Critique my listing - Amberley Horn - Arizona, United States

Amberley3
Level 2
Wickenburg, AZ

Critique my listing - Amberley Horn - Arizona, United States

Our airbnb is in lack of bookings. Please take a look at our link and give us any advice, insight , or how we could do better. Thank you in advance for your help. 

 

 

https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/774103752847336094?guests=1&adults=1&s=67&unique_share_id=c3726a9e-ca22...

 

3 Replies 3

I am going to be critical, because that is what I would want as a host.  l like the overall rustic feel of the place.   But I, as a potential guest, would be concerned about how comfortable the couches and beds are from these photos.  The couches and lounge chairs appear to be older or heavily worn.  When I am on vacation I look forward to a good night's sleep or comfortable nap.  So, the beds need to really look inviting and comfortable.  As for the beds, I would suggest, assuming the mattresses are already newer and comfortable, I would spend a little money on the bed linens to make them look intentional, not pieced together with what was available.  The rustic look is fine for the majority of the place, but the couches, lounge chairs and beds need to look like something you can snuggle into and fall asleep in.   I didn't look at you're pricing compared to your competitors, so I have no idea if you are priced in line with the market.  I also didn't look at your cancelation policy or check in and check out restrictions.  If you have a stricter cancelation policy, maybe look into lightening up.  If you have restricted days for check in and check out, maybe loosen that up, if you can.      The place does look clean and charming.  I wish you luck in your hosting.

Kia272
Level 10
Takoma Park, MD

@Amberley3  I'm going to agree with @John6275 about the furniture. You have a lovely setting in the ranch, but the house decor doesn't look all that inviting. 

 

First, 98 pictures is WAAAAAAAYYY too many pictures! They are also not well-ordered or captioned. You've spent most of your caption space giving credit to the photographer, my point being that even with all of those pictures, I couldn't form a picture in my mind of what your house looks like. The pics are disjointed, and many are unnecessary (artsy, but not informative.) I'd pare them down to about 40 pics, which is more than enough. 

 

The first 5 pics should be the WOW shots, that engage a viewer and make them want to see more. More emphasis on the house, less on the outdoors (initially). You can work the exterior shots in later in the picture flow. 

 

Your narrative also needs improvement. I have no idea how the house flows, what's connected to what, and where the bedrooms and bathrooms are relative to each other. Also, if the photographer is concerned about getting credit (??) they should watermark the photos, or you could give them a written credit in your description, "all photos by xx photography, and guest xx)

It's a little weird that each and every photo gives credit to the photographer but not a lot of info about what is seen in the pic. 

 

I don't know your area, but your pricing seems REALLY low! At 10 guests, that would be $14 each. You can fix your pricing to go up with the guest count, just FYI. You also have no cleaning fee, which makes it really, really cheap. You can go either way, which is to build the cleaning fee into your price per night, or add one (keep it reasonable) as I think excessive cleaning fees put people off. Either way, at this price you are inviting the bargain-shopping crowd, who are not known as the best guests. 

 

You seem to allow pets, but since you have your own 6 dogs, some wording about bringing pets and how to manage them on your property might be prudent. We all hope that the guests who are coming are reasonable and responsible people, but that's not always the case. You need to be very clear about rules, and what should and should not be done on your property. 

 

I do think your furnishings and decor need some improvement, but if you can't manage that right now, include in your narrative description that the ranch house is "homey and simple, with well-loved furnishings" or similar, so that guests know what to expect. Your listing is all about managing guest expectations. 

 

If the beds are new/comfortable, be sure to include that so that guests are not put off like @John6275 was. That's good info for the bedroom photo captions. 

 

I think, most importantly, that you need to figure out who your target market is and market accordingly. Is it large families on summer vacation? That seems like a good fit. Lots of room for kids to run around and lots of space to spread out. Guys/girls weekends? That seems like a good fit too. Just figure out who you are trying to attract, and emphasize why your place suits their needs. Maybe the horse crowd as well? I saw something about you possibly being able to accommodate horses? Anyway, you get my point. 

 

Also, if you are strictly on solar, you'll need to emphasize this in the listing and essentially train people in how much power is available and what to do and not do to use it all up. You briefly mention not using hair dryers, etc., but there's got to be more to it than that. 

 

You have an AMAZING setting for this lovely property, and you just have to find your groove. I do think that putting some money into improving the look of the interior would pay off in the long run, but again, if you can't manage that right now, tell it like it is, and do the best you can with what you have. I feel like if you put out money to spend on that, you'd make it back in a big way, but that's just my humble opinion. 

 

Good luck! You really have a beautiful place! Sorry for the length of this post! 

Fred13
Level 10
Placencia, Belize

Besides the points already made, this is my marketing take. I suppose this is just passed Yarnell and is in the Congress area somewhat as you looking down on Wickenburg. If so your market could be those people that want to get away from either Prescott or Phoenix for the weekend or play ranching (or bringing their horses) for a week at a time. They will be looking for simplicity and relaxation, a turn-key place.

 

The pictures need to flow from the outside to inside in a smooth journey like a person arriving at your place and finally getting to the bedrooms. Mood (aka theme) photos that evoke a feeling. Three pictures of outside will do (out of the first 5) to grab them and the 2 generic ones of the inside to give them just a peak of the interior. One photo of each feature will do. Perhaps you can consult a local web designer (that has a sense of salesmanship) to help you.

 

Also, despite the fact it is solar and yes I understand why you mentioned that a hair drier is a no-no (1600 watt draw), one idea is: invest in an inverter type super-quiet generator (example Honda eu3000is) which guests could start remotely and will not even hear it and then your guest could enjoy whatever modern-marvel they want by putting it on just a few hours in the evening. Just make certain power-hog items will work just when generator is on (dedicated line). And keeps batteries charged so can run things like the refrigerator (and freezer) running during the night when it is not on and batteries will be only source of power.

 

Price - no sense inviting a troop and not charging for them, if anything to make sure you cover the inevitable wear & tear of the group. Four (4) bedrooms naturally spell 8 people, not ten (10); the 'extra' 2  beds are usually used by kids. You could always say you will allow more then 8 - 'depending on group composition'. Asking $200 or even $250 a night from 8 persons (+ a couple of kids you throw in) is not asking a lot. Can make it progressive: first (4) $150 and each added person after that $25 per person/per night.

 

Good luck.