long distance Short Term Rental -slow start, setting expectations

[Matt I.]

I purchased a long distance short term rental from a 'turnkey' provider back in December 2021. I went through the purchase process 100% remote, and my property manager has been doing the set up and staging. 

After being listed for almost a month now, I have approximately 10 days booked for the month of April. Meanwhile many of my nearby comps are mostly booked for the spring and early summer months. 

Since I'm new to the STR game I don't really know what to expect. Is this an abnormally slow start or am I expecting too much? Here are 3 reasons why I feel like I'm not getting traction:

1. I have no reviews yet. 

2. My comps are either waterfront (I'm across the street from the river, not directly adjacent), or have lots of fun furnishings such as pool tables, fuseball, ping pong, bikes, canoes, etc. 

3. The listing has some weird provisions, such as: no toilet paper/paper towels/garbage bags are supplied. 3 night minimum stay (is this typical?). and there's a note that says 'this listing is geared towards mid/long term stays'.. this was all published by the property manager and some of this verbiage doesn't sit well with me (as someone who has stayed in many airBNB's in the last several years) 

Due to the reasons I list above, we dropped the booking price to be below the local average ($99/night). While I'm hoping more bookings come as Spring approaches, and I can accumulate some good reviews, hope is a terrible investment strategy and I need to improve this listing soon so I can take advantage of peak rental season.

Here is my airBNB Listing

Any feedback would be appreciated. I recognize I need professional photography, but I'm holding off until I can add more items to the property such as night stands, dressers, and misc. items as mentioned in #2 above. I will likely have to spend a week or two at the property, which I'm planning for in April.

For background: My market is a small river town 30 minutes north of Green bay, known for its fishing/boating/hunting and local ATV trails. While Spring and Summer are peak booking times, I can also expect winter bookings for GB Packers games. 

Thanks!

Matt