Last updated on June 23rd, 2023
No matter how long you’ve been in the business industry, it’s a fact that there’s a constant change for improvement in every corner to maximize Airbnb revenue & get the highest occupancy rates. And it’s true – in order to catch up with the fast pace of Airbnb hosts all over the world, one must always aim to rise above the long list of competitors. For that reason, one should always think on how to promote their Airbnb listings in the best ways.
Relatively, the best way to showcase the details of your Airbnb listing is through the power of advertisement! The big questions are:
How, when, and where do you start promoting?
Fortunately, this article will focus on answering all these questions! Perhaps you’ve already done some of the strategies mentioned in this article, and if it didn’t work out — maybe it’s time to strive even better with our helpful tips. Yes, this includes intricate work such as replacing the old outdated photos of your plain room with luxurious amenities and collaborating with local restaurants & artists, but trust me when I say that it’s all worth it in the end!
In the digital era, there are certainly effective ways on how to promote Airbnb listings. So we conducted in-depth research and filtered out the most effective ones in order for you to focus on the essentials! Keep on reading to learn more.
10 EFFECTIVE STRATEGIES ON HOW TO PROMOTE YOUR AIRBNB LISTINGS:
Prioritize Booking Channels
First and foremost, your listing has to be put up on various channels in order to reach more engagement. To save valuable time, we recommend using a channel manager that can help publish your listings on 5-15 channels in one go!
An Airbnb channel manager refers to a software tool that allows your Airbnb business to sell all the rooms on all your connected online booking sites at the same time.
Some of Airbnb’s preferred partners are Guesty, Hostify, Lodgify, and Hostaway. Aside from helping you advertise on more channels, this tool can also help your business boost its occupancy by preventing double bookings and increasing revenue. Since all the reservations & messages are all in one place, it will definitely help Airbnb hosts to avoid confusion and improve organizational skills!
FAQs about Airbnb Channel Manager
In order to connect your software to Airbnb, you have to set up an Airbnb host account and select ‘business’.
Once you have successfully created an account, you can connect it by granting your PMS or CM permission to manage your existing Airbnb account and select the listings you want to publish from your PMS or CM.
Yes, you can! By changing your sync settings from Pricing & Availability Sync to Everything Sync, you can manage all of your listing details in your preferred software. Here are the necessary steps that you need to follow for changing your sync settings:
- Log in to your Airbnb account.
- Go to Listings. For each of the listings that you’d like to edit, select the check box next to the listing name.
- Click or tap Edit selected.
- Choose Sync settings.
- Select Pricing and Availability or Everything and click or tap Save.
Primarily, you have to create listings on your preferred software and they’ll automatically publish on Airbnb. Once completed, you’ll receive an email confirming that your listings have been successfully published.
You can connect your existing listings to keep existing content and reviews which also helps to avoid creating duplicates.
You can merge listings through your software if your PMS or CM supports it. If not, you’ll need to merge and publish directly on Airbnb’s sync page.
In addition to this, you can also leverage channels such as VRBO (Vacation Rentals by Owners) and Booking.com.
Here are the necessary steps that you can follow in order to sign up as a host on both platforms:
VRBO (Vacation Rentals by Owner)
- Register as a host on VRBO
- Starting on 10 properties, you can register as an online travel agency
- Create your ad – you can also get help from the Vrbo team
- Set your nightly rates and rules
- Done: Publish your listing and receive bookings
BOOKING.COM
- Visit the sign-up page and click ‘Get started’
- Enter your email address & personal details (first name, last name & phone number) then click Next
- Enter your password, confirm, then click Create account
- Click List your property under your type of property, then follow the steps to set up your listing details
- Follow the steps to set up your property listing details
- Your registration will be reviewed and you’ll receive a confirmation email.
- Whenever you’re ready, you can make your property live on the platform!
Add Aesthetic Photographs to Promote your Airbnb Listings
We’ll cut the story short: Almost all the articles regarding Airbnb advertisement strategies include adding high-quality photographs! Because let’s face it, who would want to book a listing with blurry, little, or no photos at all? Sketchy!
Let’s take a look at some of the promising listings with aesthetic photos that will make you want to book right away:
Relatively, before you come to a conclusion that you are not capable of taking great photos, here are some options that you can consider:
1. Do-it-yourself (DIY) Photography
If you are on a limited budget and have all the free time to take photos of your listings, why not?! Since you already know which amenities you can feature, then DIY photography might be the appropriate choice for you.
Note: a professional camera is not necessary, as long as your smartphone can take high-resolution photos of your Airbnb listings, then it can definitely be utilized! Here are some tips that can help you take awesome photos of your listings:
1. Clean & declutter
Primarily, you have to prioritize decluttering your space and make sure that it looks sparkling clean. You can also try putting up minimalist furniture and decorations!
2. Let the natural light in
Arrange your curtains and turn the lights on in each room to highlight your property’s cleanliness.
3. Highlight your amenities & special features
Your guests would want to see all the amenities that you added to your listings, so take photos of them in detail, and don’t forget to add a personalized Airbnb welcome letter!
4. Take photos from different angles
Make your photos more aesthetic by providing ones that are taken from different angles. Through this, your guests can visualize that your property is to their liking.
5. Upload the appropriate resolution
According to Airbnb, the correct resolution should be 1024px x 683px.
2. Hire a Local Photographer
You’ll be surprised to know that there are various local photographers who are lookiang forward to having side gigs such as Airbnb photography! The easiest way to hire local photographers is by joining the Airbnb community and filtering them out by searching for your city / country.
Bonus tip: you can also create a hiring post that includes all your terms & conditions and let the photographers reach out to you with their portfolio.
3. Hire a Professional Airbnb Photographer
If you are a remote host with multiple errands and you simply don’t have the time to do the 2 options above, then you can consider hiring an Airbnb professional photographer!
According to Airbnb, the price of professional photography is determined by your listing’s size and location. After requesting a quote, you will receive price information via email within 24 hours of your request. Here are the 4 easy steps in hiring a photographer from Airbnb:
1. Submit request & approve price
Enter your ‘Listing ID’ here and you’ll receive a follow-up email with a price quote.
2. Schedule your photoshoot
Once you have confirmed the price quote, Airbnb will connect you with a local photographer.
3. Preparation & photoshoot
Prepare for the photoshoot by cleaning and styling your listing.
4. Publishing & payment
Payment comes from future bookings and is typically paid off within one or two nights.
Promote your Airbnb Listings by Ranking 0n Airbnb SEO (Search Engine Optimization)
You probably haven’t heard of Airbnb SEO, but this is an effective process of increasing your listing’s visibility within Airbnb search results pages! For instance, if you’re aiming to rank first on the search results, there are Airbnb ranking factors to consider such as pricing & quantity of reviews. Another notable remark from Airbnb SEO Algorithm was to avoid rejections & cancellations!
To do this, you have to primarily make it a habit of keeping your calendar updated from time to time (or sit back, relax, and let the Airbnb channel manager handle it). Here are some useful tips to rank on Airbnb SEO:
1. Improve your Listing’s Overall Format – Your efforts of taking aesthetic photos or hiring a photographer will pay off here! It’s time to feature those high-quality photos, add specific details of your property, and offer the top Airbnb amenities to encourage more guests to check out your listing.
2. Level up your pricing! – Airbnb states that setting a competitive price can help improve your ranking. In order to appear in the top-most part of the search results, it is suggested to offer the best value within your area. Relatively, you can set your price appropriately by comparing your competitor’s price range with the help of a data analytics tool.
3. Availability & Responsiveness – Some of the factors that can increase your Airbnb SEO ranking include your response time to inquiries, availability of listings, and frequent acceptance of bookings. It is highly recommended to add more open dates to your listings & avoid cancellations in order for guests to instantly view your property on the first page of the search results.
Collaborations with Influencers, Journalists, and Local Restaurants
This particular collaboration advertisement strategy is ideal if you’re thinking of prioritizing long-term growth in the business. There are plenty of local journalists, artists, and restaurant owners who might also be looking for an exchange promotion to increase brand awareness. Check out the following ideas that can spark your inspiration for initiating collaborations:
1. Influencer Marketing – A benchmark report about influencer marketing recently declared the consistent growth of the industry up to $16.4 billion this year – which gives us the conclusion that it’s an effective marketing strategy. But amidst the thousands of influencers out there, how do you determine the right person that you should hire for your property? Here are some of our takeaways:
- Engagement rates
If you were expecting to see the number of followers written on top of our list, then you need to look at the bigger picture because engagement rates are the primary metrics to look out for. This refers to the level of engagement between an influencer and its subscribers, which has the potential to attract more sales to your business. You can manually calculate engagement rates or try out some influencer marketing software like Heepsy and Cision. - Payment: Non-monetary & monetary
It’s important to consider what you can offer to influencers in exchange for their services. If you get to agree on providing a non-monetary incentive, you can either let your influencer stay at your property for free in exchange for their collaboration. In relation to this, you can also read more on how to incentivize your influencers! - Discuss terms & conditions
Once you have finalized your decision on choosing the right influencer to promote your property, it’s time to discuss certain terms & conditions during their professional relationship tenure. Some of the essential terms in an influencer agreement include the duration of the agreement, content rights, payment terms, and the like. - Total number of followers & subscribers
Last but definitely not least, the total number of subscribers is also an important factor that you have to consider. You would want to target the appropriate followers such as travel bloggers, celebrities, or credible Airbnb professionals in order to attain more bookings & sales.Bonus tip: there are ways in authenticating if an influencer has fake followers!
2. Associating with Local Journalists – Working with local journalists nearby will not only help you advertise your listings properly but can also bring intense publicity!
However, if you feel like hiring one isn’t necessary or that you can only provide a minimum fee, you can always look for individuals who are up for an unpaid journalist internship. In addition to this, you can also reach out to nearby universities to check if they allow students from their writing community to collaborate on certain projects. Perhaps they can help in improving the write-ups for your listings, too!
3. Teaming up with Restaurant Owners – Add more life to your Airbnb by supporting local restaurants and exchanging brand awareness! If you haven’t heard of Airbnb & Resy’s collaboration in 2014, their main goal was to fill in empty tables by giving Airbnb guests the access to book an in-app reservation at local restaurants.
Imagine being a traveler in a foreign country with very little knowledge about the best restaurants in town, wouldn’t you want to try some of your host’s food recommendations?! You can start this by visiting local restaurants nearby or contacting them on their social media platforms and discussing some of your ideas for collaborations.
Consider Investing in High-End Amenities
Guests with particular expectations on amenities are definitely willing to pay more – especially if the photos in your listing show just how enticing & luxurious they are! While more and more people in the business are investing in high-quality amenities these days, it’s also important to have an Airbnb amenities checklist prepared to make sure that you have everything you need for success.
Let’s set an example to visualize a traveler’s point of view. You are looking forward to renting a vacation home in California with your family. Since you are traveling as a group, their certain demands on vacation home rental amenities include a fully equipped kitchen, a pool, or perhaps a veranda by the beach.
Upon checking the photos of the Airbnb listings with your preferred amenities, some of the amenities are not indicated — until you saw a great offer that has it all! It may cost a little more, but wouldn’t you want to book it?
It’s important to recognize that your target market depends on your current city or state. If you live in a busy city near universities or various business companies, then you have to consider adding the right amenities and stick to the appropriate advertisements.
For instance, you would want to include amenities in your Airbnb listing such as a dedicated workspace, free coffee, or an excellent internet connection because your location can cater to most students & entrepreneurs.
In addition to this, you might also be able to attract other travelers who are looking for similar listings in the area which is why it’s always best to understand your target market in the Airbnb business.
Join Local Online Forums in your Areas
Nowadays, there are certain groups similar to vacation rental owners’ online forums where rental owners have a safe space to brainstorm ideas and even promote each of their respective listings! Local online forums will definitely open up new doors of learning opportunities.
For instance, if there is a university nearby in your area, you might want to consider joining a student group on Facebook because they always need short-term accommodations. You can share your photos & posts on your most preferred groups, too!
The world is your oyster, check out the top forums for Airbnb hosts & managers:
1: The Hosts of Airbnb Automated
This is a community for Airbnb hosts & entrepreneurs that are aiming to collaborate, learn how to effectively manage the business, provide Airbnb courses & coaching programs, and the like.
Airbnb Professional Hosts is an active online community with over 43k members dedicated to connecting with various Airbnb hosts from all over the world. According to their description, it is a one-stop resource for Airbnb, short-term rentals, VRBO, vacation rentals, corporate rentals, and rental arbitrage.
3: AirBnB / HomeAway / Vacation Rental MasterMind Group
This is another popular online community where the members are proactively focused on self-promotion & generating more revenue.
Airbnb Community has more than 1.2 million active members who share the same sentiments on various topics in the Airbnb industry. In order to get involved in this community forum, all you have to do is sign in with your Airbnb account.
In contrary to Airbnb Community, this forum is not officially affiliated with Airbnb but has the same purpose of associating hosts from all over the world. This forum also contains the latest updates and news for Airbnb hosts.
Coordinate with your Local Tourism Council
Airbnb properties are also registered and listed in your area’s tourism council or websites. Similar to hotels and resorts, listing your Airbnb business with your local tourism council will certainly boost your bookings since they are the most trusted resources.
Pay a visit to the local tourism office nearby or speak to them on the phone to make sure that they can support you in promoting your business!
For your reference, here is a list of the official tourism offices that you can reach out to:
1. United States of America’s Tourism Offices
2. European Tourist Information Offices
3. South African Tourism Office
Print out Promotional Cards & Flyers
Print is NOT dead! For some people who refuse to stay active on social media, promotional cards and flyers can truly help increase promotion, particularly in local restaurants or nearby souvenir shops. Present your Airbnb business card with local collaborations and make sure to indicate what your property offers!
For easy access, you can also check out some of the free Airbnb promotional card templates that are ready to be edited & printed! Some of our recommended user-friendly + FREE photo editing apps include Canva, Pixlr, VSCO, and Adobe Photoshop Express.
Provide Seasonal Discounts & Promotions
Though discounts and promotions are not necessary, posting these on social media every once in a while creates excitement and can increase your chances of high occupancy rates! It is important to know that Airbnb promotions & discount strategies such as last-minute booking discounts are also important to learn in the business to avoid losing money.
Check out some of the seasonal discounts that you can provide to your guests:
- Longer stays discounts – providing this discount to a guest who prefers to extend for a longer period of time is a guaranteed income. You will obviously earn less per night, but as long as it can be planned strategically – it could still be a win-win situation!
- New listing promotion – if you are new to the business and would like to get bookings immediately, this promotion is definitely ideal! According to Airbnb, the new listing promotion allows hosts to implement a 20% discount on eligible listings for the first three bookings. Check out Airbnb’s video tutorial on the new hosting promotion.
- Seasonal pricing – by creating different types of Airbnb rule sets to your listing, you can easily adjust the following:
- Nightly price increase/decrease
- Length-of Stay discounts
- Last-minute discounts
- Early bird discounts
- Availability setting (min/max stay)
Similarly, there are also various discussions and strategies on how you can successfully implement discounts & offers on Airbnb – without losing so much money!
Keep your Lines Open & Customize Saved Replies
If you are either a remote host or an entrepreneur who makes money from this business as a part-time professional, it’s important to create saved replies and keep your lines open for transactions! Through this, your guests will feel like they can reach out for inquiries – if not, then we recommend including two active mobile / phone numbers (if applicable) in the saved replies.
If you have guests who are confused or have certain concerns, make sure to get back to them instantly.
FAQs about Airbnb Saved Replies
By going to your hosting inbox, you can open the folder menu, select quick replies and tap ‘new reply’.
Once you have indicated your customized message, set the language accordingly and save.
Some of the common shortcodes include guest’s first & last names, check-in dates & time, directions, and the like. You can select the shortcodes that you’d like to use from the drop-down menu.
Ask your Recent Guests to Leave Feedback
Finally, last but not the least – FEEDBACK! Nothing beats the positive feedback of happy guests who were treated right and truly had a wonderful experience during their stay. Before your guests leave, don’t forget to mention that you would appreciate it if they can leave a review on Airbnb or your official social media business page.
On the other hand, you can also send them a personalized email that contains a thank you note and insert your light statement of asking for a review (don’t wanna sound too desperate!). Here’s a sample format of asking your guests for a review:
“ Hey (name of guest), thank you for choosing to stay in (property name)! We really hope you had an excellent time. If you have a few minutes, I would really appreciate it if you could leave a review about your stay with us! 🙂
Looking forward to seeing you again in the future,
(Airbnb host’s name) ”
General Conclusion
Now that you have an overview of the 10 effective ways of promoting your Airbnb listing, take the next step by applying them with a happy heart! But if you think following these is too much for you, you might want to consider Airbnb management services.
As you strive to reach your path to success, there will still be uncertainties along the way such as a decrease in occupancy rates or lower monthly revenue. Fortunately, with the help of an accurate Airbnb Data Analytics Tool, you no longer have to worry about any of that!
Designed to showcase accurate data, not only does the app help you optimize your listing, but it can also provide VERY useful data for simulating cash returns using the Airbnb Calculator. Choose to stand out among your competitors & try Airbtics!
