Critique My Listing - Jamie, in Webster Springs

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Jamie914
Level 2
Walden, NY

Critique My Listing - Jamie, in Webster Springs

@Clara116 can you critique my listing please?

airbnb.com/h/theaddisonrosehouse 

New to hosting and things are going well so far.

Thanks

 

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12 Replies 12
Clara116
Level 10
Pensacola, FL

@Jamie914  I will be glad to give some feedback....I'll finish looking and have it for you tomorrow. Glad it's going well. Till tomorrow.

Best greetings

Clara 

Clara116
Level 10
Pensacola, FL

@Jamie914 Hello Jamie, I've taken some time this morning and here's my thoughts and ideas on your listing. Excellent - so I'm gonna offer extra ideas - 

So far you are doing really well, your place is obviously very clean and a terrific place to stay so I am as they say nit picking somewhat with some of my ideas/questions and suggestions but I believe all valid and worth considering.

So I have questions? And if I do, guests might also, and if things aren't clear that can just make hosting more of a challenge. So we want to avoid all we can, in advance. 

I know you are recommended to book people cheaply in the beginning - your place is way too cheap! Raise your prices- Also, 6 people is way too  many where do they all sleep? that sofa?? I would suggest 4 people. Making sure you have good mattress protectors on sleeping places - a friend of mine just had to replace their sofa - a child was put their to rest/sleep and totally ruined/wet it completely - a very costly thing for the guests and also a real challenge for the host with guests coming in soon after. If you insist on using sofa as sleeping area/show a pic of it all made ready for sleep....so people can see how it will work, that's if you insist on having 6 people. I wouldn't do it. Also, where do those 4 or 6 people sit to eat together??? The kitchen island has a stool and 2 chairs - that doesn't work - if families are coming they wanna sit down together - maybe??? Be prepared. 

 

OK- Pics. some are terrific, a few I'd delete - I'll give numbers of pics with my thoughts, but notice and mark them before you start deleting cause the numbers change once you delete one pic. and I'm not gonna go back and count again. OK....All pics, almost all should be shot horizontally - so they show up looking great for the Airbnb App - I would delete the pics # 1/ #10 & #12 they don't show much &

you might like to Cuddle & Naps  but maybe they don't even sleep together any more or have insomnia ?? you see - now if it said relax, enjoy or something neutral that works. 

Its a nice idea, but we as hosts are not all people, so stay as general as possible. Hope that makes sense. Pic #13 is terrific use it early on.  Shot #8 has too much stuff in it for me. For some it can look cluttered. ?? Important: Your first 5 shots are critically important, many guests use laptops/computers at home and there will be a collage of the first 5 pics...don't make them all the bedroom....please. One of each -- Front of house, Kitchen, living rm, bedrm, bathrm, then add the other pics. 

After getting them in order - write under every pic something - your guest Elizabeth wrote cool stuff  in her review - you can use quotes from reviews,  just  "write what they said" EG or whatever their initial was no names used. Describe what's important for guests to know in your descriptions, positive info - some guests will only look at pics and maybe read a little or not. so use the ability to communicate in your pics. Short, sweet always. Sometimes less is more. On the swing outside Elizabeth wrote a nice thought about it....use it. 

 

In your description - write and try to not use "our" house - allow the guests to imagine themselves living/staying their. Short sentences, you can say during your visit, your swing on the front porch - so it sounds like its theirs for a short time. 

 

Who are you? Short description about why its Veteran built/veteran owned. I would write that in my bio, not the title, just personal thoughts. 

You say First Floor Only - is it totally separate from people above?? Who is above?? Is it Private - or can someone from upstairs enter Addison Rose? Really important- this can't be even a question - make it very clear. Also, there's a latch on the bathrm door, ?? what's that? Is it an area private/locked? All stuff guests will be curious about and want to explore. 

 

Final ideas would be about color and design...the liv room shot with the chair and the very light white throw -I'd change that to a bright color like yellow/green/blue or something and add that color on the table, vase, or something.....everything will look sharper and brighter with a bright color thrown in and used as a thread throughout the house,,, like in the kitchen the flowers, with the soft colors....put a bright vase and just put a splash of that color in say living room, and or/bedrm.....when guests scroll through pics if there's no color to make things pop they scroll on by. Grab their eye. There's been amazing studies made about this - also they decide in 8 seconds about a place. So how many pics will they see in 10 seconds?? So give them a full palate to see quickly in your collage.

I hope this is somehow helpful and wish you the very best in hosting. Happy Hosting, Clara

 

 

@Clara116 Thank you so much for taking the time to review my listing and write such a detailed review. I very much appreciate it. Everything you mentioned makes total sense and I have already implemented the suggestions with the listing.

 

I do have some follow-up questions and I will use quotes to keep track of your comments.

 

"I know you are recommended to book people cheaply in the beginning - your place is way too cheap! Raise your prices"

I have done a ton of area research and understand that this town is very small and remote I set my prices compared to the other BnBs in the town, we have 3 or 4. While my place is the best, not just saying that, and offers things the others do not, I am feeling like if I raise my price I will not get a booking. We are also located just 3 miles from a wedding venue and during the wedding months that's where a good majority of our business comes from. I had turned on Smart Pricing at first and was ok with what I was seeing but recently turned it off so that I could adjust from week to weekend...What are you thinking for a price point? Should I keep with Smart Pricing and let it do the work? 

 

 

"Also, 6 people is way too many where do they all sleep? that sofa?? I would suggest 4 people."

Again, trying to keep up with the "Jones", the other area BnB's are listing for 6-8 guests. And the needs of people staying in our area ask for that. Lots of wedding guests, reunions, and large gatherings. While 4 adults are the right size, I did not want to lose bookings with that limit. Yes, the couch is where #5 would sleep, and they have no issues. And #6 sleeps on a provided air mattress, again already happened, and no issues. Because this will one day be our "forever home" we are limiting the rental to just the first floor. The second floor we will never rent. There are 3 very large bedrooms upstairs that need to be heated or cooled, cleaned, and furnished. Not something we are interested in doing since it really brings in no extra money. 

 

"Also, where do those 4 or 6 people sit to eat together??? The kitchen island has a stool and 2 chairs - that doesn't work - if families are coming they wanna sit down together - maybe???"

The kitchen island has 2 stools and 2 chairs, seating for 4. The picture just doesn't show the other side of the island. You are correct, I have no dining area currently other than the kitchen. Again, setting up the first floor only we turned the old dining room into the second sleeping area. Yes, it has 4 walls and a door. This old-style 1930s house was built oddly..LOL We thought it more important to offer 2 bedrooms and forgo the dining area. Considering that when we have more than 4 guests they are not in the house very long, this has not been an issue. 

 

"Also, there's a latch on the bathroom door, ?? what's that? Is it an area private/locked? "

Yes, the is the bathroom closet and the only closet where I can store my cleaning/restocking items for the cleaner. Again, old house, not many closets..(yes the bedrooms have closets). Need this to stay locked to prevent stealing. Do I need to mention that in my listing?

 

Your input is amazing! I have updated the pictures, and added captions and will consider the color updates when I visit again. 

Thank you so much for your feedback! Be well.

@Jamie914 my pleasure and glad it is helpful and hoping it helps just opening your mind to step outside the box - when things have not been an issue we assume they never will be - true, until they are. Just make everything clear in your listing just in case/ to cover for if and when it might occur.

 

Write: there's no dining room but plenty of places at the aisle in the kitchen and on the porch or wherever - (said like you would say it) - it's good to give ideas of how to do otherwise or different. 

also mention:

there's a tiny closet that stays locked in the bathroom with our cleaners' supplies. 

 

I'm still not clear about upstairs.... can your guests access upstairs?? I know you said it's not heated/a/c or ready for people BUT do you have personal private things there?? Can the guests easily go up? If yes, make sure you install a camera (even a fake one) on the stairs up to that area to keep people out. With a big sign saying, "SMILE you are on Camera" They will go up there - and I am sorry to say, especially when it's not allowed, they will HAVE to go up and explore.... I've seen videos of folks breaking locks and stealing stuff in private locked off limit rooms. Sorry, it's the truth. If something is off limits to some people - they MUST see what's so off limits or private and unfortunately many will help themselves. So, I ask do your guests have access to that area? I hope I am wrong about this. If not, leave nothing up there - nothing! 

Glad I could offer ideas and hope you continue to do really well. 

all the best, Clara

 

 

@Jamie914 I forgot one thing.... smart pricing is not smart.... I would not recommend using it.

 

@Clara116 Love the idea about writing no dining room,  I think that will help. And also about the bathroom closet

 

Regarding upstairs.. I'm sorry I should have been more prescriptive.. there's a door at the top of the stairs. This door is closed and locked. I like your idea about putting a sign up there and we will be adding to our camera situation when we visit next.  We live 8 hours away so having eyes on all aspects makes me feel better. Noted about Smart pricing. How often do you adjust your pricing? How do you consider pricing for holidays?

 

Thanks again!

@Jamie914  I use Beyond pricing and it changed my world. Gotta go right now.... I can offer you a code for it if you like!  30 days Free trail...it's amazing and I make so much more and they adjust it daily for me. 

@Clara116 Sure, I'll try it!

@Jamie914  It's a very common misconception among new hosts that higher occupancy means more bookings. What they don't realize about the algorithm is that an occupancy of 6 actually drags your listing down in search results for parties of 2, 3, or 4. So you could be missing out on visibility with guests whose group size is actually the right fit. When the day comes that the person who had to sleep on the sofa or air mattress is the one that writes the review, down go the ratings.

@Anonymous  Thanks for telling @Jamie914  and others how it is with pushing the occupancy - its so often done and not wise. Your explanation is perfect - I will indeed use it for our group here in Pensacola, Fl. Thanks Andrew. Best, Clara

@Anonymous @Clara116 I am wondering if because the search is so specific to my area and there are only 3 other bnb's if it would affect it?  From what I have seen in the activity, guests are searching for 4-6 people and the other bnbs can accommodate 4-8. If a guest searches my area with a total of 5 guests and I have 4 as the threshold will my listing still populate?

 

Regarding the couch or air mattress sleeper, I communicate that prior to allowing the booking so the guest knows that's what the sleeping arrangements are and need to agree to it. 🙂

I would agree with you on that one.  When I first started my ABB I put down 6 people capacity.  Bookings were ok.  But when I took it down to 4 people capacity only for some reason my bookings went up.  Not to mention I also raised my rates to a point where I found the sweet-spot.