Get more bookings on Airbnb or Booking

Many hosts believe that getting more bookings on Airbnb, Booking, or Homeaway is their logical business goal. Having a full calendar months in advance can be a fetish... At the end of the day, getting more bookings means more short-term rental income... But is that really the case?

From a revenue management perspective, we will see that what is interesting is not getting more bookings, but better ones

If your tourist apartment is booked very quickly (for example, today you have 100% booked for the next 3 months), you are most likely leaving money on the table. You may feel that you are doing well as a host... Although it is damaging the sustainability of your business.

You don't want to get more bookings on Airbnb, you want better ones

Think of it this way: accommodation priced at €1 per night will achieve 100% occupancy. Guaranteed! But more bookings doesn't mean more income. A host can earn more by renting their accommodation at €200 per night for 25 nights a month than if it's booked for 30 days at €150 per night. Let's do the maths:

• More bookings: 30 nights x €150 = €4,500 in income per month
• Better bookings: 25 nights x €200 = €5,000 in income per month

It seems that the key issue here is knowing if your accommodation is undervalued. That is, if the price per night is below the optimal.

What price should I set for my Airbnb to get better bookings?

A good way to identify if your accommodation is undervalued is to take a look at your neighbours' prices. If you have an accommodation in the Barrio de las Letras, in the centre of Madrid, and you are 100% booked for the next 6 months, you probably have the cheapest offer on all of Airbnb. Your neighbours who set higher prices are not booking as quickly as you. However, they are earning more money for those dates as the number of accommodations in the area decreases.This is a basic lesson in supply and demand. It is what is known as the "booking curve". The booking curve tells you the rate at which your accommodation should be booked, based on demand. If your accommodation is booked very quickly, your price is too low. If your bookings are very slow, your price is too high. For example, Airbnb data indicates that half of bookings on the platform occur within 30 days of arrival. So if your accommodation is 100% booked for the next month, consider increasing the price to see how much demand you can capture.If you have doubts about why it's important not to get more bookings on Airbnb, but better ones. You can take a look at these two articles:

• Airbnb prices: how much to charge for your tourist apartment?
• Tools to price your Airbnb: we explain in more detail what the booking curve is.

The general rule for urban Airbnb markets is that you should have 50% booked for the next 30 days; 30% booked in the next 60 days; and finally, 10% for the next 90 days. This rule is flexible and varies depending on the city and neighbourhood, but it represents when guests are making bookings. Most hosts don't realise how late their guests book and worry unnecessarily about long-term bookings.You can learn more in detail about what the optimal Airbnb occupancy rate is for your accommodation.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the best way to measure the success of your business is not by having a full calendar 6 months in advance. It is, without a doubt, by counting the euros in your bank account.

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