I have had three guests because they love my living room with tons of books. Draws a very nice kind of guest actually.
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I would love to do that, people love theme rooms. Hell I love theme rooms, Iāve payed mega dollars to stay in the one at West Edmonton Mall. Maybe this is where Iām going wrong.
See,THATāS what itās all about! And thatās how you get good guests that are a fit. I shrug when I see all this stuff about how to take nice photos, make sure you have a colourful cushion placed somewhere, have a snappy catchy headline etc etc. Your place is your place, if you try to make it something else, probably people will be disappointed. I like places that show exactly what they are and give a full flavour of what to expect. If I want an Ikea furnished appartment, I donāt need Airbnb for that. Just my opinion!
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My unique draw is that I board dogs here so dog lovers book my place at times. I used to have a picture of the book wall but never had any indication that it got me more bookings. I have overnighters so I donāt think books are as big a draw as dog therapy.
Love it. Character, books, loads of plants and greenery, my kind of place! Some of your photos are skewed, by the way.
@Magwitch, this is not my listing, itās just an interesting listing that I found and that is one of the most popular airbnb listings in Miami,
Itās inexpensive and the host seems like exactly what Airbnb wants to be in the ads. Sheās hosted hundreds of people and the decor and vibe of her place and her persona is āmuy simpĆ”ticoā. It might not be my first choice but I can see why people choose it. It looks like it would be like staying with your tia or abuelita. Itās definitely not ācookie cutter.ā
Ok, sorry! I wasnāt paying attention.
Why so snooty 
? This is the reason I will never ever share my listing on here. You guys are very harsh. This host has hundreds of reviews from guests who love it there. She is very successful. Iām not a superhost like her but I too have hundreds of happy reviews for my humble. place. Please donāt look down on us.
What?! I love this listing! WTF![quote=āMagwitch, post:70, topic:7015ā]
Why so snooty ?
[/quote]
Sorry if I misunderstood. I read it as you being dismissive of the place.It was probably the āwhat Airbnb wants in the adsā comment. I automatically read that as negative!
No, I actually like those ālive thereā ads and the whole corporate vibe of ABB. I realize itās probably complete BS but I wish all ABB listings were like Maria Luisaās and that no hotels or slumlords were allowed to list. As for me not choosing it for myself, Iām just not sure I want to share the bathroom with other people in the house. I think it is really cool and authentic Cuban-American. Many hispanic families here in my border town (on the border with Mexico) have similar decor.
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OK, yes I feel the same generally. I do baulk at the airbnb advertising, though, and I get the impression that most experienced hosts are very cynical about it. Hence my interpretation of your comment! I have never been to Cuba or Mexico so Iām not familiar with the decor. And yes, shared bathroom is a special kind of experience I can tell you. Sigh.
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That library drips with character. Raquel, what I meant by āthemeā is that it has ambience. My sister is a topnotch interior decorator in Florida, she does this for a living; I am going to drag her to Belize in September and giving my island a ācastawayā theme! 
@mearns, Fred, how cool that your sister will be helping you add some ācharacterā to your place! In my own personal space, I like a minimalist look that, alas, I donāt presently have. I lived almost full-time in non-descript hotel rooms for over a year (business reason) and actually enjoyed the less is more look. I also lived in ācorporate housingā for a year with no dĆ©cor at all, bland and monastic, and enjoyed it. Iām a simple person!
Hereās one I saw that was on a potential guestsā wishlist:
I love the floor to ceiling bookshelves and the spiral staircase.
Interesting rules. Extra fee for single night bookings. Four nights required during holiday periods. Clearly, he could never be an IB host. I would love to have something along the lines of a bit more per night for short stays, but since I am forced to use IB, not sure how I could manage different rates for different types of stays.
Library bedrooms, yes please! 
Iād love for my rooms to have more character, or a āthemeāā¦ theyāre very genericā¦ I wonder if I could raise my prices if I made a Harry Potter bedroom, ha ha
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@Mearns, @Natalie, @KKC, @Sarah_Warren, @Magwitch, @hypertokyo, @anon67190644, @SuiteRetreat
As you may recall, I recently posted about the mystery of my two apartments, located in the same building but apartment A was getting substantially more views and more bookings as compared to my other apartment B.
You generously took the time to view both listings and provide your feedback. Based on your feedback I made small changes (sorry, I didnāt get to paint walls or do anything significant) and had new photos taken of apartment B. Iām wondering if you find apartment B more appealing now, and if I have added enough photos. Thank you!
apartment B