How to start hosting?

[Anita204]

I have listed my room since two months  for availability of the from December to February (summer in NZ).  Sofar I only received 2 bookings; do people not like to book in advance? 

[Lilian20]

Hello @Anita204 there 's no rule really but payment is made when booking , so most guests would rather book at the last minute. 

That means the day before for some guests, the week or the month before for other guests but many other factors also come into play. 

[Linda108]

Hi @Anita204  Your listing is lovely and should be a great success.  When you look at your statistics, how many viewings have you gotten?  That should give you an idea of general interest in your space.  If you are getting viewings but no inquiries or request to book, you might have a friend look at your home page as a "traveler" and give you feedback.  Maybe there is some tweaking you can do.

My first impression is that there is no "wow" factor in your pictures.  Perhaps in addition to your home and yard pictures, you can add a few pictures of the area that would attract visitors.  Also, add captions to your pictures that describe it a bit more.

Your profile and your listing are both very low key.  That might be your general style, but if you could add more energy to both, that will cause a traveler to linger a bit longer.

Finally, I once had the opportunity to speak with an Air BNB system engineer who shared that in general, guests will book 8 to 30 days in advance.  For my Southern California desert location which is a resort and event destination, I get reservations a year in advance for certain sports and music events and usually 1-3 weeks for coming to the area due to weather.  Hope this helps.

[Anita204]

thanks for the great feedback - something I can work on !!!

[Ria16]

KiaOra @Anita0
I always enjoy reading Linda’s comments as she’s good value for sure.
The summer season has started so hopefully you should get some bookings soon. I am not sure however if the Kaikoura earthquake has had a knock on effect on Blenheim? But I hear the main road is opening soon.
My area is probably a lot quieter than most so I’ve included attractions up to a 40km radius of where I live making clear the distance and time involved. I have bookings up until March wth November being my busiest month so far.
I have also taken advantage of the 5% discount offered to guests by Air as they email selected people with these special offers for mid week specials.
A lot of my guests are travelling down to the South Island via Picton. The Sounds and Kaikoura are two of my most favourite places so I always rave about them especially when there is a chance of seeing one of our very rare Hector dolphins.
Good luck I am sure things will get moving soon.

[Nutth0]

As now I plan to visit NZ and try to see your home as a guest eye. I think If you just start, please consider 1 night as a minimum. It may help you got more people and more review.

[Simon237]

Given you are in Blenheim and SH1 is still shut for another three weeks, I wouldn't expect a lot of bookings. For me (Lower Hutt), I get about 20% book more than a month in advance, 20% book more than two weeks in adance, 50% book bettwen 1-14 days, and 10% book on the day. 

[Joanne-Flynn0]

Most of our bookings come a few days before or a week before.  We are two hours from Manhattan so people are looking for quick getaway from "the city."  Not sure how it works in NZ but give it time, get some bookings/reviews and it will continue to grow. Good luck!

[Simon237]

The vast majority of my guests are people that are doing a tour of the country, and are spending nights at various AirBNB places along the way. They usually take the ferry to the South Island after staying at my place (or have taken the ferry from the South Island)