concered about sudden drop off in bookings

Emily132
Level 2
Denver, CO

concered about sudden drop off in bookings

Hello, I have been hosting for about 6 months now. I live in Denver which is very popular plce to visit these days, have good reviews, am centrally located and I think our price is very competitive. However my booking inquirys have allmost stopped in the last 2 weeks after being booked solid since April. Wondering if I screwed something up when edidting my listing and somehow made it less visible? I would just write off the drop in inquirys to being between summer and ski season, but I went on the site as if I were traveling and my place is one of less than 20 in my price range in all of central Denver so something seems off. Thanks Emily 

17 Replies 17
David126
Level 10
Como, CO

Dead time of year for me as well but I knew that, look at the other listigs near you and see what availability they have.

 

Do you list on other sites? Look at the other ones and see.

 

I know the market for long term rentals is hot, does not follow that nightly stays are the same.

David
Cynthia-and-Chris1
Level 10
Vancouver, WA

I'm experiencing the same, so I commiserate.  Mine is likely due to seasonality - who wants to visit Portland while it's pouring?!  But it's still discouraging!

Kate157
Level 10
SF, CA

I'm sufferingg from the same drought. It has been several weeks since I've had even an inquiry, let alone a booking. This after several months of everything being taken. I have great reviews, modest prices, and am in the city of San Francisco which people visit all year round. This is going into my 4th year as a host, so I know this is crazy. Airbnb says my listing isn't hidden, I think maybe it is being surpressed for some reason. 

@Kate0 - I've heard that because Airbnb has done such a push to recruit new hosts, there's a lot more competition now (especially in major cities) and Airbnb gives preferential listing placement to new listings to help "get them established."  If this is indeed the cause, it may be because all these new listings are pushing your listing further down in the search results.  Most travelers aren't going to comb through pages of results, they'll pick one from the first couple pages and be done.

 

I agree with C&C. My earnings have dropped almost 50%. I live in Atlanta and there has been and explosion of host in just the past 6 months. My market is so saturated with new host that my bookings have slowed significantly. Also, with so many new host charging less, I have also been forced to drop my prices. The past 6 months are defiantly different and less financially fruitful. 

 

Jennifer272
Level 2
American Canyon, CA

You may want to try adjusting your prices a little bit.   I think making adjustments however small can sometimes refresh your listing and make it more visable.   Just a hunch but it seems to sometimes work.    Also in the fall and winter I remove my 3 night minimum as I get more local area people that just want a quick getaway.

Hi Jennifer, Seems my bookings have dropped off. Summer here in Tampa is normally slow but last summer I was quite busy. We have gotten a deluge of new Airbnbs here in the the Greater Tampa area and I think that is affecting my requests and bookings. I just find it uneasy that last year I was so busy and this year....I have not had a request since May and that was from a previous guest. I cannot figure how to read my views on the chart so I am at a loss of what to do. I have already changed my avaiability to 2 days instead of 3, give a discount for week and month stays, posted new photos, update every day to keep in first positon, lowered my prices. If anyone has suggestions I am all ears. 🙂

@Sharon64

 

Do you advertise elsewhere? 

David

Hi David, No, I have not advertised elsewhere. I actually did not need to and now I don't know where to even start. I have been looking around on Craigslist but really do not know how to word it. I seel stuff on CL so I have an account but I don't want to lure goofballs to my home....and there are plenty of them on CL.

 

I had thought of going to a couple places where people have either taken classes or did training but I have not made up any business cards for such a thing. One is a national corporation whose corporate office is here in Tampa and new owners have to go thorugh training and one of the main places is about 1 1/2 miles from my home. Do you recommend I reach out to their corporate office to offer their trainees a discount? Another is a yoga studio where there are a lot of certification classes and I have had two guest stay with me. What do you think? I welcome all suggestions.

Krystyna1
Level 2
San Francisco, CA

@Emily132 I have experienced the same thing. First month we were fully booked almost every night. And now for November we have only 1 booking. We are new to Airbnb (will have completed 10 trips by end of October), and I suspect perhaps that we are not being shown as a top listing now that we have had some decent bookins. Would be interested to understand if this actually happens or if it is just a quite month ahead. Hard to tell by just looking at competitive properties in the surrounding Neighborhood. good luck!!

Barbara360
Level 2
Watsonville, CA

I have the problem in my Monterey/Santa Cruz area lisitng.  I'm beginning to think it has little to do with lower rates because it's really a "seasonal" problem.  I'm charging $25. 00 a night less now for the same amenities (lots of goodies!) and I'm still empty.  So I'm beginning to think Airbnb is a spring/summer source of income for me.   I could try turning off IB, going back to summer rates, and make it a 2 night minimum stay but logically I don't see how that's going to help either.  Open to your experiences and suggestions.

Thanks.

Barbara

David126
Level 10
Como, CO

Something I will need to consider myslef soon, I have been talking to people in the area to see what they do, there is no perfect solution, depends very much on location.

 

I have also when the opporunity arises asked people what brings them to me, why they are here etc to see if there is anything I can hook into.

 

Sounds like you have a couple of opportunities, go for them and see.

David

Thanks....I think I will look into that tomorow. What do you think about CL?

 

I have also just hooked up with a couple international student sites. I was a host mother for an international school back when I lived in Ft. Lauderdale and did quite well and found it to be very enjoyable. Hopeully one of them will be live tomorrow.

 

I going to go back into my site and do a little more adjustmenting on prices, etc. The newbies are selling their rooms so cheaply it is very difficult to compete with them.

 

Thanks again.

Lorraine176
Level 2
London, United Kingdom

Hi My bookings have dropped recently and I have seen the marketing on the front page listing has changed as below .we have 152 reviews mainly 5 star yet they put 90% like the location I would like this removed .

 

HOME HIGHLIGHTS

Great check-in experience · 100% of recent guests gave the check-in process a 5-star rating.
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Sparkling clean · 10 recent guests said this place was sparkling clean.
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Great location · 90% of recent guests gave the location a 5-star rating.
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