I am in Taunton Massachusetts and have recently signed up.

[Dorette7]

So far I have 2  requests but they did not follow through. Am i doing something wrong ?

[Sarah977]

@Dorette7  Were these Booking Requests or Inquiries?  It's important to understand the difference. Many guests will send Inquiries and never follow through on booking- it's just a way for them to ask questions. They may have sent out Inquiries to 10 different hosts. Some may thank you for your reply, but many you'll just never hear from again.

So how did you respond to these? Pre-Approve (if an Inquiry) or Accept (if a Booking Request)?

[Dorette7]

One  was an inquiry and one got as far as pre approval. I responded yes to pre approve  next day got  expired.

[Sarah977]

@Dorette7  It sounds like both were Inquiries, because the pre-approve option is only on Inquiries. Booking Requests have the option to Accept or Decline, not Pre-approve.

Don't worry, you aren't doing anything wrong- even if you pre-approve an Inquiry, that doesn't mean the guest will necessarily go on to book. If it's a Booking Request and you Accept, then the guest will automatically be charged for the booking and as long as their payment clears, the booking will be confirmed.

And something else to be aware of- if you don't feel comfortable pre-approving an Inquiry for some reason, don't decline it, as declines will count against you. Just messaging back the guest within 24 hours, without either pre-approving or declining, is all that's required for an Inquiry. You'll get messages from Airbnb prodding you to pre-approve, but you can safely ignore those.

If it's a Booking Request, you do have to either Accept or Decline it within 24 hours or your response rate will be dinged.

[Dorette7]

Hi Sarah

Thanks for your response.

 How often do you get  bookings.

[Sarah977]

@Dorette7  I host a private room/private bath for one guest only in my home. I rarely get bookings at all from mid-May through mid-Oct, because of the hot, humid weather where I live- people just don't come here that time of year on holiday ( I'm in a touristy beach town, not somewhere people may just be passing through)

During the high season, I get a fair amount of bookings, but as I don't do back-to -back bookings and have a 3 night minimum, the guest space is booked about half or three-quarters of the time. I would probably be booked more if I used IB, allowed same-day bookings ( I require 2 days advance notice and have one day betwen bookings for prep time) and allowed one night bookings (I have a 3 night minimum). I have all those settings as they are because I don't want to stress myself out and I didn't go into hosting to try to earn as much money as possible- I do it because my guest room sat empty most of the year and I figured why not earn some extra cash from it as well as meet interesting folks from all over.

I don't know where you are located, but many hosts have a definite high and low season. And Sept. tends to be a slow season for those in the Northern hemisphere, as it is back-to-school time and people aren't really in vacation mode. 

[Mark116]

@Dorette7   You could check and see how booked other listings are in the Taunton area that might give you a better sense of what is 'normal' in your area.  Things might pick up for football season, since you say you are close to the stadium.  Otherwise, your listing looks lovely.

[Janet605]

Hi I'm new to Airbnb also   I haven't had any requests.  How do you promote your property?

[Sarah977]

@Janet605  I find your listing a little confusing. You list it as Entire house, but all the rooms you show appear to be in the upstairs? Or am I just misinterpreting? You also say you live on the property, but in another dwelling? Downstairs? 

I know it says "more photos to come", but I think you might choose a different cover photo. Everyone knows what sunset over a lake looks like. One looks much like the other, wherever it may be. Show a nice interior photo of the home instead. You also need a photo of the bathroom- guests want to see that.

[Janet605]

Thank you so much for the feedback!   I will definitely take your advice.  Can you tell me the easiest way to make changes?  Im trying on the app, but can't get to the editing area.

[Sarah977]

@Janet605  I can't give you advice on using the app- I don't ever use it. Many things work better on desktop, so if you can do it in desktop on Chrome, that seems to be the easiest format to do things in, at least from what I've read on these forums over time.

On desktop, go to "Edit listing" and you can click on any area and make changes there. Don't forget to hit "Save" after doing so.

And if you do live downstairs, it would be best to list it as "Private suite" rather than Entire home. Then you could be clear in your listing wording exactly what they get, i.e. the entire upstairs with private entrance, or whatever. Many hosts who live above or below their Airbnb have had guests arrive thinking they had the whole house, rather than just one floor. Of course the guests should have read through the listing description more thoroghly, but many don't and it could lead to a stay that starts off on the wrong foot.