Tiny House Hosting and advice

[Giulia297]

My listing for a Tiny House is not getting many clicks and I am already offering a very competitive price for my location. 

To add to that one of my most recent reviews is a three star that reads "Giulia's place was a wonderful tiny home. The location was absolutely perfect, close to Durham stadium and the nightlife" so I need to get many more guests to mitigate the effects of the (numerically) bad review. 

I tried to be as up-front as possible in the description which means I'm probably scaring away not-so-adventurous travellers but I am concerned that my pictures are not very appealing. I'm having a hard time translating the lovely feeling of being in our tiny house into photos because the space is very small and hard to get a good shot of. Airbnb removes panoramic or fish eye pictures from the listing as well.

Any suggestions or insights?

https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/19759833?s=51

Thanks!

[Giulia297]

Advice on how to increase occupancy rate (not just photos) is also greatly appreciated.

[Kath9]

@Giulia297, I think your photos are very appealing - I want to come and stay in your tiny house! I love it! So I really don't know what to suggest to improve your view and booking rate - maybe check that your price is competitive? (just throwing that out there, I have no idea what the going rates are in Durham NC)

[Giulia297]

@Kath9 , thank you- you're welcome any time you find yourself in the Northen Hemisphere!

[Linda108]

@Giulia297  You are obviously doing a great job with both of your listings, given the high ratings and positive reviews.   So now that you have the quality nailed it seems you are seeking quantity, right?  

I don't have the types of listings that you have, but I can offer a few thoughts.  Who is attracted to your tiny house listing?  Can  you describe the type of guest or guests that would seek your place over a more conventional home?  One of your reviews mentioned HGTV.  I am a fan of the tiny house movement enjoy all the different shows. I am probably not a candidate for staying in such a home however, mostly due to climbing a ladder to go to bed...balance issues 😞

If your guests seek the unique experience of the tiny house, perhaps your description can be a bit more celebratory of that experience.  You emphasize the convenient location, but that is not unique, right?  What draws you to the tiny house?  If you watch any of the shows about living tiny, what is being said about the experience?   So maybe you start your description with something like, " Have you ever watched the HGTV shows about tiny homes?  Wonder what it feels to stay in one?  Come feel the coziness of the tiny home and the convenience of staying just a few blocks from a vibrant city life."  

Because your competition would include all the expected private apartments or cottages, which would provide the expected, you are looking for a guest who is interested in the unexpected.  You might consider social media sites appealing to that type of visitor who probably is a young person who is open to the new.

I hope these thoughts, while not very specific advice, might suggest a way to look at the issue of marketing.  Good luck!!

[Lizzie]

Love your thought process here, @Linda108. 

Lots of food for thought here @Giulia297, what do you think?

[Giulia297]

@Lizzie Yes! I am extremely grateful for all this thoughtful feedback! It helps to have the viewpoint from people outside my city as it is hard not to focus just on location, which I realize may not make a huge difference to our guests with cars (most of them!)

[Mel101]

I was going to say exactly the same @Linda108! Sell the experience of the tiny home. Maybe also be really explicit about it being a unique vacation experience, or the possibility of trying out tiny living before making the big decision of living in one yourself. I've seen more than one video that says how valuable a try-before-you-buy sojourn into tiny living was for many owners. 

@Giulia297, I like that you offer good detail about your bathroom, but there is no photo. Guests seem to be really reassured by bathroom photos, so maybe consider one or two for your listing as well?

You are clear about the drawbacks of the daybed, if you're tall or used to a super king bed, but it does sound a little negative. I'd probably recommend that you try to reframe it to give the advantages the loft bed space has (e.g. it's not clear from your photos if there's lots of storage, or if the loft has good airflow for comfort, so mentioning any of these benefits will help) then offering the *flexibility* of the daybed, followed by saying that "it's worth nothing that the daybed  is not as wide as the loft bed, and is less suited to the taller guest" as a way to CYA. 

Other than that, your garden description sounds utterly idyllic. How lucky your guests are.

[Giulia297]

@Mel101, Thank you! I have gotten the sense from most of these comments that I'm underselling the appeal of the experience in my description.  I do have 2 bathroom photos but they are easy to miss as the space is so small that I could only take a portrait picture. I'll try to take some better ones.

Thanks for your help!!

[Giulia297]

@Linda108these are amazing suggestions! Thanks! Most of our guests are in town for business or entertainment (our small city is becoming a destination lately) and those who stay with us do so mainly because they are interested in the experience. I will have to do some work to rephrase the experience, as you suggested. Your comment about balance issues made me realize that I've been over-zealous in stating that one "must climb ladder"- if a single person stays they can sleep comfortably on the daybed downstairs and avoid the loft all together!  Thank you so much!! 

[Linda108]

@Giulia297  You are making good use of the host community by being open to other perspectives.  I found that I usually learn more than I help:D

[John1080]

@Giulia297, you may not be getting as many clicks as you want, but I see from your reviews you've had about 4-5 or more guests each month since April, with 7 reviews in July, so I think you're doing pretty well. 

The photos and your description both seem fine to me as well! 

[Giulia297]

@John1080 haha, yes- you're right! Most of our stays are single nights, but yeah- our number of guests has been increasing. The stats page says that we get fewer than 15 views a day with a 1.7% booking rate and I was thinking if I could get more views then maybe we would be booked more often. Hard to say without knowing how many views other nearby listings are getting. Glad to hear people here think the photos are good though! At least I know people are not turned away by them!

[John1080]

@Giulia297 Have you ever tried: https://www.airdna.co/  AirDNA?  I don't think it shows the data for views, but it shows the data for all the properties in your market and lets you get a better taste for the market. You can sign up for just a single month and I found it useful. 

[Mindy115]

Love the look of your tiny house! Pls check out mine, maybe we can swapping stay?