8 Ways to Optimize Your Airbnb Listing
Nowadays, for travelers around the world, finding and reserving a vacation rental is a piece of cake. For owners and managers themselves, it’s not all that difficult either. With the growing trend towards sites such as Airbnb, pretty much anyone, anywhere can become a host in just a few minutes.
That’s great news for both parties, but what it does mean is that competition is always on the increase. Every day, more and more rentals are popping up on Airbnb for guests to choose from. But these aren’t just in the same town as you — now they’re in your neighborhood, or even on your street!
So what can you do to make your listings stand out from the rest? Here are eight tips to optimize your Airbnb listing.
1. Have a complete listing
It sounds obvious, but more hosts than you’d think have big gaps missing from their listings — and they’re missing out on bookings as a result.
Your Airbnb listing is your one and only opportunity to catch a traveler’s eye and turn them into a booking — so you’ll need to make sure you provide as much information as possible.
Write your description carefully — describing the space accurately and in detail, including information on all the amenities your property has to offer. Upload high quality photos to give off a great first impression, ensuring a complete gallery so guests can see the space from all angles.
Additionally, your listing is a great opportunity to present guests with the expectations you have of them — regarding any Airbnb House Rules you have in place.
2. Collect first-class reviews
When it comes to reviews and search results, Airbnb takes two factors into consideration. These are: how many reviews you have, and what star-rating they are.
Not only can you, as a host, learn a lot about how to improve through guest reviews, but they can also help travelers to get a very good idea of you and your property. Plus whether or not they want to stay with you!
The more reviews you can gather from guests, the better. So make it a priority to encourage all departing guests to leave their feedback on your Airbnb profile.
3. Turn on Instant Book
Guests searching on Airbnb are no strangers to technology — and the more convenient the booking process is for them, the better. That’s why hosts who use the Airbnb Instant Book get more inquiries and interest from travelers, as well as better search placement.
What’s more, having Instant Book enabled is one of the requirements for reaching Superhost status on Airbnb.
Once you’ve turned on Instant Book, consider get Instant Payment, in advance, for upcoming reservations. For this, we recommend Payfully.
4. Have a super speedy response time
Eager travelers have come to expect fast response times as a given when using the Airbnb platform, so be sure you don’t let them down by maintaining a fast response rate. Airbnb calculates this rate by finding the percentage of inquiries and requests you responded to within a maximum of 24 hours in the last 30 days.
Quick response times are also a good indication to guests of your level of customer service and what they can expect from you as a host.
5. Fill up your host profile
Let your guests find out a bit about you before they book your vacation rental. A complete profile not only shows you’re reliable and genuine, but it also demonstrates you’ve put time and care into your Airbnb business.
Be sure to include a clear, smiley photo; some verifications (e.g. Facebook profile, phone number) and a verified government ID; plus a short description that outlines who you are, what you do and some of your hobbies and interests.
6. Steer clear of cancelations
The Airbnb search algorithm takes into account many factors, and one of these that really counts? Cancelations. If you cancel a guest’s booking, this can harm your property’s place in search results — so only make a cancelation if completely necessary.
7. Keep your calendar updated
When a guest is interested in your home, it’s a huge disappointment for them to find out it’s not available for their selected dates. Using a channel manager can help to avoid any unexpected conflicts when you advertise across Airbnb, other OTAs, and even on your own website as it will synchronize property availability and blocked off periods.
8. Pick competitive prices
Pricing rarely stays at one level year-round — and your Airbnb listing should reflect this. Seasonal pricing can help you stay fully booked off-peak, and ensuring your prices vary depending on the time of week, month and year can help you stay ahead of the game. Want to get paid early for your competitively priced Airbnb? Check out Payfully, their fair and transparent fees give you access to your earnings months in advance.
Follow the steps outlined above and you’ll be on your way to an optimized Airbnb listing! Not only will your listing will show up higher in search results, but you’ll receive more inquiries and confirm more bookings for your vacation rental.
About the Author
Lodgify is the complete, all-in-one vacation rental software that empowers owners and managers to create their own professional website and accept online bookings. Managing all reservations from one central place is easier than ever before for — no matter whether they come in via your website, Airbnb or any other channel.
