Suggestion for verbiage for the question - How far you are from

1

It’s one of my pet peeves that guests are just too dam lazy to figure out how far they are from a location. They also don’t mention their mode of transportation or time of day traveling . I have found that one guest might think 20 minutes to a Major city is great while others think 10 minutes is too long. In the last 3 days I have gotten this question 3 times. None of them have booked.

Airbnb gives them an approximate location and at this point I would have thought that folks know how to use google to plot out distances based on transportation mode and time of day. I almost never get a booking when I get these questions.

Here’s the form letter I send. Any suggestions on how to improve, shorten, or leave as is?

Getting around Boston, The airport, Salem, etc depends on many factors including what type of transportation you are using and the time of day and weather conditions. The suite is located 7 miles north of Boston near both Rt. 1 , 93 and 95 and also close to the Oak Grove T subway and Melrose commuter rail.

During weekdays during commuter hours there is a bus 3 doors away that can get you to Oak Grove in 10 minutes. A rideshare to Oak Grove costs about $10. Parking at the T subway is $3 on weekends and there is plenty of parking and during the week it’s $9 to park and you either have to get their by 7:30 am or arrive after 12 pm.

There is a great tool on the website search engine that begins with “G” that rhymes with Froogle (Airbnb masks the website url) where you can put in an address, then select the map tab and the select directions.

From directions you can determine what mode of transportation and time of day.

That will give you the best idea as to how far something is based on mode of transportation, weekday and time.

When searching, use the address 4 Slayton Road, Melrose, MA. This is not the address of the suite but close.

Basically, without traffic and no rain or snow , it’s 20 minutes to Boston, 20 minutes to the Airport, 20 minutes to Salem, MA by car. By T subway once you are at Oak Grove, it’s about 15 minutes to Downtown Crossing and about 60 minutes to the airport.

I hope this information helps.

2

If I remember correctly, Airbnb doesn’t shared the exact address until just a couple days before the trip starts, which makes is more difficult to use an app to figure out how far something is.

3

Nothing wrong with that… except the slightly facetious reference to Google Maps . Instead of

There is a great tool on the website search engine that begins with “G” that rhymes with Froogle (Airbnb masks the website url) where you can put in an address, then select the map tab and the select directions.
From directions you can determine what mode of transportation and time of day.
That will give you the best idea as to how far something is based on mode of transportation, weekday and time.
When searching, use the address 4 Slayton Road, Melrose, MA. This is not the address of the suite but close."

I would say:

"If you use ‘G-Maps’ (or ‘map software’) to figure distances and time, use the address 4 Slayton Rd, Melrose, MA [add the zip] (not the exact address but close).

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4

True but they give you enough info so that it shows within a few blocks of my house. My city is 3 miles wide. Doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out.

5

Not all map services provide the details as to transportation mode and time of day which is why I am specific.

6

Far too wordy, hard to read. Don’t write in sentences and those long paragraphs. Pare it down like this:

Instead of:

“During weekdays during commuter hours there is a bus 3 doors away that can get you to Oak Grove in 10 minutes. A rideshare to Oak Grove costs about $10. Parking at the T subway is $3 on weekends and there is plenty of parking and during the week it’s $9 to park and you either have to get their by 7:30 am or arrive after 12 pm.”

To Oak Grove :
Bus- 10 min.- Runs 7am-6pm weekdays. Bus stop 3 doors from listing.
Rideshare- $10
Parking at T subway- $3/weekends, $9/weekdays (arrive before 7:30am or after 12 noon)

About 30 words instead of your 65.

At the beginning, say “Note: Commuting times are approximate, depending on traffic and weather.”

And so on. Give bare bones info, in easy to read format.

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7

Thanks. This is what I needed to hear and thanks for the edits. Very much appreciated.

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8

It’s too long. I’d just send the first paragraph and the froogle comment. Tell them to figure it out with that.

I have “miles from” and tell them that the pin for my town is about a mile from my home and they can froogle or frugle it from there, times vary for rush hour, construction, etc.

Those folks rarely book. And when they do, they ding me on location because of traffic during spring break.

I find that many things in life that I find fairly easy to deduce are an absolute mystery to otherwise seemingly intelligent people. It boggles the mind. My town is small, too, and I’m constantly puzzled by people’s inability to listen.

9

Good info but no one reads that much anymore. Some good suggestions from other hosts here. I’m from Massachusetts so I know how variable the time is driving around Boston.

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10

When I lived in the Boston area and had children, I didn’t own a car. I rented when I needed one. Far cheaper and less frustrating than payments, insurance, and parking.

The T is amazing.

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I agree but the T has cut back on bus service and increase prices to park in their lots. Whenever I can I take the T but there are people in my city who think the Subway is scary and hard to figure out. I try to find out if the folks that are coming are from a city with public transportation or a rural area.

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12

That’s great, but I still think a 3 sentence intro would be more beneficial than the long message you have so far.

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13

Just wondering if including bullet points might be more readable:

  • 1.2 miles to the beach
  • 1.5 miles to the nearest grocery store
  • .75 miles to the nearest convenience store
  • 2 miles to the convention centre

Etc.

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14

Mostly they just ask how close to Boston but that is very subjective depending on where in the city and at what time. I never really get asked the other questions.

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15

The reason the message has grown so lengthy (and, I’m sorry, a little disorganized) may be because you’re trying to not-commit to something you can’t predict, like travel time. I’d recommend you just give distance and not travel time. Miles are for-sure so you don’t have to do so much explanation.

However, I think it’s helpful that you mention using the maps to get travel time to a certain place at a certain time by a certain travel mode. And it’s thoughtful to include the info about parking and pricing but if the majority of your guests aren’t using that information then I think you should hold off on it until someone asks for it specifically. Give general info and advice and then follow up with specific questions if needed. This also has the added benefit of being personal.

Here’s my go at it. My version is still kind of long but the most important part is at the top and the rest can be skimmed by travelers who don’t want/need it. And miles, as opposed to travel time, can’t be challenged later:

We are ____ miles to Boston Common, _____ miles to Salem and _____ miles to the Airport. Travel time around Boston, to the airport, Salem, etc depends on many factors including what type of transportation you’re using, the time of day and weather conditions.

When searching a map app use the address 4 Slayton Road, Melrose, MA (not the address of the suite but close). You can enter mode of transportation and time of day on the map and this’ll give you the best idea as to what your travel time will be to a particular destination.

The suite is just north of Boston proper near Rt. 1, 93 and 95 and near the Oak Grove T subway and Melrose commuter rail.

If you are interested in figuring out travel time to a specific destination, please let me know and I’d be happy to help.

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16

My STR is in Henderson, NV and I also get questioned about the distance from “The Strip”. This is difficult to answer because it depends on many factors as the OP has stated. Not only time of day, but location, construction, events, accidents etc!
My best answer, prior to them receiving the actual address is to give them a landmark that is a guaranteed 5 minute drive from my house! Then the can GPS and figure it out for themselves.

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17

The distance should be consistent.

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18

Agreed! My terminology may have been off, apologies to all those that couldn’t understand what I was trying to say based on my full response!

19

I would love to post just the distance but I think I would end up with very disappointed guests and would be marked down. My pricing is such that its much more affordable than most places closer to Boston but guests don’t seem to factor that a in when they are thinking of how close a place is.

Downtown Boston is 11 miles and in the dead of night, takes 20 minutes.
but can take over an hour in traffic

Logan Airport is 9 miles and in the dead of night, takes 20 minutes.
But can take up over an hour in traffic

So I try to give the guests the tools to figure it out for themselves but I do agree my response is way to wordy. I’m going to do some bullet points and give instruction on how to use G-maps.

Thanks everyone.

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20

Those statements short and sweet but get the point across, maybe consider using them.

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