Pricing question

[Caroline210]

Hi, I am Caroline. I listed my first property at the end of September and started to host in October. Encouraged by the many inquiries and a few bookings, In the past month, I have put a lot efforts into it, getting new furnitures and nice mattress, buying towels and bedding, putting new decorations, buying new coffee machines, iron set, hair dryer, setting up backyard as playground, getting cables, etc. I had 5 bookings and hosted two groups of guests in October, both left with great reviews.However, going to the second month, the business is completely dead. For about 10 day period, I got only one inquiry, which turned into booking, but only for 1 day and for 10 people.

I turned on instant booking, changed my policy to allow one day booking almost any time, checking almost all amenities... Nothing worked. I tried to lower price significantly, not working. Then I tried to increase price thinking that my right audience might have their price starting point higher, not working.

One thing really puzzled me is that when I tried to set the price low for 2 people, and set extra charge for each additional person, when guests booking it, they see the price for the number of guests the book, but the price rule still shows $20 per person per night for additional guests after 2, that is misleading since the price has already reflected the additional charges.

Extra people for the listing is a lot work: moving beds, making beds, bathroom essentials, breakfast, washing sheets and bedding so I do feel it is important not to charge same for 2 people or for 12 people.

That is why I really want to keep the price low for less people, but is there anyone who knows how to adjust the setting so the price rule could show the right message?

[Alice-and-Jeff0]

@Caroline0, your question is a bit confusing - right now your listing shows that the per night fee is $208 with an extra charge of $20 a night per person starting at guest #3.  This means if 4 people book, the price per night will be $248.   If you have a full home with 12 people, the price per night will be $408.  Is this what you are expecting because I'm not sure what message problem you are experiencing.  

Personally, if I were 2 people staying in the home, the $100 cleaning fee would deter me because, frankly, for 2 folks, I don't need that much room or the expense of $308 for a night.  I could stay in a pretty fancy hotel for that price. If you only want a full-house rental, you are only going to appeal to large groups.  This will limit your potential guest pool. If you create listings for each bedroom and rent them out separately, you can have several "sets" of guests in the house at the same time, co-sharing the space, and have smaller, incremental income for one or two rooms instead of an empty home and no income.  Just my 2 cents.  

After a quick search of West Covina, you are priced at the high end of the rental market there which could be a challenge when you are competing for clients. You may consider going with Airbnb's recommended price.  

Good luck!

[Caroline210]

Thanks a lot Alice & Jeff, for the prompt response. I changed the price to this only yesterday. Before my price is lower than the recommended price.
My question is that when the guests do search in my area for a cforertain number of guests, e.g.10 people, they see my listing with the price of $368(208+8*20）；but when the go to see my detailed listing, they see $20 per person after 2 persons; they would think that they have to pay $367+$160=529 and stop looking further

[Ann72]

This is what I see when I request to book.  The math seems accurate.

[Caroline210]

The guests might not request it because they read the house rule of $20 extra 

[Caroline210]

Hi, Alice & Jeff, thanks again!  Now I think about your advice, I will just do it!  It is much easier to handle the canlendar than waiting and trying to find ways to improve and promote!  I will create new listing today!  Greatly appreciate your advice!

[Ann72]

I do not think you should lower your price for this gorgeous place.  3,000 square feet requires a lot of cleaning, and your cleaning fee is on target.  I have a high cleaning fee, but I have a 3-night minimum, which softens the blow.  Just be patient.  Not everyone needs a big house, especially one or two people.  You won't have bookings every week or even every month, but if you keep your price at a good level you'll still see decent income.  

As a fan of "Crazy Ex-Girlfriend," I now know where West Covina, California is.  🙂  Maybe your guidebook should offer "Crazy Ex-Girlfriend" filming locations!  

[Caroline210]

Thank you very much Ann for the message and advice!  I will do that!  I felt to be a perfectionist, it is very hard to do hosting.  Everyday I just think about new stuff to improve my property, which is really tiring when see no results.  It's very comforting to see your comments.  Thank you!

[Caroline210]

Hi Ann, I forgot to mention that my own house is only 2 houses away from where they shot crazy ex girlfriend indoor in West Covina.  My dad's house, the listing, is almost a mile away.  Last month I did receive a request for shooting but I was new and was afraid of scam so I turned it down.  Come to visit and stay with me!

[David126]

Which other booking sites are you listed on?

[Caroline210]

David, I only started and have not listed it on any other site yet.

[David126]

I have seen people with listings like yours on AirBnB but have always assumed they were looking for additional exposure.

Not sure AirBnB would be my first, or only choice.

[Caroline210]

Hi David, I am very new to hosting and not sure if it worth the efforts yet.  Maybe I should try other venues or just give up.  Thanks for the advice!

[Florencia0]

Hi Caroline,

Airbnb has a lot of hooks that help you boost your ranking but once you are hooked you ranking rolls back to your previous state. (the ranking benefit slowly starts to decrease) 

Example of this hooks are:

1) New listing. 

2) Instant Booking

3) Lower your base price / weekly & monthly discounts

4) Using Smart Pricing

5) Moving to a more relaxed cancellation policy

Those are all hooks. It helps you get comfortable with that feature and why not to raise the voice so that others use it as well.

"I have switched to IB last week and I got 5 new bookings. Amazing!"

Of course, all of this hooks work better in highly saturate markets where the views per day are low and crucial to get a new reservation. Airbnb will find a more hard time engaging hosts to switch to IB in a small town with a few listings than in New York or Paris.

[Caroline210]

I did try 2,3,5 and did not see any change.  I might try smart pricing because my price is actually lower than recommended price anyway.  Thanks!