Accurate Listing = Happier Guests
Have you ever gone to a house or even a restaurant that you saw pictures of and then you show up and it’s a way dumpier version of the pictures, or worse yet, it is nothing like the pictures (different décor, furniture, etc)? Guests HATE the bait and switch. I have had people want to book my mod term rental and they wanted to see it in person before they would sign a lease and it was because they had quite a few experiences with the place not looking anything like the pictures.
I have actually had the same experience. I booked a place in Austin Texas for me and 11 of my friends. I am really picky when I book a place for a large group. I want to know there is enough space in one room for us to share a meal and then to congregate around a living room which means a lot of seating that it would be comfortable to have a conversation if everyone was in that room. So I looked at a lot of places on Airbnb and VRBO before booking something.
Once we arrived 4 months later, I thought it was weird I would choose a space that’s biggest dining room table would sit was 6 and the only space with a couch would sit 3. There was a huge recreation room upstairs with a pool table, ping pong table and some random chairs that went to a table that wasn’t present and a TV that didn’t work shoved in the corner on a folding table.
After a day or so I went back to the listing (when we tried to fit 12 people around that one table) and I realized it was nothing like the pictures in the listing. The listing had the recreation room set up with a table for 12 and a HUGE corner couch that would seat about a dozen, with another few chairs. When I asked the host about it he told me 12 people wouldn’t have fit on the couch anyways and told me the stuff he put in that upstairs room was better. It felt like he was trying to convince me that the changes he made were better so it didn’t matter that his listing was different, not to mention the original listing amenities were why we booked the house. It took away from our experience because we booked it for a group of business owners to talk shop all weekend and sprinkle in some fun. I will put a few pictures below so you can see what we did anyways.
Did we make it work? Yes. Was it terribly disappointing? Yes.
All this long story is to say, represent your property appropriately. A fast way to get less than 5 stars is to take away amenities or portray your rental one way and then the guests see it a completely different way during the stay. I know you can never guarantee someone’s expectations of your property will match BUT you CAN accurately show what they are getting.
People are using your listing to understand what is available and what they are getting. You literally get to set the expectation for them. Sometimes we make an update to a property and should get updated pictures, that might mean we change the couch in the living and some décor. I know not everyone wants to get new professional pictures each time, WHICH IS FINE. But if you are making major changes you should get pictures, even from your iPhone. Make sure what your guests booked is what they are getting.
Your listing is the first reason people will choose to pay you money to stay at your place.
