A Guide on Proper Airbnb Listing Management (2024)

Airbnb Listing Management: How To Stand Out and Get Bookings 

When it comes to running a short-term rental business, listing your property on Airbnb is only the tip of the iceberg. There’s also the process of managing your listing, optimizing it for the most views, and using it to drive more sales. Through our Airbnb listing tips, provided by seasoned Airbnb property managers, we’ll walk you through everything you need to know about Airbnb listings to make yours stand out and get more bookings!

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How To Write A Good Airbnb Listing 

There are over 7.7million listings on Airbnb, and making your property stand out takes more than just listing your property on the platform. You want to write a good Airbnb listing — one that is eye-catching, descriptive, and highlights your unique selling point (USP). Here are five elements to consider when writing a good listing on Airbnb:

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Unique 

When making your listing, you want to stand out, and the quickest way to do that is to keep things unique. How? 

• Use props in styling your space. 

• Incorporate local accents in your styling. 

• Upload high-resolution photos that showcase the features of your space.  

• Use images that are at least 1024px x 683px. When in doubt, the bigger the image, the better. 

• Take pictures from different angles, capturing the size and ambiance of your space. 

• Show off your amenities. And if you have accents or displays, make sure you capture those clearly in photos. 

• Write attractive titles and descriptions. 

• Write with your audience in mind. Who is your target market? What are they likely looking for in a property? (Business travelers might prefer workspaces, families may be looking for children-friendly spaces, and fur parents want pet-friendly spaces.) 

• Use simple but descriptive words (cozy, rustic, pet-friendly, etc.). 

• Avoid using special characters repeatedly (!!!, ?!, ***, etc.).

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Brief 

No one likes to read lengthy paragraphs about a property they’re still considering. The goal is to convey in as few words as possible what your property has to offer. Keep it short and sweet. Only include relevant details such as amenities and special features like WiFi speed, house rules, security devices, and guest manuals. This gives travelers a quick way of gauging their interest in your property — which helps attract the right audience.

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Story 

There’s a little bit of a romantic in all of us, some more than others. And when you give your property a story, you’re appealing to people’s emotions, drawing them into your property for what it’s about, what it represents. This can also be a unique selling point for your property, adding charm that is unique only to you.

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Realistic 

It’s important to highlight your property’s features to keep your listing unique. However, it’s equally important to be realistic and avoid exaggerating features. Doing so will only let your guests down, and their disappointment will show up in their reviews, discouraging others from booking your property.

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How To Optimize Listing on Airbnb 

Airbnb is a search engine that uses an algorithm to select listings that it will show on its results page. This means that there’s a way to do search engine optimization (SEO) to improve your listing’s visibility on its search results. Airbnb SEO involves updating your listing to best satisfy Airbnb’s algorithm, which can be done by making your listing appear on more searches and place higher on the results page.
To do these, you want to understand how Airbnb’s search results work. What are the factors its algorithm considers when presenting listings based on a guest’s search criteria? Let’s take a look at them below:

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Quality 

Airbnb assesses quality through these factors: 

• Listing photos 

• Ratings & reviews 

• Listing characteristics & amenities 

• Customer service 

• Cancellation policy 

Those that score better in terms of quality tend to rank higher on Airbnb’s search results. Therefore, it’s important that you: 

• Use high-resolution images with proper alt texts 

• Ask for guest reviews 

• Use relevant and high-ranking keywords in your title and description 

• Provide prompt and high-quality customer support 

• Offer full refunds for cancellations up to 24 hours before check-in

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Popularity 

The platform considers many factors when it comes to popularity. Below are some of the ones Airbnb hosts can use to optimize their listings: 

• Engagement: How often the property is saved on wishlists, and how often guests message the host.

• Booking frequency: How often guests book the property.

Those with higher engagement and higher booking frequency tend to rank higher on search.

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Price 

Another way to determine how “attractive” a listing is to guests is by analyzing its pricing using a variety of pricing data, including the total price per night of the listing, as well as how it compares to other listings in the area for the same dates. 
Those priced lower but with the same guest capacity and amenities tend to rank higher on the results page. That’s why it’s important to conduct your market research, assess your competitors’ pricing, and price yours accordingly.

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Location 

Another factor that influences the quality of stay is the location. Those in locations where guests like to stay, such as those often searched for, rank higher.
Similarly, proximity to landmarks, entertainment, and amenities tend to rank higher as well. While you can’t change your location, you can adjust your pricing and other factors mentioned above to help offset the downsides of your location.
For example, your property may be farther from the city center, but with better amenities and lower rates, you can still rank higher on search results.

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How To Get Your Airbnb Listing Noticed 

With millions of property listings on Airbnb, how do you get your property noticed by guests? While it helps to do SEO for Airbnb, there are still several things you can do that would attract guests to your property so you get yourself noticed, get higher engagement, and get more bookings:

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Optimizing your listing 

As mentioned earlier, SEO is the way to work with Airbnb’s algorithm and get your listing in front of your target audience. Through the use of great images, a well-written title and description, relevant keywords, great amenities, pricing, and location, you can make your listing show up on the search results page more often.

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Lower Your Price 

Another way to get your listing noticed is by offering a good deal. While price is a consideration when it comes to SEO, it’s also a great way to attract your target audience since most guests are looking for a way to stretch their money. 
While comparing your property to other Airbnb’s in the area with the same number of guests and location is a good rule of thumb, you can create limited-time offers or promos for long-term stays that will lower your price even more compared to your competition. This is a quick way to get your property noticed and urge guests to book a stay with your Airbnb.

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Get Five-star Reviews 

There’s no better validation of your Airbnb’s quality than the reviews from past guests. That’s why you want to make sure your guests have the best guest experience, so they can provide excellent reviews that will validate your property’s quality, attracting more guests to book at your place.
This means that managing your Airbnb doesn’t just stop with offering the best service and delighting your guests, there’s also the after-sales management, which involves reaching out to guests and asking for feedback. And when you do, ask them to give you five-star ratings if they had a great stay. Not only is this going to get your reviews and ratings, you’re also likely to get insights into what you can focus more of or highlight so you can further improve your service and further optimize your Airbnb listing.

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Activate Instant Book 

A feature of Airbnb is instant book, which allows guests to book your property without needing approval. Because many guests like convenience, most use filters to search for listings that can be booked instantly. This means you appear more often on search results. It also means you improve your listing’s response rate and improve your placement on search results. 

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Expand Your Amenities 

When writing an Airbnb listing, it’s best practice to highlight your amenities because not only will it allow your Airbnb to show up on more searches, you’ll also make your guests’ stay more comfortable and memorable, which can earn you five-star reviews and great feedback. 
Some common amenities you can add to upgrade your property include appliances and utensils in the kitchen, washers and driers, pool and hot tubs, or even breakfast items as an added bonus.

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Become A Superhost 

If you’re a superhost, your listing will have a Superhost badge on each of your Airbnb listings, signaling to guests that you’re a reliable host and upping your credentials. This can significantly increase interest in your listings, which has been proven to increase bookings and increase revenue by up to 29% annually.

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How To Get A Lot of Bookings On Airbnb 

Writing a good listing, optimizing it, and getting it noticed by your target audience all lead to one objective – getting more bookings on Airbnb. At the end of the day, Airbnb is a business, and for you to make good money, you want as many bookings as possible. Here are some surefire ways to boost your Airbnb bookings:

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Avoid Cancellations 

No one likes a flake. Just as you don’t like guests canceling their bookings, you want to avoid cancellations because doing so makes you less reliable and can lower your quality score on Airbnb.
You can avoid cancellations by setting the right expectations with guests, streamlining guest communications, keeping your calendar up to date, and offering a guest manual with information on the property and the local area.

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Offer Dynamic Pricing 

Dynamic pricing is an Airbnb tool that allows hosts to keep up with the changes in demand. In most short-term rentals, the demand fluctuates from season to season, and adjusting the pricing to lower during off-peak seasons and to increase during peak seasons is a good way to keep up with demand and supply.
When you activate this tool, Airbnb adjusts your pricing not only to adapt to demand changes, but also to gain insights into how your pricing fares against the competition, so you can set minimum prices and offer the best rates to attract more bookings.

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Provide Top Tier Customer Support 

An Airbnb listing can be attractive, but without good customer support, guests are likely to experience difficulties and provide negative reviews and low ratings. The key is to be available when your guests need you, provide good resolution to issues, and make things as easy and convenient for guests as possible.
Of course, this comes accompanied by good customer reviews and ratings in your listing, encouraging more bookings for your Airbnb.

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Get Professional Cleaning 

The cleaner a property is, the better the reviews, and the more bookings it gets. That’s why you shouldn't skimp on housekeeping. Hire professionals in the area. You can ask other Airbnb hosts in your area to find reliable housekeeping and cleaners, or you can check out Google reviews or Yelp to find professional cleaning services near you.
But the upkeep of your property shouldn’t stop at hiring professionals. Don’t forget to ask for cleaning services between stays to ensure the property is ready to welcome guests each time. Moreover, having good coordination and professional cleaning services go hand in hand with improving guest experience, which leads to better ratings and more bookings!

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Sell the Experience 

When promoting your property on Airbnb, you’re not just selling the features and amenities of your property, you’re also focusing on the benefits that guests will enjoy. This means highlighting the type of experience they’re gonna get – what attractions, entertainment, and amenities are nearby? What’s the community like – is it quiet, busy, or family-friendly? How is the accessibility – are there modes of transportation nearby and how close are attractions and amenities on foot?
These are important considerations for guests, and by talking about what your property has to offer from their perspective, you’re talking their language and increasing the likelihood of bookings.

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Managing an Airbnb listing requires a mix of technical skill and art. Finding the right balance between listing optimization for search engines and marketing to your target audience requires experience and time, which many Airbnb hosts don’t have. At HostKudo, our full-service virtual concierge manages your listings for you, making sure it shows up on search results, is attractive, and will get you as many bookings as possible. Make your Airbnb hosting hassle-free, contact us today!