Why are we not receiving bookings?

[Mi26]

We are renting our villa for years already and it was quite booked all this time. This year we are experiencing no bookings. We lower the the prices compared to competition also. So not sure what is going on.

We would be grateful for any tips or advices

Thank you very much in advance

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Mi26 Where were your bookings coming from? It is highly likely that Covid will be affecting bookings in Malta.

[Mi26]

Thank you for your reply @Mike-And-Jane0 ,

we had booking from all over the world even from Malta. I a aware that Covid affects a lot but still getting confused when I see properties in Malta that are getting booked and our prices are even lower compared to them. So still confused.

[Andrew0]

@Mi26  A few things going on, all related to Covid:

- Current travel restrictions, as well as the possibility that old ones might be abruptly reinstated, are severely impacting international travel in Europe, while domestic travel is probably not a thing in a country as small as Malta

- Rooms in shared houses are not desirable to most prospective guests due to social distancing and mask requirements

- Many hotels have reduced their rates and are often comparable in price to Private Room listings

- If you've reduced access to shared facilities and offer fewer amenities due to Covid, you've got a much tougher sell on your hands 

Homestay hosts just have to ride this one out; listings like yours will have a longer road to recovery than Entire Home listings, which are booming this year. 

[Mi26]

@Andrew0  thank you for your reply and detailed explanation.

What would you suggest as improvement, any suggestion is more than welcome.

Thanks a lot

[Andrew0]

@Mi26   The main thing you need to have is patience. Under pre-pandemic circumstances, the lively social dynamic of a house shared with the host(s) and several guests would have a special appeal to certain types of travelers, but unfortunately it is not enjoyable with the current limitations. Thinking about it from the guest perspective, if you wanted to have a relaxing holiday and you had many options available, would this arrangement honestly be your first choice?

You can't change the pandemic, but you can try changing the listings a bit. The first photo guests see in Search results should be colorful and visually appealing - perhaps one of your sun-splashed garden, rather than the bedrooms (which look nice, but when I dream of a sunny Mediterranean holiday, several shades of brown and grey are not what comes to mind). And based on one particularly negative review, it's clear that this home is only suitable for people who really like cats - so why not lean harder into that, get some pics of the cats into the mix, and target cat lovers as a niche?

[Mi26]

Andrew0 thank you for taking time to look into it and for your suggestions. We will definitely implement some of those. Thanks again 🙂