@Yana, the city I live in, there are few host that are booked up to 100 percent at double the rate that I charge during slow season. I am lucky and most other host if we get 2-3 percent in bookings during low season. If you could explain this for me, than that will be huge for me.
You are 100% correct, SOME will not pay more but how do you KNOW this without testing higher prices? And while some guests will not pay moreā¦will they book your listing instead of another place BECAUSE of the $40 towels? If you are in a area with lots of other rooms, what factors can be used get more bookings at the same price as other hosts?
I am testing nightly price, adding cleaning fee, higher end sheets and towels so I can try to get maximum income per month per room. My thought process is that if I am above 90% occupancy then I should be able to raise prices. If I go under 60% occupancy then I need to lower price or add features that will get more bookings.
This is an area where Airbnb fails because I KNOW that they have tons of data on the numbers of clicks on listings versus clicks on pictures versus bookings but NO WHERE can I find access to the numbers. It should be easy for Airbnb to say homes with pools get X number of additional $ per night or listings with private baths get X % higher bookings.
I am going to The Open in LA for this very reason.
How do you know they are booked 100%? Could it be that they know it is low season and do not want to mess with lower rates and simply BLOCK out the entire month which looks the same when you try to look at their calendar?
Thats true. People might even book through other websites, not Air, or simply block the calendar when they travel themselves.
Yes of course, test it . I still test, but less and less though. I played with prices all high season watching whats happening very closely. I have to admit that at some point i was giving up understanding anything.
WHat i understood though that i had to change my hosting style for sure.
I dont know if you guys read my āchanging to long term hostingā thread, but i think i found my ānicheā.
I did 1-2-3 days hosting for more than a year, and then i had a guest/host staying with me for a few days, and we talked a lot about hosting, every day. She told me she did it in a begining also, changing beds non stop, people in and out, it was hard work. And she had empty days even in season, with weekends booked. The same story as mine. Then she switcehd to much longer stays like a month or more.
When May came and it became dead again i started giving monthly discounts, and was booked solid both room JUne, July and August. I made 2-3 times more money than last year with 1-2 days minimum stays.
In September i started doing weekly, and i make even more. Last September i made 550$ as it is the slowest month of the year, this September 2250$. I spend 1 hour a week changing their beds, and cleaning, and thats all. I am even getting bored now with how easy it is.
I dont know what other factors can be used to get a room booked by day with so many choices around. When i started my price was at 69$, and i managed to rent it out with this price. Now off season its not realistic. SO many new hosts here. I only have 300+ rooms in 2 miles radious around me. I dont even know how it is possible, do we have this many houses here??
I am still thinking of going to LA too. Two of really good friends are going.
I said 95%-100. No Dates are not blocked, as month progresses you see booked dates. Also they have huge number of reviews compared to others, so they must me doing something right.
@Yana, I wonder at times myself if that is the rout to take. I have two rooms with their own personal entrance/patio/yard.
I think it is worthwhile testing it. I was killing myself like you, and the only people making money was the city to whom I am paying 11.5 tax is included in the rate.
AT least give it a try. and by week is the best way to go. Aim for working people, they are the best. No"between houses", or retirees. They will stay all day in a house.
I donāt know your location, but i use Craigās list. I know some people want to go always through AIr, but its worth to try other sites, and see how it goes.
I will never go back to these 1-2-3 days stays. Its not only too much physical work but meeting stranger after stranger, all these luggage rolling in and out.
Your set up sound really nice. I think for a longer stays its perfect. I calculated first how much i would make by day, and how much per week. The difference was 70$ more by day, that is IF i had 100% occupancy.
@Yana, thank you, I am definitely going to make some changes. Waiting for guest to arrive late, and some arrived after 1:30 A.M., breaking and damaging stuff that cost $$$$
to replace, charging one of the lowest rates and having almost 0 bookings during low season, I was burning on both ends.
I know you are now on the right track. 
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Violetta49; interestingā¦are you comparing an Entire Place listing with a Private Room? I think that Entire Place Listings get a lot more views/bookings and higher rates than a Private Room Listing so see if that is the case or if you want; post a link to your listing and the listings that you think are killing it and myself and others can review both to see if we have any ideas.
@Vegasjerry, thank you it is so kind of you. I am in the process of updating my place and will be taking pictures.
I will post here my listing with updates and will include those few host that are making a killing. All of them are renting rooms but guest have access to kitchen and the rest of the house. One in particular has a fantastic garden with beautiful swimming pool, fish pond with little water pond and it is all Aloha team. They all have more upscale homes and are in nicer neighborhoods then me.
I should be done by the 1st just as the season starts.
ā¦ Thatās one of the reasons my settings only allow for inquires of 3 nights or more. Not to mention doing all that laundry!
A full third of my bookings are one nighters. I wouldnāt want to lose the revenue.
If you have double sets of everything, quick turnovers can be lucrative if you are doing your own cleaning. I donāt mind them. Although I did have guests recently book for two nights, stay for less than one and leave a bigger mess than bookings lasting a week or longer. Just depends.
ā¦ can be, IF you are lucky enough to be in an area where competition for guests is lowerā¦ and it is a little easier if you have a separate unit/space for rent. I rent rooms in my home. I have a couple of weeks open on the calendar, I might give it a try.
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