Critique my listing - Shelby from Kansas City

[Shelby135]

Hello, my name is Shelby! Critique my listing please! I’m listing a private bedroom with a shared bathroom (with the host, me) in Kansas City, Kansas. 

I’m new to hosting & would like to figure out ways I can increase the number of booking requests I get. I don’t have auto book on because i want to “screen” people before I accept them. i get about 2-3 booking requests every 2 weeks or so, give or take. Here is the link to my profile: 

https://www.airbnb.com/ h/shelbywestportairbb

#critiquemylisting

[Sarah977]

@Shelby135  Your guest room looks nice, I like your sense of decor. But there is no reason to have all those redundant photos of the bed, that all show basically the same thing. 

Take a few photos of the room from different sides of the room, and one standing back further, so guests can see the layout of the room. Is there a closet? Show that desk and chair fully, not just the bottom half of it. 

Take a living room photo that shows the living room, not just a plant stand and a plant.

If guests are allowed to use the kitchen, which you say they are, you need photos of the kitchen. 

The shared exterior space photo shows nothing but a corner of the porch looking  out towards the street. Do you have outdoor seating? A backyard?

You could describe the space a bit more, too. What is the layout of the house? Is the guest bedroom upstairs? 

As a home share host myself, I think it's also good to say something about your schedule, so guests know what to expect. Do you work from home and are around most of the day, or do you go off to work? 

You might also think about marketing towards the type of guest who'll be a good fit for your place and for you to share your home with. Do you prefer busy guests who are out and about a lot? Do you have good reliable Wifi for those who work from home online? Will you be bothered by a guest who stays in their room all day gaming or lying around on your living room couch watching TV? 

Saying a bit about yourself and your interests can help attract guests you'll be compatible with. What do you do when you're home? Do you like to cook? Work in the yard and garden? Peruse home decor magazines? Practice yoga? 

As far as getting more bookings, I don't know the demand or market in your area. It took me awhile to start getting bookings, and they weren't steady to begin with, but as I got more reviews, they started to roll in with far more frequency. With a home share, it's actually more important to get guests who are easy to get along with and clean up after themselves  in shared spaces, than to have a steady stream of guests who might not be suited to your lifestyle or sharing a home. Quality over quantity. That's my preference,  anyway. ( I've never used IB either- I would never feel comfortable letting guests book without communicating with them first, and reading any past reviews they might have).

[Stephanie]

@Christine615 - from your neck of the woods!

[Christine615]

Thanks @Stephanie for tagging me!

Hi @Shelby135 

I really am only a few minutes away from your listing (Hyde Park) I love the way you set up your listing and I think, with Covid-19, the problem with getting more bookings right now is because of Covid-19 and the shared bathroom. Don't worry, things will pick up.  A couple of suggestions:

1. Your photos are really good but you have too many of the same shots -  for instance, lots of photos of the bed, and then things around the bed. I think you could use quite a few of them. There are also three photos of pillows before the shot of the dog. People don't "read" our listings well and tend to skim the photos so it might imply more than one bedroom. People are wanting some sense of the rest of the space and it takes too long to get there.  BTW - adding the map of distance to Power and Light without revealing your address is genius! I might borrow that 🙂

2. Some host advice (because we've all been there.) You'll occasionally get some person who is OCD, or rude, or...... Write your public response on a separate software system or paper. It's a catharsis. Then throw it away and write a short response (really short) that says, "We apologize and the problem was fixed as soon as you let us know."  Take it as a learning that long, long host responses make guests wary of the host (I just cancelled a bid from a local roofer when I saw his long response to an elderly woman's concerns on the Better Business Bureau site). If it would help - create quiet hours for when your guests are in the home and make sure the rules are for both you and them.

3. I pretended to book two days. Your rate is really low and you don't charge a cleaning fee. You're a bargain. You also allow a single night's stay.  I would have suggested $50 since you need to account for the cost of washing and sanitizing after guests, especially since you don't charge a cleaning fee. It will bring better guests without scaring off your good ones. But play with the pricing. Low pricing might also imply low quality (It's a delicate balance).

Either way, I love what you set up. Things will pick up as the pandemic settles down! Good luck!