How to Write an Airbnb Listing That Gets Booked
The figures in the worked example are made up.
Guests decide from the first photo and the title. How to find out what is putting them off, and fix the photos, title and description.
- Category
- Marketing
- Who it is for
- Short-let operators
- Time to set up
- A day for the shoot, then an hour a month
- Saves or earns
- About £3,300 a year per flat
01The Problem
In search, your listing is one photo, a title, a price and a rating in a long list on a phone screen. Guests scroll past in under a second unless something makes them stop. Once they tap, they look at the first few photos and the first few lines and decide whether this place will work for them.
So a listing has two separate jobs, and most operators do not know which one is failing:
Getting the Click
This is the cover photo, the title, the price and the rating.
Getting the Booking
This is the next four photos, the first lines of the description, the amenities, the reviews and the final price.
Airbnb's own help pages say the first five photos matter most, and the first one is the big image in search. Research on Airbnb photos also suggests that what a photo shows matters more than how artistic it is. Guests want to see the bed, the space, the bathroom and the kitchen clearly, not a close-up of a vase.
02The Cost
Take a one-bed flat booked 58 per cent of nights at £110. That is 212 nights and about £23,320 a year.
Airbnb says its own 2021 study of 5,000 listings found professional photos earned hosts up to 20 per cent more. Treat that as Airbnb's figure, not a promise. But a flat with a dull cover photo, a vague title and missing amenities can easily be losing 10 to 20 per cent of the bookings it should win. For this flat that is £2,500 to £5,000 a year.
03The Fix
Read Your Numbers First
In Airbnb's Insights, look at how often you appear on the first page of search, how many of those viewers tap your listing, and how many of those book. If few people tap, fix the cover photo, title and price. If plenty tap but few book, fix photos two to five, the description, the amenities and the reviews.
Get the Flat Ready for the Camera
Spend about £250 on a styling kit you keep: white bedding, two lamps, a throw, four cushions, one big plant, a bowl of lemons for the kitchen and rolled towels. Take out bins, cables, toiletries, fridge magnets, remote controls and anything personal. Make sure no photo shows the door number, the key safe or the street name.
Hire a Photographer and Give Them a Shot List
About £200 to £400 for a flat. Ask for daylight with every light on, the camera at chest height, straight vertical lines, wide but with no fisheye bend, and landscape format at no less than 1024 by 683 pixels. You want 20 to 30 final photos: each room from its best corner, each bed, each bathroom, the kitchen, any outside space, the building and three or four details such as the coffee machine or the desk.
Choose the Cover Photo, Then Test It
Use the room that sells the place: the bright living room, the view, the bedroom that looks like a good hotel. Never the front door or a close-up. Change the cover every two weeks and compare how many people tap through, keeping the same mix of weeks. Keep the winner.
Put Photos Two to Five in the Order Guests Worry
The bed, the living space, the bathroom and the kitchen, then a walk round of the rest. Write a caption for each with a useful fact: "King size bed, blackout blinds" or "Desk with second screen, 500 Mb wifi".
Write a Plain Title That Says What Is Different
What it is, the main feature, and where or who it suits: "Two bed flat with parking, 5 minutes to the station". Do not use stunning, luxury or cosy, because every listing does. Keep it short enough to read in full on a phone.
Make the First Three Lines Do the Selling
Who it suits, the three best things, and the practical answer. For example: "Ideal for two working in town for the week. Quiet top floor flat, fast wifi with a proper desk, free parking. Self check-in from 3pm, 6 minutes walk to the station." Be honest about the downsides, such as three flights of stairs or a busy road. A guest who was told does not mark you down for it.
Tick Every Amenity That Is True
Guests filter by parking, washing machine, workspace, self check-in, cot, lift and pets. A box left unticked hides you from every guest using that filter. Be accurate too: listing accuracy is a review score, and misleading claims in an advert break consumer law.
Use Your Guests' Own Words and Keep It Fresh
Read your reviews for what guests praise, such as "spotless", "so quiet" or "great for working", and put those words in your title and first lines. Reshoot when the furniture changes, and swap in a seasonal cover photo if your garden or view looks better in summer.
04The Result
Before
58 per cent booked at £110, about £23,320 a year
After
66 per cent booked at £116, about £27,960 a year
Cost
About £550 once for the photographer and the styling kit
Better Off
About £3,300 a year from the second year
The sums: 241 nights at £116 is about £4,640 more than before. Take off about £720 in platform fees on the extra and about £600 for ten more turnovers, and you keep about £3,300 a year. The first year is about £550 less, for the set-up.
The Lessons
- Find out whether you are losing the click or the booking before you change anything.
- The cover photo and title decide whether guests click. Photos two to five, the first lines and the amenities decide whether they book.
- Shoot in daylight, from the corners, with nothing personal and nothing that shows the address.
- Write a plain title and first lines that say who it suits and answer the common questions.
- Tick every true amenity and be honest about the downsides.
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