Miami Booking Issues

42

My thoughts exactly. Thank you. I think we are going lower now. I need to get established.

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43

I’m a bit confused by this. Although I’m just twenty miles or so away from you, so it’s odd for the markets to be so different, we are right in the middle of tourist season (more expensive) and prices will fall at the end of April/ beginning of May with the start of the rainy / hurricane season.

I can keep the two apartments full year round but have to go cheaper from May to October.

P.S. I LOVE the wallpaper :wink:

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44

Maybe once I get a few people in here we can kick start this place into full motion. Still no inquiries. Thank you I love it too

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45

I didn’t see your comment I agree 100%

46

I think your place looks great and don’t really understand the toilet being out of wack. Looks fine to me.

I think sometimes when you’re new and there are many other tried options, it might take awhile, but it will happen.

You’re very brave to put it all out there for comments and to receive them so well.

This is when this forum shines in truly helping other hosts.

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47

Well I’ve tried to make all the adjustments. I’ll keep my fingers crossed. I’m not going to bash people for their opinions. Thanks!

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48

I just looked again at your listing and noticed that your calendar is blocked for June, July, Aug, etc. Maybe if you make the summer months available, you’ll get bookings.

49

I did not see that, I’ll adjust it

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50

Looks like you have very stiff competition:
.
https://www.airbnb.com/s/Miami--Florida--United-States/homes?tab_id=home_tab&refinement_paths[]=%2Fhomes&flexible_trip_dates[]=december&flexible_trip_dates[]=january&flexible_trip_lengths[]=weekend_trip&date_picker_type=calendar&query=Miami%2C%20Florida%2C%20United%20States&place_id=ChIJEcHIDqKw2YgRZU-t3XHylv8&source=structured_search_input_header&ne_lat=25.902117255924882&ne_lng=-80.11591518127062&sw_lat=25.863609780010176&sw_lng=-80.18704021353443&zoom=15&search_by_map=true&room_types[]=Entire%20home%2Fapt&adults=2&min_beds=2

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51

Your place has style. I love the wallpaper.

As @KKC mentioned, I do think the issue is your pricing. It should be super competitive to gain some early reviews and then inch it up.

It’s a great place - you’ll do fine.

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52

You have a great attitude.
If it’s any consolation, although my location and listing isn’t anything like yours, as I recall, it took about a month after I listed to start getting bookings. Then they were slow until I built up reviews.

It’s really okay in some respects to start out slow. Some hosts list at a cheap price to get those first bookings and get inundated right away and end up flustered or getting crap guests (who seem to target new listings, thinking the hosts are naive and they can get away with stuff). Easier to work out all the kinks and make sure you’re informed of all the policies before you’ve got months of back-to-back bookings.

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53

So last night I did get a couple of bookings. If this can stay consistent we will be good. We adjusted the price, our up and coming guest seem to be very nice family’s. I think things will get going here for us soon.

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54

When we first started we had a super low rate. Once we got to around our 7th review I then changed our rate. I love your place. For me, I like the wallpaper and seriously do not see an issue in regards to the toilet. Think things are slow due to COVID. Hope the bookings pick up. Slow and steady wins the race.

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55

Hi thank you Nikkita, I’m going to approach my place the same way. Start low, be really competitive.

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56

Expect to get requests to stretch the number of guests particularly with children.

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57

5-6 years ago there were a lot of posts here about how to improve search ranking. One thing that many of us noticed was that if we tweaked our listing, we would get a booking. Some people would raise or lower their price every day or change photos or text in the first paragraph. This was purely anecdotal and others swear that makes no difference. It’s certainly not in the official explanations Airbnb provides about their search algorithm. The speculation was that a listing that is frequently edited makes it appear that it’s an active, caring host.

I always say the busier you are, the busier you will be. Airbnb likes listings that book a lot of happy guests. They like it when it’s easy for a guest to book. So you may very well get some momentum. Don’t be afraid to use the pricing tools that adjust prices based on demand or turn on the pro tools feature for more options. Just make sure your lowest acceptable price on pricing tools isn’t too low. After you get a 3 or more 5 star reviews, raise your price.

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58

Many hosts will disagree but I would suggest you change to Instant book. People do not want to ask permission. Air rewards you with higher placement.

RR

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59

Although he used the word inquiries, he is using IB according to my search.

@MikeL355 I agree with River Rock. You’re an experienced host so you probably already know this but you should absolutely use IB with an entire place. If you get a booking you aren’t comfortable with you have 3 free cancellations a year. and more if you call in.

Another thing you might consider is changing your title. Lots of hosts like a brand name for their rental and if you are going to buy a domain name and make your own website for your listing or otherwise market it yourself directly to guests then that’s fine. But if you are going to stick with OTA platforms like Airbnb, consider making your title informative. I say this from the guest perspective because searching for an Airbnb is such a hassle to me. I use a lot of filters and I center the map in the area where I want to stay. Then when I get my results in the list I look at pics and titles. Biscayne Bungalow tells me nothing. What makes your listing stand out from others? “Kids and pets welcome” or “Two ensuite baths 10 minutes from beach” or “Newly remodeled & furnished” etc. Also I’d make that first paragraph more informative and less like ad copy. Your first paragraph that is all that can be seen without clicking “see more.” Make it count with sentences that give info you don’t have in title. For example, instead of “we made the perfect getaway” say “15 minute drive from the beach.”

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60

Hey guys… I believe I have instant booking on. I’m a little rusty on all this since my last property so thanks for the pointers. I still need to tweak everything especially the wording. I literally wrote everything in minutes. Great news though we are getting a lot more action. I was concerned because of all the different properties and pricing but maybe we needed a little more time. It’s all coming back to me.

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61

Agree 100%. IB will absolutely help your visibility and bookings. But - be on the lookout for scammers, who do target new hosts / new stays (they will think a new stay = new host). And get the “airreview extension” for your browser, to help you research your guests.