Hello everyone,
Whether looking to spend time in nature, enjoy outdoor activities, or just get away from it all, many travelers are searching for listings off the beaten path.
While a remote location can be a home’s greatest advantage, it can also introduce unique challenges that hosts in urban areas don’t have to deal with. Simply getting guests to your property can be pretty involved, especially if things like GPS on a mobile phone, or even street signs, aren’t available.
We asked hosts in the Community Center how they overcome the common challenges of managing listings outside of urban areas. Here are some key points to follow, though many of these best practices could also apply to listings in cities.
Show and tell
Outside of cities, listings are usually selling their location as much as the features of the home, and this is a huge advantage. Highlighting the activities that a guest can enjoy while visiting your region will help them visualize their trip and get excited about it.
Grab attention right from the start with a descriptive listing title. Include a detail that makes either your home or your region unique so that someone browsing through multiple listings can see themselves enjoying a stay in your home. For example, “Rustic cabin in the woods” is a good start. But something like, “Rustic cabin near ski resorts” can help travelers differentiate your listing, especially if they’re planning a certain type of trip, such as a ski vacation.
In your listing description, along with explaining features of your home, also point out nearby activities that guests can enjoy, such as hiking, swimming, mountain biking, wine tasting, or farm tours. Read this article for more tips on writing an effective listing description.
When listing 'unusual' places, I have always been of the impression that one should show as much as possible via photographs, what is in one's offering.
Fred, Belize
Including lots of beautiful imagery of a listing can help attract travelers, too, so be sure to show your property from all its best angles. (Here are some tips for taking great photos.) But also include images demonstrating some of the great things about your region, such as a stellar view or a picture of a friend rafting or mountain biking.
Guide the way to great memories
As a host, you can help connect guests with local tour guides or, better yet, serve as a tour guide yourself.
We come up with something to offer guests an interesting stay. We take what the area gives us and do not try to imitate what they can find in the city.
Peter, Germany
Having intimate knowledge of your area is key to offering good advice. One host provides pre-mapped hiking trails based on endurance, while many other hosts give local products such as beer or cheese as welcome gifts to their guests.
Emphasize when less is more
Don’t be afraid to emphasize what your property isn’t. It’s often the things that a rural listing doesn’t have that travelers may find most attractive.
Key advice, I think, is to be very, very clear in the description about the things [guests] won't get. After I get done spelling out that there is no electricity, no plumbing, no WiFi, no vehicle access, and no touristy things to do, I'm very nearly saying "Don't come here." But it's the no noise, no traffic, no people, no light pollution they come for. As long as things are clear and expectations are met, all is (usually) well.
Lawrene, Canada
Get creative and mention in your listing description what guests will find in the absence of amenities like WiFi. You could point out the silence achieved by having no freeways nearby or how many stars are visible without city lights diluting the night sky. Remember, you want to paint a clear picture of guests enjoying themselves in and around your listing. Get them excited about their trip.
Help them find you
Some rural listings are so far off the beaten path that travelers might not know to search for your specific area. So explain in the description if your listing is close to other well-known regions or attractions.
Although we are in a well-known tourist region, our place is not really a highlight. We advertise that we are right in the middle of a lot of really interesting places, like lakes and other attractions within a radius of 50 km, and thus our apartments are the ideal starting point to explore the entire Salzkammergut.
Markus & Susanna, Austria
One host found that including more explicit location details in their listing description, their House Rules, and in follow-up communication with guests improved their location rating.
Be prepared to provide detailed directions to guests for getting to your home. Some hosts even include distance markers as guests won’t always have easy landmarks to help them navigate, and in some locations mobile phone reception is limited. Have a standard set of directions pre-written so that you can quickly copy them into messages to guests. Be sure to provide this information prior to their trip.
Set expectations before booking
Accurately managing guest expectations is a best practice for any type of host, but those with listings in rural areas often have more details they need to communicate to their guests. The first place to start in providing a clear picture of your space is your listing description.
Publish your space for what it is: a place to disconnect from urban life, enter intimacy with nature and enjoy what this entails, which is usually the deprivation of some comforts.
Emma, Dominican Republic
If your space has, for example, limited hot water or mobile reception, state this directly in your listing description. In fact, you could even note these details as benefits. Some travelers are looking for rustic experiences. Confirm these details with guests during the booking process to make sure their expectations align with what your listing offers.
Point out property quirks
Every home has its unique traits, such as doors knobs that have to be turned just so. Some property traits can result in expensive repairs if not used correctly, such as a house using a septic system, which requires certain precautions.
If your property has some quirks, communicate these ahead of time with guests. But also consider including signage in the space to help remind and guide them on how to use certain aspects of your property to prevent damage.
Keep safety in mind
Guests visiting from other areas might not know about things that may be common knowledge in your area, such as fire safety or wild animal behavior. As well, guests may not accurately judge distances or may not realize walking on certain roads (with no sidewalks, for example) may be dangerous.
Including this information prior to guests’ arrival will help them know what to expect (and how to pack). It’s also a good idea to create a detailed House Manual that provides details on staying safe, as well as information on how to use your home, what attractions are nearby, and other helpful tips like the phone number for a local taxi service, if that’s available.
Be proud and have fun
Listings outside of urban areas offer some of the most unique accommodations on Airbnb, whether it’s a converted water tower, a luxury log cabin, or a restored farmhouse. Travelers booking experiences off the beaten path typically want their accommodations to be as much a part of their experience as the actual activities they have planned.
This gives hosts an advantage because great hospitality can make a real difference if guests can’t rely on travel guides or tourist maps. It also puts a little more pressure on hosts with rural listings to do more to bring the benefits of their region to their guests. We hope these tips help. If you’ve got some of your own, please share them below.
