How to improve Airbnb ranking: Is this what you’ll do?

What is Tom doing better than others?

1. He sticks to the 9 tips above.
2. His house is lovely – and well described with many photos.
3. His house can sleep 8, but his rate on AirBnB is indicated for 4 people. He charges R250 for every extra person. Instead of advertising R2400 per night his R1401 per night (for 4) seems attractive. This is important as it gives Tom more flexibility – as he sells his 4 bedroom as 2, 3 or 4 bedroom. This gives him higher occupation, more reviews and meaning higher income. 

Charge less than market rate at first, then raise your rates

… since it can be tough to get bookings without a solid base of reviews, you’ll want to undercharge at first. Once you’ve built up a nice stash of testimonials, raise the rate to be comparable with similar listings in your neighborhood. As a bonus: You’ll have tons of reviews lauding what a great bargain your place was, even after the price jump. 

Start out taking as many one and two-night rentals as you can

The goal of the Airbnb game is to rise up the search rankings. The quickest, fastest, most powerful ways to do this are by accepting reservations and by earning reviews. So if you want to build up lots of reviews (which you do), shorter stays rule. Taking lots of short-term tenants earns you more points that fewer long-term guests. Once you earn a couple of nice reviews, you can (and should) accept low-maintenance longer-term tenants. But at first, go short.