Not getting many bookings.. Please help!

[Gulliver R.]

Hi all,

I have a 4 bedroom STR in Indio, CA. I listed it on Airbnb and VRBO about a month ago from today. So far I've gotten one booking that has already happened and two future bookings. Other than that: crickets. I have great photos (clear, bright, well positioned), it's in a great area where people love going to for Coachella and Stage Coach music festivals, there's a beautiful pool and hot tub with lounge chairs, I have Instant Booking on both Airbnb and VRBO, I have nice furniture and decorations, and I have the nightly prices slightly below my competitors. I know that this market has seasonality but I didn't think it would be this bad. Any advice to get more bookings?

Thank you,

Gulliver

[Mark Miles]

Quote from @Gulliver R.:

Hi all,

I have a 4 bedroom STR in Indio, CA. I listed it on Airbnb and VRBO about a month ago from today. So far I've gotten one booking that has already happened and two future bookings. Other than that: crickets. I have great photos (clear, bright, well positioned), it's in a great area where people love going to for Coachella and Stage Coach music festivals, there's a beautiful pool and hot tub with lounge chairs, I have Instant Booking on both Airbnb and VRBO, I have nice furniture and decorations, and I have the nightly prices slightly below my competitors. I know that this market has seasonality but I didn't think it would be this bad. Any advice to get more bookings?

Thank you,

Gulliver

 Offer the lowest price in your market until you get a few reviews

[Mark Miles]

Quote from @Gulliver R.:

Hi all,

I have a 4 bedroom STR in Indio, CA. I listed it on Airbnb and VRBO about a month ago from today. So far I've gotten one booking that has already happened and two future bookings. Other than that: crickets. I have great photos (clear, bright, well positioned), it's in a great area where people love going to for Coachella and Stage Coach music festivals, there's a beautiful pool and hot tub with lounge chairs, I have Instant Booking on both Airbnb and VRBO, I have nice furniture and decorations, and I have the nightly prices slightly below my competitors. I know that this market has seasonality but I didn't think it would be this bad. Any advice to get more bookings?

Thank you,

Gulliver

 Offer the lowest price in your market until you get a few reviews

[Collin Hays]

Quote from @Mark Miles:

Quote from @Gulliver R.:

Hi all,

I have a 4 bedroom STR in Indio, CA. I listed it on Airbnb and VRBO about a month ago from today. So far I've gotten one booking that has already happened and two future bookings. Other than that: crickets. I have great photos (clear, bright, well positioned), it's in a great area where people love going to for Coachella and Stage Coach music festivals, there's a beautiful pool and hot tub with lounge chairs, I have Instant Booking on both Airbnb and VRBO, I have nice furniture and decorations, and I have the nightly prices slightly below my competitors. I know that this market has seasonality but I didn't think it would be this bad. Any advice to get more bookings?

Thank you,

Gulliver

 Offer the lowest price in your market until you get a few reviews

 You’re too expensive.  Probably considerably so.

[Bruce Woodruff]

You say you already have the lowest prices.....? Try lowering them to a very low amount. Like if average is $150 night, try $75....if you still get few bookings then you know it's not the $$.

And remember your prime season is just now starting....Even with a pool, you are not going to get many bookings in the summer months, May 15 - Sept 15...

[Michael Baum]

Hey @Gulliver R., the first year of any new STR will be lean. You have some competition in the Indio area. They have reviews and feedback to help drive their bookings. It will take some time but you will get there.

It isn't a terrible idea to lower the nightly rate, but be prepare to get some dregs for guests. Call you handyperson and have them ready to move to repair and make sure your cleaner knows. Of course you won't know until they head out, but it is a good idea to give them a heads up.

[Luke Carl]

Prices are too high pictures stink 

[Michael Baum]

After quick look, a lot of places have reduced their nightly rate, all the places are similar to your description of your place and some are under $100 a night. Just an FYI.

[Gulliver R.]

Okay I just lowered the nightly rate for the next four months. Crossing fingers that my results will change for the good. Thanks again for all the feedback, I really appreciate it!

-Gulliver

[Erik Stenbakken]

Yes, you need to have lower rates on average then your competition for the first little bit. Those warnings about you getting the dregs of guests? It’s true. When you have the lowest price and a new listing, it’s often the worst guests you’ll ever have. 

Be  carefulabout lowering your rates for too long into the future. The trend right now is to book very close to stay-dates. If you start getting a bunch of bookings, incrementally raise your prices. It is a very fine balance between getting bookings and giving them away. But in the beginning, you have to get them somehow!

[Patricia Steiner]

I know you just lowered the price but I don't recommend it. Price is significant when it comes to guest quality. I recommend changing your listing - the narrative and the photos.  If you like your photos and it appears you do, change the positioning - and maybe use fewer or add more.  And, remember that the listing is to be targeted to the intended guest so it may need to be more edgy than not.  Hope this helps and keep the faith...everything has slowed down a tad.  

[Dan Maciejewski]

Get to know your seasonality and how that affects your pricing trends.  You will also have a pretty standard booking window for the property type and season.  Usually 4-6 weeks, sometimes a tad longer.  If you know, and drop your rates before everyone else, you should get the 1st bookings for that month.

But, as always, especially when you're new, if you don't have bookings (and/or great ratings) you are priced too high.  Hire a top Realtor's favorite photographer, stage and decorate beautifully and write great copy,  Offer a new property discount and give those guests amazing service.  Get those 5-star reviews so the algorhythms like you.

[Taylor Adams]

Great points @Dan Maciejewski! 

Something that isn't clear to a lot of new STR investors is that you need a lot of good reviews before you can compete with the established listings. Some people say you need 50 reviews before the place can perform at top level. Think about it from a guests perspective. Would you rather book a house with 1 review or a house with 100 reviews? Even if the house with 1 review had 5 stars, you might trust the house with a hundred 4.5 star reviews more because it's been tested by more people.

I agree with the points about discounting the stays, having great listing pictures, and giving them a great (and clean!) stay. That'll get you the reviews you need to have more solid bookings.

[Michael Baum]

Yeah, I don't agree about the 50 reviews. At least 1/2 of our guests don't leave reviews. We were rocking after about 10 5 star reviews all with the same positive comments.

[Don Konipol]

Quote from @Luke Carl:

Prices are too high pictures stink 

LOL.  LOVE the above, short and right to the point! LOL 

[Don Konipol]

You need to do more than just list with Airbnb and VRBO.  You need to draw potential renters to your listing.  Use social media, paid advertising, secondary booking sites, direct email, forum discussions, chamber of commerce, etc.

Listen, STR is NOT a stand alone INVESTMENT like LTR. It is a BUSINESS ,with an investment component. A business needs active management, marketing, sales, etc. to be successful. Possibly, once your business reaches a certain level, you may be able to put it on "auto pilot", to a degree. But, unless it's 2013, or you've got a house in the hottest vacation market in the U.S., you have to treat it like any other business that requires active participation.

[Mark Futalan]

@Gulliver R.

We have 2 properties in neighboring La Quinta. Rates and bookings have definitely slowed but in normal non Covid times, August-September and some October are typically slower. Definitely not what we’ve been used to seeing from the past 2 years. If your a new listing, I’d definitely try to get as much 5 star reviews first and be lower than your competition on ADR.

[Sarah Sass]

Superhost status makes a noticeable difference when it comes to getting bookings. Can you find a superhost to cohost your listing?

If you have friends willing to visit your place, have them request your place for a stay on a set of unbooked weekdays. You can send them a special offer for as low as $10 and Venmo them $10. You’ll receive most of the money back via Airbnb. They can then review your place in a detailed and honest manner. Depending on the visit, it may cost you a half cleaning fee.

I recently launched my second AirBnB. The first two days saw some bookings. That’s from the algorithm prioritizing brand new listings. After that, I hit a lull in bookings and my prices dropped to dirt cheap with damage-prone guests. Once I made it to 13 reviews, things began picking up again with 5-star rated guests. I’ll echo the need for a gifted handy person at the ready. 

[Gulliver R.]

All of these are gold. Thank you! Yah I have a repair guys that's pretty reliable. Thankfully! And I've lowered my nightly rate for a handful of months and I've already got some bookings now. Thanks y'all! Now I hope the 5 star ratings start to roll in.