Sudden Drop in Bookings — Need Advice

[Autumn134]

Hey everyone,

For the first time since hosting on Airbnb, I have zero bookings for November at both of my cottages. I’ve been slowly improving the ratings with some updates, but I’m honestly stumped right now.

I recently changed the smart lock on one of my properties and heard that can sometimes affect the algorithm. I contacted Airbnb, and they confirmed that nothing is preventing my listing from being booked — so now I’m left scratching my head.

I plan to get professional photos done soon, but I’d love any critiques or advice you might have on my two listings!

Lastly, I actually started over with one of the cottages and created a brand-new listing, hoping it might help generate some November bookings — but no luck so far.

airbnb.com/h/lakesidecottage2

airbnb.com/h/chassellbaycottages

Thanks in advance for any feedback!

— Autumn

[Joelle43]

Hello @Autumn134 

The first link you've given us, lakeside cottage2 has only two available dates showing - 10th and 11th July 2026 so no surprise there that bookings are slow!

When you say that you "started over" with one of the cottages, do you mean you duplicated an existing listing?  Is it the Lakeside cottage by any chance?  AI is removing any listings that it considers as duplicates.

[Mary-Lou35]

@Autumn134 Your cottages are super cute!  First off, take a look at your comparable competion. See what they offer & what their prices are like.  Additionally, I suggest giving them both some much needed colors by using pretty pillows, artwork, etc., which reveals "coziness." It doesn't have to be expensive but nice. Grays & browns are easy to work around with colorful pallets. Pinterest has lots of ideas. Professional photography is well worth the investment. Hope this helps!❣️

[Steph7481]

1. Consider putting a promotion on the price for a month or so to increase bookings and increase ratings. You can really drop the rate on Mondays to Thursdays to entice new guests. Make sure you use the promotion setting--don't just drop the price. This improves your ranking. 

Good luck!

[Autumn134]

I did try a promotion! But good idea instead of dropping nightly rates like I normally do. Thank you!

[Alex]

Hi @Autumn134!

I'm so happy to see that hosts are already joining your thread to help! 🤗 Have you checked any of their advice yet? Let us know how you get on with the tips you receive! 😃

Best, 

Alex

[Jaime1001]

Hi Autumn, 

Communication is key - staying in contact with your guests and having rapid responses is essential.  

Also, I’ve started providing goodies and am not shy on amenities provided, the more the better!  

I’ve started a guest wish list - for example, if a guest makes a suggestion that they would like a fire pit area - I take that idea and make it into a reality.  Follow through is key, use wherever means to ensure the guest is aware of the upgrade and market to future guests.  

Honestly a very hands on approach has worked for me - hope this helped out!  Good luck!!! Your listings are awesome!!!

[Andrea8411]

Are you using the “smart pricing” option? For me and my mom we discovered that using this option was causing our prices to be higher than others in the area so we turned it off. Now we pay attention to our competitors and price accordingly. Doing this has increased our bookings dramatically. 

[Scott2373]

I would try lowering prices until you get some bookings to drive momentum, and then slowly increase back pricing from there. That may just be your sweet spot in low season. I would rather have my places booked at lower prices than no bookings at all. Just make sure you are using dynamic pricing so you don't lower prices too much for peak season. Airbnb is momentum-based so, from my experience, sometimes you just need to drive a few bookings to jolt your listing back to life.