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Post by katisun on May 30, 2016 14:25:33 GMT
Hi everyone! I am just in my 2nd month and while my first month was great I haven't had any serious reservations in 4 weeks. I have, however, 260 views! So I'mwondering if this is common or if my listing lacks appeal for people who actually want to book. My second question is that I got an inquiry for a 3 month booking and with the 38% discount I built in to the long term listing the guest asked for an additional discount of $600 per month. In total it would have been about a 70% discount. I countered by taking $400 off and haven't heard back. My listing is in Durham, North Carolina and is titled "Bull City Bungalow" I would be grateful for some feedback because I have a lot of faith in the sharing economy but am feeling a bit disillusioned.
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Post by High Priestess on May 30, 2016 15:49:18 GMT
Hi Katisun Welcome to this forum!
New hosts often report that their first month is great and then things taper off. THis is because Airbnb gives artificial promotion to new listings, so new listings get advantaged in the search ranking and shown in a higher position than older more established listings, for about one month after they start. After a month or so, your listing no longer gets this artificial promotion and you are on a more level playing field with everyone else in your area.
Many areas of the world have seen a huge increase in the number of Airbnb listings, so that there is more competition in most areas than there used to be, worldwide. It is common for people to view listings that they don't book. As far as what you can do to capture bookings from those who look at your listing, this is a complex and many faceted issue and it's one that we all likely spend a lot of time on as hosts. For what comes into play here is really everything about running a business in an atmosphere where there is competition, so all the skills you can bring to that , general skills about running a business and advertising, are relevant.
One thing you can do as far as research, is take a look at what listings are most popular in your area and see what those hosts are offering that you might consider offering. WHat are they doing that you aren't, to capture guest bookings.
ALso, one of the things that is most helpful in keeping you in a good position /ranking on search results, is to update your listing daily, meaning to change one or more words in the listing, so that "updated on ____" shows today's date.
Consider what you have to offer that is unique and could be of appeal to guests, and promote it. If you would be interested in consulting help, read down below here on the webinars board and you can find info from Evelyn Badia who runs a consultation business to help hosts.
As far as your current question about the 3 month booking --
Many hosts who aren't getting the number of short term bookings they need, may contemplate going to a more standard long term rental, or a mid term rental like a 3 month rental. WHile this can help fill your space, keep in mind that doing long term rentals will put you quite low in search results, because you fill up the space and so your listing will not come up in many searches when guests seek dates that you dont' now have available. So, once a host goes in the direction of doing long term rentals it is hard to get back to getting good placement to capture many shorter term ones. As well, I strongly recommend that hosts who don't have experience as a standard landlord doing long term rentals with tenants, learn everythign they can about this before doing it. There are many potential problems and you need to know about those in order to avoid those.
It is generally a very bad idea to take a renter who wants a massive discount, such as 70% in this case. People who ask for huge discounts like that tend to be demanding, entitled, and potential trouble in other ways. As well, there is much more potential to end up with a squatter if your rents are too low. Low rents attract the bottom of the barrel renters, scammers and squatters. Finally, don't offer your accomodations at such a low price that you would regret doing that and would resent the renter. That isn't a recipe for success.
I would suggest you don't take this 3 month renter, but that doesn't mean you might not wish to lower your rates a bit, if that helps attract other more reasonable renters.
I didn't find your listing when I searched Google --
It's not easy to be an AIrbnb host, particularly in the newer more competitive era with more and more hosts all the time. Something has to give ---- when there is too much supply. But for those who really want to do it, I do believe you can make it work.
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Post by katisun on May 31, 2016 2:06:53 GMT
airbnb.com/rooms/12644179?s=8&user_id=68162242&ref_device_id=6a56c0ca80db9f75e1ecef59bf816ad045daf450Andrew and Deborah, Thank you!!!! Your advice helped so much and I feel much better. The long term request never went past pre approval- I haven't heard back. I guess now I'm glad. I was lucky to get an AirBNB photographer out so those photos will be up soon, I look forward to seeing what happens then. again thank you so much for your thoughtful answers and the advice about long term renters. I hope you both have a great week. K
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Post by High Priestess on May 31, 2016 2:52:01 GMT
Hi -- glad that you feel better. I took a look at your listing, and you've done a great job there with photos. You could actually add a few more photos -- I'm thinking of the forest and outdoor attractions, whihc are suggested by the last photo of the snowy forest. I would also add more house rules. Hosts often don't realize the need for house rules until they have a problem with a guest -- take a look here: globalhosting.freeforums.net/board/28/house-rules. Let us know how it goes!
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Post by katisun on Jun 1, 2016 20:19:13 GMT
I am following your advice and keeping my fingers crossed! Ok, another question then- I have gotten a few inquiries lately with the option to "pre-approve or decline" I am not sure why I have to pre approve people now when before I could just "accept" the booking. Is this something in my settings or a new app feature. I haven been able to finish a single booking since the inception of the "pre-approve" option. It may be a red herring but it definitely coincides. Thanks!!
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Post by helgaparis on Jun 1, 2016 21:52:18 GMT
Hi Katisun, you have a nice house, it looks very comfortable. In the description, you have a "sensitive content hidden" - I guess you wrote Google maps there. Always check it after publishing and in preview mode, the censor hits when you are done. A warning: you have a picture of your house door including number on the listing. People can find it on street view and show up unannounced.
What you could improve, even if there is not much to improve: you have no clear marketing concept. It's central and it's in Bull City and it's an Oasis, whatever that means as there is no dessert around. When I look at it, there is a charming house, with good furniture, not the Idea kind, it has character. Then there is a lot of green around. A garden. A porch where you could even sleep. Then there is a lot of text that nobody will read; and the information is very hard to find. Buried in text and a bit convolute phrases; your sentence start with one sentiment and end with another. Like "Sadly public transportation is a bust but navigation in the Bull City is straight forward and easily GPS-able." That starts quite negative and then it gets strange, at least for me. or "It's our pleasure to host you so if you'd like to meet or for an intro to the house or for recommendations in town- sounds great! Otherwise the house is yours and we have utmost respect for your privacy." I do not even understand here, what you want to say. Do you wish to give them an introduction? Can they have recommendations as an option? Why not say something precise and positive like "We will welcome you, show you the house and give you a short introduction into the town/the neighborhood." They rent the whole house, privacy is a given.
You should make a brainstorming, what positive emotions come to mind, when you think of the house. How would you describe it to a cousin coming to town after 20 years, when you offer lodging him/her there? What is special for a guest coming from far? Use those emotions in the title and in the short description on top. Structure the description, formulate clear simple sentences, where the whole sentence says one thing. Like a powerpoint presentation. Not to much per screen or per sentence. Positive phrases, many of yours start with an excuse for something out of your control. If the city has no transport, that's sad, but you don't have to excuse yourself for it and certainly not in a publicity for your space. They can find that out after payment. Anyway, if they want to come to Bull City, it will be the same if they rent your place or your neighbor's. You can describe the house and the surrounding area point per point, like a list; you can also try to put the future guest in place. Describe how they can cook in the fully equipped kitchen, relax on the comfortable leather couches, will have sweet dreams in the soft beds, enjoy a meal outside, go for a walk in the nearby forest....
You accept pets, as I conclude from your house rules, which are quite cryptic in that point. That is a big sales argument, exploit that in a more prominent place.
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Post by High Priestess on Jun 2, 2016 1:50:10 GMT
As usual, Helga is very generous in offering ideas and analysis!!
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Post by katisun on Jun 3, 2016 2:45:37 GMT
So again, I have implemented your suggestions and I have had 3 reservations in the last 24 hours!!! Thank you a million times for your expertise. I wish you much success and good will.
Kati
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Post by High Priestess on Jun 3, 2016 3:17:06 GMT
Glad to hear it, Kati!!
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Post by helgaparis on Jun 3, 2016 17:59:37 GMT
Glad for you Kati! After the start it gets easier! - I would not hide that there is no public transport either, sorry, if that came over wrong. As Andrew says, it's a fact to state, but not to rub it in, that it is a disadvantage. Think of it like cosmetics: or other expensive products. Sometimes they have a seal or banner on it "With XYZ!" or "Contains XYZ3 If you look it up, you may find it's not the miracle formula you supposed but a dangerous ingredient that they are obliged to mention. If it's a complicated thing, it's a good way to present it as an advantage. You need not go that far, of course, but neutral instead of negative is fine.
Your description is much nicer now, sounds interesting. I learned about the pet argument from Shannon, she allows them and she gets a lot of bookings with pets. Happy hosting !
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