Booking declined

[Mahayana-Temple0]

Our new Airbnb listing went public in May and was doing great throughout the summer. We were full of bookings in July. But for now, it has been more than 10 days since there were any people asking about the listing or attempting to make a reservation. We still got zero bookings for September.

We set up a Facebook Page and an Instagram account for the listing and got a lot more views than before. But none of them could successfully converse to bookings.

Is there anything wrong with it? What can we do to improve its performance to start getting bookings in September? Feel free to comment or give suggestions in any aspect.

https://airbnb.com/h/lakefrontzenhouse

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Mahayana-Temple0 It may just be that people don't book very far ahead in your location or its low season and you need to price accordingly.

[Mahayana-Temple0]

Thanks for the response! For our previous guests, they typically book an averagely of 28 days ahead, two even book 50 days ahead. That's why we start worrying now. And how will you adjust the price for low seasons?

[Emiel1]

@Mahayana-Temple0 

- Maybe activate one of the "promotions", useally mentioned in the calender.

- The price is same for 1 or 8 guest, maybe set base price for 6 guests and add the additional guest fee for more guests to attract also smaller groups.

- you have option "strict cancellation policy or non-refundable policy"

These are the two extremes in cancellation-policy-land.

Could it deter potential guests ?

[Mahayana-Temple0]

Thank you for the response!

We are using professional tools on Airbnb and are unable to use promotions on the calendar. If we decide to stop using professional tools, we will lose many settings and statistics. Those are two things that we are worrying about. 

For the additional guest fee, it really is a great idea. Do you suggest it be higher or lower than the normal fee?

We selected the "strict cancellation policy or non-refundable policy" in order to provide a 10% discount to attract more guests as a new listing. We also chose this in order to eliminate the cancellation rates to reach the SuperHost requirement. Which type of policy do you suggest we use for the purpose of generally higher conversion rate and more guests?

[Anonymous]

@Mahayana-Temple0   FYI, it does not affect your Superhost stats when guests cancel their bookings - the Cancellation Rate only changes if you as the host are the one who cancels.

[Mahayana-Temple0]

Thanks for that information. I will adjust it accordingly if that looks more friendly for guests.

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Mahayana-Temple0 I think there is some confusion as the use of pro tools shouldn't stop you using promotions.

Do you set your pricing or do you use smart pricing?

[Mahayana-Temple0]

I set my pricing.  Actually, before we were using the pro tools, we were able to see the promotion option on the calendar. After we started using them, there are only rule sets on the right side of the calendar.