Anatomy of a perfect Airbnb or Booking listing

Maximize bookings with a perfect Airbnb/Booking listing. Learn key elements, captivating language, and photo tips for smart lock-integrated rentals. Boost your occupancy now!

What elements of an Airbnb or Booking listing are key for your guests? How can you maximise the character limit to encourage visitors to your holiday rental listing to take action? What should you consider when taking striking photos? How many photos should you upload?

If you would like to know the anatomy of a perfect listing, you're in the right place! After reading this post you will be able to:

Consider which elements of your listing are most valued by your guests.
Use captivating language in titles to increase the click-through rate of your holiday rental listing.
Employ action-inducing phrases in listing descriptions to boost your bookings.
Discover how to take photos that highlight the best attributes and how you can turn them into advantages for your guests.

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Airbnb or Booking Listing Photos

Photos are key to attracting potential guests and convincing them to book your accommodation. The platform allows you to add many photos of your Airbnb. But be careful not to overdo it! The best option is to add between 8 and 10 photos so as not to overwhelm your potential guests.

Your holiday rental photos should highlight the advantages for your potential client

Regardless of the number of photos you upload, you must bear in mind that the first 3 are the most important. Why? It's usually the number of photos a potential guest browses before clicking on your accommodation after a search.

This is one of the main reasons why using high-quality photos will make you stand out from your competition. Take this unique opportunity to show photos of your Airbnb with as many amenities as possible.

Finally, some ideas you can include in these three photos of your Airbnb are: sparkling clean rooms cared for down to the last detail or unique amenities of your accommodation (for example, a swimming pool or jacuzzi if it has one).

Technical characteristics of Airbnb listing photos

Technically, Airbnb recommends using large, good-resolution photos – at least 1024 x 683 px. In addition:

Take photos for Airbnb horizontally; this perspective makes it much easier to understand the space.
Use natural light. To do this, open blinds and draw curtains.
Prepare your accommodation for taking Airbnb photos: order and arrangement of elements are key to attracting potential guests.
Do not use sports cameras like GoPro: they distort the space.

You can take them yourself or use Airbnb to contact a professional photographer to request a quote and schedule a perfect date and time for the session.

Technical characteristics of Booking listing photos

Booking only displays photos of quality higher than 300 x 300 px. Keep this in mind when uploading them to the listing. Also:

Use .jpg or .png formats.
More is more. The higher the resolution, the better. The recommended size is 1280 x 900 pixels.
Use metadata and indicate the category of the photo (for example, if the photo is of the double bed, tag it as “bedroom”).

7 + 1 tips for dazzling photos in your holiday rental listing

Listings with professional photographs tend to earn 40% more, get 24% more bookings, and charge 26% higher nightly rates than those without them.

These figures come from a study conducted in 2016 involving over 100,000 accommodations with and without professional photographs. Remember that each listing is different, so results may vary depending on the case.

Take your time planning your Airbnb photographs. Photos help increase your CTR (clicks per impression) on the search page.
A bad Airbnb photo means your potential guests will ignore your listing.

Once you have selected a photographer, either through Airbnb or on your own, here are some tips to get the most out of them.

#1 Who is your holiday accommodation aimed at?

This is your Airbnb target audience.

Is your accommodation designed to attract couples? Families with young children? Professionals travelling for work?

Each of these profiles wants to see different things in their photos.

Professional travellers want to see desks, printers, comfortable beds to relax in after work.

Families with children prefer to see plenty of space for clothes, large kitchens for preparing meals, etc.

#2 What functional needs do your potential guests have?

Here is a list of the needs your guests may have based on their profile. Showcase these prominently in your Airbnb photos!

Couples: comfortable beds; sofas for relaxing; a dining area
Families: ample space for clothes and luggage; a place to cook
Professionals: Wi-Fi; an extra monitor with cables; coffee and tea
Groups: space for luggage; proximity to public transport

#3 What emotional benefits do your potential guests desire?

Emotional benefits are the feelings that arise in your guests when they enter your holiday accommodation.

Below you will find some examples of emotional benefits that some types of guests seek and how you can inspire them with your Airbnb images or photos.

Couples: feeling of luxury; champagne and some cheese to snack on; large pillows and a good bed.
Families: feeling of security; secure doors; show children playing in front of the accommodation in your Airbnb photos.
Professionals: feeling of reward; extra premium services; good views.
Groups: feeling of excitement; nightlife ambiance; highlight proximity to popular spots.

#4 What is your positioning? Demonstrate it in the photos of your holiday rental listing

You have a TV: What brand is it? Is it flat? Is it a tube TV? Whether the TV is flat or a tube, the fact that you show it in an Airbnb photo will convey a first impression to your potential guests. A flat TV will create a premium halo effect.

The halo effect is when that initial first impression answers subconscious questions or creates assumptions.

Promote elements in your Booking or Airbnb images that can create a positive halo effect for your guests.

#5 What features are unique to your accommodation?

There are elements of the property (both the apartment and the community) that no other in the vicinity offers. Highlight them in your photos.

Does your building have a beautiful garden? Is there a great mountain view? An unbeatable Andalusian-style patio? A jacuzzi?

Show them in your Airbnb or Booking listing photos and finish convincing your potential hosts.

#6 What does your accommodation really offer?

What will your accommodation look like when a new guest walks through your door? Be brutally honest!

If you don't offer certain things or plan to remove some objects that appear in the Airbnb photo “just in case they break”, then... it's better not to show them!

Most of your guests will visually remember what they saw in the Airbnb image and compare it with reality.

Most people expect you to be honest with your holiday rental photos.

💡 Remember: You don't have to be the prettiest place in your building... you simply have to be honest about what you can and cannot offer.

#7 Make it easy

A picture is worth a thousand words... but no one has time to read a thousand words.

Don't fill your profile with photos of every amenity your holiday rental has. Instead, take photos from different angles of the same room.

You can also highlight parts of the living room, but not every single item you have.

You can upload several photos. However, we recommend between 15 and 20.

Bonus: Communicate with your Airbnb photographer

The photographer you hire has probably never set foot in the property. Therefore, it's important that you give them all the information they need to bring the correct equipment.

If you can't have a pre-shooting meeting, take 20-30 photos with your mobile and send them to your photographer before they start shooting.

Some photographers travel light and may not bring all their equipment. The photos you send them beforehand will help them decide which lights, lenses, and other items they should bring on the shooting day.

Leave nothing to improvisation. Make sure they understand where they are going so that the photos turn out brilliant.

Also, ensure two fundamental things:

Number of Airbnb photos you need.
Whether they will be edited or not by the professional photographer.

Again, make sure you have at least 15 photos. Although having more is better. You can always rotate them and check which ones attract more potential guests... and bookings!

Listing Title: The name for your Airbnb

Did you know that a potential guest only skims an Airbnb or Booking listing for 2 seconds to decide whether to click on it?

Optimising your holiday rental listing title is key to making it more competitive. In fact, it is one of the elements the Airbnb algorithm uses to rank accommodations. Therefore, following these guidelines is essential to increase clicks on your title – and, consequently, the number of bookings for your accommodation.

Your Airbnb listing name should be a clickbaiting machine

You should think of the title as the first impression for your potential guests. The maximum size is 50 characters. However, it is advisable not to exceed 35. Use them to capture attention and customise it as much as possible to convey why your Airbnb is unique.

Try to use evocative and warm adjectives that communicate the same warmth with which you will treat your guests. But keep in mind that to optimise your Airbnb title, you must condense all of this into a very small space.

At the end of the section, we will show you some structures and templates for titles that will make those 50 characters shine brightly.

Before you start, ask yourself if your Airbnb title catches the eye like a newspaper headline. Is it a bit clickbaiting? Yes, but that's precisely the point. Your listing title should grab the attention of your potential guests and make them want to click on it.

6 techniques for writing the best Airbnb title

So, how do we get the best Airbnb title for our listing? And how do we compress it into 50 characters?

It can be a bit tricky, but it will help you understand how to have a title that works.

Follow these tips to improve your Airbnb listing title.

Don't just describe your holiday accommodation in the Airbnb title

«One-bedroom apartment» is the kind of title that doesn't grab attention at all. Besides, do you think your guests haven't already filtered by those variables?

Certainly, there's not much catchy in that Airbnb title to make them click on the listing, is there? Imagine two identical listings (in photos, features, amenities...) with these two titles: «One-bedroom apartment» vs. «Bright apartment in the heart of Madrid». Which would you choose?

💡 Tip: Put something that is both descriptive («bright», in our example) with something eye-catching («in the heart of Madrid»).

Do not repeat location information

Put yourself in your potential hosts' shoes. How do they search? Your potential guests have probably found your listing by filtering by location and available dates. Moreover, the listing already shows the approximate or even exact location of your holiday accommodation.

Don't be redundant by providing this type of information in the Airbnb title – your guests can find it one line below.

Use this type of location information to be super specific. Choose a picturesque nearby place – or a monument –: it's much more attractive than simply naming the neighbourhood!

For example, «Royal Palace» is much better and more descriptive than simply putting «Madrid». Do you really think your potential guest doesn't already know they're looking for holiday apartments in Madrid?

Update Airbnb titles frequently

If your holiday apartment does not have a low season or special events, you can skip this technique.

For the rest, change your Airbnb title to include relevant contextual information if there are special events.

10 minutes walk from Santiago Bernabéu? Of course, that's interesting for someone who wants to see the next Real Madrid vs. Barcelona match!

Think about what attracts your target audience – and use it

Talk about what elements or characteristics most attract your target audience or the type of travellers you attract. If you are attracting a certain type of traveller with specific needs, use them in your Airbnb title.

For example, your area may have more young travellers looking for nightlife. Having something like «10 minutes walk from Huertas» in the Airbnb title answers a question your guests have beforehand.

Think about your clients' greatest needs when travelling and answer them in your Airbnb or Booking listing title.

Find and choose the key adjective

Is your apartment bright, modern, cosy, classic, spacious...? Find the adjective that best defines your apartment and resonates with your target audience. Use it in your Airbnb listing title. Be honest. If you choose an adjective that isn't true to the photos you later show... In all likelihood, your visitors will be disappointed and won't book with you.

Use all 50 characters of the Airbnb listing title

Hosts only have 50 characters to complete the Airbnb title. Use them all! If you only use 20 or 30 characters, you'll be underutilising a wonderful promotional space. Here you can see what requirements the title must meet.

Foolproof formulas to say goodbye to the bland title on your holiday rental listing

Here are three Airbnb title templates to help you increase your bookings today:

[Accommodation type] [Adjective] with [Extra amenities] Example: Spacious apartment with parking and extra-large bed.
[Accommodation type] [Adjective] [Distance] [Popular destination] Example: Charming cabin 1 minute from the river + boat.
[Accommodation type] [Adjective] great for [Type of experience] Example: Private villa for a tranquil getaway.

Capturing the attention of your potential guests through your holiday rental listing is a complicated task.

However, by putting keywords in your Airbnb title, you will attract more guests. Try to be relevant to your target audience. Also, use precise descriptive words.

Finally, omit abstract terms like “great” or “unique”. Great is an opinion and can change between guests... Don't waste characters.

Description of your holiday rental listing

Only 30% of guests read beyond the first 250 characters.

As for the general listing description, Airbnb recommends using less than 500 characters. The same applies to Booking's recommendation. In fact, only 30% of guests read beyond the first 250 characters. So you must concentrate all the unique advantages of your accommodation in those first few lines.

While we focus on Airbnb here, this advice is equally valid for listings on Booking or HomeAway.

Potential guests love accommodations that ooze personality, so let yours shine... Without forgetting that you must be terribly concise to explain the benefits of your holiday accommodation. Use bulleted or numbered lists – they lighten the reading!

Adding additional information to your Airbnb or Booking listing

If you click on “Add additional information” (which only 30% of guests read), a drop-down menu with 6 text fields will open:

About the accommodation: Include extra information that you consider secondary but relevant. Remember that you should concentrate your main competitive differences in the first section. You can indicate if there are stairs, the bed size, available kitchen utensils, or anything else that might be useful. Remember to add photos of your Airbnb!
Areas guests have access to: Clearly explain which common areas your guests have access to if they book with you. You should elaborate on those you indicated in the Airbnb registration section, which we mentioned in the first section.
Relationship with guests: Some hosts are always available, while others are more relaxed in this regard and give travellers more freedom. Describe how your interaction with guests will be. Be honest, it's an important element for Airbnb guests!
Other notable aspects: What else should guests know before their stay? You'll have time to discuss house rules later, so use this space to add any other details you can think of.
About the neighbourhood: Describe the area where the accommodation is located. Include any special aspects of the neighbourhood, such as the bar with the best coffee or the perfect corner to sit and read for a while.
How to get around the area: Describe how to get from one place to another in the neighbourhood. Talk about public transport, give tips for parking or walking.

In conclusion, to optimise your Airbnb listing description, you should use personal and engaging language. Additionally, you need to be concise to convey all the unique features of your accommodation.

The hacks Cervantes would have used in the listing description (if he had owned a holiday rental)

When there is so much to say – and so many ways to say it – it's easy for the unique value of your accommodation (your competitive difference) to get lost.

Easy to read

A good Airbnb description makes the most of the available structure and formatting options. Use bulleted lists with short sentences and use bold text to emphasise your strengths. Online users don't read, they scan. That's why visually highlighting certain aspects is essential.

Use CAPITAL LETTERS for section headings. Don't overuse capitals – they're synonymous with shouting in online communications. Use special characters like * or + for each bullet point.

Your goal is for the Airbnb description to be easy to read and not a source of stress for your guest. If you need more information on how to use the description, check out what the Airbnb website says.

Be precise in the Airbnb listing description

Synthesis is not contrary to precision. Take a look at these two examples:

The bedroom has a TV
The bedroom has a 55″ LG HD TV with Netflix

Both options represent the same reality, but which would you choose?

Add specific details to your Airbnb descriptions, but don't add clutter. Irrelevant points for the reader only make navigation more difficult – and with it, bookings –.

Sell experiences in your holiday rental description

If your holiday accommodation has a special service or feature, describe the experience it can create – don't just list it. Try to answer what your guest can do with it. Let's look at two more examples:

Free coffee
Freshly brewed espresso in the mornings

Again, which would you choose?

Inform about what you do to make your guests' stay easier

In addition to listing all the ways your guest will enjoy their experience at your accommodation, a good Airbnb description also makes sure to include elements that will make your guest happier. For example, «easy parking in the area» or «washing machine in the accommodation» are two very common elements in urban areas.

Personality

Beauty catches the eye – that's why it's so important to take care of the photos – but it's personality that captivates the heart... Also for your holiday accommodations. Without a doubt, a wonderful photo will make your guests click on your listing (yay! One step closer to closing the booking). However, a good title and description will turn your potential guests into actual guests.

Make sure you embrace the spirit of your holiday accommodation in the description. Not just in the introduction. Technically, it's the same, but the what and how you say it will vary. For example, describing the dining room of a beachfront bungalow will be quite different from that of a penthouse in the centre of Madrid. In the first, you might talk about «shaking the sand off your feet at a pleasant post-beach party». While in the second, you might describe how nice it is to serve snacks with a cocktail while looking at the city's rooftops.

The main advice for your Airbnb description to convey personality is honesty. Don't try to pretend to be something you're not. It will be the direct ticket to a bad review... And those bad reviews greatly affect the SEO of your holiday accommodation.

Tip for the title: The listing title is very restricted in terms of character count. Try to distil the essence of your Airbnb. Is the rural house more of a cottage with a fireplace or a mountain chalet? Is the city apartment more of a comfortable place for weekends or a designer apartment?

Attention to detail

The trick for your Airbnb listing description is knowing how to differentiate what photos will show and what text will convey. Some elements are obvious: the bed for photos and proximity to points of interest for the description. However, don't forget small details like appliances, the TV, or accessibility.

Paying attention to detail doesn't mean counting the hangers in the wardrobe or the number of light bulbs in the living room's chandelier. However, don't hesitate to describe elements that can make the difference between booking – or not.

Is there no lift in your accommodation and the stairs could pose an architectural barrier for elderly or disabled people? Are there enough resources in the kitchen for a family of 5 to prepare meals?

Sometimes, simple things like being able to make coffee make guests end up booking. Attention to detail is one of the tips to improve your Airbnb or Booking listing description... and get bookings.

Tip for the title: Give it an irresistible punch. To do this, choose the most popular tourist attraction or point of interest and, subtly, include the distance from your accommodation. For example: «5 minutes walk from the beach».

No one knows more about your accommodation than you do

Guests want to be treated as what they are: guests. All the marketing for your holiday accommodation should be focused on the fact that what you are really selling is an experience. Not just a place to sleep.

Personal touches, such as mentioning the best place to watch a sunset, your favourite tavern, or the best cocktail bar in the area, build trust with your potential guests. Ultimately, you offer them more than just a place to sleep. Conveying this information is one of the best tips for your Airbnb description. In fact, it's something guests are willing to pay for – just ask the platform and its Experiences –.

In summary, the more time you save your guests on Google Maps or TripAdvisor (i.e., the more relevant information there is in the Airbnb listing), the better for your business.

Airbnb or Booking Reviews

If your average Airbnb rating isn't 5 stars, you're losing money.

Building and getting good Airbnb reviews on your listings will increase bookings for your holiday accommodation. In fact, having reviews is key to improving search ranking on any platform (be it Airbnb, Booking or Homeaway)

Here are some tips to improve Airbnb reviews, both in quantity and quality.

4 tips to get more reviews for your holiday accommodation

Get your first Airbnb reviews early

If you have very few Airbnb reviews on your accommodation, then that listing will get very few bookings. Your goal with a new listing should be to get reviews as quickly as you can during the initial phase. How to do it? If you're just starting, then you should set an introductory Airbnb price, below market price.

Ask your guests for reviews

For all your guests, especially at the beginning, write them reviews as soon as possible. Better yet, within hours after their stay ends. Once this is done, explicitly ask guests to review their stay. Simply by asking, you will build your Airbnb review history faster.

Be valued... as a guest

When you are a guest on Airbnb, you have the opportunity for other hosts to review you as a guest. This also helps to build your profile as a real person on Airbnb. The more validations you have from others in the community, the lower the barrier to establishing trust as a host with potential guests.

Plant the seed for topics in your holiday accommodation reviews

Make it easy for your guests. Don't make them think too much about what to put in the five-star review of their stay at your Airbnb listing. Surprise your guests with a unique and memorable experience. This way, you'll be sure they'll talk about it in their Airbnb review.

In addition to including this list of things in your accommodation, you can leave them a small gift. For example, you can leave them some cookies or chocolates at check-in or help them with a restaurant reservation.

When your guests have concrete examples of why their stay was fabulous, the topic of the Airbnb review is clear: it will be exactly that!

Bad reviews for your holiday rental

Some clients may write truly damaging, malicious, and hurtful things. On other occasions, they may even leave false reviews on your holiday rental listing.

However, as a host, you must bear in mind that bad Airbnb reviews have a certain element of truth – excluding those guests who go overboard with personal attacks, of course!

How to avoid them? And if there's no other choice... How to respond to them?

Which host hasn't had a negative review or one they disagreed with? Responding to bad reviews and learning from them is a smart way to deal with them. But without a doubt, the main advice – as obvious as it may seem – is that you must avoid these negative reviews at all costs.

Let's look at a real complaint from an Airbnb host on a forum:

Sometimes it happens that “something didn't work as it should”. It has happened to all of us, or it can happen, that despite putting all our effort, the air conditioning breaks down, a frying pan is missing, or the extractor fan makes noise. It can happen that a neighbour makes noise because they are making improvements, or that an apartment had leaks when it rained.

Why is it important to avoid bad reviews on your Airbnb listing?

Additionally, this host continues because the platform recently implemented the «Lowest reviews» tab: «For a few days now, Airbnb ‘helps' us so that negative comments are more visible than ever with the ‘Lowest Reviews' tab».

It seems clear that avoiding them should be a priority for any host. Especially important if it's your first holiday accommodation – it's key for positioning in the Airbnb search engine!

Tips to reduce the lowest Airbnb ratings

Low ratings usually have a reason and are not usually pure inventions by guests. It's true, as the host in the example said, that we all can miss some detail!

Below are some tips to reduce bad reviews on your Airbnb listing.

Be proactive

Being proactive in communicating with your guest is key to avoiding bad Airbnb reviews... Before they happen!

Some users of the platform use it as a traditional booking site. In fact, Airbnb encourages this – for example, with instant booking. To manage their expectations, include a call to action in the listing description asking them to message you before booking.

This achieves two things:

You ensure that your potential guests have read your holiday rental listing – and therefore, are ready to book.
In addition, it allows you to get to know your host and judge for yourself whether you think they fit your target customer.

This is a unique opportunity to impress your potential guest.

Finally, it also ensures that they have no doubts about your accommodation – to avoid bad Airbnb reviews when they leave a review –.

Leave a review for your guest quickly

Set an example for your guest. Leave a review on their profile as soon as possible... But make sure you have first seen how they left the apartment and if there has been any damage or deterioration.

A senseless review is also a bad review. Try to write a detailed and accurate review.

Use a suggestion box

A suggestion box can eliminate negative Airbnb comments like «the sheets were horrible» or «the toilet paper wasn't soft» before they happen. Offer your guests a private and discreet way to suggest improvements.

And most importantly of all: if you can't avoid a bad Airbnb review, take it philosophically: usually people just want to be heard.

Conclusion

If you ultimately cannot avoid bad reviews on Airbnb, you must respond to them. And to good ones too! But be smart. Do not write the response impulsively. Take the time you need to respond professionally and respectfully.

Keep in mind that your response to a bad review will appear directly below it in the «Lowest ratings» tab... and it will be public. If something has occurred for which you are partially responsible, perhaps you should consider refunding part of the booking.

How to respond to a bad Airbnb review?

Given that you cannot delete them, the best advice is not to have bad reviews on Airbnb.

But shit happens.

If your guests finally leave a bad review on Airbnb, take it as an opportunity to learn from your mistakes and become a better host – even if it's not your fault –. For example, imagine a guest complains that your accommodation is too far from the city centre when you already specify it in your description. Could you be more specific about the location and say it's «30 minutes by car from the city centre»?

In most cases, guests are not going to lie and their bad Airbnb reviews reflect reality. Learn from them!

When you get feedback or suggestions, listen to them, think about what should be improved, and implement those changes if necessary.

Some causes of bad Airbnb reviews are out of your control. Think, for example, about the weather. During their stay, guests experienced a heatwave – and it reflected in their review. Maybe you should consider changing your air conditioning?

Guests want to be heard

A bad Airbnb review is simply a guest demanding attention. It's that simple. Here are some tips to try and redirect criticism of your holiday accommodation... before it's published on the platform:

Provide excellent comprehensive service. Try to meet your guests' needs – provided they are reasonable –.
Send messages to your guests during their stay. Ask if you can offer anything to make their time better.
Give a small gift. That helps smooth over possible check-in issues, where most bad experiences are concentrated.
Have a suggestion box.

Too many guests? Do responding to bad Airbnb reviews (or good ones) take up too much of your time?

Come on! That's great! You are certainly in an enviable position. Not many hosts can say they have too many Airbnb reviews to respond to personally.