Can You Help With Headline + Picture Feedback

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Hey everyone, so this is weird - my listing was killing it last year. But in the last few months, the number of bookings has really dropped. I did a big renovation - put in a putting green, made a feax relaxation beach, string light improvements and it hasnt picked up.

I thought I had this thing nailed but maybe i dont. Could you help me by looking at my listing and telling me what you think of the headline (right now it’s “Stunning Patio w Golf, Firepit Steps to Bars, Eats”) and my pictures and tell me what you think. Any other feedback is great too

airbnb.com/h/atxprimopatio

I would be so appreciative!

Kraig

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I don’t know how your pricing compares to similar size places in your area (and your place looks pretty unique, so it’s hard to compare anyway), so can’t speak to that.

Is there increased competition in your area, maybe?

Your place is very cool in its decor and amenities, and your photos are good, so that’s not an issue.

However, you have way too many photos. Get rid of all or most of the close-ups of decorations and amenities. No one books because they like your potted plants.

Also, get rid of all the exclamation points in your description. They are distracting and unnecessary. Exclamation points should be used very sparingly in writing.

Your description lists of all the amenities in The Space section is also unnecessary. Guests can see the amenities in your amenities list and in your photo captions. There is also repeated information in the description sections. Pare it down.

I’m not sure what market you are appealing to or why you are trying to cram 11 guests into a 3 bedroom house with 2 and a half bathrooms. Your living room seating appears to accomodate 8 people max, your dining table 6, the firepit area 6.

Cramming beds in hostel-fashion doesn’t jive with “Luxe”.

Two couples are not likely to want to share a bedroom, 2 single people might, but not 4 singles. If I were you, I would remove one of the beds in the double room (ideally changing the double bed to a queen or king), creating 2 private rooms for 2 guests each, leaving the 3rd bedroom with 2 beds, and lower your guest count to 8. Then it would be appealing to 2 couples with kids.

Also, beds for 2 people should have bedside tables and reading lamps on both sides of the bed.

And you say it is steps from bars, which makes me think it is noisy at night, yet you say it’s a quiet area?

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Awesome, thanks so much for the detailed feedback.

Yep, our guests often comment on how quiet the neighborhood is. The bars are a block West and a block North.

Interesting comment on the beds. Was definitely going for a hotel strategy there. It was working until say a month ago. Austin gets a lot of groups / parties / families so I have to think about that. Totally agree on the seating mismatch. I am deleting a few of the close up photos as we speak.

Any thoughts on the headline, other than no ‘Lux’? For the time being I changed it to “ᗌᗌ Chic Manor w Golf, Primo Patio, Steps to Fun!”

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You definitely have great reviews from guests who booked as a group, so if that’s been working for you, maybe my beds advice isn’t really appropriate, although the available seating should jive with guest count.

Don’t really have any ideas on the listing title, maybe some other hosts here do.

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Another thing to keep in mind is that lower booking rates may have nothing to do with anything you have control over. Sometimes business is slow for the month after major holidays- people have already taken their Xmas/New Years vacations, and spent a bunch of money.

Political/economic uncertainly, high costs of everyday purchases can also can contribute to lower booking rates.

So unless you see that other strs in your area that are similarly priced for the size and number of guests are getting heavily booked when you aren’t, the above could be contributing factors.

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@muddy has made some great comments about the listing and I agree with her.

The listing smacks of an ad - all those (awful) exclamation points etc. and using Airbnb, it’s better to underpromise and overdeliver.

Most guests have seen listings with superlatives in the copy and too many photos - many of which are slightly exaggerated and are wary of them.

Your place has a niche, rather than general, appeai so I would concentrate on advertising more specifically for the particular niche audience.

One important question though - are you Kraig the owner of the property, or are you Eastside Villas with 42 listings?

If you are the owner and are using Eastside to manage your property you might find that it’s they who are not working as hard as they could do to ensure 100% occupancy for you. With 42 properties to look after, yours might not be high on their list of priorities for whatever reason.

Remember that many guests don’t want to stay with hosts who use management companies (although often they are fine) and that could be an issue.

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Hey there, I manage the whole thing. My friends are Eastside Villa owners. Last year, the property booked up fine, so I dont think that its having a huge impact one way or another.

TY for the feedback – I need to figure out how to hit that audience. I am getting a wide variety of guests, from tourists to families. I wish I could hone that more. I should re-review my reviews – although the new amenities, such as golf, just came online a week ago!

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Good observation, @jaquo. Now that I look at those 42 listings, I see that all the descriptions are written the same way- like an impersonal real estate ad, rife with exclamation points. The company needs a better copy writer.

Also, many of their properties have ratings below 4.5, although Kraig’s doesn’t, which may put guests off if they look through the company’s other listings.

And some experienced guests are hip to not booking with a big management company, having had bad experiences with them.

So @KraigK, you don’t own this property, you just manage it for the company?

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Were you closed for very long for the renovations? We re-did our kitchen this fall and were closed almost four months, and it took awhile for bookings to tick up. I think it’s @KKC that always says “the more bookings you get, the more bookings you get”. The belief is that you get pushed down for being closed, but once you reopen and get a booking, the algorithm pushes you up in the display order, and that cycle keeps going.

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There are several reviews from Dec. 2024, so couldn’t have been closed for that long.

But yes, it’s kind of a vicious circle- if you aren’t getting bookings, your search ranking goes down, it seems, then when you get one, it goes up and you suddenly start getting bookings.

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As others mentioned, it is niche and with that niche appeal. When viewing the pictures…I find the design themes conflicting. The bright colors exude childlike youthfulness and fun, the party house. Yet there are hints in the bed, bath pictures and many of the home selections hinting to tell another story of luxurious…just an opinion.

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A lot of hosts rely solely on Airbnb (often plus another site or sites like VRBO) but if a host is struggling to get the occupancy they need, it’s time to start being proactive, rather than just putting listings online and hoping for the best.

One of the best ways to attract your niche audience is via various social media. I suspect that your niche audience aren’t part of the Facebook lot, but Instagram (very visual - great for your rental), TikTok and so on (and I especially like Flipboard) could very well work for you.

I’d write a blog post on a regular basis (every Friday or whatever) about your area and your rental. Include a link to your Airbnb listing. Promote that to your various social accounts, tagging influencers if possible.

Once you’ve set this up, it’ll only take you a couple of hours, if that, every week.

It’s better than waiting for a listing site to do the job for you. :slight_smile:

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PS.

Google says this:

As of July 2024, there were about 6,902 active Airbnb listings in Austin, Texas. This makes Austin the third-most popular city in the United States for Airbnb rentals

.

So Airbnb is currently trying to sell stays in almost 7,000 rentals fairly near you. You have much more chance of promoting your rental yourself, rather than relying on being one in 7000.

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Your photos show a very nice, super clean house (bedroom 3’s wall design is fun). Lots of great reviews. As another person mentions, are you possibly putting too many guests into a house with limited size?

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I’ve been thinking about this a bit, and I think your post will push me off the fence, so thank you! With social media promotion, do you usually link to the airbnb listing, or do you link to your own booking site?

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I usually link to my Airbnb listings because even though there’s a fee, it’s still simpler for me. Sometimes I link to my own site - it depends on the circumstances.

I always link as part of a blog post though - never directly to the listing or my site. Write articles which gives great information about your area. Make yourself the specialist.

Such as:

The top coffee shops in Austin
Austin: Galleries and museums
Local attractions in Austin
Austin: Music venues, clubs & theatres

This way, you’re providing useful information plus showing readers a great place to stay.

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Hi KraigK,
I think you’ve tried to cram too much into the listing title.
It’s clunky to read.
Get rid of the word “chic” it’s too cliched and means nothing special.
Just stick with “Steps to Fun” which is simple and contained.
The photos & decor look great and exciting … ditch any plastic plants, they do not bring joy :rofl:

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Plastic plants are an offense against nature.

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Thanks for the feedback!

I simplified it down “Huge Patio. Mini Golf, Steps to Fun, Mins to DT”

Thoughts?

I hope to have an instagram page up in a day or so.

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DT = Delirium Tremens? A unique nickname for bars?