Review my AirBNB listing (thanks in advance!)

Cape Cod, Massachusetts
Short-Term & Vacation Rental Discussions
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Review my AirBNB listing (thanks in advance!)

Dale BertrandPro Member
Member since 2021 · 41 posts · 17 votes

Please review my listing!

We rent a four-bedroom house in Harwich, MA, as an STR. The house is on Cape Cod, a beach community that is wildly popular in July/August. We are always fully booked for around $600 per night in July/August.

The problem is:  We need more bookings in the spring and fall when demand is lower. I'm open to changing the listing, updating our pricing, adding amenities, or anything else that would lead to more spring and fall bookings.

We allow pets, so that's been a big draw for this house. The house isn't exactly walkable to the beach. When I walk to the beach, it's about a mile away. However, there are restaurants, bars, family activities (mini-golf, go-carts, etc.), and a wonderful supermarket that is close by and walkable (2-3 blocks away).

The reviews are excellent, and we are currently superhosts. We expect to lose superhost status in April because we had to cancel a booking (my mistake).

Thank you in advance for your feedback on my listing...

https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/614622614795146757

https://www.vrbo.com/2796499

Also, the VRBO/AirBnB ranking stats are concerning. I think conversion is low because most people are looking for a weekend stay in July/August, but we have a 7-night minimum stay in July/August, so they bounce off our listing page (just a guess). We get 1 or 2 inquiries per day for weekend stays in July/August that we can't accommodate.

- Dale

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  • Dale BertrandPro Member
    OP
    Member since 2021 · 41 posts · 17 votes
    2y

    The VRBO ranking stats for our STR are concerning:

    0Reply
  • Dale BertrandPro Member
    OP
    Member since 2021 · 41 posts · 17 votes
    2y

    Our AirBnb stats:

    0Reply
  • Dale BertrandPro Member
    OP
    Member since 2021 · 41 posts · 17 votes
    2y

    Also, we've never tried instant book. We're afraid we'll get parties.

    0Reply
  • Michael BaumPro Member
    Olympia, WA · Member since 2016 · 8k+ posts · 7k+ votes
    2y

    Hey @Dale Bertrand. So have you tried using Pricelabs to automatically adjust pricing?

    Is there any particular reason for the 7 night minimum stay?

    I also don't use instant book. I want to chat with folks to see if they are on the up and up.

    0Reply
  • Dale BertrandPro Member
    OP
    Member since 2021 · 41 posts · 17 votes
    2y

    @Michael Baum We are using pricelabs, but I noticed today that every day is priced the same. So I need to make sure it's working.

    The 7 night stay is to ensure that we rent 100% of the nights during the high season. Also, it tends to ensure much better renters--families on vacation, not groups of eight partying for the weekend.

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  • Michael BaumPro Member
    Olympia, WA · Member since 2016 · 8k+ posts · 7k+ votes
    2y

    Hmmm. I would get in communication with Pricelabs and see what they say.

    We have a 3 night minimum and usually have no trouble filling up. We are also a seasonal rental from late April to Oct. Otherwise just Thanksgiving and Christmas/New Year.

    You should be able to adjust the nightly rates for the off season.

    0Reply
  • Nathan M kiefer
    Rental Property Investor · south carolina and michigan · Member since 2023 · 348 posts · 226 votes
    2y
    Quote from @Dale Bertrand:

    Please review my listing!

    We rent a four-bedroom house in Harwich, MA, as an STR. The house is on Cape Cod, a beach community that is wildly popular in July/August. We are always fully booked for around $600 per night in July/August.

    The problem is:  We need more bookings in the spring and fall when demand is lower. I'm open to changing the listing, updating our pricing, adding amenities, or anything else that would lead to more spring and fall bookings.

    We allow pets, so that's been a big draw for this house. The house isn't exactly walkable to the beach. When I walk to the beach, it's about a mile away. However, there are restaurants, bars, family activities (mini-golf, go-carts, etc.), and a wonderful supermarket that is close by and walkable (2-3 blocks away).

    The reviews are excellent, and we are currently superhosts. We expect to lose superhost status in April because we had to cancel a booking (my mistake).

    Thank you in advance for your feedback on my listing...

    https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/614622614795146757

    https://www.vrbo.com/2796499

    Also, the VRBO/AirBnB ranking stats are concerning. I think conversion is low because most people are looking for a weekend stay in July/August, but we have a 7-night minimum stay in July/August, so they bounce off our listing page (just a guess). We get 1 or 2 inquiries per day for weekend stays in July/August that we can't accommodate.

    - Dale


     Not a big fan of VRBO but is location specific. Our stats suck as well, we have 3 day minimum and we have no problem filling up in busy season, more and more people want the freedom to pick their vacation durations.

    other than that it looks great to me except doesn't really show outside until you start clicking through the listing. It always feels to me like an apartment view when you start with interiors, just my opinion. 

    your house is awesome though and looks like you take great care of it and the guests 

    0Reply
  • Dale BertrandPro Member
    OP
    Member since 2021 · 41 posts · 17 votes
    2y
    Quote from @Michael Baum:

    Hmmm. I would get in communication with Pricelabs and see what they say.

    We have a 3 night minimum and usually have no trouble filling up. We are also a seasonal rental from late April to Oct. Otherwise just Thanksgiving and Christmas/New Year.

    You should be able to adjust the nightly rates for the off season.

    Thanks for the feedback. Do you think dropping the 7 night min would help us?  IOW, our acceptance rate would go up.
    0Reply
  • Wilson Vanhook
    Rental Property Investor · Oklahoma City · Member since 2021 · 108 posts · 103 votes
    2y

    Remove the couple of blurry photos from the listing. Add photo descriptions. Have chat gpt refactor your listing description - use bullet points for most of the information as it’ll be easier to read.

    Priecelabs offers training videos, watch a bunch and dial in your pricing strategy. They also have technical reps that will do a 1-on-1 call to help with your pricing settings.

    On Airbnb, add length of stay pricing discounts to guests for 3, 4, 5, 7, and 30 nights. Tier up the discount the longer guests book with you. On VRBO, apply weekly and monthly discounts.

    0Reply
  • Michael BaumPro Member
    Olympia, WA · Member since 2016 · 8k+ posts · 7k+ votes
    2y

    Hey @Dale Bertrand, I would try 3 day stay minimum. It will keep the local party folks away and get some of those folks looking for mid week 3 or 4 night stays. We get a lot of those folks.

    0Reply
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