and then (not surprisingly) it dropped off over the winter. I haven't been worried about the winter being quiet, but I have had no interest at all in anything for April, May, June. We have July/August blocked off for our own use. It feels too quiet! Do I need to update my settings in some way?

Our cottage is in a very popular little tourist beach town in Michigan (we used to live there full time). Just about every house that goes up for sale in our area is immediately turned into an airbnb, is there just an over-saturation of properties available now? Anyone else notice a huge dropoff after being very active as a new listing? Thanks!

airbnb.com/h/echo-cottage

[Marie8425]

@Sara11128 

Very cute cottage!

In Airbnb Search display a Overall Review Rating is one of the factors to determine your display position when Guests search.  Airbnb Preferred is 4.8 or higher.  You are lower.

Then lower traffic in winter months. The Airbnb Search also measures conversions when deterring display.

Lower display is of course lower conversions so you get lower.

fixing possible just a bit of work. lol

The Airbnb Search also measures active or inactive Host.  This is measured by Date Modified on your listing.  Any change that results in you being prompted to click Save updates the date.  Do regularly even out of season for your rental.

Use Airbnb Custom Discounts.  You can pick  a few days that you offer a 20% discount and Airbnb offers marketing which gives you a boost in traffic.  Right now dates close and winter you can start promoting spring dates.

Using Airbnb Instabook will give you a boost with the search  You can turn on and off as needed.

I will usually increase notification time and minimum stay to help avoid scammers.

If your property is seasonal, other Hosts have said the set seasonal and nonseasonal rates which helps they say.

[Alex]

Hello @Sara11128! 

I'm sorry to hear that your bookings have dropped. We're here to support you, and together with the Community, we can work on turning this situation around. Have you had a chance to review Marie's response? I'm sure that her advice can help you implement some positive changes. 🙂

Also, I'm going to tag some hosts to see of they can help you with some advice: @Jess2718, @Nathan146, @Andrea8411, @Angela3583, @Bryon48, @Carrie643 and @Polly164.

Hope we can help you with this! 🤗

Best,

Alex

[Andrea8411]

Do you ever login to travel in your area and take a look at your competition? I think it helps a lot to do this. Take a look at the places that are most similar to your place. Compare prices and amenities. Also it is a good idea to update pictures and listing descriptions every so often,

[Carrie643]

Hey @Sara11128 - we are new to air bnb this year, we are in a remote location and so its a topic of interest to me 'how to drive traffic'. Something I have focused on is feedback from our guests - and we have done this with a simple guest book to capture their comments on what they liked, didn't like, how likely they are to rebook or tell their friends.Like with all sales, once someone has stayed with you they are a potential repeat customer or a referral and this might give you an edge especially if you live in a high competition area. Little things we added to our property were ideas from luxury hotels to give guests a 'pampered' experience such as dental floss sticks and cue tips in the bathrooms, small magnifying mirrors in the bedrooms, tissues, small fans, also a hand written welcome note on arrival. Im just trying to think of things that might give your guests a reason to pick your property over the others in your area - and again I'm not sure how close you live as to how practical these things are. I guess you have your dynamic pricing turned on?