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For my listing, anything under $300 a night for a 2 bedroom would put me in the bottom quartile of rates for the places available in the high season.
I understand that for many that might not be affordable, but my listing is located in an expensive bucket list destination.
So under $50 - 75 per person is affordable. That makes sense as thatās pretty cheap, depending on the facilities and amenities.
āAffordableā is a strange term, I agree. Itās totally relative and subjective. What is affordable to Bill Gates would be unthinkably expensive to most people.
I think of my private room listing as ābudget pricedā meaning a guest who doesnāt have a lot of disposable income can book here, get a lot of bang for their buck, and have enough vacation budget to eat out at least some of the time, and pay for an activity or two, depending on their budget, of course.
I had one woman book who had signed up for a weekās worth of sailing lessons in a town about half an hourās drive from here. Iām sure the sailing lessons werenāt cheap, and she rented a car to commute, which isnāt cheap either, but she said she hated touristy places, so didnāt want to stay in the expensive tourist town where her sailing lessons were (unlike my town, which was just a sleepy fishing village until it becane a tourist trap but is quite funky and ācoolā, her sailing lessons were in a town solely created for tourism- itās just big hotels and condos, a hospital, overpriced restaurants and an overpriced little mall, and she preferred quiet, simple digs, which mine is.
She also liked countryside, and lived in a farm setting in Maine herself. She didnāt eat in fancy restaurants, either- she was fine with street tacos. So she had priorities as to what she spent her money on.
I guess āaffordableā can depend on what a guest plans to do and what their priorities are. They may be fine with a simple, comfortable place without any bells and whistles- a Mr. Coffee machine rather than a Keurig, and prefer to spend their money on activities and/or eating out. Others want a really nice place to stay and might spend most of their time there, especially if it has a pool or is in a ski area, etc.
She sounds like my kind of people! I prefer to stay in a clean 3 star hotel or a 5* ABB that is a bit off the beaten track and then spend my money on sailing or other activities and have a clean, simple place to stay.
I bought a Keurig at a deep discount because guests kept asking about it - and only 1 has used it. Fine by me, it was cheap and now I can say I have it.
@KKCās place is ideal for a traveler who loves street tacos and Mr. Coffee - clean, neat, great host, and puppies!
I agree with others who have suggested calling it out in your description that itās a below market rate because itās a well-loved property. I appreciate a lower rate for a property thatās not fancy, but I do expect it to be clean and functional. I wonder if it might also be the case that guests donāt recognize it as a bargain, because it might still be high compared to wherever their coming from.
I think it is GREAT to have that kind of variety open to travelers. So maybe doing some minor upgrades and cleaning and reassessing the listing is in order, but I do hope people will continue to host affordable places. We stayed in a Airbnb in Hawaiāi once that was not updated but it was clean, and we have everything we needed, and most importantly, the hosts where absolutely lovely ā they offered us fruit from their trees, give us lots of tips about things to see and do, and talked to us about living in Hawaii and about the islands.
I just did a search for an upcoming school holiday time period. The average price of listings available that accommodate the same number of people as mine is $841.
Yes. Thatās part of the problem. The destination is more expensive than where 99% of guests come from. So first-time guests donāt understand that Iām offering a bargain. I canāt change how they think so I will change what I can when I can about improving this condo.
That doesnāt make any sense. If they are searching for rentals in your area and can see that similar size places are coming up as much more expensive, how could they not understand that yours is a bargain?
Thereās a lot guests donāt pay attention to, but price isnāt one of them.
That makes it two of us.
But guests give me three and four stars as I think they believe itās not a five star Ritz Carlton hotel.
Yes, but that has nothing to do with them coming from an area that is less expensive. It has to do with the place being somewhat run-down. They would mark you down for that no matter what area you were in or what the going rate was.
This is the insight I was looking for.
I plan to make it really nice and charge 3x of what I charge now.
You could also aim for mid-rate and spend less on updates. Clean, minimal and simple- ikea and Facebook marketplace finds, some new paint (look into tile or grout paint!) and cheap area rugs could make a big difference in guest impressions.
A guest booked and her 13 year old son had a meltdown because they were not staying oceanfront. She said, ā We have $x amount to spend. If we stay oceanfront, we can enjoy the beach. That is all we will do. No speed park, no going out to eat, no mini golf, no amusement park, no jet ski rentalsā¦ā.
@muddy you are correct. For people with a budget, it forces a decision about what is important.
No, that wouldnāt work either. As I said, furnish it with second hand items in good shape and charge a bit more. If you go to the other extreme youāll loose clients. You have to find that balance between price and what you offer.
Then itās up to you to educate them about the AirBnB star rating system. There are multiple threads about this along with a cute little saying. Iāve put it in my checkout sheet and also talk to new guests (0 reviews) about what they expect from the AirBnB experience. Iām a home share host so I do get to see them and chat a bit when they come in, so that makes it easier, but you can add that funny bit in any of your messages and your check in/check out page.
Mine is:
Thank you for staying at the Little Pink Beach House. We hope you enjoyed your stay.
Checkout tomorrow is 11am.
Hereās a quick and (we hope) funny guide to how AirBnB expects hosts and guests to be rated:
5 ***** =Just as described (or better).
4**** =Not as described, it was just āOKā.
3 *** =What a dump.
2 ** =This host should be in jail.
1 =Bulldoze the place*
Location Rating:
5 ***** =I can read a map & the location was just as described on the map.
4 **** =I canāt read the map, the place was in the wrong location.
3 *** =I never found the place
2 ** =I didnāt read the description.
1 =I forgot how to read a map.*
Value Rating:
5 ***** =The price was as described.
4 **** =I didnāt read description.
3 *** =I skipped that part of the listing.
2 ** =Iām a total cheapskate.
1 =Iād rather be couch surfing.*
It works.
Now go forth, roll up that worn carpet and clean the bare floors, and check out second-hand furniture, get out the sander and paint and make it a Cute Island Shack - Clean, Cheap, and Close to Everything.
Even Judge Judy would approve.
I think your assessment is true. Airbnb is not a good platform to offer a good value. Even its newly renovated, an increasing number of guest simply wonāt read the listing, expecting to be able to cancel the night before with full refund. Host on the internet often claim reviews donāt matter but my experience is that they do. Even as a guest Iāve stayed in a place with 4.8 cleanliness that should have been lower. The reality is that newer listings are often times recently renovated with new appliances etc, get better reviews, and replace older run down listings.
If your guests are paying a lot to get to your location they will most likely have high expectations. Cost may not be a concern for them. Also worn out furniture and rugs will always look dingy and dirty. It sounds like you are marketing to a different demographic than the guest in your region. It would be good to give your guests what they want and you can do it without breaking the bank.
I love the location and value ratings!
I advertised my place as a āheritage homeā because it was built by my grandfather. One really great guest described it as ālike the shared house I lived in grad school except everyone does the dishesā and another said āthe floors may creak, but it just adds to the characterā.
The problem was that 3 rooms with queen beds sharing one bathroom meant that I could only rent it as budget accommodation priced between the local youth hostel and the skankiest budget motel, $60/night for the small ones, $85 for the big one, 2 night minimum, $45 cleaning fee (same as what I paid a cleaning service the few times when I had to have turnovers happen when I was out on tours). If had been able to remodel and add bathrooms, my rooms with bath and full breakfast would have been at least $250/night. Pre-COVID, there were very few empty nights during the summer unless I blocked them.
Absolutely. āIf you have a quirk, make it a featureā can apply to life in general as well as decor/design.
I posted an article previously about the Airbnb-ification of lodging design. There probably is a population of travelers who are happiest with gray with pops of yellow teal, white walls, subway tile and raw wood.
Story of my life and advice my Mom gave me. āDonāt be like the rest of them, darling.ā
I get that from guests and have gotten that feedback from other hosts. āItās not modern.ā Um, nope. Itās repurposed coastal vibe antiques combined with new linens, etc. And a cat. =^.^=
It sounds wonderful! Letās face it, lots of places are meant to give the guest a bed for their heads and fridge space until the next dayās road trip. Or just a clean, neat place to stay to launch fly fishing adventures and bear adventures.