3 bookings in the last 1 year

So I started hosting on Airbnb around about a year ago. I’ve only had 3 guests since. I thought it was just because of the season but currently it’s mid-summer and not even 1 booking. I had a lot of amenities, really breathtaking photos and a really nice place in the center of Athens (Greece).

Does anyone know why I haven’t had over 3 bookings yet? My last booking was over 2-3 months ago.

Thanks

Hi @Stavros,

I’m sorry it’s been going so poorly for you. It would help if you could provide a link to your listing. Without that, people here will only be able to provide (probably not very useful) generalities. Regardless, I doubt anyone would be able to give you very precise advice - hosting depends heavily on location - but with more information they could certainly provide more targeted advice.

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Do you have instant book to bump you up the listings? It might be worth calling Airbnb.

I was in Athens 10 days ago - hotels were cheaper

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Cheaper than what? We have no idea what his rental price is.

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I’d have to research the Athens market and I don’t have time for that. The price is great for all that space, maybe it’s too great. Maybe people looking for that size space just think this price is too low, too good to be true. The other thing for me is that I won’t rent a place with no pictures of the bathroom. There is also no picture of the kitchen. If I’m renting an entire apartment it’s because I need more than one bed or because I need a kitchen. You have a pic from the floor looking up through the table at the TV. I guess you are trying to be artistic but unless I’ve passed out on the floor I won’t be seeing that view of anything. LOL. You say it has a modern aspect but what is that based on? The large screen TV? I want modern kitchen and bathroom.

I’ve seen listings with terrible pictures that have 100s of bookings so that’s probably not your problem but you could improve the pictures. To be high in the rankings you need to actively manage your listing changing it periodically, checking the calendar, adjusting the price.

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Hi,

You might be right. I will upload some pictures of the kitchen and the bathroom in the upcoming days and I will also be increasing my price a bit so people don’t think it’s “too good to be true”.
But that still hasn’t explained why I haven’t had 1 single reservation for the past few months. All of the other listing’s in my area are fully booked all summer whereas me, no bookings (And their pictures are less of quality).

Any other suggestions?

Thanks

Not again…

Lol

RRR

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Hi Stavros

Have you thought of replacing the single bed with double bed? It doesn’t have to cost you much just get a cheap frame from IKEA…? Because right now you can accommodate 3 people in bedrooms and reservations of 3 people are rare…not many people like sleeping in the living room either. Just a thought :slight_smile:

Thanks for the suggestions, but all of the ideas you suggested to me are improvements to possibly get higher ratings and maybe a few more guests. This still doesn’t explain the 3 month gap of 0 guests.

Any solutions or what I should do?

Hello @Stavros , I did a quick search for Athens now in August, placing as a top price 40 euros for 4 people and 140 listings appears as available, including yours.
I think there are many listings in that price range competing with each other and with hotels. It is also possible that with the recent fires and heat waves many people decide to choose other destinations. Your listing is not a problem, few bookings are just the result of supply versus demand. The solution, maybe, will be to try to stand out with photos that show your property better, including photos of the kitchen and the bathroom.

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Thank you Mirta, that’s a good explanation of my queriry.

I am also open to other suggestions or theories for this problem as I want a clear overview.

The two paragraphs describing your space are almost identical and need a re-write with perhaps less flowery words (“remarkable”, “incredible”, “marvelous”). The word “luxury” is very subjective. Compared to other listings in your area, is your apartment considered extravagant, opulent, having grandeur and magnificence?

Definitely take more room shots rather than close-ups (clock?), and include the bathrooms and kitchen, as suggested. Perhaps state what floor you are on since guests must use an elevator.

I’m not sure why you haven’t been getting any reservations but for me it would be the lack of Wi-Fi, a priority to many.

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Hi @Stavros,

How many views is Airbnb showing for your listing? I don’t know how reliable or meaningful those metrics are, though. Something I wonder if they are randomly generated by Airbnb. Though I do seem to get booking at peak view times.

Also, you mentioned you only got 3 bookings? But what about inquiries?

Parenthetically, I agree with @KKC that reworking your photos would not hurt. And definitely include photos of everything relevant, including the bathroom and kitchen. It used to be the case that Airbnb provided hosts with free photos, but I don’t know if that is the case, and it’s location-dependent, anyway.

Also, you definitely want to get wifi as @SandyToes mentioned. That’s crucial these days. I’d also get a hair dryer. It won’t change whether people book or not, but it costs next to nothing, and people do use it.

I’ve had 29 views in the past 30 days. That’s around 1 view a day.

The pictures are actually new, they were added 3-4 days ago. I had other pictures before.

I am also going to implement wifi in the next few days. It takes around 3-5 days to get Wifi in Greece (After contracts, a meeting and the router actually arriving.)

Anything else I should do?

That’s low. I tend to hover around 600 to 700 for the month, and I’d consider that bad. Have you checked where you are ranking in searches? Airbnb’s rankings mostly don’t appear to make much sense, but there must be some method in their madness. Also, you said your neighbors are doing better? What kind of views are they getting?

One additional suggestion. Try to make your main photo something really striking. Most people don’t seem to use exteriors. If you can get a nice exterior shot, it might stand out.

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Yes @Stavros, as the guests mostly do their searches marking the ammenities that are essential for them, having Wi-Fi is almost essential for most travelers nowadays, if you are having few visualizations, it may be because your listing does not appear in the searches for the majority that surely considers only places with it.

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People in the neighbouring area get 500+ views and are booked out all summer. I’ve seen 2 with no Wi-Fi and they are still booked out up until September. Something isn’t right.

You can’t tell from looking on airbnb if someone is booked. Blocked nights look the same as booked nights. Someone could be living in their apartment all summer and have it blocked off but still listed for booking later. And if someone has no wifi maybe they have other internet available like ethernet or a hot spot.

The most important thing is where you rank in search. If no one is seeing your listing, no one will book. One view a day? You must be very low in search.

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