A fantastic guest blog from Snezana from Short Term Stays sharing the 5 best Airbnb practices.
Every Airbnb listing is a starting point. It’s how you get the ball rolling in your pursuit to corner the market and become the ultimate Airbnb host. Having a complete listing is the sole mechanism that gives your potential guests insight into your unit, the experience you have to offer and what it just might be like if they decide to stay with you.
Here are the best Airbnb practices to create a listing that will engage and interest guests to click on that ‘Book now’ button.
1) Update Your Calendar Regularly & Allow as Much Availability in the Future
It’s like opening the doors to the future for your guests and your unit. You’re giving them insight into their options and proving that you’re a professional who’s organized and dedicated to the job, which instills trust in them and eventually motivates them to book with you.
But, getting back to the point, you should keep your calendar neat and up to date. Don’t let your guests think you’re available when you’re not, and don’t let them make inquiries about properties that are already booked in advance. This will deter them from booking with you in the future since they obviously waste their time with someone who doesn’t take the time to update them on availability.
Luckily, Airbnb makes this easy for you, giving you a link to update your calendar on your listing page. We recommend updating as frequently as possible, even daily if you can.
2) Take Advantage of Instant Booking
Many of your potential guests are seeking instant gratification, and you can’t blame them since we live in an era where we need to have everything right here and right now. Make sure to enable instant confirmation the reservation, because some last-minute travelers and guests need to know your availability right now. And we can’t deny that this is pretty convenient. Activating this option indicates that you either have a high acceptance rate or have never missed a booking during your Airbnb hosting career, which eventually scores points with your bound-to-become guests.
Other benefits of turning on this option? More interest and engagement with guests, especially last-minute travelers, an easier way to get to the superhost status as well as get better placement in the search results. Ultimately, these all work towards optimizing your occupancy rate, which has a high impact on the profitability of your Airbnb.
3) Frequently Adjust Prices
If you feel strong about your offering, don’t sell yourself short, obviously, but it is a fact that when you’re just starting off, you can’t really play around a lot with the price until you stack up a few good, high-quality reviews that will put you right on the map.
While it’s essential to establish your average rate, it’s important to adjust your rates according to the season, weekdays or weekends, if there are any big events coming up in your area etc.
Use the price tool to help you with determining the right rates. Assess the value of your property, and assign the right price to it, but at the end of the day try to remain competitive.
4) Provide a FAQ on Your Listing
As much as you like to satisfy your guest’s wishes before they arrive, and communicate what their expectations are in order to cater to the same, you need to set certain expectations of your own. If you clearly state what your guests can expect from you, your unit and what they can or can’t do, you’ll avoid many future problems. Not only are you going to avoid bad experiences and reviews, you’re going to automatically attract people who are looking for just what you’re offering, and immediately deter everyone else who isn’t happy with the conditions you are providing. It’s important to please your guests, but not at the cost of your Airbnb.
5) Invest in High-Quality Photographs
While having an amazingly furnished and decorated rental unit is undeniably one of your greatest assets, an even major asset is having professional photos to display it. We believe that it’s really true when they say that a picture is worth a thousand words, because certain things can’t be described no matter how good of a wordsmith you are, they just have to be shown.
A large percentage of people book a stay based on how good the property looks, and that depends mainly on how your photographs look like. If you’re really not a creative type, you can utilize the free Airbnb photography services and have someone photograph the property for you.
It’s undeniable that everyone has a different take on what elements contribute to the overall success of an Airbnb, but a clean, regularly updated and a genuine listing is what gets you the actual bookings. So before you decide to cut down on the time you take to edit your listing, remember, a listing is like a seat in the movies. You’re going to have a chance to watch an amazing movie, so make sure they are front-row seats.
Find out more about Short Term Stays and how they can help you maximise your Airbnb bookings: www.ststays.com
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