Lack of Reservations

[Diana37]

I've been hosting for a year -- very nice central neighborhood in DC. Adequate number of guests.  All of them lovely, interesting people.  No problems.  Abruptly I have no reservations after June.  This time last year I had them well into September.  It is a real problem as I rely on this to pay my rent. I am 74 & crippled, & really have no financial alternative.

Why am I not getting reservations?  A friend who reads the business part of newspapers says it is the Trump effect, that DC is having a real downturn in reservations.  Is this true? Are other DC hosts seeing fewer reservations?  Is there something in Airbnb coding on the website that I cannot see blocking reservations?

https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/11658294?s=gB3CQNHN

Diana

[Linda108]

@Diana37  Are familiar with the Home Sharing Clubs?  Air BNB hosts in an area share information and support.  Here is the link to the DC Club.  Very active club because of all the new regulations in the area.

https://community.withairbnb.com/t5/DC-Home-Sharing-Club/gp-p/en_dc

[Diana37]

Thanks for this.

Diana

[Debra104]

I am experiencing this same problem with lack of reservations.  My home is not in the D.C. area, I am in Tennessee.  This time last year I had several bookings for January and February and for most of the year.  I, to, rely on the income to help pay the mortagage.  I am a superhost and have gotten great reviews, so, that shouldn't be the issue.  It seems strange that all of a sudden the reservations have completely stopped.  AIRbnb tells me that this happens and that I should experiment with changing the rate, which is within the rate range they recommend.  I don't want to take the rate much lower, otherwise, it could change my clientel. They tell me to advertise on a third party site, or use Youtube or a blog, which I don't have a clue on how to establish.  

To me there is more to this problem than the suggestions they are giving.  Can someone give me some insight on this issue?

Debra

[John1080]

@Debra104, it is said often on this forum and around the web that constantly tweaking the listing helps push one's listing up. I do not know if this is true or not, but I do it anyway because I'm always trying to perfect things. 

I often change the order of my photos, change my title, reword things in the text, add text, etc.  Also, altering the price a few dollars here and there on the calendar continually is said to help.  

Again, I do not know if there is any truth to this, but worth a try?