13 Reasons why your Airbnb is not being Booked

 

13 Reasons why your Airbnb is not being Booked

These are 13 reasons why your Airbnb is probably not being booked.

 

Pictures

 

How do your pictures look? Pictures are the first thing a guest will see before they even check the prices of your home. If your pictures are not interesting and inviting, they might move on without clicking on your listing.

Make sure your pictures are breathtaking and interesting enough to make people stop, click on your listing and book your place. 

If you have the money to spend, then invest in having professional pictures taken of your place.

When you get professional shots, make sure the pictures are accurate and not overly filtered. Guests can give low marks on accuracy or negative reviews if the pictures look more beautiful than the place.

 

You can take the pictures yourself. If you do, take great pictures. There are so many videos and blogs out there that will show you how to take great pictures.

 

Listing Description 

 

Is your listing description captivating or boring? One reason why your Airbnb is not being booked is because of how you have described your home. 

Make your listing description warm, welcoming, inclusive, interesting and brief. Some listing descriptions are long, boring and all over the place. Guest may lose focus and log out of your ad.

 

When you are writing your listing descriptions,

State what makes your home unique from others. Do you have free parking on the premises? free wifi? State what makes your home special and make that clear from the beginning. 

 

Also, make sure to state all the important details, example if you have cameras on your properties or if you live in the building. 

It is advisable to write your listing description on a word document, edit it and then copy and paste it into the airbnb app.

 

Reviews

Poor or negative reviews may depict poor hosting and bad rental. 

If you think a negative review is a retaliation, respond to the review. You have 10 days to respond to a review when it’s made public. Potential guests read the reviews as well as the host’s response.

You can also ask airbnb to take a retaliation review down if you have evidence it's a retaliation.

Amenities 

What amenities do you have in your rental? Most people prefer an Airbnb that has a kitchen, a balcony and a pool. Thus, guests will filter the search looking for home that have these amenities. 

If your competitors have these and you do not have them, they will get booked. Make sure you have basic amenities such as a toaster, coffee make, tea and coffee supplies, fridge and a kettle. 

 

Market Saturation

 

You are not getting booked because maybe you live in a place where the market is saturated. Market saturation can lead to low bookings.

 

Pricing

Your price can determine your occupancy rates. If you are charging higher than your competitors with same amenities and listings, guest may choose them over you.

 

High Cleaning Fee and other Charges

High additional charges like high cleaning fees can give you low bookings. There are some hosts who do not charge cleaning fees. They increase their nightly rate by a few dollars and cancel their cleaning fees. Guests are able to see all the charges they have to pay before they book and they compare prices of several homes before they finally pick one. High prices of additional charges can deter them from booking with you.

 

Cancellation Policy

Life is full of uncertainties and plans change all the time; guests want to book with a host that has a flexible cancellation plan. So that when life happens, they can cancel without losing their money. 

 

Instant Booking

Guests are able to book more easily when you have instant booking.  Most guests prefer to book with host that have instant booking on, so that they can skip the interviewing stage of booking a place. Also, instant booking helps with your proprietary Airbnb search algorithm.

 
Respond Immediately 

Guest sometimes will make inquires about your place, responding swiftly will help with you getting your place booked. When guests make inquires, they are usually asking two or more hosts the same question. The host that replies faster and answer all their questions may get the booking. Also, your response rate on Airbnb will thank you.

 

Static Listings

Once in a while, change pictures and play around your listing. It helps you with your ranking on the app. I have had bookings right after I played with my listing.  

 

Market Research 

Once in a while, plan a trip either real or pretend to check where you are on the Airbnb ranking. When you are can’t find your listing on search, call up Airbnb and tell them. That could be a reason why you are not getting booked.

 

Low and High Season

If you in a place where there is low season (Fall/Winter) and high season (Spring/Summer), that could account for your low bookings. This is because there is less traveling during the low seasons and more travelling during the high season and so most STRs are fully booked during those seasons and under booked during the low seasons.

 

Which one of these could be a reason for your low bookings? Please comment and let me know. I want to see you succeed. Twerk things around your app, change things around and keeping an amazing host.

Bonus Point: Location

Your location! If you are closer to a famous landmark, a hospital, an airport or a university then you will be booked and have a high occupancy rate. This could probably be a reason why you are not being booked.

Need support with Airbnb?

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