I am wondering how you market your property to increase your mid-week bookings?
Do you use social media? Is Instagram better or is it Facebook?
Open to any other tips
This is my listing - https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/542751167706258999
Beautiful property, Justin. My mid week bookings are often work from home guests. Sometimes one person has to work while the other person runs around.
AirBnB puts my Wifi speed and dedicated work space above my listing, I donât have control over this, but I think it helps me a lot.
You might want to try adding home office and Wifi speed to your listing as high as possible.
Very beautiful property!
- Iâm curious why it keeps saying âsharedâ? When I think of âsharedâ I think of shared space with Host. Are these shared spaces? Shared with who?
- How were you able to edit each bedroom, to write the kinds of beds? I havenât been able to figure out how to do that.
In terms of mid-week bookings, this is such a big and expensive listing that it just doesnât look like something a couple would rent mid week. It looks like a place to bring your whole family. So unless someoneâs doing that it just looks like more than most people would need mid week.
Some people here have written about âlinkedâ listings. SO, for example, you might list it as two bedrooms and the price for that, as well as for the whole place, and variations in between. So if someone wanted the place mid week they would have multiple price points to choose from depending on how much of the property they chose to rent. It can be set up in such a way that when any of the linked listings are rented the others are unavailable.
Some people lock the un-rented bedrooms; others go on the honor system.
Just a thought.
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I donât do anything special to increase mid-week bookings but perhaps I should. So far I am picking up visiting people in academia and people with mid-work work commitments. During the warm New England months we get mid-week travels. In the winter here even weekends are slow. I have a professor who stays two days a week and am enlisting him to spread the word at work that I have similar availability for any of his co-workers or students.
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Instagram. Also Twitter and Flipboard. I donât do it now but several years ago I used YouTube too.
When posting to social media, itâs better to post articles (or blog posts) about your area, rather than your listing. Add a link to your listing of course. Your social media posts should be useful. Make sure that you tag influencers with many followers.
Aim to grow your network and be sure to use it.
I know nothing about your area, but it seems at first glance that your place would be ideal for business retreats, team building etc,
Like @HostAirbnbVRBO, I think that you should explain the âsharedâ thing.
@MML123 âSharedâ does not mean that more than one person on the booking shares a bedroom or that it is common space for everyone in the booking party, like the living room. Shared means the guests are sharing space with the host or someone else not part of their group. You need to remove all the âsharedâ wording if that is not the case.
I donât see any photos of anything that would be considered a dedicated workspace, although the amenities list it says you have one. If you want to attract mid-week visitors, who may be working from home online, you need to provide and show a desk and comfortable work chair, etc.
You have no reading lamps by the beds as far as I can see except in one bedroom.
You have no photos of the bathrooms.
You have no photos of the dining areas.
And unfortunately, your ratings are abysmal. 3.8 overall will not get you bookings. I would never book a place with a 2.8 cleanliness rating, and 2 out of only 5 reviews saying it was mildewy and dirty. (The cobweb comment is one of those that other hosts roll their eyes at, as spiders can build webs in 30 minutes, but taken with the other cleanliness comments and terrible rating, it will hurt you).
If I were you, I would delete this listing and start over, which will get rid of those reviews and ratings on the listing (although they will stillbe there forever on your profile) and make sure you deal with what is resulting in such low ratings.
You might also think about your pricing. I understand charging extra for the spa and tennis courts, but the price seems a bit excessive. âOptional fresh hot rainwater 8 person spa $285 minimum 2 nights booking â then $125 per nightâ
This is confusing. Minimum 2 night booking means 2 nights or more, when do they pay $125? And does it really cost you $285 to maintain the spa? The Jacuzzi is listed right at the head of your listing. Guests who see that upfront will tend to feel it unfair when they see an extra charge for that.
Also, for what you charge, you should not be asking guests to strip the beds (also cleaners cannot easily check for stains on bedding and towels that may need to be pre-treated if the beds are stripped). I suspect you are not leaving enough time to clean the place. A place that big that hosts families takes any hours to clean properly. You need to be willing to pay for the amount of cleaning necessary and I would suggest leaving a day between bookings to make sure there is enough time to clean.
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@muddy it would be nice when a member of the forum includes a link to their listing and reaches out to this community to give more than just your typical superficial and cursory skim. 
Of course, Iâm kidding and Iâm embarrassed myself that I was so mesmerized by the pics, and intimidated by the price that I wasnât more careful.
Thank you for your much more careful and thorough reading. Your comments will really help the OP.
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I agree given the low ratings you might want to start over on this one.
This listing has exactly one bedroom Iâd be willing to stay in. You might want to make at least all the queen bedrooms look like a spa retreat, meaning nice bedside tables, bedside lamps, closed armoires. This would open up the possibility of several couples renting this for a getaway, maybe even with their kids. Also nicer bedrooms would open it up for company retreats.
Some of the pictures are fantastic. Others are not in focus. And others are missing. It says there are bathrooms, but there are no pictures of bathrooms. A review also mentions all the common spaces, but I only see a living room. I donât see the designated work area. These are important to people. If there are no pictures they assume they are awful.
You need to get a cleaner that will leave the place spotless. Sure mildew will grow, but not in the hour between when the cleaners finish and the guests get there. If you have lots of days between guests pay a cohost for a walkthru the day the guest show up, to make sure it smells fresh and spiders havenât taken over.
There is no excuse for not having paper towels etc stocked if you say it will be, especially in a rural place where they have to drive out to pick up replacements. Have the walkthru person check for all amenities.
I have a spa at one of my places. If itâs been used we know we have to empty it, clean and refill. Itâs a pain. But if you are going to charge extra for it, or the tennis court, you canât lead with those. Add them at the bottom as extras you can also purchase.
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Perceptive review. Just noticed that there is no Wi-Fi! And the OP is hoping that there can be mid-week bookings for work. Surprised about no hair dryer, no shampoo and no exterior cameras.
Surprised by this in review: âBasic amenities we would expect from something of this price range were not included- paper towels, tissues, instant coffee for example.â Someone posted â I think in Reddit â that he was repeatedly able to get refunds when basic amenities like toilet paper were not supplied for length of stay unless the listing specified starter pack or such. I think Justin is taking a refund risk but also just a risk that guests feel that the value is not here. The impression I have is that a greater attention to detail in everything (cleaning, amenities, pictures, listing descriptions) would be rewarded.
This is just such a specialized listing â because of so many bedrooms â that I think listing should be divided into offerings with different numbers of bedrooms. That way the price could be lowered and crafted to how much of home will be used. Also, cleaning will be less expensive if someone rents, say, just two bedrooms so the other five could be locked.
Do you like that idea or not?
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Good point. If you are looking to increase mid-week stays WiFi is probably the biggest bang for the buck. Working folks are a big percentage of mid week guests. But they need to be online.
I think others have hit the nail on the head with details on this listing. Deleting & starting over would probably be your best bet. When I search for a property, I will scroll over anything with less than a 4.5 overall rating, but if I saw a 2.8 for cleanliness, wellâŚ
Suffice it to say, beautiful property, with potential, but start from scratch & go back to square one. Best of luck!
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Before the OP relists, I think he needs to decide what kind of place he is advertising. An âarchitect designedâ, âstylishâ listing with tennis courts and a spa that sleeps 15 doesnât jive with mildew, no paper towels, no reading lamps, no Wifi and an incomplete photo gallery.
How can it have a dedicated workspace with no Wifi?
Either itâs high end with all the bells and whistles, or itâs basic for a lesser price.
Also I am thoroughly confused by the extra spa fee. When it costs $285 and when it costs $125 is quite unclear, and then twice it is mentioned that a portion of the cleaning fee will be refunded if the spa isnât used. The extra spa charge doesnât cover the cleaning of it?
The check-in arrangements are also strange- the guests have to phone when they arrive to get the door and gate codes?
It also seems like the host lives onsite- there is mention of not feeding âourâ chickens, but nowhere is it mentioned if the host lives somewhere on the property.
The house rules list is over-the-top, IMO. Take 1-2 minute showers? Really? I understand that there are water limitations at the property, but again, this doesnât jive with a high end, pricey, place for 15 people.
And the 4 âquickâ check out tasks sound like an hour or two of work. Clean the BBQ, stove and oven? Wheel any full garbage bins down the laneway and make sure they are facing the right direction. And âPlease REFILL used firewood containers in house with new wood from garage or wood pile at rear fence & kindling from under treesâ.
This is all in addition to stripping the beds, putting all the linens and towels on the bathroom floor, locking 4 doors, putting keys back in lock boxes, and several other things.
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This listing is beautiful hot mess. I agree with the several mentions Of starting over. After you deal with the issues the midweek rentals will come.
People in this forum have given you some excellent feedback. Your. Guest. Reviews. Have given you excellent feedback. Embrace it.
Before you realist decide your core values as a host. Consider::
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I will look At everything as if I were the guest.
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I Want My guests to have a wonderful experience & I will provide what my guests needTo enjoy theirTime here
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Pricing willBeSimple and support guest enjoyment of the rental
Speaking of hot mess. I apologize for crazy caps & punctuation. My keyboard battery is dying & acting up.
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Thank you!
I thought that the OP had written âsharedâ but now I see that the OP just checked off the âsharedâ box (the OP has now un-checked that).
I had been wondering if I could name the bedroom itself. SO instead of seeing Bedroom 2 it might read 'Queen Bedroom [âSummerâ] since weâve named the bedrooms âSpring,â âSummerâ and âFall.â But as I write this I realize that could confuse guests. Anyway, it looks like that cannot be done. Do you agree that it cannot be done?
I am appreciative of your spelling out the details so clearly â something you often do and adds a lot of value. Thank you for always going the extra mile to be so helpful.
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Couple more things I noticed about this listing. The house rules say 11 am checkout, but then lower down under the section on pre-check-out tasks, it says 10am check out. As this place obviously caters to families, perhaps 3 families with a bunch of kids, I canât imagine trying to complete all those check-out tasks, and get all my stuff together and load up the car, while trying to keep track of the kids, for whom there are a myriad of safety hazards listed, including electric fencing, unfenced water dams, etc. by 10am.
And 15 people sharing 2 and a half bathrooms? Itâs doable, of course, but doesnât fit the image of upscale that this listing seems trying to portray itself as.
Then there is the very odd option of an extra charge for use of spa + tennis rackets and balls + early check-in and late check-out for $315. Seems like a strange mix to bundle together.
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Thanks for all the comments - Itâs all been really helpful. Our property has been listed for a long time on stayz and reviews have been really great. And we have been few months into airbnb and regularly editing the listing to suit the best way and there maybe discrepancies here and there.
I want to know the possibility of relisting? should I just delete my current listing and re-list as a new property? does airbnb let you do that? because I am afraid in case I delete and wont be able to list again due to some terms airbnb has.
I agree. Room names ares Airbnb defined. If there is a way to change them, I have found it yet.