The Enigma - No booking requests - ever!

[Axel-and-Annette0]

The Enigma - No booking requests - ever!

Dear fellow hosts,

The listing of our studio apartment in Fiji (brand new & fresh) has been online for 3 months...   https://www.airbnb.com.au/rooms/31102972

- Average daily views are 9  (what is 'normal'?)

- Booking requests are ZERO

- We only had 3 'information inquiries' early on for stays for 1 week, 1 month and 5 months (for surfing); in all cases we responded positively within 60 mins and with enthusiasm  tried to accommodate by all means, offering discount for long term stay, free 5:00 am airport pick-up and even offering quick installation of brand new AC (in case of actual 2 months booking). However, no  bookings eventuated 🙁

- Sure, we have no AC  in the room yet and no pool - but our room rate with AUD 69/USD 49 seems very reasonable for the place/amenities/service we offer and about 50 % lower than the competition; in our imminent neighborhood are 15 other listings with an average rate of USD 100 and in the wider community there are  179 apartment/'entire place' listings with an average rate of USD 200 .

We are one of the listings that is closest to the best swimming/snorkeling beach on the main island - and we mention this explicitly.

We have constantly tried to improve the listing and informative description; we are 'real' airbnb hosts who live onsite and we are one of the very few hosts that have a detailed 'profile' with picture - most listings don't have anything except 'Hi - I'm...'!    We also had reduced our rate by 14%   6 weeks ago.

So why can't we get any bookings at all (?)   ... No-one makes a business plan/forecast with 0.0 % occupancy.

Are we too cheap ? We are almost about to increase our rate - I guess nothing to loose anymore.

We have no idea what's going on - how could we have completely 'misread'   the so-called 'airbnb opportunities' ?

Thanks so much for any thoughts and/or experience. Vinaka,

Axel

[Sarah977]

@Axel-and-Annette0  Yes, I think it's too cheap. There's no reason to be charging 50% less than comparable competition- people might be thinking it's not so nice being that much lower. It can't hurt to try it and see.

Where I am and for what I offer, which is a private room with private bath in my home for 1 guest only, I actually have a quite low viewing rate, compared to most hosts, anywhere from 15 down to 3 views per day, usually averaging around 5-10. But most of my Inquiries turn into bookings (as opposed to many hosts' experience) so in fact, I have a 1.5- 2% booking rate (which of course varies from day to day and seasonally). 

Raise your prices and see if you start to get bookings. Not much to lose, since you haven't gotten any in 3 months. 

[Emiel1]

@Axel-and-Annette0 

The description of the listing is overwhelming. No need to mention all amenities, as there is a category "amenities".For restaurants etc. there is the "travel guide", so no need to put it in the listing. I am sorry, but  something is disturbing me when ready the listing. Like "Room serviced daily ", it is not a hotel !

Just my opinion,

Best regards,Emiel

[Axel-and-Annette0]

Thanks very much for this! 

But if we  change towels daily, replenish soap, shampoo etc., put fresh milk & water in room , empty rubbish (hygiene in the islands!) and tidy up ... HOW can we call this other than  'serviced daily'  ?  Thanks, Annette

[Sarah977]

@Axel-and-Annette0  Why would you change the towels daily? No one needs clean towels every day, you're not running a 5 star hotel. Why would you need to replenish soap and shampoo on a daily basis? You put as much stuff in the unit as you feel a guest will need for the length of their stay and let them know that if they run out,. to just let you know.

My guests get clean towels and sheets once a week if they stay that long, and when I offer them clean ones after a week, most tell me they don't need any- they're fine with what they have. Soap and shampoo- use pump contaners,. not single-use, which are terrible for the environment. Top them up between guests from bulk containers. Rubbish- ask the guests to put the rubbish out daily in a bin with an animal-proof lid, then you can deal with taking it away.

Please don't give your guests daily maid service- this is not how the majority of hosts on Airbnb operate and it just leads guests to expect 5* hotel service at bargain basement prices. Unrealistic and you'll burn out quickly once those bookings start coming in.

[Axel-and-Annette0]

Bula and thanks for all the input.  Here are some of the reasons why we try to do certain things.... Many of our competitors' apartments are fully serviced.... Rubbish has to be removed daily to keep  very tiny ants etc.  out (we are in the countryside/ sugar cane) we have  to be  on top of  cleanliness....it is the climate  here - very warm and humid. That is also the reason why we change the towels often as well as the bed sheets.  People often take showers 2-3 times a day... By doing this you actually protecting the guests and your property. Maintenance is a big and challenging thing here in the islands of the South Pacific. I wish it was easier 😉  Maybe I  try to change the towels and linen only every 2-3 days....  Thanks Annette

[Sarah977]

@Emiel1 @Axel-and-Annette0   I agree- way too long lists of things- i couldn't read more then one or two and then lost interest. All yuo need to do is mention that there are nice restaurants nearby, you can have a list of them in the room for them to peruse when they arrive.

And definitely you shouldn't be servicing the room daily- I was so overwhelmed by all the wordiness, I didn't even see that part. Most hosts clean the space before guests arrive, then you don't enter the guest space during their stay, unless they ask for something, or you need to go in to fix or deliver something (and then only with prior notice) . If you get long-term bookings, that's another story- many hosts like to have an arrangement where they go in once a week to change out bedding, towels, vacuum, or whatever. This is not so much to service the guests, but so that hosts can make sure that the guests aren't living like pigs in there and if they are, mitigate the dmage before it becomes over the tp, also guests will tend to be cleaner and tidier if they know you're going to be coming in once a week.

[Mark1357]

I'm not sure why you are vacant? Your ad looks great even if it is a little too much I actually enjoyed reading all the info but that's me most probably would rather have a quick read. The service you provide is top knotch who really wouldn't like 5 star service at a reasonable rate? Id try the raising of your rate can't hurt? 

[Axel-and-Annette0]

Thank you very much - appreciated! 

[Wendy117]

@Axel-and-Annette0   @ i personally would not like to stay in a serviced apartment as i prefer more privacy and would not want the host coming in daily like a hotel.  But then you say your competitors are also offering daily servicing so you need to compete. I guess it is a personal preference but maybe you would attract the guests that are like me?

[Axel-and-Annette0]

Bula & thanks very much!  Airbnb allowed so many large accomodation providers on their platform, including many apartment 'hotels' (including e.g. Wyndham) in our part of the world - and they all offer 'daily servicing', amenities, ...guests don't want to clean up their kitchens anymore etc.! And that is our direct competition.  But of course we respect 'privacy' - and if the guest prefers 'service' every 2-3 days, that's fine.  Warm regards for Fiji !

[Axel-and-Annette0]

PS.: With regards to 'privacy', daily room service, checking... it has to be noted that more and more accomodation providers worldwide insist on 'checking' every occupied room every 24 hours - NO exception ! Disney changed their 'Do not disturb' signs to  'Room Occupied' !    It has become a safety issue (drugs, weapons, alcohol abuse, etc.)  - arguably a small airbnb is in that  'same boat ' - it does not even have 'security' !

https://www.cntraveler.com/story/why-hotel-do-not-disturb-signs-are-disappearing

[Mark116]

@Axel-and-Annette0   How does your listing compare to those places close to you that are getting booked?  I didn't see anything that jumped out, although you might make it more clear using the photo captions how close you are to the water, and I agree your amenities list is repetitive, pick out 4-6 amenities that you offer which aren't part of the amenities check list which you think differentiates you from other listings and just keep to those. But my best advice is really look at the other airbnbs in your area and copy whatever the successful ones are doing.