NEW host:) Can I get your opinion please?

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new tub and sauna! how exciting. you need to build a fence for it? I like “hugged” spaces :slight_smile:

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I love the fun, arty vibe of Joshua Tree. It’s an odd mix of ex-military rednecks, Christian fundamentalists and free-thinking open minded types like myself. You see lots of pit bulls in the backs of jacked up trucks. I love going to the Walmart–amazing people-watching grounds. :)))))

I would skip the flyers, even the web site and the freebies for the bloggers. All you need to do is just have a little patience with your listing on Airbnb. It will sell itself, especially with the season approaching I’m sure you’ll have an uptick in visitors.

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Great Job on the improvements. Reading all the posts you are definitely on your way to making this a stellar listing.
To gain a pricing edge check out RoomDots.
It gives neighborhood pricing trends and the automatic pricing tool was accurate enough to increase my revenue over the previous month and get more booking requests. I was able to increase the minimum price I thought my place was worth by $15-$25 on regular nights without any major events.

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I think the problem is that you only have a swamp cooler! As someone who is very familiar with Joshua Tree, I wouldn’t consider staying in a place, no matter how cute, without traditional air.
You could get a small AC unit very cheaply!

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If your prices are competitive, then that’s great! I would also do this;

  1. add some amenities that you might not have ( like the aforementioned AC )
  2. adjust the prices a wee bit everyday. My fellow hosts tells me it improves SEO a bit. But it’s better than nothing!
  3. change the pictures from time to time.
  4. change the title of your listing occasionally
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28

A swamp cooler this time of year would be just fine and quite effective with the low humidity. I love them because they sound so soothing with a slight sound of trickling water. Pretty soon heating is going to be the issue because nights get pretty cold in the high desert.

As summer approaches she’ll have to get a little window AC for at least the bedroom. The bummer is the electricity rates in that area are exorbitant. A little window unit could easily cost $100, $200 a month to run, so that has to be figured into the rate.

Otherwise, the swamp cooler for now will be just fine.

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I really think it will be worth it. So many people enter our rental and the first thing they say is ‘I love this AC!’

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I’m sure it is very nice. Are you in the high desert area in California? I have friends I visit who use a swamp cooler for most of the year and it feels just fine. For the super hot months of summer you could use an AC unit for sure, especially for guests, but for most of the year the humidity is so low that it’s not necessary.

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I’m in Florida :slight_smile:

I’d never heard of a swamp cooler until I read about them on this forum. I’m not sure that they’re available here but we have high humidity evidently. I never notice it - I seem to have been born without a humidifiometer :wink:

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Oh my. Even though you’ve got swamps, you’d never see a swamp cooler in Florida :)))) They are marvelous, low-tech machines that are very effective at cooling in low-humidity environments, which is why the OP will be just fine without regular AC.

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I think I want one…

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Unfortunately, swamp coolers don’t work here in Florida, Jaquo, otherwise we’d all have them. They only work where the humidity is low. Imagine a really dry space (I know its hard) and a wet towel hung in front of a box fan in the window. The air being blown into the room through the wet towel is cooled and humidified by the water which is evaporating. Here if you do that, you get even more humid air and no cooling effect because the air is already humid.

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Thanks, Ken. Good to know!

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Some people have swamp coolers here in Colorado as the air is usually very dry. I remember them being kind of smelly from when I was a kid. Perhaps they’ve improved since then.

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I grew up with swamp coolers and still have family that use them. Believe me, no matter how dry, and I grew up in West Texas with there is no humidity, they can’t replace air conditioning! Wish they were as romantic as some people seem to feel. They drip water over a state mat and the air blows through.

I know electric can be expensive because our place is in Southern CA on desert side! I worry about that too but it is whole house and we got a Nest thermostat that we can control through the Internet. I think a small unit that guest only turn on when they come in would be as pricey electric-wise as you think. You place is so cute, you could raise your prices $10 a night and see if that would cover it!

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Sorry, WOULDN’T be as expensive as you fear.

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Disagree… I was born in San Bernardino and my grandfather had the first swamp cooler business in the city. I LOVE them! So much more comfortable than refrigerated AC! And more energy efficient as well.

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Your place is adorable. I like the suggestion about making price changes and occasional picture changes because I have read the activity makes you stay higher in the listings for an area.

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All the best to you! I was just at Joshua Tree. Next time, I’ll look you up!

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thank you everyone. Amazing community. got lots to learn here :slight_smile: