Why do I suddenly have no bookings?

[Marie70]

Hi! 

When we first put up our listing on Airbnb, there were a number of enquiries coming in everyday. But since the last 3-4 days, there's a sudden halt in enquiries.

I wonder if anyone encountered the same issue recently? Is it something wrong with my listing? 

Some enlightenment from other Hosts/Airbnb would be of great help!

Thank you  😊 

[Dede0]

I looked at your listing and at first didn't spot anything obvious. Then I noticed that your top two reviews show that you cancelled on two guests in March. That will hurt your listing in many ways. For one thing, it will deter many guests. For another thing, AirBnB will push your listing down (possibly way down) in search results. Hosts cancelling is a very bad thing as far as AirBnB is concerned. If you had truly valid reasons that fit AirBnB's very lmited "Extenuating Circumstances", then you should contact AirBnB to get those cancellations off your record. Be aware, though, that if you can't prove that you meet their criteria, they'll leave them on your record.

[Gary26]

Hi Dede,  I am having the same problem.  All of a sudden I don't get any inquiries.  Can you look at my listing and see if there is something wrong?  Thanks,  Gary

[Dede0]

@Gary26, I didn't see your question until today, so sorry for the delayed followup.

Looking at your listing, nothing big jumps out at me, but a lot of small things do:

Your profile contains nothing about you. Add a welcome message or something about you. Lok at other listings for ideas.

Under Amenities, you have Wifi checked but not "Internet". Check that; if you've got Wifi, you've got internet. (The reverse isn't necessarily true.) Get some hangers, an iron, and a hair dryer and check those off. If your place has *anywhere* that a laptop could be set down with chair access, even the kitchen table, check off "Laptop Friendly Workspace".

Consider removing the sentence "Extended stay guests pay electricity if over $50." from your initial "About this listing" blurb. If you really, really need to charge more for electricity for longer visitors (Do you really?), then make it clearer (elsewhere) what an "extended visit" is and how the extra charge is calculated or what the charge is likely to be. As written, it's way too vague and off-putting.

I also notice that you have only one review. How long has this listing been available? You need a few more favorable reviews. So adjust the  few things I've mentioned and also consider dropping your rate just a little bit temporarily. Lower rates attract more guests, and more guests lead to more reviews. Your rate seems quite reasonable for your area, but try dropping it by maybe $5-10 for a month or two. (What does AirBnB show as their recommended rates?) Also, temporarily increase your weekly discount from 10% to maybe 15% (effectively offering one free night per week).

For your own protection, (since you state that you can only accommodate 2 guests) eliminate the "Extra Guests: No charge" item seen under the Prices section. The ONLY way to make that illogical setting disappear (thanks to some bad AirBnB coding logic) is to go into your settings and set the extra charge to some absurdly high amount. Try $1000.

Also (and this has nothing to do with improving your bookings or search placement), I recommend increasing your cleaning fee. $10 is way too low, not matter the local economy. Your guests will probably mostly be foreign tourists, right? So charge $15 or $20. That averages out to very little considering your 3-night minimum booking.

Good luck!

if you find this helpful, consider clicking the Thumbs Up button near the lower right. Thanks!

[Ann-Marie0]

Dear Dede,

Could you kindly check my profile?

The same thing has happened to me!!

Any help woud be extreemly appreciated!

Ann

[Dede0]

@Ann-Marie0 -- Sorry to take so long to followup; I'd overlooked your request.

Your listing looks pretty good to me. Price is in line with others of your capacity in your area and your place sounds great. You seem well-booked for April and May but then very open for June. (Is summer normally a high season or low season for Malta, or do you even experience seasonal fluctuations in tourism?)

The only thing that jumps out at me is that you've received only a single review. How long have you been operating? Perhaps you need to collect a few more (positive) reviews. One way to do that is to temporarily lower your rates to attract more guests and to have those happy guests leave happy reviews. You might also temporarily lower your fee for add'l guests past 3. Same reason.

[Ann-Marie0]

We have been operating for around 2 weeks.

Normally June is high season for Malta! - That is weird.

I agree about the prices regarding the reviews - thanks a million for the tip!

Ann

[Glen2]

Same here and with other hosts I know too. I don't feel it's our listings necessarily but rather something outside our control. Would love to hear from others.

[Helen19]

I've been hosting for over a year in the Seattle area and been very pleased with the rate of bookings (June -Sept) almost fully booked. About a month ago, inquiries stopped coming.  Someone said it's because they are running ads for Airbnb on the television and have attracted more hosts.  I think it has to do with the redesigned website which is promoting "tour experiences" by unique individuals. The Airbnb accommodations seem secondary.  Anyone else having this problem?

I'd also appreciate someone looking at my site if they have time.  We have great reviews.  Maybe there is a "red flag" I don't know about?

[EcoBuilt0]

Do you think the Travel Ban may have affected bookings?

[Beverley0]

Yes, I've had the same problem along with other bnb providers in the area. I've been hosting for 5 years and have normally been booked out all year round. I have 141 good reviews and my photos are good. Normally guests from Asia patricularly Malaysia, Singapore and Hong King have been constant. I live on the Gold Coast and I believe Theme Park attendance is also down, so I wonder if the fatal accident at Dreamworld has impacted the market.

I would be interested to get other opinions.

Auski

[Helen19]

My advice - if you can't control some of the outside, extenuating factors, contoling what you can  on the Airbnb website might help.

Sometimes it's a matter of not getting enough visibility.  When someone is searching in your area, they're not finding your listing. I live in Seattle and this can be a probelm.

About every 3 to 4 weeks, I slightly change my listing "title"  and pricing by about $1.00.  This way, the system considers you a "new listing" and puts you back up to the top where you get more visibility.  Try that and see if it helps.

Helen

[Cathy-and-Ed0]

Have been on Airbnb since 2013.  I didn't notice decline until recently because I had bookings.  Turns out, those booking were from guest that had stayed with us before and were on their 2nd or 3rd visit.  Also, we  were not trying to keep completely booked, as we enjoy down time in between guest.  We do need to have some guests in order to keep renting, and to supplement our income since we are semi- retired.

We have had over 140 mostly glowing reviews and have been SuperHost since they started the program.  Being in Las Vegas, we don't feel like we are competing with the Las Vegas Strip.  Our listing specifically says, "Off Strip" and we are close to Red Rock National Park. We usually get alot of hiker's and rock climbers etc.  The only booking we have in the pipeline is from a previous guests.

I don't get it!  What is going on with the placement of listings.  I can't even find my own listing with a search including some or all the filters. It simply does not come up!  We have no cancellations, so the only thing I can surmise is that we refuse to lower prices and go on Instant Book.  Will not do either of those for obvious reasons.  On another thread, someone said they were requiring all new listings to go on "Instant Book" and were promoting this.  I tried changing the "title" yesterday as Helen suggested.  Maybe, more time is needed.  Someone mentioned on another thread that Airbnb had increased their booking fee's to 12%-16%.  The fee's used to be 6%-12%.  I can confirm that the fee's have been raised.  Looked at listings, incognito and the fee's was 15% which was about $75 . I'm now thinking this is the problem.  People are looking for lower priced listing to make up for that huge increase in fee's.  

[Zappa0]

I do the same. I change/update and add photos and suddenly ding ding ding...tons of new bookings.

[Tamela4]

I am having the same problem. The only change I made was a 2 night minimum to discourage the “party” groups. I’ve only had one booking since the change.