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Hi folks, I have been having a fun time putting together an airbnb in our backyard. It’s a tinyhouse made from a shipping container. We had our first guest on 2/28/17. The reviews have been pretty good so far. I wasn’t able to add a link to this post so you’d have to search google for "tinyhouse Arcade Atlanta" to find it.
I’d love it if you folks could check out my listing and give me any tips to make it more appealing.
I’m currently trying a pricing strategy that may not work BUT I’ve gotta try! I have no problem getting bookings around $100/night. I can stay about 75% booked at that price. In an effort to gain back more of our backyard/pool privacy & reduce operating costs (electricity, laundry, snacks etc etc), I’ve decided to double the rate to $200/nite & ditch the instant book feature! I know… I know… that’s crazy! My thoughts are that if I can get at least 1/2 the bookings per year at $200 as I did at $100, I’ll end up hosting 1/2 the people for the same amount of income. This will save a ton of money and let me enjoy my backyard (without strangers) more often.
We shall see if my strategy works. There’s a few places in atlanta Ga who are getting nearly $400 a night… the treehouses. They don’t have a freeplay arcade. I think this might work.
Ok - you have been doing this for 2 months - why do you think your place is worth $200 a night, rather than the $100 you are currently being booked at? You are about to lose your new host boost so your listing will drop down to where the algorithm puts you and you will be in the sea of hosts in your area…
Hi Deb, I’ve been hosting for 14 months and have 147 five star reviews. I guess you didn’t bother reading my post or looking at my listing since you’re asking me why I think it’s worth $200/night.
Without knowing your market it’s impossible to say for sure but I’m guessing that you could get $200 a night for that. Welcome to the forum and keep us posted.
You can try elevating the price in increments and see what sticks to the wall
150 - 200 - 250
It’s all about finding your sweet-spot with the price level v bookings achieved.
Here’s what I did from 2016 to 2017. I raised my nightly rates in 2017 by 37% for 2017 and was able to host more than 50% fewer guests for more money on a nightly basis. We could have had more bookings but we took advantage of the better nightly rate to block days for ourselves and family. Worked out great. I don’t know about double but you could try what @theredlion suggested and do it in increments. Actually, that’s what we did and averaged the 37% increase in nightly rates for the year. Good thinking! Looked at your listing, it’s awesome!
Thanks folks! I’m excited to see what happens. I think not using instant
booking will slow down bookings some but at least I can lay out in the nude
by the pool without an instant booked family surprising me! This actually
happened last summer. They instant booked and just arrived about 10 mins
later. I hear kids in the backyard and I look up and see the family in our
backyard. That was weird.
It certainly can slow it down. Just keep in mind that not having instant book is going to create more different work for you. You will now have to answer requests in a timely manner and accept a certain percentage though I’m sure that won’t be a problem. You may get some needier guests who are asking questions you have answered already in your listing.
You may have to lower the price when the pool closes.
Or she simply misread the date. Why sooooooo rude. I couldn’t think of anyth8mg I’d like to do less than provide any assistance to you given the really offensive comments about ‘obese’ people you made for no reason whatsoever on the post about the tragic death of a man on a swing. Seriously. Check yoself as my teenager would say
and now my 5 bucks worth - i like the idea- but the photos are confusing - its like ur selling the arcade more than the house - id do the house fotos first, then the arcade, then the area - the higher you up in price the more people want and demand - a 250 usd guest will demand more than a 100 usd one…
I wasnt rude. Deb “jumped” on me asking why I thought my place was worth $200 a nite BEFORE even bothering to read my entire post OR have a look at my bnb listing. I felt she was rude so I may have been a bit hasty with my response.
I don’t understand how my mentioning that obese people have their own responsibilities when it comes to things that are designed to hold the weight of a non-obese person… like swings, ladders, beds, lawn chairs, swimming pool slides and diving boards. I mention the 250lb limit of the slide and diving board in my listing. I wish I didn’t have to do that BUT I do. I have guests sign a waiver that includes their entire family, getting signatures from all adults about the use of our pool and our entire backyard. It puts all the responsibility on the guest.
stpete I am selling the arcade more than the tinyhouse. Tinyhouses are everywhere these days. Heck, there’s even tinyhouses made out of the same exact size shipping containers within 30 minutes of me. My tinyhouse isn’t unique but the arcade is. Arcade popularity is coming back and I’m hearing from many guests that’s why they chose our airbnb. A single person can RIP through $50 in an hour at dave & busters playing arcade games. 1 person, 1 hour for $50! An entire family can play as long as they like in my arcade… even at 3am if the choos. All that free play is part of their nightly airbnb cost.
emily I can safely say that YOU are being rude to ME though. Your post is unnecessarily rude for no reason. I said not 1 word to you. I didn’t ask you specifically for help. If you don’t want to peruse my listing and offer advice, that’s fine. Telling me publically wasn’t necessary.
To be clear, I am not and was not talking to you. Unless, you also made atrocious comments about a man that died and accused him of bring obese? My post quoted and referred to another user. Your comments were perhaps a little thoughtless and unkind, but not worth my energy, I’m sure you must know how talking about people like that makes them feel. Being worried about safety and putting people down in a tacky way are two very different things. @d0n went well below the acceptable and that’s what I was referring to.
I wanted to pick your brain about how you went about building & financing your container home. I’m looking to do the same. Let me know if you’re free to talk via email sometime.
