Please critique the s*** out of this place

Yes, November is probably not a busy month for tourism in Nottingham. We are okay if some months are a bit slower and November to February will likely be fewer guests.

These are great tips about contacting employers. I wrote to the HR departments of the top ten employers nearby but usually don’t get a response. I think I’m the meantime we will just focus on creating a really good listing. Our attitude is that if you offer something really good, people will naturally be attracted to it.

1 Like

In my opinion, over-delivering on anything is a bad idea. You set yourself up for failure. I follow the ‘under-promise and over-deliver’ formula where guests are surprised that the place is actually much nicer than it looks. It’s a careful balance though, of course!
I agree with everyone else on there being too many photos of unnecessary things. I would add that claiming it’s ‘sunlit’ and focussing on the patio is a bit optimistic for Nottingham, UK.
Unless you only host in the summer? Even then…!

edit Forgot to say that your place looks really really nice. It doesn’t need over-selling. Just a few select photos and some simple understated text is all that’s needed, in my view.

2 Likes

@Poppy thanks for these comments. I’m glad to hear that there are no glaring errors. That was my concern for a while that there was just something that really put people off.

We will definitely clarify the privacy issues because that is s big one that needs correcting.

And yes, we are planning to include some neighborhood photos: namely our brand new local pub (very nice design as it happens), and some nearby shops.

1 Like

I think it is beautiful and I checked the map to see where it is because we would love to stay there. We are wanting to return to England/Scotland/Ireland with our daughter and would love your place!

I think it might help to have more pictures of the front and yard so people can imagine themselves getting there and relaxing.

Also I might address people as “you,” not the guest so they can see themselves in the house. For our listing I said “your vacation starts with …” etc so that it walked people thru the house more. I took pictures in order too, so that people arrived (front of the house), saw the deck, came in the door, saw the house as they would see it from walking in, each room at a time.

(Our listing is in my profile, if that helps … But I’m new to this a bit too by 8 months)

3 Likes

Or for a bit of ironic referencing a framed poster of Errol Flynn as Robin Hood

2 Likes

Actually i just checked mine which is a separate apartment on the ground floor carved out of a two storey house where I live upstairs with a separate entrance and I have settled on “Entire Guest Suite”. I think I tried a number of things and didn’t like “Apartment” because it sounded like a group of flats. The word “Entire” gives the impression it is separate i think. But I also make that clear on the very first line. Having said that I got an IBooker last week whose message said “very excited about your place” for 2 people then cancelled a few hours later with “sorry, didn’t realise it wasn’t the whole place” which made me want to reply “what you thought you’d get a 2 storey house overlooking the sea for $105 a night? I suppose you thought you’d sneak in a dozen of your mates for a party as well”. But of course I didn’t.

2 Likes

Very well written, but far too wordy. Too many of the wrong kind of photos – too many of the same thing. Also there is a tremendous difference between the immaculately kept house and the courtyard which looks rather ragged and unkempt. The impression I get is the space is very neat, clean, and very sterile – just doesn’t look inviting – looks like a photo spread not a place to relax.

Your order of photos looks so much nicer now, but I don’t like the picture of the front door, it looks stark and uninviting. Can you open the doors and the blinds, put a pair of shoes in the doorway or a cane basket filled with flowers etc? It needs something to soften pretty up the entrance.

2 Likes

It almost doesn’t look like England.

Just a few things:

I don’t like the mirror photo. It doesn’t add much.

The photo of the staircase made me a bit dizzy/disorientated.

There is one kitchen photo that looks somewhat over staged, the one with the tomatoes and garlic. Will they be there when the guests are? If not, they shouldn’t be in the photo. It also took me a minute to figure out that I was looking at an induction burner.

Some of the photos look very…brown. I’m not sure if you are using a filter. Maybe try some different lighting.

If I were a potential guest, I would wonder how I would grind the coffee beans.

A personal pet peeve of mine is the word curated used for anything except museums.

Perhaps some photos of the neighborhood?

Overall, looks lovely and I would not hesitate to stay there.

2 Likes

I don’t see anything wrong with your listing and can’t imagine that the order of photos or wording has anything whatever to do with your dramatic slowdown.

The problem is competition. There is is a greater supply of homes than there are potential guests, especially in the winter outside the city center.

I did an incognito search with no dates entered and there are hundreds of “entire place” apartments and suites that I can get for about the same price, closer to the center of town, many with hosts that have hundreds of reviews. And when I search Nottingham you don’t show up in the first group of results unless I move the map to the east towards your place. Your price seems very competitive but maybe visitors would rather pay more and be closer in.

I notice that you require a two night stay so that knocks any one night visitors out of the running. In your situation I’d probably bump up the cleaning fee a bit and accept one night stays. If you can get a few more reviews by sucking it up and hosting situations that you’d rather not it might be worth it. Also when I looked at your calendar it said “last updated 2 weeks ago.” There is disagreement about this but many people think that if you keep your listing updated frequently it helps your search ranking. There are threads here about search ranking and also on the internet, check them out. My experience is that the busier I am the busier I will be. Now that I have over 400 reviews it seems that I can get all the bookings I want. Still I log on almost daily even if booked up or not available and check my calendar and prices. I update the text and pictures several times a year. I answer all messages quickly, even if not very interested in securing the booking.

If possible allow same day bookings, as late as you can stand. Maybe someone driving through will need a last minute stop for the night.

5 Likes

+1 on curated. “You can enjoy one of our specially curated wines in the comfort of your own cinema chair”. What was the uncurated alternative? Some box wine someone had left over from their last party?

3 Likes

@GardenGnome Right up there with reach out. I think if we drill down into this listing and unpack the overuse of staging we can empower the OP to incentivize potential guests to book his suite. At the end of the day, that’s the seamless transition we envision: transforming lookers into bookers.

6 Likes

That’s some 360 degree thinking right there!

3 Likes

It’s beautiful!! But too many photos of kitchen stuff IMO, before everything else. I don’t cook on vacation (or at home much LOL) so would be losing interest with all those photos of pots and pans.

1 Like

You are already given great advises from others so nothing here for me to add. With that said I don’t think that your slow time is because of access of pictures ,etc. …
I ve been hosting for almost 4 years and believe me that there is nothing you can accomplish with best pictures or 100’s reviews If there is no market or supersaturated market.
I had to do a brand new listing because of the major glitch when my listing was not showing up and tech support took too long to answer.
It had zero reviews and I didn’t even put all pictures there . It was high season and I got booked immediately.

Someone once gave me good advice to rent longer term during slow season and do short terms when it’s high season.
I started doing it about 2 years ago and love it.
Do you think there is a market in your area for people who come there for work, are there any conventions or tournaments going on close by often? I have a minimum one week and it works very well. My weekly price just slightly lower than if I rented by day every single day of the week .

3 Likes

What a lovely place. It is so well thought out and decorated.

I would have less multiple photos of the same room and area and more mention and photos of local attractions. Why no mention of Robin Hood and his forest, or the main attractions including the Castle, caves and Lace Market in Nottingham?

Are their local shops, cafes and restaurants where you live or do you need to go into the city centre for everything?

1 Like

All the good advice has already been given:

  • Cut down the number of photos.
  • Text is well written, but try to shorten it.
  • Your listing looks absolutely fabulous, and your drop in bookings has nothing to do with the quality of what you offer or the quality of your listing.

On another note: I love how you have hidden the TV in the living room !

2 Likes

Ha, you made me go back and look. I had noticed the curtains and thought how I didn’t really like how they looked and wondered why they were there. In a few years we will all have the TV’s that blend into the wall or display artwork or some other tech that I don’t know about yet. The black box on the wall will disappear.

2 Likes

They already sell ones that look like a piece of art when not in use.

2 Likes

Yes! I’ve seen those. And the ones that blend into the wall by taking on the surrounding paint color, brick, etc. However, we don’t all have them…but we will. The flat flexible screens that roll up? Maybe that will be the thing that makes the TV disappear.

1 Like