What makes a successful Airbnb listing?

Considering the average Airbnb property owner makes an annual profit of $9,600, it’s no surprise that many people are looking to use the platform to bolster their earnings. However, this is easier said than done, and having a beautiful property alone isn’t enough to secure bookings. 

What helps people find, learn about, and book your space is the listing, which is entirely free to set up. A great listing can be the difference between somebody staying at your property or not, which is why optimizing it is important to help you stand out from the competition. 

But what makes a successful Airbnb listing exactly? There are several elements to perfect, from the photos and staging of your property to leveraging positive reviews. It is possible to hire an Airbnb management company to take care of this for you, allowing you to focus your time elsewhere. Take Frank Porter, whose “in-house writing team and professional photography team will create the perfect profile to appeal to guests.” However, for those who want to know how to handle this themselves, here’s how to create a great Airbnb listing. 

1. Take fantastic photos

Not only are photos the first thing prospective guests notice when looking at an Airbnb listing, but they’re also the part they spend the most time looking at. They should excite potential guests, creating an inspirational vision of what staying in your property would be like. This means the photos must be of high quality and show your rental at its best.

Taking the photos 

The first step to achieving this is to spruce up your space by cleaning it and adding small touches to emphasize its comfort. For example, you may want to include flowers, a coffee cup on your dining table, or a throw blanket on an image of a sofa.

When it comes to actually taking the photos, be sure to use a good-quality camera and have one consistent style. Doing so in natural light is preferable. Also, add some pictures of a couple of nearby landmarks and the street on which your property is located to help viewers further visualize their stay.

Listing the photos

When creating your listing, it is recommended to include a photo of each room and to prioritize your property’s best features in the first five images to put your best foot forward. Whether it’s your fireplace, rooftop views, hot tub, or incredible garden, having these at the front of your listing will help entice people to your property. You may want to add captions to these pictures for further context.

2. Provide an accurate and detailed title and description

Pictures don’t tell the whole story, and you’ll need to give a written title and description of your property to give prospective guests a more well-rounded overview, which will help set their expectations.

Your listing title

The listing title is the first to come up in the results and should accurately describe your property while showing off its most essential features. Airbnb has now limited these listings to just 32 characters for mobile phone users, so you need to do this in very few words. Some examples of inspiration include.

• Romantic countryside cottage
• Beachfront villa near [location]
• Spacious 4BR near [location]

Your description

Your property description is a concise overview for your guests to read before they look at the listing details — you get 500 characters, which is between 70 and 120 words. We recommend following a structure: a brief introduction including the property’s selling points, room by descriptions, an outdoor space summary, and a few words about the local area.  

As well as being informative, accuracy is critical — you shouldn’t oversell your property, which could lead to refunds if it doesn’t deliver. You also want to use the right tone of voice, like a casual and friendly tone for a holiday home, and a more formal and sophisticated tone for a city apartment, for instance.

3. Create an excellent host profile 

Your host profile helps people learn more about you before they book your property. By fleshing this out, it will make them feel assured that you’re reliable and authentic. 

Add a description and a photo.

Like with your property, you’ll want to add a description of yourself, plus a photo. We recommend using around 50 words to describe yourself, including your hobbies and interests, the countries you’ve visited, and why you decided to become a host. Your profile photo should be professional yet positive and approachable, where your face is obvious. This will help guests know who will be welcoming them to the property.

Verify yourself

To further help build trust and ease guest fears about booking with you and eliminate fake listing scams, you’ll want to verify your profile. You can do this by.  

• Uploading an existing photo of your ID (like a driver’s license or passport)
• Taking a photo of yourself
• Adding your legal first and last name
• Specifying your legal address (this should match your billing address). 

4. Get five-star reviews

With travelers reading an average of 17 reviews before booking a holiday, a high property star rating is crucial for a successful listing. This will ensure it ranks higher on Airbnb search. As well as your star rating, guests can leave up to 1000 words of feedback. So how do you ensure these reviews are positive?

• Set expectations - While you don’t need the perfect property to get five-star reviews, you should be honest about any flaws. Guests will be disappointed if you exaggerate your home’s amenities or omit crucial details, something that can result in negative feedback.

• Respond quickly - Communicating with guests rapidly shows that you care and helps to make their experience smoother. You don’t want someone to spend half their stay waiting for a response, particularly if they need you to take action, like getting something fixed. 

• Offer an exceptional experience - This is perhaps the most obvious point here, but it’s also the most important. As well as ensuring your property is clean and stocked with amenities, thoughtful touches like adding a local flavor to your rental and tailoring the experience towards guests can go a long way to ensuring a great stay. 

Other valuable steps to take include asking for reviews and reviewing your guests, with the latter making them more likely to return the favor.  

By following the above steps, you’ll be able to create an excellent Airbnb listing that will surely bring boundless bookings.