How to get more weekday bookings

[Nina197]

Hey guys! I recently started hosting and so far things are looking great. i've been doing a ton of research and trying to implement everything i learned. We don't have any issues getting weekend bookings (we have a 2 night min for weekends), however during the weekdays the traffic is slow. Right now, there is only a one night miniumum for weekdays, rate is a lot lower, and instant booking is on. I did recently get the "business friendly" badge. What else could I do? It is a 2 bedroom, full kitchen and dining room, 2.5 bath so it would be very appealing to someone looking to stay for the week. 

What do you do to attract people during the week?

[Sue-and-Andrew0]

Hey @Nina197

Have you identified your main competitors in the same area?  My first step would be to see whether there is actually demand for mid-week stays in your area - I would take a look at the listings and browse through their calendars to see whether they are experiencing the same occupancies as you are.  You may also want to consider buying an area report from AirDNA.

[Nina197]

Thanks for the advice. I have looked at my competition and although they aren't slam packed for weekdays, they have them here and there. There was maybe one I saw that was pretty busy, but it's hard to tell whether or not the host is blocking those dates because they have something going on or if there is actually someone staying there. Has the airDNA been worth the 15$?

[Jessica-and-Henry0]

@Nina197

I think I'd look at types of guests coming to the area. People travelling on weekends vs. weekdays will be travelling for totally different purposes. I'd assume, weekday guests would be people in the area for work so you might have to tweek the description to make it more attractive to those types of guests.

FYI - I host a lot of exchange students so my listing description and information about surrounding areas is tailored to answer the types of questions that exchange students would have when looking for a place to stay for a whole semester, as opposed to a tourist looking for a place to stay for 2~3 days while shopping and sightseeing.

Hope this helps~!

[Kelly149]

@Jessica-and-Henry0

Yes! This is true, my weekend & weekday guests are so different that I have two different listings. Same space, but one listing is for the weekend groups & the other is for the solo business travelers. This has helped somewhat with my weekday occupancy but I don't think it will ever match pace with the weekends. 

[Alana156]

So interesting ! How do you word your weekday listings?

[David8879]

5-6 days minimum (easy for me to say - I cater to vacationers) 

[David8879]

@Nina197 

I wonder if you can do multiple listings. List ROOM with low minimum stay and entire HOUSE for 5+ days.

No single person in general will rent a house for one day. Udachi