5 low-cost ways to improve your Airbnb listing

The old adage, “You have to spend money to make money” doesn’t always hold up. Take your Airbnb (or VRBO or HomeAway or other short-term rental) listing, for example. There are plenty of inexpensive ways you can improve your listing in order to get more bookings. Often, giving your time and careful attention to your listing is worth much more than anything money can buy. Here are a few ideas.

1. Make sure your photos are the very best they can be.

Photos are the first thing potential guests see when they look at your property, and they’re a huge factor in enticing customers to book with you. So they need to be high quality and show your property in its best possible light.

If you don’t have the budget to hire a professional photographer, there’s plenty you can do on your own to create better photos:

• Be sure your place looks great before you even think about taking photos. Take the time to get everything spotlessly clean and decluttered so the space looks as fresh and welcoming as possible.
• Use good lighting. Shoot your photos during the day and turn on all lighting sources to shed as much as light on the scene as possible.
• Use a great camera. If you don’t have one, chances are you may be able to borrow a professional camera — or even a high-quality smartphone camera — from friends or family.
• Highlight details. While you want to thoroughly capture the main spaces of the property, focusing on key details — a fireplace, for example, or a balcony with a view — can really offer a sense of your property’s individuality.
• Take plenty of photos of different subjects — inside and outside — at a variety of angles. Shoot far more photos than you think you’ll actually need so you can choose the very best for your listing.

2. Make the most out of reviews.

While photos are paramount in getting guests to choose your rental, reviews are key as well. Potential guests want to have unbiased information of what it’s like to stay in your property, so they pay close attention to previous guests’ reviews.

Especially when you’re starting out with your rental property, it can be very helpful to send guests a note thanking them for their stay and asking them to write a review. This reinforces a personal connection and motivates them to leave positive comments.

Once a guest has left a review, it’s also important to respond. If the review was positive, it’s a nice gesture to thank the guest. You should also leave positive reviews of guests to keep the good vibes flowing.

Even if a review is negative, how you respond can make a huge difference. When responding to a negative review, it’s important to stay positive and professional. Don’t get defensive; gently correct any misunderstandings and state what you have done/are doing to correct the situation. If you make it clear in your response that you truly care about your guests, even a negative review can allow potential guests to see that you’ll offer them a great experience.

3. Create a stellar description.

A great description of your property can work together with photos and reviews to create a 360-degree view of why potential guests should book with you. It’s worth the time to make sure you’re giving customers all the information they need to make a decision — and that they’re motivated to decide in your favor.

That means thinking about your property from a guest’s point of view. What do they need to know? What questions are they likely to ask? Provide clear information on the basics, including details such as sleeping arrangements, parking, proximity to nearby attractions, and included amenities.

As with photos, it’s also helpful to include some highlights. What makes your property unique? What features will be exciting to guests on an emotional level? You don’t want to go overboard with your description, but offering some detail helps your listing to stand out.

And while you want to paint as rosy a picture of your place as possible, it’s also important to be accurate and manage expectations. Exaggerations, misinformation, or even omission of important facts will only come back to haunt you when it comes to review time.

4. Make communication personal and prompt.

Any communication with prospective guests is a chance to land a booking — and communication with current guests also offers opportunities for future business via repeat bookings, referrals, and good reviews.

From the moment communication begins, it’s important that you respond quickly in a professional, yet friendly and helpful tone. It’s particularly crucial to be sure that you or someone else is easily reachable during guests’ stays in order to quickly address any problems or concerns.

For many people, part of the appeal of using a short-term rental is the personal interaction with the host. Your communication style can really enhance a rental experience for guests.

5. Be certain your pricing strategy is on point.

No matter how great your listing looks, if the price isn’t right, you may be missing out on potential bookings — or leaving money on the table. It’s a good practice to regularly check out competitors’ prices to make sure you’re in the right ballpark. If you’re a new listing, it can be helpful to adjust your prices slightly lower to attract initial guests, but if your prices are completely out of alignment with similar properties, prospective guests may wonder why.

You should also be aware of special events in your area that will create high demand, and plan ahead to price accordingly. Keep in mind that you may be able to charge more for weekend bookings or during high season, while weekday and low-season prices may be lower.

Investing your time

Even if you don’t have a big budget for your short-term rental listing, you can get great results simply by putting the effort in to make your listing as good as it can be. Keeping your guests’ needs in mind in every aspect of your listing goes a long way. Investing your time into creating a great listing is an investment that will pay off for your rental business.