Newbie: Critique my listing

[Michael5611]

Hello fellow host,

We’re relatively brand new to Airbnb hosting. Started about a year ago and what a year it’s been. I’ve made some updates to our listing, photos and descriptions since we began but mostly out of my own accord.

If anyone has a minute to take a look and offer feedback to improve our visibility we’d greatly appropriate it. We’re in a very broad and competitive vacation rental market — so we’re willing to try anything.

Best,

Michael

https://www.airbnb.com/h/29watersedge

[Jo620]

Hi everyone, Jo here from Wokingham England .This is my first time hosting as well .Many times have I been a guest but never the host until now .I  moved  house last year yes through lockdown, {lucky me}

I have done my own research on the pricing front ,check it out I'll leave my listing here .

https://www.airbnb.co.uk/rooms/48176913?adults=2&federated_search_id=16331b2b-6e27-4bce-be5a-d028e17...

Any feedback would be great

[Sarah977]

@Jo620  I'd suggest you take better photos of the bedroom. Post at least 2 from different angles, so the whole room can be seen. It doesn't look like there are any bedside tables- you really should have that, with lamps. 

Maybe a kitchen photo closer up. 

Proofread your listing text. It says "quite" instead of quiet. You don''t describe in the text what parts of the house guests have access to, whether they are allowed to cook, etc. 

Good luck with your hosting venture.

[Jo620]

Hi Sarah977,

Thanks so for your input. Much appreciated .Noted.

I do have a bedside and a teas maid on it on the right side of the bed  ,I will make a pic of this. Thankyou  again for your help . I wish you well with  your listings also.

[Sarah977]

@Jo620  If you host 2 guests, it would be best to have a bedside table on both sides of the bed. And I don't know how large the one on the other side is, but if it has tea makings on it, is there enough space left for a lamp, a book, a phone- the things people normally have on the bedside table?

[Jo620]

@Sarah977 We are planning to get a bedside table at some point yes .Thankyou. I am reviewing the listing this week .Thankyou very much 

[Anonymous]

Welcome, @Jo620  !  You might get more visibility for this topic if you start a new thread in the forum.

Your listing looks like a nice and cozy place to stay, and I like your description of the surrounding area. I find that Private Room listings tend to require a bit more detail in the descriptions to help guests understand exactly what they're getting - people are often confused about the extent to which the home is shared, and if you're not careful in the correspondence you might find people showing up thinking they have the entire house.  One approach is to add a floor plan diagram that shows which areas are inclusive guest access and which are not.

Well-staged and sharp photographs make a big difference when guests are searching listings - they see a lot of options at once, so the ideal lead photo is one that captures the aspect of your home that you expect guests to love the most about their stay. It doesn't have to look like a real-estate ad - you're selling an experience as much as a room - but I would avoid shots that are out of focus or make it hard to see the full room. Maybe call over a friend with a wide-angle lens to help with that.

I see that you offer guests access to the kitchen but not the lounge, and I see no picture of a kitchen table or indoor seating area. If the only place where guests can sit down to eat is in the garden, British weather will present a bit of a problem. And as for the rules - well, everyone has a different idea of what "major cooking" entails. I'd say, either add photos and descriptions that show how the Kitchen and Breakfast amenities can be enjoyed comfortably, or perhaps reconsider offering them at all. 

As far as what else to include - it helps to visualize who your target clientele is, what they're coming to your area for, and what features are most suitable for that experience. A lot of people these days are looking for spaces where they can integrate remote work, so if you'd like to attract that demographic, a lot of attention will be paid to whether you have a desk and office chair. But if you'd rather focus on budget holiday-makers, put yourself in the mindset of someone on vacation and think of how the home can be a fun place to hang out at the end of a day of sightseeing without a lively common area.  

[Jo620]

@Andrew0 in 

Berlin, Germany,

Thankyou so much for your input Andrew .. I will emphasize everything you mentioned . My audience is a mix of workers and visitors wanting to explore the area and visiting friends and family. Yes there should be a picture of the kitchen table agreed ,also the kettle and crockery. I am planning to  offer them a continental breakfast.

My daughter is a photographer so will ask for her help .I haven't a office space to offer only  if I use the dressing table for this ,something I will look into  and get a stall for it too .Thanks again @Andrew0

[Anonymous]

@Jo620   I used to offer a home-office setup in my guestroom. But after a year of my apartment doubling as two clashing home-offices for my partner and I, if we resume hosting we will probably remove these furnishings for guests. I think I'm only going to want people who come purely for fun and leave the laptops at home, in hopes that future years look as little like 2020 as possible!

I personally nixed breakfast as an option after my first few months, recognizing that it didn't add any value in real terms because budget travelers weren't willing to spend a few bucks more on a listing just because it had a continental breakfast. But then again, this guy could be your perfect guest:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=st21dIMaGMs&ab_channel=ComedyCentral  

[Ute42]

.

@Anonymous 

How do You always find these videos?  😎

[Anonymous]

@Ute42  Fish in a barrel! Key & Peele have the perfect sketch for every imaginable topic.

[Jo620]

@Anonymous  I loved the video 🤣 Very good. I'll rethink that over then lol. All I'm  offering is help yourself to cereal and toast which I'll leave out on breakfast table .They can help themselves to toast .I been somewhere that did this .It comforts the guests so they're not rummaging in my cupboards.lol 

[Anonymous]

@Jo620  As a guest, the value of breakfast for me increases with each block of distance the nearest cafe.  There's one just on the ground floor of my building, so I only officially offer coffee and tea (while unofficially being laissez-faire with the fruit bowl and cereal stash).  But if it weren't so readily available nearby, I'd make breakfast part of the package too.

What's come as a surprise is how many times guests have offered us breakfast. Maybe I should make that a rule:  "if you're making a big meal, make sure there's some left for the host!"

[Alexandra316]

@Jo620 I think your description could definitely use some filling out. It's pretty brief and doesn't make use of complete sentences: it's more bullet points. Placement of periods and other punctuation is strange and sometimes duplicated. Maybe check out other peoples' listings for some pointers, particularly those who are successful in your local area.

I don't understand the bathroom situation. It says it's an ensuite, which suggests it's for guest use only, but then it also says it's shared. I know that some ensuites have doors to access from more than one room, but maybe just clarify that in your description. 

Also, don't encourage people to contact you via cellphone if they have an issue: keep it in Airbnb messenger. That way, if there is ever an issue where you need to involve customer service, everything is recorded. 

[Jo620]

Thankyou so much Alexandra316 .Some really good pointers there. Will go over and add .

[Sarah977]

@Ute42 @Anonymous  My oldest daughter and son-in-law bought and managed a large, very popular, long- established restaurant many years ago. 

One of the things the restaurant had been known for was the big buffet Sunday brunches. They phased that out pretty quickly. My daughter said they had never seen otherwise normal-looking people behave so boorishly as when they could just help themselves to everything. Customers would accidentally drop an entire plate of food on the floor, help themselves to another, and just walk away from the pile of food on the floor without even alerting staff. They would see guys stuffing buns down their shirts and women slipping food into their handbags.