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I’ve been doing incognito searches on my place weekly and I’ve noticed that the towns near me are using my town name in their descriptions. They’re not in my town and the fact that listings 12-20 miles away from my home show up as part of my (tiny) town, means I’m further down the listings. For instance, there’s a resort with townhouses that are managed by a hotel and they show up as superhost and use my town name in their listings. Which is a desirable zip code/name. Yet they’re in a zip code with more than a bit of a so-so reputation. I get they’re trying to appeal to the better name - Like saying you’re not in Pacific Beach, CA you’re really in South La Jolla, CA. Thereby upping your prices even though your zip is 92109 …
Is anyone else with a desirable zip code/town name seeing this? Any thoughts on how to combat it?
Is there any way I can report these listings to ABB as not in my town? Unless someone zooms in to the actual area (which is small), I show up on page 2 or 3.
Or should I just pour a cocktail and find the lizard the cat brought in from the pool area? >wanders off to find the 'shoebox of life and a lizard<
EDIT: I’ve attached a screen shot with a red circle that approximates my town area and then the listings outside it that use the name. I’m on page 3 for this one…
Maybe the individuals are hurting themselves, but the resort is definitely not.
Normally, yes, because I can’t do a darn thing about others, most of the time. But I want more bookings and I’m losing out to people right around the corner who are priced like me or higher with fewer amenities and they’re booked more often.
I’ve updated furniture, added more “cute coastal” artwork, taken new photos of the bed, bath, pool and lanai areas, will (hopefully) be a superhost in January, so I’ll even the playing field then.
I’m ten miles outside a very well-known wine destination and don’t claim to be there. My property description and the fact that I’m half to a quarter the price of the properties in that town drives a certain demographic to me. I do check my competitor’s calendars and I am way busier than they are during the tourist season. Pricing and quality. I’m a SH and have a ton of great reviews and always come up on the first page of listings. Even higher if you’re looking for “pet friendly”. With that said, I think that you’re reacting to people trying to compete in a very competitive market. My description explicitly states that we’re 20 minutes away from all the good stuff. Only been dinged on location once. If I were in an adjoining town to a desirable community, I most certainly would utilize proximity as a selling point. I think a cocktail is in order.
too many variables to get worked up about. If someone wants to be in your town and not 10 miles away, they can’t compete with you. If someone prefers a “resort” you can’t compete with them. You guys are more than 10 miles apart.
I don’t mind “losing” out to the resort - they’re a well known resort and are building more non-owner occupied townhouses for rental income. Because I’m not a resort.
But the folks who are comparable to me - in home hosts renting out a room - are my competition.
I do enjoy the people I’ve met (except the drunk Italians and the guy who did laundry at 1am and left a crap review), so I’ve got that going for me; plus I’ve made some friends from the guests!
I’m curious - can you link to one of those listings? I’d like to read the description, see how they are spinning it. Implying that you’re located in a different town seems like a perfect recipe for a 1* Location rating (and likely <5* Overall).
@casailinglady Did you report the listings? If you go to the little grey flag next to “Report this Listing”, one of the options is: “It’s inaccurate or incorrect”.
If it makes you feel any better, when I’m looking for an Airbnb I do so with the map view. Location is important to me, so those other folks won’t show up on my list.
Those outlier places, despite what they put in their description, aren’t really your competition for people looking specifically for your location.
One of the things that keeps me from getting bookings far in advance is that the search for my town focuses on the center. Sometimes I don’t show up in an initial search at all. But once everyone else gets booked and or someone is specifically looking for my area of town, they move the map and then there I am #1. The works perfectly for my business setup. But most hosts would hate it.
Just this last week, I used the map to locate the hospital a friend was in and zoom out the map until I found a very reasonably priced room a few block outside the hospital town’s boundary. That’s how I usually look for rooms. Enter the dates, number of guests, and max I want to pay and search, then zoom out the map and start looking at the listings that are reasonably priced, starting with the lowest.
Clearly, I don’t think so or I wouldn’t have braved posting on this forum! You’re in a more popular, heavily trafficked area for guests. I’m in a town that (thank you, HGTV) has a higher tax base and better schools and reputation, so for people coming here to either visit family, look for a home, or just passing through, I need every competitive advantage for a single-room listing.
It’s true that ours is a pretty exclusive area and also true that every host decides for themselves how to spend their time.
And I can only comment on what I would do in situations, rightly or wrongly. I’m thinking about what you said above …
I might be wrong but it seems to me that you’re not booked as much as you’d like to be? And that you believe that these other hosts are taking business that you should have?
So when I said that it seems like a fuss about nothing, that’s because I’d use my time to promote my listing and get bookings rather than use that time to report hosts.
You’re in a more popular, heavily trafficked area for guests. I’m in a town that (thank you, HGTV) has a higher tax base and better schools and reputation, so for people coming here to either visit family, look for a home, or just passing through, I need every competitive advantage for a single-room listing.