Bookings not forthcoming

[Sheila353]

Hello fellow Airbnbers

I started this venture at the beginning of August and was delighted to get bookings straight away and then regularly to fill the month of August and into September.I have had 11  5 star wonderful reviews and no problems that I am aware of. I'm well priced compared to other properties in my locality  but now find I haven't had even an enquiry for a few weeks and wonder if this is my lot for this year. Out of the main summer season do people usually book at shorter notice? Thanks in advance for any advice.

[Solveig0]

Hi Sheila, 

Our bookings are also way down now since the summer season. At the moment we mostly get short notice bookings for 1 night only. You can look into the statistics in the back end and see how you do compared to other listings in the area. 

Things you can do to get your listing higher up on the searches in your area is to get people to favourite your listing (click on the little heart in the upper right on your public listing). 

I would also consider changing the main image on your listing. It mostly shows the curtains because of how Airbnb presents it, and not the lovely garden view. 

Do you have instant book on? That will also get you higher up on the search results. 

[Helen3]

When you first start with Airbnb you get an artificial boost in the rankings as a new host for a month or so so you are likely to get more bookings. After that it stops.

I don't know the booking pattern for your area, or your target market,  but it is likely to be a combination of no longer getting a boost in the rankings as a new host and the school holidays finishing in early September. @Sheila353 

Many hosts don't rely on Airbnb but list on a variety of platforms and also take direct bookings through their own website or social media platform.

[Anonymous]

@Sheila353  Yes, as @Helen3  said, your temporary search boost has probably just ended.

Given your coastal location, I'd imagine that your town has distinct High and Low seasons; your local Visitor's Bureau could be a helpful resource for data on that, which you can use to adjust your prices accordingly. 

Hosts who have a very high degree of seasonality often tailor their calendar/pricing settings so that longer bookings are encouraged in the low season. A steeper weekly discount would be one way to do this.

[Sheila353]

Thank you sp much for your useful comments and feedback @Helen3 @Solveig0 @Anonymous . I do have instant booking on and yes, I'll change the photo to show the garden from the outside. You're right, curtains fill the frame. I'll also try to do a weekly discount for the school half term week in October.

[Helen3]

Why would you discount half term - it's peak bookings if your target market is families. Only do that a couple of weeks out.

Personally I have never discounted my rates, it's not worth me doing below a certain rate, I would rather leave it empty. Appreciate not everyone is in my situation.

[Sheila353]

Thanks @Helen3..Nearly everyone in the village is  already booked so I was panicking. I'll be patient. Good things come to those who wait--and that goes for guests too!

[Helen350]

Hi @Sheila353 , I'm also a host in an English holiday area - Lake District coast. I joined in Feb 17, and in all 3 summers of hosting, August has been peak month, followed by July. Next most popular are June & Sept. My earnings bar chart is pretty much the classic 'bell formation' peaking in summer, tailing off in autumn, very little in winter, then building in spring - as you would expect.

I find I have bookings from tourists from March - Oct/Nov. People book for work all year round, some Mon - Fri, whilst doing contract work locally, or people who've started a new job & are looking for a flat/house. There's also salesmen & others just wanting 1 or 2 nights for work. I seem to host a lot of locum health workers/social workers.

Most of my bookings are short notice. I find workers book 1 day - 1 week before their stay. Tourists too will book for the weekend only 1 day - 1 week beforehand. In summer, many folk on driving tours book at breakfast the same day, sometimes the night before - & some only book 2-4 hours before arrival! 

I didn't check your minimum stay....I find the most common length of stay at mine is 1 night! Followed by 2 nights! Very few tourists stay more than 3 nights; I've had 3 x 5 night stays & 1 x 4 night stay all summer. (Tho' mine is  budget private rooms in MY house, shared bath/WC, which lends itself to shorter, rather than longer stays.)

I've had a steady drip feed of guests over the last 2 &1/2 years. Just when my calendar appears empty - up pops another one! - If you scroll thru my reviews, you'll see the monthly traffic, dropping to just 1 or 2 in Dec, Jan, Feb.

One thing, I often look at other listings in my area, & it strikes me that many round here are not getting many new reviews, even now in peak season......... Could be cos many new listings, thinly spread, or are guests booking on other platforms?

Good luck! 

[Sheila353]

Hi @Helen350 

That's really informative and helpful. We do allow min 1 night stays and have had a mix of 1/2/ and 3 nts.

This area is usually busy at October half term and others in my village seem booked so I was just a bit surprised. Maybe it's because I'm not a superhost yet. I'll just be patient.

[Suzanne302]

@Sheila353 I find sometimes that my bookings come in waves. I'll have nothing for a week or two, then all of a sudden within a few days I've got 4 new bookings!

I like to check to see the availability of similar listings in my area. If I see most of them aren't booked either, I don't worry too much because it probably just means things are slow overall and it has nothing to do with my listing.

[Sheila353]

Thanks @Suzanne302 ..I think I was so excited my my initial flurry and it worried me a bit. I think I'll be OK. I'm a bit more expensive than some of the others nearby but have a better range of facilities and location. I'll be patient.

[Sarah977]

@Suzanne302  What I've noticed is that when I get a booking, that moves me up the search rankings. So then I'm more visible, so more guests see my listing, thus more book. I find it comes in waves as well, and I think that might be why. That's my theory, anyway.

[Elena87]

@Sheila353 

On your calendar you have only 13 days free in September and 17 in October.

I think maybe you have quite a lot of bookings already in the tank.

Remember when you start off you have full availability, in high season, and more likely to have a flurry of activity because of this. Now with your restricted availability and bookings already on the cards, activity will naturally dip as well as going forward to off season.

You can recheck how competitive you are for later autumn by following a local hotel, as they might adjust pricing to meet demand changes.