Airbnb recently released some long overdue calendar enhancements that few hosts are taking advantage of. Did you know you can set different minimum night stays for the summer, or only receive reservation requests for bookings in the next 6 months?
While providing consulting to some large Airbnb hosts, I’ve been surprised that no one is fully utilizing these calendar options. Wouldn’t it be nice to only receive reservation requests for a week or longer during the summer time while still filling your calendar with shorter term reservations in the current month?
Under 10% of hosts with multiple properties are utilizing the instant book option. In order to increase adoption, Airbnb has introduced the following calendar enhancements.
Different Minimum Night Stay Requirements
There is nothing more irritating than someone booking a one night stay over a long holiday weekend. Airbnb has heard our demands and implemented a solution. You can now set minimum night requirements that are different for each season. This is useful for filling your peak season with longer stays. Currently, I’m only accepting 5-night stays over the summer. This will save me countless hours managing my place during the peak season.
Same-Day Booking Requests
How long does it take to get your place ready after you receive a reservation? Nothing is more troublesome than someone booking your place at the last minute and expecting your property to be fully prepared. The best hosts organize cleaning as soon as a guest checks out. But, for the rest of us, this new Airbnb option is a godsend.
Under your instant book tab, select how many days, or hours, you need to prepare your place for last minute guests.
Distant Reservation Requests
How many of you have received reservation requests for dates that are for over a year in the future? I know I have, and for me, it’s impossible to guarantee that my properties will still be available that far in the future. Worse is when someone uses instant book to book your place for a year in advance and you have to cancel the reservation thus incurring a cancellation fee. Those problems have been solved by the “distant requests” option. This allows you to only accept reservations 3,6, or 12 months into the future.
Advanced Airbnb Pricing Trick
Here’s one of the biggest tricks of the trade that under 10% of hosts are currently utilizing. Set your advertised night rate 10%-20% cheaper than your actual nightly rate.
Here’s how it works:
Let’s say my place typically books for $225 per night. I set my advertised nightly price at $199 and then use the calendar pricing tool to change the price for everyday over the next year to $225. I then go in and adjust holidays and weekend pricing accordingly.
Why this is effective:
Airbnb displays only your advertised nightly rate when guests are searching for a place without specified dates. It is not until someone views your property and enters the days of interest that the actual nightly rate is calculated. If they love your place, there is no doubt that they’ll pay a slight premium to stay there.