So @Robin4 , tried several times to send you a DM, but the system tells me, oops, can't send it right now --- so I am posting it here, as I gave it some thought and would like you to know about it:
Hey Rob,
so here is my honest input:
first of all, your place is GREAT, and it sure shows that you are taking care of all the details in a loving way!! (love me some explanation points!!). That is they overriding message, but - since you asked - here are some "critical" detail suggestions:
1.) I see you are experimenting now also with IB. I go in and out of it. have not seen a difference in inquiries, views, booking requests, or most importantly placing on the Airbnb site, so I think the overall anxiety in the community forums about IB is overblown. Still, my anxieties rise a bit with IB, had 3 bookings with that so far, no problems, but now, as the season is picking up, I'm back to "normal" booking. With a search, I found your place on the second page of the 142 Mount Barker listings - about the same place where I find mine on the Prescott listings = all good!
2.) Your photos and descriptions:
photos: When I am nitpicking, I am wondering about your cover photo: while lovely, a lot of the photo is taken up by that huge shrub. Can you get on a ladder and retake that photo from a slightly better/higher angle? In comparison to other listing, your pic seems "darker", which could mean less inviting…. I like photo 5 ( the bed) best. very inviting and it would look great as the cropped horizontal cover photo. I have gotten 3 bookings within 36 hours after I changed my outside shot to a living room shot. worth experimenting with. Or perhaps photo 12 as the cover shot (crop off 1" off the garage on the right), but I'm not sure if the dog in there is that appealing (but it would not show in the cropped image) ?
I am missing a photo of the sitting area, I only get a hint of it in photo 2 on the left side. Also, perhaps retake the bathroom pic and have it come out less yellow. otherwise, pics are great!
description of the pics:
there is quite a bit of extra "advertising" in there, perhaps a bit much for my liking, like the best bed ever, costs a fortune, the detailed and itemized description of your goodies, you won't intrude but you'll show hospitality in style. Overall, get the "we" and "I" out of every description you give, might make people feel that actually you are there all the time, watching, as you also say how much you like hanging out in the garden, etc…at the same time, don't be defensive about anything , like: it looks a bit flat, but… and the concrete is old , but….also explaining your no pets rule in house rules: just do it without explaining it….you might be overthinking it all!! People these days will not read all the details anyways, but might actually get turned off by too much detail.
3.) some more general pointers:
I would definitely change your listing from "private room" to "entire home/apt". that is what it is, so why not catch the people who look for that in the search parameters? wondering if 2 beds (the fold out sofa)/3 people is wise, especially with IB on? I had the same set up, changed it to 1 bed and 2 people only - and I feel much better about that! If people need more, we can always arrange it per message, but it is not expected or promised from the get go. And how about experimenting with a minimum of 2 nights? How much less would you get in bookings? what is your history with that? especially with all the goodies you are rolling out, 2 nights makes so much more sense ( and less work for you!!).
re goodies: I am scaling back bit, like only putting a bottle of wine out for 3/4 days stay, not 2 nights anymore. Often enough, people don't even touch the cheese platter or the other goodies I have prepared, etc..so I am leaning towards less "advertising" or promising it in my description, just doing it , or spontaneously bringing them some home baked muffins and having the guest be pleasantly surprised, instead of expecting it - which might actually translate into more appreciation and great reviews! Same for your posted list of all the things that you do before a guest arrives ( if you still have that up in your place, a while ago you talked about it) : to me, that is a bit of overkill - guests just want to be in a clean space, let them judge it for themselves, they don't want to know in detail all the little steps we took to prepare the space for them, it's just too much info.
Reviews: I don't think it's wise to get our guests involved in any of that, like how unfair the system is, how detrimental 4 star ratings are, asking them to send you screen shots, showing them your stats page, etc.. perhaps you got your latest 4 stars precisely because you talked about it and made it into an issue? just a thought…guests want to be guests, without feeling any obligation, they pay, so there is the fair exchange. It is all about THEM, not us hosts. Just relax about that whole thing, will ya? Being crushed because someone doesn't leave you a review is detrimental to your mental health! I leave people alone with any of that - but yes, as I am interested in keeping my super host status, I just watch that I need more than 50% reviews of people who have actually stayed. So occasionally, when I want another review, I review people first, that inevitably prompts them to leave a review themselves (cause they are curious to read it asap) = mission accomplished. I also believe that routinely leaving a longer response under a review than the review is itself is not helpful, it doesn't make you shine, it actually might make people think that you are a tad too eager.
Hey, Rob, those are all just my opinions, take it all with a grain of salt, and please, please don't be offended.. I am really trying to be helpful, not detrimental: go back to paragraph 1: You got a great listing!
Cheers,
Annette
