My first time posting here, out of desperation. (I hadn't even been aware of this forum until now). Airbnb has become a bit too complicated for me. It seems you have to be always on top of the latest changes, starting from Instant Booking, then Superhost, then AirBnB plus, collections, what next??
I guess I have become a bit too complacent and now I have completely fallen by the wayside. When I joined AirBnB over 5 years ago I was always completely booked, up until last year, when I had a quiet spell during the low season. But this year has been completely out of the ordinary.
My apartment is a studio in the centre of Cape Town, really conveniently located in so many ways. I rent it out for longer stays only for several reasons, one being I don't want to annoy my neighbours with constant new check-ins, another that I live 45 kms away and don't want to be driving in and out every couple of days, and prefer to do the management by myself. I really prefer the quality of guest (usually travelling lecturers or researchers, or location independent entrepreneurs) coupled with low management responsibilities.
Because of receiving guests who mostly stay for one or two months at a time, I can't make Superhost status because I have too few bookings per year, despite being fully booked all year long (well, used to be).
I don't qualify for the work collection because self check-in is just not possible in my building (this is true for majority of buildings in Cape Town) because there is a security gate that you need to get through before getting to the lobby, for which you also need a key. Possibly I wouldn't qualify also for turning down a few requests - because of two bad apples I've hosted in the past I now vet my guests more carefully.
AirBnB Plus also doesn't seem like a good fit as, although my studio is really nice and clean, it is still budget accommodation. I also had to cancel a booking for the first time in my life because the guy was going psycho on me before even checking in. I just didn't feel comfortable with him at all! So I don't qualify for another year, I guess.
I can hardly find my apartment in the search results now. I've booked a photographer for next week to come and take some professional pics. I'm worried this expense will not do much good. I have always thought my mediocre pics to be a positive, as guests are always very pleasantly surprised to find something much better than they expected, which leads to great reviews.
I have also dropped my prices to AirBnB's (ridiculous) suggestions, but still have not received a single enquiry. Instead AirBnB sent me a tip to drop my prices again.
Oh, and I have changed my heading from "The Green Room Gardens Apartment" to "The VIEW!! ★ Perfect for Longer Stays". I had wanted to make it "The VIEW!! ★ Perfect for Longer Stays ★ Steps from Shopping and Public Transport" but that was exceeding the character limit by a mile.
Is the only way to get my bookings back to do a complete renovation and upgrade my apartment to a luxury apartment, along with giving it to some agency to manage so that I can accept short-term bookings and instant booking?? Or is there something left that I can do that will actually make a difference? I have an average 5 star reviews in all categories. I'm feeling so sad and broke right now, while the bills keep piling up.
