Brand new listing, how do i get my first bookings with no reviews?

[David1705]

How can I get listings with no reviews?  I was thinking of offering a low price, but seems like this may invite trouble.   Any suggestions for a first timer?

[Paul154]

Airbnb does suggest a low price for hosts who start out. 

You are competing against other hosts with a track record, so a lower price may be appropriate.

But you are correct about worrying.  You are fresh meat and you must protect yourself.

Do not accept guests asking discounts.

Do not accept long stays - 3 days maximum.

Be on guard for chatty-cathys, they will wear you down.

If something feels wrong, it probably is.

That said, Be patient and have fun!

Airbnb is a blast.

[David1705]

Thanks for your reply.  Most info suggests taking one night guests and no cleaning fee to get started.  That feels like asking for problems,   anyone have experience with doing  that?

[Michelle-and-Ray0]

I didn't restrict anything and I charged a cleaning fee right off the top. I'm with @David1705 Don't do anything longer than 3 days until you get the feel of things, and that could mean a few months! I do regret some of the longer term rentals I took right in the beginning as they have hurt my bottom line because I could be getting a higher price for them now. It's our high season (I live in a ski resort town) and I have locked myself out of some very lucrative bookings. The people who booked those got real steals!
Good luck!

[Michael956]

Lower your price the first month or two.  I did that and now I have lots of reviews and am booked solid.  I've since raised my prices, but it's good to start low. 

[David1705]

How much did you  charge (% wise) lower than the other near by listings?

[Marzena4]

Airbnb usually promotes a new listing, @David1705. Also Smart Pricing on and Instant Book may help because they boost you in the search results.

[David1705]

Is there any truth to the idea that loggin in daily and updating calendar daily improves bookings?

[Peter682]

Good question. My observation is that if you make a positive change like lowering prices then bookings seem to improve. Keeping the listing current seems to help. I think that checking the listing and incrementally improving it is beneficial but I don't see that any real evidence that it has much effect on the search algorithm.

[Matthew285]

@David1705, I assume by asking whether something "improves bookings" you mean does it "improve your ranking in the search results".

I mean, the whole topic of improving your booking rate is of course different and larger than just improving your ranking in the search results. But if you are wondering if logging in daily and updating your calendar helps with your search ranking, AirBnB claims it does not greatly help.

I have a slighly long bunch of text I sometimes post in response to questions about how to improve a listing's search ranking, but your comment made me realize there is a larger question of how to improve your bookings. How to improve your bookings is what we really want, and that takes more than just a good search ranking. (Although certainly a very poor search ranking will torpedo any effort to get good bookings.)

Sorry to ponder about this in your comment thread. But to repeat the actual answer to your question: there are far more effective ways to improve your search rank than logging in daily to update your calendar.

(Of course, logging in daily is free, so why not?)

[Candace30]

I lowered my price the first two months via an Airbnb newcomer promotion and it really helped get me started. Afterwards, I used the smart pricing and instant booking features. I also spent a lot of time refining my listing by researching other listings in my area.

[David1705]

Hi candace,  I did both of those and have been booking well suddely. I also havee logged in many times per day and checked calendar many times per day. maybe that was it? 

[Rene-and-Zac0]

@David1705 The ‘lower than the competition’ tactic works in the beginning. I can’t see your listing for some reason but your Joshua Tree review comes up. It’s a good review. Both Big Bear and Joshua Tree are great vacation markets. I’m on the fringe of JT and we get guest that visit all the time. JT has over 2 million visitors a year now, so that is a great place to be working. Just relax, you’ll be booked solid in no time. 

Does your listing have its own Instagram and Facebook? Photos hash tagging Bigbear, snow, winter or whatever will reach a huge audience and it’s all free. 

Good Luck!

’You know it’s hard out here for a Host’

[David1705]

Can you give me an example of a Airbnb Facebook / Insta page?   I’ll have my daughter create one tomorrow!  

[Rene-and-Zac0]

@David1705 Modpod rentals in Palm Springs, Scaldia Hot Springs in Italy, they all have them. 

’You know it’s hard out here for a Host’