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Hosting in 2020: Live and Learn
Hi everyone in CC, I hope you doing well and stay healthy. I’m a Thai host both home and experiences. I am in a country that relies the most on travel and international tourism. So, this post is my experience of what I do when the market turned upside down. Now, domestic tourism is the only focus for every country. In Thailand, more than 90% of guests who booked via Airbnb is an international guest especially more than 50% is from China.
In mid-January 2020, I started to notice a huge number of my Chinese guest messages for canceled their trip and all reservations from all country guests had been canceled in March as the country’s lockdown. Until now, many local-hosts that I know had already closed their listing and moved to do the other jobs. The tourism starts to recover in September and 98.7% of travelers who visit Chiang Mai is Thai people.
*Chiang Mai is the largest city in Northern Thailand. It is 700 km (435 mi) and takes around 9-10 hours to drive from Bangkok.
Me and Mr.Peter, an expat who join my experiencesAt first, my house is only listed on Airbnb and the reservation is still at 0 but luckily for the experiences in-person, I got a booking for a couple of time after re-open booking (All guests that I met was an ex-pat).
My goal is to transform my house to attract the domestic market but please remember that “Not everyone will be your customers, but we can satisfy our customers with the potential that we have." and even the market is totally changed, we should maximize our potential.
Language: Before COVID-19, you may only list in English but now you should reconsider using your local languages and it should not only a translation, but the description can be different depending on your target group. Ex. When I mention the garden, in English is for guest to relax to nature sound but for Thai is more about the space that they can take the picture.
Amenities: The need for the domestic market may be a bit different like they will need a car park but less use the laundry and kitchen. Make sure that you highlight it or if you need to improve, it may be good to do it.
Name your place: I think naming your place is one of the things you can do to benefit your space without any cost. My accommodation is called Hidden Space and because the accommodation is hidden in a deep alley but because the name helps turn disadvantage to be a strength. The guest can find your place via search engine and maps if you name your place.
Your own page: FB, IG or you own Website will become more important, it may not create direct result in terms of bookings but when guests interest to booking, some guests will search for more information to ensure more confidence. Social media will helps build the existence of the property on the internet. BLOG on your own website also helpful, believe it or not, I have a huge number of people visit my blog to see the article that helps them plan a trip. Not everyone who visits my website will book my place but just 1% of 37000 readers are worthy.
Get Found 100%: Reconsider to pin your place on Google map and use Google My business to manage reviews and post new photos, as it is free and help guest find the place.
OTA or Direct booking: Before this year, I only use Airbnb as it has a strong review system, and this is the thing I do not want to change but you must try what channel the local use. From my own experience this year, 50% of bookings come from direct booking via my FB page.
Legal your listing: This is a good time. During the lockdown, I work on my short term rental license that will make sure that my place legal. The government has launched the campaign package that offers discounted hotel accommodation, airfares, and attractions, subsidized by the Thai government to restore traveler confidence and entice guests back to the domestic tourism destinations. Luckily, I can join this campaign because I got the homestay license just in time. It helps me a lot to get a new booking.
Discover new idea: Someplace change from accommodation to be café, restaurants, or cocktail bar. Some hotels let the people rent a room in the daytime for 5-6 hrs. for a party or photoshoot in the swimming pool.
The Result: Before COVID-19, my Thai guest was only 1% of the total (65% Chinese, 15% Korean, and 10% U.S.). Now, I can attract more Thai guests. It is increased to 15% of my total guests (Year to Date-YTD). There are many good points that I found from domestic travelers;
- Vacation rentals like an entire home (up to 3-4 bedrooms) become popular as it is more secure, private, and a perfect match for a group of friends and family.
- Domestic guests especially the young generation, want to experience more local culture when they travel.
- As my house was built by a local Northern craftsman, there are some interior designers and owners of construction companies came to stay and learn more about architectural structures. Including, another host who visits to learn more about what they can improve.
- Some research shows that domestic guests willing to pay more on the accommodation budget as they do not have an opportunity to travel abroad. If your place is photogenic, that is also a selling point.
I hope this will help other hosts who in the same situation as me. My wish is to see when air travel will return so that “We will meet again” and welcoming guests from around the world…be strong.
My local-guest
Top Answer
So glad to hear you are doing okay and that you were able to make the changes to continue hosting 😁
I think the tips you shared will be really helpful for hosts that need to change their target guest group 😀
I miss Thailand... and Chiang Mai. And really really look forward to when Henry and I will be able to travel again.
