How to increase your listing’s booking appeal
Let’s run a little experiment. Open Airbnb in your browser and type in your suburb. Don’t put in any dates or adjust the number of guests: just click search. How many results came up? If you live somewhere in Sydney or Melbourne, chances are there are around 300.
With so many competitors, it’s obvious that your booking needs to stand out from the rest. After all, you don’t want to be handed the same fate as the unattractively packaged baked beans squirreled away on the lowest supermarket shelf, waiting there for months on end before some economically-minded soul takes them home. You probably also don’t want to create gas in your consumers, but that’s a different analogy.
Anyway, we digress: today we’re going to give you the top three tricks for turning your listing into the most attractive one on the market.
Photos
Ah, photos: the most effective tool of any seller, capable of evoking all sorts of emotions and a strong desire to have or to buy. Of course, in this case, you want your potential guests to feel excited at the prospect of staying in your home. You want them to say “Woah, look at that view!” or “check out that double shower head!”. You don’t want them to say “Hmm, it looks a bit dark,” or “there’s no photo of the kitchen.”
Take an objective look through your listing photos. Do they showcase your place in its best light? Do they display the selling points and useful features of your property, or are half of them focused on your carefully curated teapot collection? Is there a location or lifestyle shot that encompasses the feel of your neighbourhood? If you answered no to any of these, you have some work to do.
Start by considering light and angles, as well as those things which have real appeal. Once you’ve picked your focal points, think about adding some little touches, like fresh flowers on your coffee table, plush bath towels, or an immaculately made bed.
Pricing
Surprise quiz! Q: Is it better to rent your place one third of the time at three times the price, or to rent it all the time at one third of the price? A: The answer is the latter. People like to save money so they’ll stay at your reasonably priced (lovely looking) property and then, content with their choice, leave you a nice review. Before long, you’ll have a whole bunch of nice reviews which create more demand for your property and possibly land you Superhost status, both of which give your listing increased visibility.
Now, while this is a good general principle, we’re not saying you should price your property at the same level all year round. There are high points in the calendar when the number of bookings being made across Airbnb increases dramatically. With increased demand comes the opportunity to set a higher nightly rate without the risk of deterring bookings: go forth and capitalise.
In short, the two key messages when it comes to pricing are 1) focus on maximising your occupancy; and 2) know when to adjust your rates.
Words
While photos and price are the two most important aspects of any listing, it pays to spend some time on your words. Ideally, you want them to be descriptive while also selling the experience of staying in your place.
You have a great kitchen? Excellent. Instead of saying ‘Large kitchen with stainless steel appliances’ say ‘Walk to the local farmers’ market and make yourself a beautiful fresh meal in the fully equipped kitchen.’
Essentially, you want your words to put your guests in your property. Once they’ve visited it in their minds — and liked what they’ve found — they’re much more likely to send through a booking request.
If you follow these tips you’ll have a stellar listing in no time — one that will stand proudly at the top of the search results and have an awesome power for turning lookers into bookers. If you need help creating said power listing, feel free to drop us a line: we’d be only too happy to help.
Hometime provides the complete suite of services for your Airbnb, allowing you to increase your income without lifting a finger. Our expertise ensures your property is booked for more nights at the best price and that each guest has a wonderful stay. It’s your home — we just help it reach its full potential.