Bookings dried up - is style too unique?

[Melissa640]

Hi Everyone, 

We have a little cottage in Adelaide which we have done up retro style and we have had listed for a month and we were getting quite a few bookings at first, but now we haven't had a booking for a week or more, and I was wondering if anyone knew how long the newby 'boost' lasted for?

We are coming up to a popular time of year, so I was wondering if I was doing something wrong?

Is it too wordy?

Is it too specific?

Is the retro/pop art/Hawaiian style too much?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated…

https://www.airbnb.com.au/rooms/25855355

Thanks in advance,

Melissa

[Melissa640]

The other thing that is annoying is that even though I keep changing my location on my profile to Adelaide, Australia, it reverts back to New Jersey, USA. That probably makes me look untrustworthy too. When you look at my profile does it say New Jersey or Adelaide?

Thanks very much,

Melissa

[Susan151]

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@Melissa640 wrote:location on my profile to Adelaide, Australia, it reverts back to New Jersey, USA. That probably makes me look untrustworthy too. When you look at my profile does it say New Jersey or Adelaide?

Thanks very much,

Melissa

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When I view your listing, your location is clearly in Adelaide. When I see your profile picture here in the forums, then you are in New Jersey. I don't think that your profile in the forums is visible to guests unless they really work hard to read everything you might ever have written. Highly unlikely!

I think your listing is fun, but I would be hesitant to book it. The rooms are so very designed. There is beauty everywhere, but when I think about moving in for a week, it goes from being beautiful to cluttered. One example would be the bedroom. I count 5 items on the small bedside table. Where am I going to put my phone, box of tissues, how will I access those in the middle of the night without banging and potentially breaking one of your five items?

The mantle is another example. The blown glass is gorgeous! The colors are perfect. But I can not put my iPad or tourist books on that mantle. Even the book shelves don't have room for my stuff, so it would have to go on the coffee table rendering the coffee table cluttered as well.

I don't know the answer for you, since you have clearly created a beautiful and easy-to-photograph space, but perhaps my thoughts will give you some ideas.

[Melissa640]

Thanks for taking the time to look Susan, I will declutter a bit and add some more vacant shelving for people to put their things on 🙂 

[Jessica-and-Henry0]

@Melissa640

This is how your listing shows up - as Adelaide.Your home is lovely and you have a couple really great reviews! I can see no apparent reason why you wouldn't be getting bookings. In terms of "long and wordy" descriptions...... I think I'd win that contest 🙂 

[Melissa640]

Thanks for checking that out for me Jessica and Henry, I was a bit worried, I wouldn't mind living in New Jersey, but it certainly isnt where we are located. Thanks for the confirmation!

Melissa

[Sandra126]

@Melissa640. Fresh, bright, funky, clean, centrally located, looks brilliant throughout. Can't see why you are not booked out, even has a parking permit. If price is right (don't know Adelaide market) you should do very well. Even has pineapples. Yeay!

[Melissa640]

Thanks Sandra, I do love a bit of pinapple, you can probably tell I was renovating in the middle of winter hoping for some sunshine...

Melissa

[Lisa723]

Your place looks amazing and perfectly furnished. Are you instagramming it? Looks like a candidate for #airbnb, #airbnbphoto, #hostagram, #instahost.  I've heard, don't know from personal experience because my listings are not particularly styled, that that's where you find guests who book for style.

[Melissa640]

Thanks for checking it out and thanks for the suggestion Lisa, I had never heard of that before but I will give it a go....

Thanks again, 

Melissa

[Suzanne302]

@Melissa640  Love your place! I have found that bookings just ebb and flow so I don't think your listing is scaring off people. And I also don't think wordy descriptions turn off people...most don't even bother reading simple descriptions! They are booking on photos, reviews, and price comparison. 

[Melissa640]

Thanks for the kind words Suzanne, hopefully we stop ebbing and start flowing soon!

Melissa

[Ned-And-Laura0]

Have you done a complete search of all other airbnb properties in the area?  How about boutique hotels?  Other booking sites?  There might be a new player in the area taking up the bookings.  Its a really cute space, but if there is a lot of others in the area charging less or offering steep discounts, that might explain why you aren't getting the bookings.  Search long and hard using other booking platforms and really get a good sense of how you compare.

[Melissa640]

Thanks Ned and Laura, I will study up hard and check out more of what else is out there, 

Melissa

[Mark116]

I think its adorable, funky and interesting, not cluttered at all.  I would second the idea of doing research into other listings in your area, you could also browse incognito to see where your listing is showing up in searches, and if it has dropped you can try some of the many tricks listed here, like adding photos, logging in every day, etc. .