Our first 4 months are behind us

[Sammy-L-0]

My brother and I bought our BnB in late January 2020, only to be hit with the pandemic six weeks later, before we could finish renovations. We rented two of the four apartments instead, and that was a disaster. Unpaid rent, major damages, etc 

Now, we are finally nearing the end of our first three months with one apartment operating as an Airbnb, and I have to say it is a huge relief. I had expected maybe 30 percent occupancy in our small town, but it's double that, and so far we have had only one sketchy guest. We have completed 10 stays, our 11th is tonight, and our 12th begins Saturday for six nights.

I have read the horror stories other hosts have posted, and I have done everything possible to avoid those pitfalls. Thanks, everyone, for the good advice.

[Gillian166]

oh we have a similar story! We started in 2020, and then ended up renting the whole farm to a nice family, so we made plans to move interstate for 3 years (they signed a 3 year lease) which would give us breathing space to decide if we were going to keep or sell the farm. 
NOPE. 6 weeks later the family flaked on us and moved out, we kept their bond and didn't chase them any further, and sporadically ran one cottage on airbnb when we travelled down to the farm, and rented out the other cottage for 6 months, and then that guy left and we happily said goodbye to him, didn't chase him either for the mess he left, and the damage he did. 

We started for real in Dec 2021 (my daughter is the full time on-site manager of our 3 listings) and had a booming summer, the cottage was basically fully booked. and then we put all that $$ back into making improvements. I've been very grateful to the forums for the advice I have gleaned here. 

[Diana-A-0]

Hello everyone! I'm so glad to read these posts, they inspire me. We started in December 2021 and so far it's been good. Rigut now we have 2 listings and are ready to put together a third one as of April.  My son manages the tech part and I'm learning to handle the app. The smaller property is being booked almost fully until June. We have some bookings for August. However, the larger property, which is much nicer and in a better location is not renting as fast. I'm open to suggestions as to how to get more bookings. We already lower the fees a little but we have no bookings for May so far. Any suggestions?

[Sammy-L-0]

The only suggestion I'd have is offer something unique to your area. For ours, it's history and proximity to nightlife, but far enough away to be quiet.

[Sammy-L-0]

Actually, I just looked at your listing and you might consider raising the price instead of lowering it. Your price of $110 a night and just 15 minutes from Disney is less than our nightly for a one-bedroom in Whitesburg, Kentucky. Some people believe "you get what you pay for," and they might look at comparable properties and wonder why the price is so low. 

Also, the reviews are probably killing you. You should read them and really decide if they are honest reviews -- maybe even answer some, nicely of course. A few low scores will keep people from booking, and the review at the top is really going to hurt you. It plays right into the "why is the price so low" question.

[Sarah977]

@Diana-A-0  Neither of your listings have proper listing desscriptions-you haven't described the home, the neighborhood or anything. You need to fill out all the sections available. All you have is a brief introduction.

You haven't filled out the Rooms and Spaces section, to show where the sleeping spaces are. Or anything else.

Take a look at other hosts' listings to get  an idea of how to decsribe and market your place.

And why on earth are you trying to cram 12 people into a 3 bedroom home and 8 people into a 2 bedroom? Take your guest counts down to the number of beds in the bedrooms. 2 bedrooms, 4 guests, 3 bedrooms, 6 guests. 

You are attracting the wrong crowd with your low prices, lack of information, and too-high guest counts. And that wrong crowd is leaving you bad reviews and ratings which are hurting you.

Also, beds for 2 people need bedside tables and reading lamps on both sides of the bed.