Minimum of 2 nights stay

[MicheleandLouw0]

Dear hosts I would like to ask your opinion about one night stays. Are they  worth it? I have a cottage listed and feel that it is a lot of cleaning and washing for only one night. I have not had many one night bookings but I am  wondering if I change to a minimum of 2 nights  will it affect by bookings badly? To those of you  who have done this how did your bookings change after this? I think a room only will be much easier to accomodate one nighters than a whole  cottage. Looking forward to hear from you. Michele

[MicheleandLouw0]

I have decided to ad a $10 fee now. Thank you for sharing your opinion with me @Alice-and-Jeff0

[Barbara586]

This has been my way of thinking but airbnb is not my fulltime gig. I have another business so the cleaning so often is starting to hurt the other business (over there I make much more than a cleaning fee). I have thought of hiring someone and am not opposed to it but I am still figuring out if longer stays are better because more days are filled in your calendar. If you do one night stays and you do this math thats saying every single day is booked.

[Fabienne217]

The problem if you hire people for the cleaning, you won't make much money. For example if you rent one bedroom appartment $75 a night and the professionals charge you $60 for the cleaning where is the money?

[Marit-Anne0]

Same as Andrew mostly, but sometimes in high season I am present myself and can be a bit more flexible.  In such cases I open up my gap days for short, last minute bookings. And increase the price slightly.

[MicheleandLouw0]

Now that is a good plan @Marit-Anne0

[Lynne2]

Hello...a minimum 2 night stay is almost an industry standard for self-catering or bnb accommodation.    Thinking about Maun, on the other hand, there are many people who only stay one night in Maun before going into the Delta, so maybe your situation is different, and you might lose those bookings?  It does depend on who what market you're aiming at. 

[MicheleandLouw0]

I think you are quite right @Lynne2 thank you!

[Sandra126]

I have two night min on weekends but often have one nighters midweek. It is a pain with the extra cleaning, but one nighters extremely rarely cook or make a mess. I don't charge a cleaning fee so it is not more expensive with one night stays. I see them as advertising, as people help to spread the word. Friends, colleagues, family often book as a result, or the one nighters return for longer.

[MicheleandLouw0]

Now this is exactly why I love this forum so much! @Sandra126 thank you for sharing your views and experiences with me. You have just convinced me to keep keep my one nighters 😉

[Colm2]

We have a minimum stay of 2 nights on Friday and Saturday, and do charge a cleaning fee, which does cover the extra costs involved in one nighters. You need to be very interactive with your pricing, changing with demand, and getting the lowest headline price. We change our price as often as we feel necessary, but the most important thing is to charge a sufficient amount to pay for the level of service that you provide.

We want to be very professional, but at the same time it is a business that has to make a return, and you can cover fluctuations by having seperate charges.

Hope this helps

Colm & Paula

https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/14921039

[MicheleandLouw0]

@Colm2 It does make sense. I was thinking to up my prices after having 10 reviews. I charge $48 per night for 2  guests at the moment. There are so many guest houses in my town ( not Airbnb listings) and I am trying to stay under their prices. Do you think that is sensible? Michele

[Colm2]

I Think you have a lovely house, and can guarantee that if I was in your area I would like to stay with you!

However as regards te pricing, you seem very reasonable, and only you know the local market, but you are offering a lot!

You should however add a cleaning charge, this is a genuine cost, and even if it is only $10 you must reflect this cost. It is also better than raising your base price.

on your pictures you could safely edit the number of Safari shots, I personally think that more thn 50 photos is too much, and 30 should be enough. Also dont repeat too many shots, two of the outside entrance is probably enough, just concentrate on what makes your hosting special. The animal shots are very nice, show some, but more about your guests enjoying Safari. Its about them feeling that they really will see what you show, not a selection of stock animal shots.

hope this helps,

Colm

https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/14921039

[MicheleandLouw0]

Thank you very much for your honesty @Colm2. I have deleted a number of pictures and added a $10 cleaning fee. I really appreciate you taking time to look at my listing and give your inputs. 

[Jane-Murielle0]

Thanks colin

[Katharine-Tracy0]

How do you require a two night minumum for the weekends only?