Not seeing as many bookings as you want to make renting out your vacation rental worth it can be disappointing. That being said, it’s often a solvable problem. Creating an Airbnb listing for your short-term rental isn’t enough to entice potential guests. You have to advertise, mastering the Airbnb platform to reach the top of search results. But what does this entail?
If you’re struggling to promote your listing and see increased interest on the Airbnb platform, here are some essential tips and tricks for how to advertise your home on Airbnb effectively.
Attracting Guests: Photos and Descriptions
As an Airbnb host, attracting guests to book your property requires more than just listing it and hoping for bookings. You are very much a salesperson. The potential Airbnb guests need to be convinced to choose your property over the many others in your area.
Achieving this begins with making your listing more appealing.
High-quality photos are one great place to start. Because guests want to see what your Airbnb property looks like before they consider stepping foot on it, good photos are key to a successful listing. Capture every area of your property in the best possible light so that you’re showing off everything a guest will fantasize about when you list your property. You can take these photos yourself or hire a professional photographer. Just make sure that you don’t use AI or heavily edit your photos as this can degrade trust and drive away users of the platform.
Beyond the visuals, your words matter too. Airbnb marketing requires you to describe your property enticingly. What are the main highlights of your vacation rental? What amenities do you have to offer? Where are you located? Are there any personalized suggestions you have for your guests so they can make the most of their stay? The more appealing your description, the more intrigued the Airbnb community will be. This is key to successful marketing and a subsequent rise in occupancy rates.
Setting Competitive Prices: Maximizing Profits
Pricing can quite literally make or break the Airbnb experience for many users. If they log onto the Airbnb website, find your property, and see that you’re priced way too high (or you tack on a ton of fees including high cleaning fees), they’re going to turn elsewhere for their vacation rental needs.
To market your Airbnb successfully, you have to implement a pricing strategy that will ensure you can compete with Airbnbs around you and appeal to guests. Check your area to see what similar properties are charging per night, use the host tools and guidance that Airbnb offers when setting prices, and keep dynamic pricing in mind when you’re setting pricing or automating your pricing.
Another tip to help you improve your marketing and get more bookings? See if you can offer discounts that guests will enjoy! Guests are always looking for discounts to make their vacations more affordable. Researching what guests look for in Airbnb discounts can help you better understand how to price your Airbnb to cater to these trends.
Building Trust: Guest Reviews and Ratings
A sparse Airbnb profile is something that’s going to inevitably raise eyebrows. Building trust is vital to seeing your property on Airbnb rise in popularity. When you first list on Airbnb, one of the most essential marketing tips you need to focus on is gathering positive reviews and ratings.
Social proof is an essential component of any successful marketing strategy for all types of businesses. Why? Reviews and ratings offer third-party proof that your business offers and does what it says it will provide and do. In this case, positive reviews and ratings demonstrate that your Airbnb rental is as marketed. More importantly, it highlights that you’re a host who cares about fostering a positive Airbnb guest experience.
The more positive reviews you receive, the more visible your listing will become!
Managing Availability: Calendar and Reservations
Your booking approach can have a tremendous impact on your Airbnb marketing strategy. Every host has the potential to make mistakes when it comes to availability. If your availability isn’t accurate, you can end up having to turn away booking requests that may have generated income or led to repeat bookings. If you have Instant Bookings on and have an inaccurate calendar, you can end up with cancellations that heavily impact your visibility on the platform.
The first thing you should do when you’re posting a listing is to set up your calendar. Make sure that you have a schedule that works for you so that you can properly manage your property and keep it in stellar condition for each subsequent guest. As described above, you can either manage reservations on a case-by-case basis or set up instant bookings so that certain guests can book your property without having to go directly through you. Just keep in mind that you need to be active and responsive to stay on top of direct bookings.
Creating a Memorable Experience: Guest Communication
Advertising your home goes beyond just optimizing your listing. You’re marketing your Airbnb from the moment you list on the platform to the moment you receive a booking (and then all over again once they check out).
Guest communication is another interaction that will impact whether a guest decides to stay with you. You need to market yourself and your property effectively to get bookings. Some tips for effective guest communication that helps you advertise your rental and rental experience as an elevated one include:
- Before: Observe prompt communication and answer any questions a guest may have about your property. Adopt a positive tone and be as descriptive as possible to show your guests that you’re a reliable host who cares about guest satisfaction.
- During: Checking in with your guests is important! While you want guests to reach out to you, you also want to make sure that you’re being attentive to them to show them that you’re available should they need anything.
- After: Thank them for their stay and for being such wonderful guests. It’s a small thing to do, but it’s a great way to show appreciation for their business.
Streamlining Check-in and Check-out: House Rules
Have you ever stayed at an Airbnb as a guest? If so, you’re aware that a guest’s experience can be quickly ruined when the check-in or check-out process at an Airbnb property is extremely difficult. This negative perception can hamper your marketing efforts, which is why it’s important to address this earlier on.
Streamlining check-in is simple. Let guests know exactly what the process will be like (in-person or otherwise), make sure the property is easy to access, and provide them with all the information they’ll need once they check in (Wi-Fi passwords, where extra bedding is stored, etc.). The more information they have when they first step foot on your property, the smoother check-in will go.
The same goes for check-out. Let guests know when they have to check out and reduce the stress by giving them plenty of time to gather their things and go. This may seem like a given, but it’s easy to overlook when you start operating on Airbnb.
Enhancing Visibility: Optimizing Airbnb SEO
The Airbnb algorithm can seem difficult to grasp when you use the platform, but it’s not that hard to become more visible when you’re working on promoting your Airbnb and trying to acquire new guests. There are just a few key areas that you will need to focus on to attract more attention to your rental property (and none of it involves pricey influencers or other marketing strategies).
To enhance your Airbnb listing and make the most of Airbnb SEO, implement these strategies.
- Use Keywords: Putting trending keywords in your listing title and description helps your listing appear higher in Airbnb’s internal search engine results. See how to identify popular vacation rental features and highlight them in your listing.
- Become a Superhost: Superhost status gives you a badge and elevates you on the Airbnb platform. Be responsive, get good reviews constantly, and avoid cancellations to become one of the top hosts. It’s a gift that will keep on giving.
- Be Active: Updating availability, editing your listing, and engaging in other activities on the platform shows Airbnb that you’re an active host, which can keep you higher on guest searches. You don’t have to make serious changes, but small things here and there can be beneficial.
Dealing with Guest Feedback: Tips for Improvement
It’s important to remember that guest feedback doesn’t have to always be positive to be beneficial. While we naturally want every review to be a positive one, negative ones can offer a valuable learning experience and constructive feedback that you can leverage to become an even better host (in most cases). Thank guests for their reviews, ask them how they could improve their experience, and then apply that to your hosting approach to gradually improve over time.
Your Home Needs to be Marketed Properly to Succeed, so Sell It!
Learning how to advertise your home on Airbnb can significantly impact your success on the platform. From basic listing tips to mastering Airbnb SEO, there’s a wealth of advice available to help you quickly enhance your hosting experience. Start here to discover what you can achieve when you list your property on Airbnb!
