New on Airbnb - all suggestions, recommendations and critics are welcome!

BedandStay0
Level 3
Tokyo, Japan

New on Airbnb - all suggestions, recommendations and critics are welcome!

Hello everyone!!

 

My name is Mirtha and I just joined the world of Airbnb.

This is a full house with 6 rooms and also has its own elevator located in Tokyo.

My main goal is to rent for families and big groups.

The price is for the whole house and not for the number of guests and I used this number thinking is a group of 12 people rented the total per person is like 3,000 so it is really cheap for a staying in Tokyo for a full house.

Maximum number of guests allowed are 12 people.

 

I finished like a couple of days ago the listing and I will totally appreciate your help reviewing my listing and give me some feedback.

I already get a few bookings and also I would like some advices in renting to big groups.

 

Here is the link of my listing and I thank you in advance for your help.

 

House in Tokyo with elevator: https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/21581868

 

All comments are welcome.

 

Thank you in advance.

 

Regards,

 

Mirtha 

14 Replies 14

Mirtha,

 

 

You place looks very nice!

 

I think you mean ¥30,000, not ¥3,000?

Either way, it is a very good price to stay in Tokyo. The last time we were in Japan I wish we could have stayed in a place like yours!

The hotel we stayed at I think was ¥110,000 for one room, and that was ten years ago.

(It was a very nice hotel, though)

 

I hope your guests treat your place with respect!

Thank you Matthew for taking the time to review my listing.

I will change the price, yes it is 30,000 🙂

 

I really hope my future guests treat my house properly.

 

If you come to Tokyo next time feel free to contact me.

 

Mirtha

@BedandStay0, in US dollars the price is coming up as $318. That seems really cheap for a whole house in Tokyo - better check that before you get too many bargain bookings which you'll have to cancel!  It looks very nice!

Hi Susie!

Thank you so much for taking the time to review my listing.

I will check on the price because actually on my Airbnb dashboard got a message from Airbnb saying that my price is a bit high for my area and if I adjusted to the number they offer I could get more bookings. Do you know how efficient is the price recommendation from Airbnb? 

My listing has been out for one week and so far I just got 1 booking for next year so I was wondering if my price is really high.

 

Mirtha 

@BedandStay0

Your listing is great!!! I usually travel with a group when visiting Japan (usually 4~6 people) so your 2nd/3rd floor listings would be exactly what I would look for 🙂 I agree with other opinions that your pricing seems a little on the low side considering everything your listing provides (based on my personal experience as a guest traveller to Japan). 

 

I've found Airbnb price tips to be ridiculously low most of the time so I usually ignore them because it does not factor in different level of amenities or attractiveness. My suggestion is to look at other listings in your area (namely, your "competition") and also look at your costs - factor in a generous figure for utilities, housekeeping (turn overs), replacement of damaged items, IOW the cost of doing business.

Good luck~!

Hi Jessica & Henry,

Thank you for taking the time to check my listing.

Glad to hear you like it and if you have another trip planned to Japan, please feel free to contact me 🙂

 

Yeah the price is very tricky. I will follow your advice and I will check my competion to adjust my price.

 

Mirtha 

Jessica & Henry,

 

I also checked your listing. I really like the room and the view.

If I have the chance to go to Korea I will drop you a line 🙂

 

Mirtha 

hi @BedandStay0, don't be confused by Airbnb's price suggestions. They are notoriously low - there are many threads on this forum complaining about how low they are. I use a pricing service called "Beyondpricing.com which tracks local trends and adjusts prices within the limits you set (low and high). It knows for example that there might be an event in the town which will drive up demand and it sets the prices accordingly.  You don't need to use that though, but don't feel obligated to use the Airbnb pricing suggestions. You have a quality property and the feeling of hosts on the board here is that often low prices attract a more difficult type of customer.  Also the request to negotiate prices or cleaning fees etc. seldom works out well - that's a red flag for many experienced hosts.  Good luck and let me/us know if you have any further questions!  Susie

Thank you so much Susie! I will check that website regarding the prices.

Also, competition in Tokyo has grown so much. 

I hope I can book soon. 

so far I just got one for February. I was at least expecting 2 per month for starting.

 

How long does usually get to start getting in an usual booking?

@BedandStay0, I think it is very seasonal, at least here in Boston.  When I first started on Airbnb, it was August and I had a booking (for the next day!) within a half an hour of going live with my listing!  I got the impression it would be like that all the time... but it isn't!  I have gone from being about 90% booked in July and August to about 10% for November and December.  It will be slow until March when it begins to pick up.... I've lowered my price a bit, but I don't want to get "bargain hunters" as I've learned that they can be unreasonably demanding and hard to deal with.  

I forgot to mention that Beyond pricing charges 1% of your revenues for their service of adjusting your prices (daily) in accordance with demand.  I find their charts very helpful to understand - one of them shows my price in relation to others, and also shows hotel pricing.  You can try it for free for a while and that might be  helpful as you get started and get a feeling for what you should charge  - you can then decide whether to keep it or let it go after that free period (a month, I think).

Another thing you might consider is how far out you want to let people book - for a place as large as yours, it might be good to have a longer timeframe since people with that size party might need to plan farther in advance.  I have mine set at 6 months but there are other options. Good luck with your hosting!  Susie

Linda108
Level 10
La Quinta, CA

I am not going to comment on price, because you will do the research about that, @BedandStay0.  You need to use your own research, Air BNB information and just common sense.  I do think your pictures could be better.  Think like a potential guest who is looking at a lot of different listings so your first 10 photos need to tell the story and some of your photos are lovely, but do not tell the right story about your listing and how it fits into the community.

Hi Linda,

 

Thank you for checking the listing. 

Yeah I am doing more researchs about how to control and manage the price better.

I will check regarding the pictures. It is a good point to set them as a telling a story.

I was more setting them as I saw other Airbnb pages in Tokyo. Thanks for the tip.

 

Mirtha 

Ryo3
Level 4
Tokyo, Japan

@BedandStay0 your place is a great deal! You're right, entire houses are hard to come by in Tokyo.

 

I didnt see any living room pic in the house-would be good to see it. 

 

Also, you can just say 5 minutes from Shinjuku--nobody knows what/where Nogata is. 

 

Anyways, happy hosting!

Thank you Ryo for checking the listing and the house was set up more as a share house and sadly there isnt a living room.