Very Few Bookings

[Damian0]

Hello, 

I'm new to hosting and have just listed a great one-bedroom apartment in Philadelphia. The listing went live December 6 and we booked a two night reservation that same week. Ever since, we've had just one other inquiry and no additional reservations. We did get a five star review from our guests, but it's been very slow. I understood from Airbnb that Philadelphia is a market where there are not enough hosts to accomodate requests, so I'm surprised by how slow this has been going. 

Any thoughts? 

Damian

[Dave-and-Deb0]

Hi @Damian0,

I do not know the Philadelphia market but with that said, December is a very slow time of year for a lot of Airbnb hosts and a lot of people have been posting about this lately on several forums.  During this time of year, you may need to lower prices to hook in the few people that are looking for a place to stay.

I also took a quick look at your listing.  Are you sure it is only a 1 bedroom.  From the pictures it looks like it is at least a two bedroom but is listing as a 1 bedroom and acommodates 6 people.  One thing you could do is lower your price (again I don't know your area so your pricing might be competitive) and maybe charge extra for people over 3 guests.

Also, in your rules you state that: "Cleaning fees cover 1 hour cleaning. Extra cleaning fees will be deducted from your deposit if cleaner has to spend extra hours cleaning after you".  Do you charge a cleaning fee or is built into the price?  I don't see a cleaning fee on your listing.

Cheers

Dave

[Damian0]

Hi Dave, 

Thanks for the feedback. I just lowered the price to generate interest. I've made several edits to the listing, but neglected to 

My wife hosts at another location and I'm wondering if it makes more sense to link this listing to her profile. She's a super host and regularly gets inquiries. I'm thinking the SEO on her listing is much higher.

Dave, do you think reservations will pick up in January? 

[Alejandro14]

Hey! A lot of times it has to do with the optimization of your profile in search as well, not just competitive pricing etc. A friend's company that manages Airbnb properties, HostTonight.com, provides a few services that you can learn from. The tips that I've garned from talking to him have been the use of colorful adjectives, different keywords, building a good host profile, and a good, accurate description of the space - as well as quality photos. Obviously, Airbnb wants to showcase apartments that do well, so it's kind of a snowball effect - if you get more reservations, you show up higher in results, and then you get more reservations. 

[Linda0]

Hello Damian
This is just a slow season all around. You'll probably get more inquiries in January and February. The cleaning fee is a one time only add-on so think about what you want to charge and either prorate over number of cleanings and include as part of your pricing or enter as a one time charge. I would not charge more than $60 max for a stay over 14 days. The more frequently you rent out your room (s) I would charge about $15-25. When you are doing a lot of washing the utilities go up so recoup cost that way.

[Damian0]

Thank you. Appreciate the feedback!

I will work the cleaning fee back into the price. Figured I would remove it since interest has been low...

[Claudia94]

Hi Damian:

I am having a similar problem with a different initial start.  Last year was a stellar year for us and now the bookings are down at least 90 percent from last year at the same time.  I think Airbnb has changed their platform.  From what I am learning, it appears that if you have a new booking then you are placed at the bottom of a search for the next client.  I am still trying to figure it all out.

Warm regards,

Claudia

[Daniel-Rusteen0]

@Damian0

It could be pricing. When you're a new host, you get a boost in rankings and your place could've been reserved by a guest who didn't know any better 🙂

Alternatively, there are ways you can "optimize" your listing. I offer this service at AnalyzeMyAirbnb.com and would be happy to help you make your listing stand out among your competition. 

[Faye75]

This summer has been incredibly slow for bookings.  In Hawaii the winter months are prime time, but with June weddings and people vacationing in the summer months  it is not a total loss of bookings.  Can it be that I declined so many inquires that somehow it put me out of the running.  

Had a year of them.  Folks showing one guest when there were more than we accommodate, people trying to come for a trade, or at such a loss it wasn't worth it.