Hello @Rachel354
First – Welcome to the Community! I am so happy that you decided to join Airbnb as a Host! We have been hosting since October 2016 and we think Airbnb is an excellent platform for travel and alternative lodging. It’s a great way to get that “local” experience and a wonderful way to share your home with like-minded “strangers,” at least when it comes to the sharing economy.
Although it has been a fun and positive experience, it has also had its challenges and as Hosts, we are continuously learning new things with every booking! This includes how to increase bookings! There are so many ways you can increase your bookings, and Airbnb provides many resources on their website including:
- Airbnb Help Center
- Airbnb Blog
- Airbnb Community Forum
- Connect Locally
- Host Support
Side note, I just tried to look at your listing(s) but I didn’t see anything listed. Maybe check this first, or maybe I am experiencing a glitch.
Regardless, one of the things that has helped me increase our bookings was activating my “Instant Book” feature. We have seen quite an increase in bookings since we signed up for it.
This feature really does have some great ...um... features to it! Like the ability to adjust our Booking Requirements like requiring "Host Recommendations" and "Verified Government ID." It's great! With the amount of inquiries that come through, I don't have to filter through every single inquiry (although I still do from time to time - but that's because I like to read about the guests).
However, we don’t have “Host Recommendations” as a requirement because we find that it may limit our potential bookings. Also, we don't activate this feature because I know what it feels like to be new to Airbnb and hope that someone will approve my booking even though I don't have any reviews. I had a friend who went through the same situation and she was rejected with no further explanation, but that’s another story.
This is just ONE thing you can do. There is so much more you can do, like improve your photos or offer more competitive pricing by activating your “Smart Pricing” feature (although some hosts will argue this isn’t the best feature to determine pricing).
But I digress…
Use the resources Airbnb provides and utilize your fellow hosts! Here’s a link to a post titled “25 tips to get booked” created by a fellow host in one of the Community Forum’s Discussion Boards: https://community.withairbnb.com/t5/Help/25-tips-to-get-booked/td-p/141233
If can find more articles in here as well! Once you start looking around, you will have so much information, you don’t know what to do with it all!
I hope this was helpful. Good luck, I know you’ll do great! In the meantime, “Love, Peace & Adventure!” fellow Host!
Happy Hosting!
Izzie, Co-Host
LOV Puerto Rico
