Howdy Folks! Review my pad?

Introduction
21

Am I the only one that thought NY Style was confusing or …?? What is NY Style? I don’t see anything in that apartment with style, honestly.

But it’s a nice place, and with some attention to detail (get a friend to help you) and much better photos, you have some potential. Personally I would find the pool, fitness center, and proximity to nightlife appealing.

But do check the terms of your lease as others have suggested. Make sure you know what taxes you need to pay, and check your tenants property & liability policy.

22

I was confused by NY Style too. Had to look at the host’s location and the listing location to figure out that it isn’t actually located in NY.

1 Like
23

And I think that, if we boast about a style - ‘elegant’ ‘luxurious’, and such, it REALLY better be that and more.

24

@LilB Hey, don’t take it personally, I’m just trying to help here. As some of the reviewers mentioned, your photos suck;) Little contrast, dull colors, some of the photos are even blurry (intentionally so?). I may be wrong, but it seems to me you didn’t put a lot of thought into it. And yet, photos of your listing (along with your title and short description) are the most important thing, especially now when you don’t have any reviews! Smartphones can make awesome photos today. Even better, borrow from someone a decent camera with a flash light. Avoid shooting photos against the source of light in you don’t have a secondary source of light (or a strong flash light on the camera). Immediately after (or for that matter, right now), apply for the Airbnb free photo service. Airbnb photos come with a nice benefit: they carry a “verified photo” badge which makes your listing rank higher. Good luck with hosting and I hope you don’t take these comments personally;)

25

@LilB About the pricing: until you reach 10 reviews or so your primary goal should be getting great reviews. Look at it as your investment. Forget the income, if you do things right, money will come later. Therefore, go low but make sure you make your guests know WHY you are low. For example, you could put in the very first line of your short description something along the lines: “NEW LISTING! 30% OFF FOR MY FIRST 10 GUESTS”. The 30% came from the top of my mind. It can be higher or lower but it really doesn’t matter. As long you’re not losing tons of money, a couple of weeks of underpricing (with a purpose) will get you on the Airbnb recommendation machine fast enough. You will start getting reviews and that’s when you’re in business;) Just my two cents.

2 Likes
26

When I first started my listing, I had a few guests who would book a room at my place while illegally renting out their rental apartment for 4 times the price of a room at my house. I asked one guy wasn’t he afraid of being evicted and he said, No, because I was going to have to move anyway since the rent was getting too expensive (the rent was $3k a month at his tower apartment building) and he was making $150 night renting it out. So the prospect of eviction didn’t phase him. In any case, he wasn’t doing it full time at first, only when he was out on business to other places. I also own a condo where I could’ve made a ton of money if I’d done it without asking the homeowner’s association first, but they made clear they would’ve fined me $5k if they found out. This is funny since I probably would’ve made well over $5k anyway if I had done it, but I chose not to.

1 Like