Why is my cabin not getting bookings anymore?

[Sabrina1113]

I have a cabin in Pigeon forge TN. it's a higher end cabin with high end appointments.  This home was booking solid till the end of Sept. 24, then everything just stopped.  Im a superhost so this kind of thing should not be happening to my listing.  I have not changed anything on the listing at all. Please help me figure this out without having to delete the whole listing and re-upload. 

LAZY BEAR https://www.airbnb.co.uk/rooms/46040932

[Joan2709]

@Sabrina1113 

I looked through all 15 pages of listings for Pigeon Forge and your listing did not appear. If your listing isn't on the first 3-5 pages in a saturated market like yours, it will be difficult to get booked.

Price

This is the off-season in your area I believe? You are priced way higher than similar or even better properties. I would take a look at what your competition is doing pricewise and lower your price accordingly. The Airbnb algorithm is very sensitive to price as compared to other popular listings.

Cover Photo

I'm not a fan of collage cover photos (you have 4 photos for your cover) as they are too crowded for the thumbnail in search results. I suggest removing the collage cover photo and trying this one as your cover for at least a few weeks:

Amenities

You have a great covered deck area. but one thing other listings have that you don't; a fireplace. 

That's all I can think of at the moment.

[Beverley120]

To be honest, if everything was fine until September, maybe don't change too much?

My property (2 rooms in my home) is way different from yours in every way, I have changed nothing, and this month has been the worst ever. I think it might be that the bookings just aren't there.

Good luck, tjough, it's a lovely place! 

[Emilie]

Hi @Sabrina1113, 

What a gorgeous cabin, I love how bright it is! I see you mention bear sightings are possible in the area, do you get any other wildlife visitors?  

In addition to the suggestions Joan already shared, I wanted to tag in a few other hosts to see if they have more advice: @Alex12990 @Beverley120 @Dr-Jayanthi1 @James3814 @Roy1245 @William2438, what do you think?

Thank you everyone ✨ 

Emilie

[Dr-Jayanthi1]

Hi @Sabrina1113 - Its a great property. However, understanding the geography (loved being into the smokies during my trip to Tennessee)  - my concern is - if I am looking out for a 2 person stay - will your property popup? And will it be better if you can accommodate extra beds and make the stay possible for slightly bigger groups - 4- 6 adults - cause that's how my friends in Tennessee wish to travel - either its a small family of two or a group of friends together.

For the Interiors - Wood is beautiful but wish you could break the monotony and bring in more colours on the wall.

Please do work on the price points as described by @Joan2709. get to study your neighbourhood pricing.

 Also the overall season could be dull as mentioned @Beverley120 .

The region has seen newer listings in the recent past and hence tweaking in a bit of your pricing, amenities, interiors is always better to bring in better visibility on the Airbnb app and hence enjoy better booking conversion.

I see you are a great host and understand guest expectations and you are going to have a great season ahead.

Happy hosting.

[Kia272]

@Sabrina1113  I think you've gone a little over the top with the cabin theme, and also your AI descriptions:

"Indulge in pure tranquility as embrace the luxuriously appointed living area, where ultimate comfort and resplendence intertwine. Allow your cares to dissipate amidst the opulent surroundings."

For me, the decor is a bit overwhelming. You do have some beautiful pieces and exquisite craftsmanship, but it is drowning in overdone "cabin" stuff- logs, bears, logs, bears, logs, bears. Honestly, I think those things are keeping it from being perceived as high-end. 

Could you have someone help you take a look with fresh eyes at the decor, and maybe tone it down and revamp a bit? If you want to attract a high-end crowd, it's got to come across as high end. 

Are there any curtains or shades for the upstairs loft area? Honestly, it would be hard to sleep past dawn up there. 

Also, the hospitality industry is all about supply and demand. Travel trends change with the economy, the seasons, and on a whim. It likely has nothing to do with your cabin, and is simply less demand for bookings in your area. Good luck going forward. 

[Joan2709]

@Sabrina1113

I think the biggest issue you have is price...your price per night is still way too high for off-season in your area. Many other similar (or better) listings are priced much lower. Here is Airbnb's search results map for your area. You can see even with your custom promotion discount, other listings are priced way below yours. You need to either reduce your base price and apply the promotion, or make the discount a higher percentage.

The Airbnb search results algorithm is very sensitive to price. If it thinks you are way overpriced, it won't show your listing very high in results, or not at all. With 1000s of Airbnbs in your area, you need to keep the listing priced competitively for market conditions (off-season). You need to be in the top 3 pages of search results in order to really be successful in your area.

Photos - Lighting?

I also noticed something odd about the lighting in your photos? The lighting appears to "off", as if a real estate photographer did them and then over edited them. This is referred to as "cartoonish" and is usually caused by too much saturation, excessive sharpening, or unnatural color correction applied during editing.  

I think you would benefit from getting new photos taken by a photographer experienced with Airbnbs. It shouldn't be difficult to find one in the area, as there are some many Airbnbs and many have much better photos. You'll see what I mean if you take a look at other listings that have full calendars in your area and compare your photos to theirs.

[Sabrina1113]

Hey Joan,
This message is directly coming from Eddie, her site's webmaster.

Hey again – seriously, thanks so much for all your feedback. It means a ton!

Quick backstory on the photos: Normally, I’d hire the same pro photographer we use for my seven other cabins (his lighting setup is chef’s kiss), but with this new property, the co-host was in a big rush to get the listing live. They didn’t want to pay for our photographer, so we ended up using darker, unedited shots from someone else. Let me tell you, I had to  tweaking those photos for hours just to make them halfway decent – brightening shadows, fixing colors, walking that weird tightrope between “still looks real” and “why does the couch look radioactive?” 😅

Honestly, I’m itching to redo these with our photographer. The place deserves to look as cozy and inviting as it actually is, and editing dim lighting is like trying to turn a potato into a diamond. If the owner’s open to it, I’d 100% push for pro photos next time. It’d save us both headaches and make the listing pop.

Thanks again for catching this – you’re spot-on, and I’m totally with you!