Behind the Scenes - How to Market an AirBnB 👏

Over the summer, I started managing an AirBnb Short Term Rental that’s located in the Mt Hood area of Oregon. If you aren’t familiar with this space, it’s quite beautiful, lots of hiking, fishing, skiing, mountain biking and fresh mountain air - think wildlife and big open skies.

Today I wanted to focus the marketing aspects of an AirBnb Short Term Rental because I know many of you scratch your head with your unique businesses and wonder how the heck do I market and get clients for my services/experiences. This is going to be a great breakdown!

Identify your client -  I began speaking to other friends who are experienced at managing AirBnb properties. A few things they said stood out isWHOthey want to attract a certain type of person. They generally want to avoid large groups of young people throwing parties and being loud. So they told me the secret is to knowWHOyou want to attract. For example,they want to attract 40-60 year old women in groups of 2-4 who want a quiet weekend or a responsible family or two who want to have a relaxing weekend together.

Marketing Message-  I needed to write a description of the property for the AirBnb listing. After speaking with a few friends and deciding who I was appealing to, it became easy to write the description of the house and more (A lot of folks skip this part in their marketing and then wonder why no one is buying from them!) Here’s what I came up with

Only seconds away from the Sandy River! Relax with your tea or coffee on the deck and listen to the birds. Enjoy walking along the river or head out for a hike.  In winter, skiing is less than 30 minutes away. In the fall, head out for a hike and soak in the hot tub. Grill on the deck or cook in the well-stocked kitchen. Enjoy the hot tub and watch the Sandy River. Cozy up by the fireplace and fall asleep to the soothing sounds of the river.

Photos- Photos speak louder than words and having great photos can draw people in. You want the photos to symbolize and create a visual for folks and in this case, I want people to see the ability to relax! Going back to the description above,I want them to visualize them watching the river and stress melting away. How easy is it to hike around or how they can make a fire in the fireplace and relax in the evening.Doesn’t that sound relaxing..?
 

Pricing - When the previous property rental management priced rental stays, the had very low numbers, which attracted different clients than the ideal clients above. Pricing is so psychological and vital to have it be in the sweet spot. The ideal client for this AirBnb is a gathering of folks who want a relaxing time together.
 

Sharing the listing.
Taking a few approaches:

1) Updating the AirBnb listing on the AirBnb app every day. It’s very similar to any online platform or website and the more it’s updated, the algorithm likes it and gives it preference.

2) Word of mouth - sharing it with friends and family can be a great way to get the AirBnb booked. Make sure you’ve let your community know it’s available and how to book and if/how you offer a discount.

3) Focus on specialty - this home has over 50 Board games and a large table to play on.  One idea could be to share this AirBnb listing with board gaming groups, board gaming stores and communities that are looking for a home to share with friends and do a board gaming weekend.

(I’ve already hosted a few of those and they align with small groups of people looking for a quiet weekend getaway.)If you want to see the actual listing (and if all this marketing talk worked and you want to getaway from the city, here's the Airbnb link. 

How have you tackled promoting an offering of yours lately? Was this breakdown helpful? Feel free to drop me a line and let me know!