By American standards the bathroom looks dirty. That doesn’t mean it is but some people just look at pictures and don’t read at all. I read previous posts quickly so may have missed something. I don’t know if the dark part of the tile is rust or some other kind of stain. If only re-tiling will fix it then you will have to wait. As someone else said, some paint would help. I especially noticed the door into the bathroom seems to need it. That said, I’m American and I’d consider staying here as is if the price is competitive. Good luck!
I was going to suggest painting the bathroom too, but I wasn’t sure what material the walls are. If those panels can be painted, then by all means a fresh coat of crisp, white paint would make a huge difference without investing too much time or money.
New tiles would be good too, but they are in a whole other category in terms of expense. Maybe you could have the grout deep cleaned by a specialist.
I would make the bedroom photo your second photo. The exterior cover photo is good to draw people in because of the architecture. I think the bedroom will keep their interest more than the living room, which isn’t where they will be spending as much time.
Hi @KKC,
The bathroom was intended as a temporary structure. It was originally built for my father after he fell ill, and couldn’t navigate the regular one. So it’s not the best built thing in the world. It would probably be best to just raze the whole structure and build it from scratch, but that would be rather expensive. A cleanup and repainting might be possible. Tiling would not be that expensive either - it’s a small area. I wasn’t involved in the building of this bathroom; I wasn’t even on the same continent when it was built. If I had been involved, it would look rather different. 
And I’m not sure what material the walls are made of, or whether they can be painted. But I’ll look into it. Thanks for the comments.
HI @Garden1Gnome,
I’ll look into a repainting. As I said above, I don’t know know whether the walls can be painted either. Tiles wouldn’t be that expensive, actually. Do you think it would improve the look?
That’s a good point. Does anyone else second it? Though I’d probably just move the entire series of photos relating to the bedroom up to the beginning, then.
True…but if we book your place, we are not expecting the 4 Seasons…
we know it’s India and might be intrigued by seeing what’s around the house in terms of places to explore…the local color aspect. Know what I mean?
Yes… Climates might be similar. But Hawaii might be more temperate.
Yes, I meant the wires dropping down the yellow dome. I like the photo though so maybe you can take it from another angle, or dare I say it, photoshop them out.
Hi @konacoconutz,
Yes, I know what you mean. Fair point.
Yes, photoshopping it is tempting, but dishonest. To anyone else reading it, did anyone register the wires? I didn’t personally, even though I’ve looked at that dome many times. But Sherlock Holmes I am not.
I guess if they are typical in India, I wouldn’t worry too much…
Good luck!
Another option we have here is an epoxy based coating that can be used on tile and bathtubs. It isn’t as durable as the original materials but much cheaper than replacement. That might be an option if it seems that bookings are not as frequent as they might be with a refreshed bathroom. Cheers!
Ok I need that. Where do you get it?
Thanks for the suggestion. Do you have a link for this product?
@konacoconutz and @faheem I’ve seen kits at the big home improvement stores here. Faheem, I’m not sure what Amazon India has but here is a US link. I had my tub professionally done with a similar material. It was $500 but that was a lot less than having it replaced and the tile repaired. http://smile.amazon.com/Rust-Oleum-7860519-Refinishing-2-Part-White/dp/B000PTSBKW/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1463795858&sr=8-1&keywords=epoxy+tub+refinishing+kit
Great. Thanks for the link, @KKC. Replacing stuff isn’t really that expensive here, as I said. So that is also an option.
Faheem,
I apologize if I didn’t read all of the comments and every bit of detail in your listing.
Someone mentioned you asking what type of soap they want? I didn’t notice that in your listing but I would not ask. People particular about soap will bring their own. My guests only get liquid body soap that is on sale, so the brand changes frequently.
Your place is beautiful and huge! I suggest removing pics 3, 5, 8, and 9. They are redundant, and the other pictures show off the entire bedroom plenty.
Picture 12 of the stairs I would remove because picture 13 is of the same thing but also shows the stair railing. Keep number 13.
Since you are buying a small fridge to set outside of the bedroom, then I would also buy guests a separate microwave to put outside the bedroom too. Is the kitchen far for them to have to walk to use the microwave? It was difficult for me to tell. Do you have room to set their tea kettle and coffee station outside of the room. Or maybe you just prefer it all stay in the kitchen?
Is it common to eat breakfast at 10 in your area? I would not show all those pics of the kitchen area. What I would show is sample pictures of what your cook will make them for breakfast. So take an upclose shot of an omelette and toast, or oatmeal and fruit, or whatever the basic options will be. You also may get tourists who would like something early if they leave early to go sightseeing. An option would be to have your cook prepare something the day before and put it in their small fridge so they can heat up in the morning.
Is there any reason why you are offering use of two different bathrooms? Do you have to walk outside to get to both? I would only offer one (if possible) because during a tight turn around you will need to clean both for the next guests.
I also wouldn’t show the living area unless you plan for guests to use it.
That’s all I could think of. I think the place is very unique and you will get a lot of guests.
Hi @cabinhost,
Thank you for the detailed comments.
Yes, that was in there, but I took it out. I thought of putting it in the guest guide I hand out, but I haven’t yet. Maybe I won’t.
Yes, lots of people think the pics are redundant. I’ve been hesitant to remove them, because I don’t have a good way to restore them. They’re photos taken by an Airbnb photographer, not me. Having said that, 12 really does seem redundant, though it does show the staircase pattern more clearly.
I’m planning to put the fridge in the space by the stairs. See the space to the right in 13. There isn’t space for a microwave there. There is barely space for a fridge.
No, the kitchen is not far away.
I haven’t decided where to put the tea kettle (it just arrived today). For the moment I’ll leave it in the kitchen.
No, that’s the earliest my cook can come to make breakfast. If they want something earlier, we’ll have to arrange something else, like a DIY deal.
They have access to the area, so I don’t see why not.
That sounds like an idea. I’ve never done food photography. I’ll try it and see.
Sure, that sounds like an good idea, once we get a fridge.
Yes, for one thing, when it’s raining the bathroom in the garden will not be so easy to access - the garden is partly in the open. No, only one of them is outside. I think normally people would only show the bathroom shown, the other ones are not so photogenic/attractive, though they are functional.
I’m not sure which living area you mean. You mean the entrance hall? If so, yes, they can sit there if they want, though currently there isn’t a very good place to sit.
Thank you for the kind words. I hope so. It’s kind of slow right now.
Okay…I didn’t realize the kitchen was close by. Your listing does not have kitchen use checked as amenity…so I am a bit confused. If guests have full use of your pots and pans to cook then yes, I would leave the picture of the kitchen. But if guests only have access to the microwave, coffee maker, small fridge, and tea kettle - then I would set up their little section with all the things that they can use, and then take a picture of that.
Yes, the living area - I mean the front hall/entrance. I thought that was where your family lounges/works, etc. I have heard of some guests taking over the host’s living area instead of watching tv in their bedroom.
Regarding the Airbnb photographer - I deleted many of my photographers photos. I had some professional photos taken already. But some of the Airbnb photos I just didn’t care for and deleted them. Another thing, when you get a website going later down the road, you will not be able to use Airbnb photos anyway on your own site. When travelers become more and more savvy and start to google the images to find a way to avoid the booking fee, they won’t find the properties that are using only Airbnb photos. Aside from providing pretty photos, this could be another reason why Airbnb and Flipkey provide these services for free. They don’t want travelers seeking us elsewhere
Hi @cabinhost,
My understanding is that one can (should?) show the areas of the home that guests have access to. The guests are welcome to eat in the kitchen, there’s plenty of counter place, and it’s easy to clean up. That’s actually almost the only place they can reasonably eat in, since the room is probably too small, and doesn’t have seating space for two people. Also, we wouldn’t want food all over the bed and whatnot. There is a dining table, but that’s in the living room area, which guests don’t have access to.
I suppose they could eat on the terrace once we have something set up there, but that hasn’t happened yet.
Additionally, we’re planning to add a toaster/grill type thing to make sandwiches, and perhaps also a coffee maker. The toaster/grill will definitely live in the kitchen. Not sure about the coffee maker.There isn’t really an obvious “little section” to keep their stuff.
We definitely don’t want full scale guest cooking in the kitchen. That would be quite disruptive.
It’s possible that people may complain about having pictures of the kitchen if they aren’t allowed to cook, but we’ll wait and see if that happens. If it becomes enough of an issue, we’ll remove those pictures.
Well, let’s hope that doesn’t happen. We would be less than thrilled if the guests decided to watch our big tv. There’s one in their room.
Those are some excellent points. I didn’t think of those aspects of using the photos. Maybe I need to stop thinking of those photos as sacred.
Thanks very much for taking the time to make the detailed comments.
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You may have to adjust this as bookings increase, but I do agree with Cabinhost about showing full scale kitchen photos. Access is a bit different than privileges. Sometimes guests will just take over even though you have specified certain kitchen rights.
People don’t really read as we know and look at the photos, so with so much emphasis on your kitchen, it appears as though that is a big selling point in your listing. You might get guests who misinterpret.
I learned a long time ago to remove any photos that didn’t relate to guest use. They can be misleading and lead to disappointment.
Also regarding your guests’ TV use, don’t leave this to chance. State clearly that they should watch tv in their room and not in the main living area. You have to be clear about boundaries.
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Adjust the photos? And yes, there is certainly a possibility for misinterpretation.
If both you and @cabinhost agree about this, then I should pay attention. I’ll ask my current guests, who seem like reasonable people, what they think. It’s just that taking out the kitchen photos feels like it doesn’t leave much. Maybe I could replace the kitchen shots with some narrow angle shots of the microwave and the electric kettle, or whatever implements I have lying around for guest use.
Really excellent point. Added in two places now. Why didn’t I think of that? But I can imagine having to point that out in person at some point. Like you said, guests don’t read…
LOL! You’ve taught school long enough to know that if you don’t tell students how you expect them to behave that they will run amok! So yes, TELL the guests what you expect… DON’T ASK what they’d prefer!
Regarding the kitchen photos… It is impressive… but I think being VERY CLEAR with guests about what they get to do in that kitchen would be good. When I was new, I used spectacular photos of my view from upstairs… then realized it would be worthless for guests who never get to see that view. Now I stick to whatever is appropriate in THEIR rental.
Also, I know you thought this wasn’t good… but I would still love to see the neighborhood! Are there interesting markets or places to eat? I’m not expecting New York or San Francisco or London. I know it’s Mumbai… so give us some local color!
Again, not trying to be bossy but just thinking that could get more folks interested in your listing!
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Hi @konacoconutz,
Yes, I’ve actually taught - young American college students, mostly. Did I mention that somewhere? Or did I misunderstand, and were you referring to yourself?
Yes, point taken. I’ll run this past the next few guests I have. They might tell me if I ask - they probably won’t otherwise.
Oh, I think it’s a good idea, at least in theory. But I’m not sure what to put there. I could at least add an exterior shot of the building. Show people what it looks like from outside.
I appreciate the interest. And your comments have been very helpful. thanks.
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