# of guests in STR Listing-Gatlinburg

[Rudy Schmidt]

So as most investors in the Smokies can attest to, numbers have been down.  May is not shaping up to be a great month, but I was wondering if changing my # of guest from 10 to 8 would help with search optimization on the booking platforms.  Might be a stupid idea, but just looking for some insight.  This year alone it seems I get a lot more bookings on airbnb vs vrbo.  I am a premier host and super host on both platforms, but  when I search my property on VRBO it seems further down on the search.  Also any other ideas to help promote properties would be appreciated.

Thanks

[Collin Hays]

I would think that reducing the number of guests would reduce the number of inquiries. 

As for VRBO versus Airbnb, generally speaking, VRBO is going to get more views in the Smokies than will Airbnb. If you go to Google and type in a typical search for Smoky Mountains Cabins, Gatlinburg cabins, etc., VRBO is always ranked higher - typically in the top 2 or 3 - than AirBnb.  AirBnb is quite a bit down the page on this particular search.