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@Faheem, I haven’t looked at your listing today because I’m sure that the listing isn’t at fault. Here’s something I say all the time but members here like to ignore it. But here goes anyway…
Airbnb has absolutely no obligation whatsoever to send you guests. (Harsh reality). If someone is looking for accommodation in Mumbai all Airbnb wants is for them to book somewhere from the Airbnb site rather than another site. You know that I think Airbnb is great but they’re looking out for themselves and not for individual hosts. Quite rightly too - if we were in charge of Airbnb, we’d be the same.
As you know we have two apartments that are very well booked and I haven’t really altered or amended our listing since when? 2015? The Airbnb blog itself has said that regular tweaks and other small ‘tips & tricks’ that are ‘well known’ on the internet just won’t work. (Despite anecdotal evidence to the contrary).
I believe firmly in promoting our listings myself. I call people in the area who are organising events, I have great contacts with local hotels in case they get enquiries but they are booked up. I contact organisations that are having conferences in the area, I use social media…
Sometimes we get people here who bemoan the ‘fact’ that they are under the control of Airbnb. This is nonsense, of course, but not relying on their rather fragile search facility is just one way of being independent.
Weird as it may sound I get more activity on my listing after a price change, even an increase seems to bring in more activity. I am not sure if updates move your listing in the rankings but somehow it impacts mine every time I make changes to our listing (especially price)
Thank you again to everyone who contributed suggestions. I think most suggestions could be summarized as: clean things up a bit and take new pictures. Possibly less pictures. I don’t know if I agree that the number of pictures are too many. I think more is better than too little, and I’ve never had any complaints. The other suggestions involve regularly tweaking the listing to make sure it looks active. I’m not sure if I have the patience to keep going in there and making adjustments even if there is no activity, but I appreciate the thoughts.
Even though I’ve been using the same pictures for over 3 years, and relatively successfully, since I have been getting guests, it’s still possible that those pictures were putting people off, and in a crowded market that may be having a significant effect. And the state of those previously photographed areas, at least in some cases, is better than it was in Feb 2016. Unless Airbnb is lying, I’ve been getting views, in fact over the last few months, a very high rate of views, but those views haven’t translated into bookings. And if people haven’t booked and went elsewhere, it’s possible that either they were simply getting bookings cheaper elsewhere, or they didn’t like what they saw.
I’m not sure how to reply to the posts people have written, but I’m now thinking a consolidated reply might be reasonable, because a lot of people were making similar points, so I could try to summarize things.
I’d also like to address @jaquo’s post specifically. I think that marketing the listing locally is a great idea, and I haven’t really tried to do that. (Well, I’ve emailed a fair number of local acquaintances about it, but that didn’t result in a single booking.) It’s very impressive to be able to have connections like this, and perhaps it would be worth trying. But Bombay is very different from Florida, so I’m not sure how that would work out. I’m listed on a couple of other sites, but I’ve never got bookings anywhere but Airbnb. Which, I 'd be the first to agree, is not ideal.
What I’ll do next is review people’s comments I have posted a few pictures I just took of the entrance area as it looks now, to start with. If people have additional suggestions, feel free to chime in. Hopefully these look a bit better than the pictures on the listing.
@faheem in your new photos I would make sure that all surfaces are free objects that are not specifically decorative and deliberately staged. (Do I see a fly swatter on the table?) The floor, as well. I prefer the first photo, but all the things on the tables must go - maybe just a single vase of flowers?
I wish I could hop in the transporter, stage that room for you, and do the photos, because this room has such great potential. It is really a magical space.
You mean for an actual photo for posting on the site? Yes, I get that. Though if I make the room look too shiny, it might create false expectations. And yes, that’s a fly swatter.
I guess the room could still use some cleaning up. But I don’t want to make it look unrealistically nice, because I doubt I could keep it up over the long term.
I appreciate the thought.
In any case, do you think the room looks better than the version on the listing? I choose that room to photo because the photo of it in the listing does look particularly grungy.
You can crop/rotate/lighten your photos yourself. (I try to make sure all the doorways/windows are close to 90 degrees to the bottom/top of the frame.)
I’ve taken the liberty of touching up one of your photos, so you can see the difference:
Good tips. Thank you. These were casually taken by me, with my phone, during late afternoon. That room is tricky, because it doesn’t get a lot of natural light most of the day. If I hire someone to do them, as I think I might, there would obviously need to be planning re the time of day, so the photos are taken in favorable light conditions. Probably late morning. And hopefully the photographer can titivate them. I’ve tried doing it, but I’m not good at it.
I agree with this. Because it’s a shared area with you and your family, it shouldn’t be too different from how a guest might find it. It doesn’t need to be minimalist and spare, it’s not only for the guests, it’s your home.
However, it would be worthwhile to stack and neaten and tidy stuff on the tables, and even try to keep it a bit tidy while guests are there. It doesn’t need to be bare, that’s only one aesthetic. I like a homey, cozy feel with people’s stuff in it. You live there so you have to have your stuff but putting things in stacks and baskets will do wonders. Remove the flyswatter for the photos. A necessary tool but no need to photograph it. I like your home a lot, it’s charming!
These new photos are much better than your old ones (not because of photo quality but because of what is shown in the photos). It wouldn’t hurt to just switch them out right away. You can still get new photos but no need to keep the old ones in the meantime - even these exact photos show your lovely living area better than the ones that are currently on the airbnb website. It will only take a few minutes to remove the old living room photos and put these in. They are not perfect photos but they do show your home to be much more charming than the old photos. It is better to have mediocre photos of a nice space than a little better photos of a less nice space.
Edit to add: Even better, remove the flyswatter, stack things up on the tables and take a couple more quick snapshots. Don’t worry about the light too much. Get photos up on the website to show this lovely room better.
I agree with @JJD. Photos should be in focus and basically aligned (so that vertical lines look as vertical as they can). But photo quality and lighting are less important than photo content for Airbnb listings. Your new photos are a big improvement over the ones you currently have posted.
Pretty true I think! Which is probably just one reason that Mumbai is very near the top of my wishlist.
However, I searched google for ‘Mumbai events’ and I’m astonished at how vibrant a cultural life is available there. So I think that you might actually be better off in Mumbai for attracting guests from theatres, venues, exhibitions, conferences and so on than we are in Florida.
It is so well worth trying.
I have a good contact at our local performing arts centre (posh for theatre). When they have a visiting concert or show there are the performers, musicians, stage managers, assistants of all sorts of things, costume people, backing singers, set arrangers, lighting people … loads of them. They all need somewhere to stay.
It’s the same with venues that host conferences. There are the organisers, the staff and the attendees. Same with exhibitions, art fairs, craft events, festivals and so on. You only need a couple of contacts with these organisations and the great thing is that they’ll bring you plenty of repeat business.
Yes, it takes a little effort but that’s only a few phone calls and emails. I find that it’s much better than sitting back and relying on Airbnb - not to mention the stress of worrying about search position and so on.
No. I just did a very quick look and found much cleaner and newer places for less than your US$30. There is a very nice very modern room with an actual beach view a little to the north of you for $25/night. There are enough places like that to place you out of the market except when it’s really tight.
I always like to stay in places that have the flavor of the area. I actually kind of like your house because it does look lived in, and the clutter doesn’t really bother me, but the peeling paint and apparent grime put me off. So here are some of the photos that indicate areas where you could improve:
The description is far too long. Much of it could be included in the photo captions, and except the the first 3 as noted above, the photos should be in the order in which a guest would walk when entering the house and going to the room. You need to add a photo of the building entrance (and maybe the street if it’s attractive) and at least part of the stairway.
Photo 1 - must ALWAYS be of the room and show the bed. Then a view photo second, and a wide shot of the bathroom 3rd.
Photo 2 - a bridge to where? I always look at all the pictures first, so on first look this description made no sense. Remember our cardinal rule that GUESTS DON’T READ the description. Peeling paint.
Photo 3 - why is the wall shiny? You need to mention that the wall is ceramic tile.
Photo 6 - peeling paint make the terrace very unattractive.
Photo 7 - is this a private bath for the room? If so, how is it connected to the room? As others have said, a house plan showing area available to guests is needed.
Photo 8 - why are the plants blocking the door? This photo has no spatial relationship to other photos, so why is it here?
Photo 9 - this jungle makes no sense. You need photos looking out from the house through the garden, or of the balcony view with the garden at the edges, not back toward the house.
Photo 10 - front room/hall is very cluttered, partly because of the piles of stuff on the table in the foreground. Even if it’s that way all the time, you need to unclutter this space before photography.
Photo 11 - is the terrace mosaic tile? If so, it needs either repair, regrouting, or cleaning. The railings badly need paint.
Photo 13 - rust below the hose near the WC. What is the purpose of the hose? The area underneath the hose is dark, as is the corner of the shower. Is that due to lighting, or because it’s grimy? When I first looked at it, I thought it was dirty.
Photo 17 - is the only one apparently showing part of the (dome?) ceiling. If you have a room under a dome, and it’s apparent from the inside, you need to have a photo of the under side of the dome.
Photo 24 - needs be in sequence with other photos of the room, and again it needs to be decluttered before photographing.
Photos 33-36 - this space is totally unattractive unless it is painted and you add a table, chairs, and some kind of shade — a cupola, an awning, or a very large umbrella. No one would want to be out there in a Mumbai sunny day unless there is shade. Right now it’s a good place to put your lime pickle jar!
37 - 40 - if guests don’t have access to the kitchen (your amenities list says they don’t but the description says they do) you should eliminate kitchen photos and make it clear in the description that they don’t.
Very importantly you need to buy several buckets of paint for the terrace and other outside surfaces, and yes, I think that you should hire a professional photographer and tell him to unclutter spaces when he thinks photos would be better without piles of stuff. He would need to bring some supplementary lighting for good pictures.
Yes, Bombay has many many events going on, and much activity. There is no doubt about that. After all, it’s a city of approximately 25 million people (give or take, official estimates are a bit lower). Approximately the population of Australia.
My concerns about that are not that there isn’t activity; it’s that Indians are “different”, to put it politely. For example, consider the well documented habit of Indians to say yes when they mean no. This is generally unhelpful, and can be maddening. My experience of the US is that getting things done there is easier and more straightforward. And if people mean no, then they say no.
In any case, can you give a little more detail about your strategies for connecting with people? Do you just call and email? And if so, call and email who/what? Phone numbers and emails listed on web sites? Here emails regularly go unanswered, and phones don’t pick up. And answering machines are an unheard of amenity in India. The only people who have them seem to be big foreign banks, and I’m not sure they listen to the messages, either.
Or do you actually visit places, and talk to people? And if so, what do you say to them?
Do you hand out cards? I’m a bit concerned about cards falling into the “wrong” hands. I know that’s vague.
Yes, but… What is in the tin on the table? What is the colander/lampshade/whatisit doing on the table? And a fly swatter leads me to believe that you have a lot of flies! Uncluttered means just that. Prepare and take photos as if they were going to be in an interior decoration magazine.
Do you have a local tourist bureau, inkeepers association, B&B association, travel centre? If so, join them, which should give you an online listing at the very least. My $300 annual dues for my local convention and visitors bureau is usually paid by the first booking from one of their volunteers at one of the kiosks in our primary tourist zone, and after that it’s profit. I hold an annual open house for their volunteers and staff so they know what the rooms are like. Their web site links to my web page, which has links for each of my AirBnB rooms. I could book off of Air from my web site, but I like having them collect the money and having them deal with cancellation policy, at least for a guest’s first stay (I use Instant Booking and flexible cancellation).
I admit that I start a campaign with the easiest way. For me, that’s calling people who I know. When I say ‘know’ I mean that I have some sort of introduction, rather than just a cold call. No matter how tenuous, it gives me a peg on which to hang my call. For example:
*Hi John, you may remember that we met at the [whatever]party … (that might have been ten years ago but polite Americans tend to say ‘oh yes’ even though they have no recollection
Hi John, do you remember that I was on the team that created your website / designed your brochure / whatever … (again, polite Americans pretend they do)
Hi John, my neighbour Steve suggested that I call you… (there are so many variations of this)
When I have no connection whatsoever, I just say:
I’m sure that some of your exhibitors and attendees ask you about accommodation, so I wanted to let you know about…
With your conference being just after the busy tourist season, I’m sure that some of your delegates are having a hard time finding somewhere to stay…
There’s no need for me to go on, there are dozens of ways, especially when you have a lead via a previous meeting, a mutual acquaintance or show knowledge about when their conference / exhibition / event is taking place.
Once you have a contact like that, and especially once they’ve successfully recommended you then it’s more or less a done deal - they’ll continue to do so. A few phone calls might take an afternoon, but if you hook just a couple of people, they’ll keep sending guests to you.
If I can’t get hold of people I think might be useful by phone, then I email. It is less effective but it still works. Another particularly useful tactic is to become ‘best friends’ with the managers or receptionists at local hotels. I let them know that if they are fully booked and they get an inquiry, to please recommend me.
It’s a great idea to create as many ‘ambassadors’ as possible for your listing.
But the phone calls and the emails will take, at the most, a day. If you get even just a couple of people who will recommend your accommodation, it’s a day well spent.
All this is all well and good, I know, and what works well in Florida might not travel well to Mumbai. But there might be a variation of it that will work for you.
The good thing about this is that from time to time I read comments here from hosts who feel that they are ‘controlled’ by Airbnb. Once you have your own lead sources, you’re definitely in charge. If all the OTAs closed tomorrow, you’d still get business.
No I don’t have the time to do that. My promotional efforts are all done by phone or email.
I do have cards, yes. Mostly I leave them in the apartments for guests to take but if a contact requires one they are available and, I think, make me look more professional which (perhaps) inspires confidence and shows that I mean business.
Happy New Year. And a belated Happy Christmas too.
I received a lot of useful advice from this thread. I should reread it again. I still have not implemented most of it.
However, some time ago, I did hire a professional photographer. At any rate, he’s a photographer by profession, and an old acquaintance of my mother. I thought he would do a good job, but (in my opinion) he didn’t. In some cases, the photos are clearly overexposed. In other cases, the photos actually look worse than the real thing. And I think they look worse than the photos that are already there, which were taken by a photographer, who was paid by Airbnb, in February 2016.
However, some of the photos do look ok. I haven’t added any of them to my listing yet. I guess I’ve been lazy. I was wondering if it would be reasonable to post some of them so that people can comment. I’m also wondering if it would make sense to try to make a kind of collage, with several photos in one image. What do people here think?
Sorry but the common area looks drab, dark, and cluttered. Even the guest room doesn’t look all that nice. Get a painter in there and make the space look GREAT - especially the common area and the guest room.
It it not “just a stay” - it should be an EXPERIENCE, relaxing and PRETTY.
40 photos are FAR too many, especially when so many of them are not very nice. If you are going to actually include a photo of you - then SMILE - look friendly and welcoming!
