Newbie alert...start with lower pricing?

I live in a small tourist town with 22 competitors (78 if you don’t narrow it down to 4 guests not just 2)
just published last night and airbnb keeps reminding me I’m priced too high…my competition is at 180/230. And I’m at 150/200. Do you think I need to drop down more to start? I wouldn’t mind if the rate was lower for the next several weeks but not someone booking now for August…any suggestions? If allowed here is my listing
Using 4 guests including kids and babies allowed filters as many have no kids allowed

Ignore Airs suggestions on price, You seem to have a handle on it.

RR

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Absolutely not. Airbnb will always hint *strongly) to you that you need to drop your prices but resist. They also say (see their videos for more details) that the prices they quote are just a suggestion and that the host will always be in charge of pricing their own listings.

Just make sure that you’ve done your sums properly. Include everything in your calculations. Then work out a price that makes you a decent profit. If you think it’s too much, then add benefits rather than decrease the price.

You’re lucky that you’ve got so few competitors. We have dozens on the same street.

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No, your price is low enough for your lovely suite.

My personal preference is to see pictures of the bathroom in any of my rentals. I like to understand the set up, especially if I’m traveling with a group of friends I’d like to know if I have any privacy while using the toilet. Tubs in the sleeping area are great for intimate couples though.

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Lovely property, but where is the pic of the bathroom? I like to look where I cook, sleep and bathe. No picture says there may be a problem…?

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Yes that’s coming…room is just about finished so will add the two piece this week…I’m not sure how many people will take a room for 4 with no privacy but perhaps families and girls weekend will work

I was going to say the same thing. Really beautiful home. In the description you also mention the back garden and fire pit. I would put in pictures of those as well.

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Yes better kitchen photo and a shot of the 2 piece toilet and sink will be coming this week…just a few more things to finish… I agree bathrooms are very important

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They’re covered in snow at the moment but I plan to add those in the spring

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Hi @Earthangel You do have a gorgeous place. You have your pricing handled. My suggestions would be, get rid of the picture showing the front view. It is very recognizable and people that are up to no good do occasionally search Airbnb listings for their next targets. Put it in the Check In Instructions, via the app, so that legitimate guests are the only ones that will see it. I read in your listing that you do NOT furnish baby gates. In my humble opinion, this is a huge mistake if one says they are baby and child friendly. One does not have to install permanent gates. The pressure mounted gates are effective. Yes, we expect parents to keep an eye on their children, but toddlers are quick little accidents waiting to happen. :wink: The other suggestions you are already implementing. That is my 2 cents worth. Happy Hosting and welcome to the world of Short Term Rentals!

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Thank you Ava. I appreciate your reply…i will think about the gates… And removing the house photo…i did think the outside view would be an eye catcher…there are several homes in the area that do show their house front…but many do either bedroom or kitchen…a quick drive around would easily identify this house…then again I’m not sure what they would want to steal from the photos I’ve posted

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I’m not sure if this should be another post but was wondering if it’s a mistake to put a two day minimum rental? There is a popular wedding venue in town so I could end up with a lot of one day weekends if I changed it to one day rentals OK

Keep your rates as they are. We don’t mind have one-nighters. It’s money where a 2-night minimum probably would not get us as many bookings. You do absolutely need at least two sets of linens and towels.

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Yes I’ve got two sets of bedding…I’m just thinking if someone books the Saturday for a wedding I lose out on a possible weekend booking…but then again they may not book at all if they only want one night…guess it’s a chance you take

I laugh at Air’s price suggestions most of the time. They will sometimes say that a “similar” (how similar?) listing got booked for that night at like $0-$9 less per night and then they suggest I lower it $9-$29…ridiculous. Even more so when I then get a booking the very next day after I actually RAISED it $10!

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@Earthangel While I agree that you should ignore Airbnb’s price tips, I’d consider that as a new host you should get as many reviews as possible, accordingly, I would play with the price until I find the price that while it’s competitive, it’s lower than other neighbors so that it encourages guests to book. Once you have a few reviews you can then increase your price – does it make sense to you?

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I was going to say exact same thing. If you can wear cheaper prices to start off with and get some reviews under your belt that’s what I did.

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Totally agree with the above regarding quickly building up reviews.

What we did when we listed both our apartments (at different times) was:

  • Dropped the prices to Airbnbs price tips (may not be applicable if you don’t have them)
  • Set maximum trip length to seven days
  • Set minimum trip length to one night

When you add in the new listing boost, the 20% discount on new listings and the bump in search positioning by using their “tips”, we were page one all the way. Still there now, but for different reasons methinks.

Within a short period of time we had sufficient bookings to generate reviews, at least we hoped!

We then binned Airbnbs fantasy pricing suggestions and adjusted the min/max days back to our preferred options.

As far as we were concerned, the lost income due to cheaper prices was a marketing expense.

JF

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I am slightly lower but they suggested $77 a night which is ridiculously low in my area and $333 a night which was very high…the local hotel /spa/wedding venue starts rooms at $500 a night

I’m new, but like you researched competition extensively before posting (it took almost a year to get the unit ready). The bump you get as new host really helped us. We are at 70% occupancy in March (our first guest arrives March 1st), and our minimum rate is almost double what AirBnB initially suggested.

Unlike many on the forum, smart pricing has helped us bring in several reservations above our minimum rate. Just a couple of dollars a night, but smart pricing realized before I did that weekends in our area should be priced higher.

Since then, AirBnB/Smart Pricing has figured things out a little better, and suggests a minimum rate about 1/3 higher than they initially suggested. Still lower than my analysis, but getting better.

We are in one of AirBnBs biggest markets though, so lots more data I suppose.

Bottom line: Keep your pricing. We use cleaning fee to encourage multiple day bookings, and it’s worked.

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