New to Airbnb - How do I get started?

[Mary696]

I have been 'open' for about 3 weeks now and have only had one person book two nights with me.  He gave me a good review but I can't get anyone else to hold a booking.  I have had two people inquire but neither have booked.  I am not sure what I am doing wrong.  I have included my url;  https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/21281534?location=Pontiac%2C%20MI%2048341%2C%20United%20States&s=ybsJJv...

Can I get some feedback on what I may be doing wrong or what I could add?    

Thanks so much! 

Mary 

[Sora0]

You photos look good enough. Maybe you can research if your listed price is competitive enough?

[Mary696]

Thank you for the feed back!  There is an Airbnb across the street that is a couple dollars higher than mine.  Right now I have Airbnb setting my price until I get steady guests.  Meanwhile, I do keep checking others around me. 

[Julia66]

@Mary696  Your photos are good and the price looks low.  I think you could make more of your beautiful location.  The first line of your description says the property is near certain roads, but you have a lovely photo of a lawn leading down to the lake.  Was this photo taken right next to your house?  If so, mention it in the photo caption, and describe the idyllic lake-side location at the top of your listing, maybe even include it in the listing name.

[Mary696]

Thank you for the feed back.  I will update the caption on the beach. 

[Matthew285]

@Mary696, is it possible that this is just a slow season for your area?

I moved the map to include your listing and any nearby listings. I went to each listing one-by-one to see what dates they had open. Essentially every single listing was completely un-booked for all of January, February, and March. One or two had a single booking in April.

Is there a lot of travel to your area this time of year, or not so much?

[Mary696]

Matthew - Thank you for the info.  I didn't think about checking others out.  I am hoping that with the Auto Show coming next month, things will pick up.  

[Mark26]

Isn't it kind of Cold in your area right now?  This is the time of year when people run away from Michigan to stay with me.  I don't know, I could be wrong.  Is there a reason people want to travel to your part of the country this time of year? Is there a major draw there?  You're an Uber Driver. Do you have a lot of tourists you're picking up this time of year? 

My guess is you've started up in the middle of the slower season for your area.  There's not much you can do.  You can't make people travel to Pontiac if they don't want to.  I'm sure AirBnB will tell you to lower your rates, but really, how much lower can you go?  Personally I think your rates are too low, and that might be scaring off the few people who are actually looking for a place to stay in your area this time of year.  But again, what do I know?

There are a couple of months a year when we are almost completely dead.  I look forward to those months as an opportunity to do some much needed maintenance without having to worry about disturbing guests.  I know there is nothing I can do to attract guests that time of year.  I embrace it, as an opportunity to do what ever I need or want to do.