No bookings in Philadelphia?

[Eric83]

Hello all,

We accounted for the end of year slow down - but have not recovered .. in fact, rooms that were regularly full 2-3 times a week,

are completely empty minus a few bookings per month .. We are beginning to worry.

I'm wondering if it's Philadelphia, a slow spring - or is there something off with the site.. I've read a lot of posts on the subject, but still haven't been able to see any logical reasons why everything, including the views - are down so much..

Thanks

[Jennifer178]

Hi @Eric83, your place is fantastic.  I love the album jackets on the wall.  You have great taste in music.  Your place is well decorated and has a very cool vibe.

 If you you did not have so many reviews my first guess as to reasons for not being booked would be:

1. All your rooms are competing with each other.  You need a lot of guests wanting to stay with you to fill your space.Have you been renting this many rooms your whole time?

2. Did you say North Kensington? Last week I told someone, from the suburbs but around Philly for decades, that I was going to Kensington to see my CPA and he asked if it was in Philly.  Far away from the touristy areas, conference venues, hospitals, shopping and other stuff that many vacation, business and conference visitors want to be near.

3. Why would people stay there as oppossed to other areas?  I understand the appeal but do visitors?

3.  Even though the subway is nearby, your area is best served by car. There are so many options closer to traditional action where people can walk to most things.

4. A lot more competition.  Have you done a serious search of what is happening in Fishtown, Northern Libs and Kensington?

5. With you and anybody who lives with you as well as potential other guests being there, I would not book with you.  Too many people unless I am looking for a crowd to go to Johnny Brenda's.  And again, I love your style and styling.

6. Your customer is very specific. Urban, hip, cool, artisitic, open minded, adventurous. As the area evolves it will be on more and more people's radars.

7. maybe design your own guest experience based on what the neighborhood has to offer. You make money and promote the area.

I get plenty of views and I am fairly full until June and have a few bookings beyond that. I am not bragging.  My good fortune is that I am within walking distance to most of Center City.  Easy on and off the highway. And even though I live here, I offer a ton of privacy to my guests. It is possible to avoid me if you want to.  Your reviews are great except for the location part.

I wish I could offer some help on this. Everything looks great except the location. I know you cannot move the place and I know you are proud of your neighborhood. I truly do not see what you can change.  Maybe go after people coming to the area for work stints.

 Good luck, Jennifer

P.S. You would be crazy to let the whole place. Too many wonderful things to get broken and ruined.  You need to explore unusual marketing and outreach. More photo shoots?   Host showers?

[Eric83]

Jennifer, thank you for your thorough response.

Perhaps some of this is accurate - however maybe I haven't conveyed properly that location has not been an issue until very recently.

We've had almost 200 bookings from July til December. 

This is a fully licensed and insured bed & breakfast. I have noticed a severe drop off in views and bookings - perhaps due to Trump, or perhaps I'm just going to have to find other avenues between December and May in which to persue while we plan our next move.

Regards.

E

[Sherry53]

Hi 

I am having a slow May.  Your comment sparked my interest regarding baby Shower and photo shot.  Any suggestion on how to market that?  

Thank you 

Sherry

[Saliha12]

Hi Jennifer! Love your feedback ! I would be honored if you could do the same for my listing as well as it has been very slow on my end also!? Please get back to me as soon as possible @Jennifer178 

[Branka-and-Silvia0]

@Eric83 uuuu great place 🙂

maybe Trump slump? http://www.rawstory.com/2017/04/people-dont-want-to-come-to-trumps-america-the-trump-slump-in-travel...

[Jamie69]

I didn't realize this was a thing until a few days ago. I was talking to a co-worker who is from a different country. I asked her about her family, and if they ever come to visit. She responded that they didn't want to since Trump became president.

Of course, it's just anecdotal evidence, and a single case... but I hadn't even considered the effect on tourism and travel the election might have had.

Jamie

[Nev0]

Hi-  I am on the opposite side of the states in Hawaii and have had the same issue- I have 4 homes I rent in HI/CA.  In Hawaii I am normally 96% booked 3 months out.  I am 15% booked 3 months out.  I have lowered my rates by 25-40% just to scrape up any guest and it has been a daily process.  I have hosted this since 2012, so 5 full years and am 100% sure something changed with as the Islands are FULL to the brim with tourist activity.  I have seen this happen before and attribute it to AirBnB marketing.  I have gone dead for weeks and then will have a slew of bookings come in- just like when I worked for a Fortune 500 company and we ADVERTISED- our sales spiked/sustained.  Beyond advertising that we won't know about, my suspicion has been for a while that when legal suits are in process advertising funds are being diverted to legal battles- when CA was in the heat of the AirBnB battle- I went dead.  In Hawaii we are in a battle with taxes and as it has heated up, my volume has cooled significantly.  My third thought is US$ valuation as I have also noticed a huge spike and drop in non-US guests- this I would attribute to $$ value and/or fare sales.   Another issue is a lot of hosts have switched over from VRBO/HomeAway/Flipkey/TripAdvsor....hosting in Hawaii on AirBnB has increased by at least 30% in the last year---thus supply and demand basics take over- provide the best value.  My last thought is I heard bed occupancy in hotels have had a huge increase LY...it is possible that Trivago style sites are creating a more competitive hotel room price- I noticed booking a trip that hotels for the first time are cheaper than AirBnBs...and you know what you get with a hotel.  My gutt from 20 years of Fortune 500 marketing says ADVERTISING is the #1 issue  but a bit of the others are a part of the mix.  I have personally gone into hosting "recession" mode, and deliver the best value out there...Aloha

[Mariann4]

Hello @Jamie69.

I can confirm that since the election many people that I know and know of have decided to postpone or cancel their trip to the States due to the result of the election. And now, with different atempts on imposing different bans on who might enter USA and the rumours of maybe having to give up private passwords and conversations, people just don't feel welcome the same way as before. And a insecurity about spending a lot of money on a travel and don't know if you might get stopped before entering. They say: I'll spend my money elsewere.

Still just anecdotal evidence....

Mariann 🙂

[Quinn6]

This happened to me in the last 2 months. I've been hosting for a year and a half and been doing prettying decent. Then noticed a significant drop in booking in April and in May got 0 booking. I panicked and even called Airbnb but hey assured me my listing is ok. I thin

[Quinn6]

I'm curious to see how US tourism will be impacted. I'm scared but in the meantime what can we do to increase booking?