You are running a short-term rental business and have decorated and furnished your accommodations. You have listed your rooms on various online travel agencies (OTA) and are now patiently waiting for bookings to come in.
It can take some time to get a good number of bookings, and it requires having the right price, looking good, and being in a good location. Read this article to learn practical tips for getting more bookings both on Airbnb and other OTAs.
Build an Effective Pricing Strategy
To set your rental prices, you'll need to consider your costs, what the competition is doing, and what will help you make a profit. This hard work is ultimately for your own benefit!
Take Advantage of Diverse Platforms
The best way to market your short-term rental is to list it on an online marketplace like Airbnb, VRBO, or Booking.com. These platforms reach a global audience of potential guests, making it easy to find guests for your property.
It's important to use platforms like Airbnb when you're just starting out, but you shouldn't become too reliant on any one platform or channel. There are many different OTAs to choose from, including international, regional, and niche channels.
This means that you should try out different channels (such as different websites or marketing strategies) to see which ones work best for your business in terms of generating inquiries and bookings. At the end of each season, you can drop the channels that aren't working well and add new ones until you find the perfect mix.
Be a Responsive Host
The speed at which you respond to messages and inquiries from potential guests is vital for two reasons; firstly, it creates a good impression and shows that you are attentive and reliable. Secondly, the Airbnb algorithm takes response time into account when ranking listings in search results, so the quicker you respond, the more likely you are to be seen by potential guests.
Likewise, the Airbnb algorithm also considers your response rate, so if you consistently reply to messages and inquiries, your listing will be more visible in search results. This means that if you're a host on Airbnb, it's essential to respond to messages quickly to stay near the top of the search results.
Include Exceptional Photography
If you're not getting any inquiries or bookings for your vacation rental, it might be time to look at your photography. Go through your photos and ask yourself if you would want to book your accommodation based on your vacation rental photography.
There are a few things you can do to make your images more bookable:
1. Use a high-quality camera to take clear, well-lit photos.
2. Edit your photos to make them look their best.
3. Make sure your photos accurately represent your home.
4. Use descriptive captions to help potential guests understand what they see.
5. Offer a virtual tour of your home so guests can see it before they book.
Highlight Your Best Features
Your Airbnb description is integral to your listing because it is one of the first things potential guests will see. You want to make sure that your description is interesting and inspires potential guests to want to stay in your listing.
Enable Instant Booking
This means that when someone wants to book a stay at your property, they can do so without having to wait for you to confirm the booking. This can save a lot of time and hassle, and it can also help to increase your bookings.
The Instant Booking feature on TripAdvisor is popular among guests, with statistics showing that at least 40 percent of travelers expect to be able to book rentals instantly. If a rental listing does not have Instant Booking enabled, it will not appear in search results.
Conclusion
There are a few things you can do to get more bookings on online travel agencies. First, make sure your property is listed on as many agencies as possible. In addition, keep your rates competitive. Following these and other tips can increase your bookings and earn more revenue.
If you want Airbnb explained and to maximize your property’s earnings, turn to BeyondBNB.io. We help Airbnb hosts who want to list on multiple booking websites but don't know how or want help getting started the easy way. Join us for our next free training event, where we’ll detail how we've helped hosts increase their earnings by up to 389 percent.