Hello youtube this is richard founder of short-term rentals secrets.com and
Airbnb super host and welcome back to another edition of our member listing
reviews today we're gonna be reviewing Bailey's listing she's active on our
Facebook group and on YouTube and so we're excited to see what Bailey's done
with her spacious one-bedroom in Easton Town Center Columbus Ohio to remind
everybody we do this in five sections the first one we discuss is the title
then we talk about the photos in the order that Bailey selected the thumbnail
she's using finally the description which is a written copy and then we talk
about the reviews that Bailey's got and she's got 17 so let's go ahead and get
started right now the title spacious one-bedroom at Easton Towne Center so
what I would say is you know I think it's descriptive its spacious it's
one-bedroom and it says the location since I'm not familiar with Columbus
Ohio Easton Town Center doesn't mean very
much to me but I'm presuming that it's meaningful for people that are staying
in Columbus Ohio if that's the case if that's sort of like if you're staying in
Manhattan it says it's Times Square or its Upper East Side or something that's
meaningful to people then I think it's good if Easton Town Center is just you
know where it's located and it's not an area that people are looking for I might
change that and I wish I could offer more insight but I'm not familiar with
it let's turn to the photos in the order and as always I'm going to click through
right now and just take a look
okay so Bailey let's take a look at the photos I think that they're taken pretty
well in the sense that the lighting is good and I think that the height is good
I think you could do a little bit better in the way of staging and what I mean by
that is this room just looks a little bit empty and these throw pillows that
are piled over here just look a little bit like random I'm not sure why they're
there I also see some little bit of clutter
this yellow thing I'm not sure exactly what it is
and while I like the chest as your coffee table and I do similar things in
some of my homes it just looks a little barren perhaps even just like a throw
rug with some color underneath here would be really good and this throw here
while I like to throw it looks a little bit messy so maybe just retake the shot
clean up these pillows get rid of the yellow thing if you have the budget to
get a small little carpet like a six by nine carpet that adds a little color
that'd be cool and then I think this throw if it was folded better even if
that's the way you like to look at it if you look through any of the magazines
that decorate homes I think you'll find them slightly different and then this
wall here looks really big and sort of empty so maybe something here would be
good I like this shot again it's the right height the clean apartment I can
see like the vacuum line so it's obviously you know really nice and clean
I guess this is the dining table perhaps with these chairs and the pillows if
this is in fact the dining table then I might put some plates there glass of
wine or something and same sort of thing on the kitchen counter here the magnets
and everything are nice and neat so they don't really distract me and if this is
an eat-in island I can't tell with from the overhang what if there's an overhang
here maybe a couple of stools here so people could have breakfast that they
eat encounter would be really interesting again I can't really tell
about that from here but I like this shot in the sense that I can see how
nice and bright it is and that there's windows and there's trees outside so I
might put again I've said this in some of the other videos I see that you've
got some foliage here's some green plants maybe a nice flower
of Oz and orchid something to just add a little bit more welcoming hospitality
the bedroom looks very minimal I think perhaps putting a throw pillow
would be helpful I think that this lamp here on the headboard looks a little bit
dangerous it looks sort of out of place perhaps instead of putting a chair here
you put a nightstand or use the chair as a nightstand put the table lamp on the
chair or maybe an alarm clock or something and then maybe a piece of
artwork you can get this stuff relatively inexpensively or secondhand
or reproduction poster it doesn't really matter but when I look at this room
while it looks nice and clean it doesn't look particularly like inviting it looks
more utilitarian is what I would call it this wall has some art and that's really
nice the mirror here I suppose that's probably the best place for it just as a
side note from a liability perspective I might make sure that that's anchored
into the wall so that if somebody stays there and doesn't fall on them
I'm always looking at liability because unfortunately liability is a single
largest thing that can like kill our growing business if somebody does
something stupid and it should have never happened or whatever but they get
injured and all of a sudden you've got a lawsuit on your hands and you're out of
business so I always look at things from a liability and a sustainability
perspective like how what could go wrong and let me fix that this looks really
nice I like the bookshelf there's obviously some games here I love the
camera up here these little things that add personality and so I think this is a
really nice addition I'm not sure that the photo really shows too much except
that you know there's the living room here and I guess this is probably where
the bathroom goes one comment that I seem to repeat on almost all of these
reviews is you're not taking advantage of using the photo labels intelligently
for maximum effect so spacious one bedroom at Eastern town center repeated
nine times doesn't add a lot of value but if you say something like imagine
coming home and playing Jenga with your loved one or your spouse or your kid or
you know I don't know whatever the photo is say something
about it that envisions the experience and and highlights to people how you use
the home how they might use the home how others use the home and that little bit
of personality believe it or not could sway somebody from staying at some
competing Airbnb and into yours the bathroom you know bathroom shots are
always hard there's never anything particularly great to say about it
it does look like perhaps you're missing a hand towel here and on these hooks
maybe put a robe or something I I'm sure that this was staged to show the Colgate
and the toothbrush but it's not clear to me whether those are new and for like
guests like you put them out for every guest or that's just yours and you put
it there and you know arranged it neatly it looks a little bit strange to me I
might shoot that again and again maybe put a candle maybe put another orchid or
something bringing this room that's pretty like gray and clean it's really
clean but give it a little bit of color give it a little bit of life give it a
little personality take the shot with the candle even light
the candle one thing I would suggest oh I do see a candle here but one thing
that I would suggest is put the seat down and try not to get the toilet in
the shot everybody knows that there's a toilet but it doesn't really add a lot
of value and probably turns people off more than it turns people on but if you
have to have the shot with the toilet go ahead and put the seat down so we're not
like staring into like you know the abyss again really nice and clean I like
the fact that you provide shampoo here for whatever reason for me it's evident
that this is going to be there when I check in but a toothbrush you know I'm
not sure are you giving me a toothbrush it's kind of grosses me out a little bit
but I feel very differently about the shampoo and the body wash I assume that
that's there for guests and that's cool and if you felt so inclined maybe
another hook here for a bathrobe or a different towel or something but that's
not a big deal okay so here you are using the the
titles there's a key fob for the pool will be on the keychain that's pretty
cool you know you might want to include things like when the pool is open either
what months or what hours something like that but I love the fact that there's a
photo the one thing I would say about this photo is it's not particularly high
resolution so you might want to shoot again and just make it as
high-resolution as the rest of your photos and I think that's all nine of
them so overall I think that the photos show that it's a really well maintained
and nice and clean place but I think from a decor perspective and a welcoming
warmth perspective there's a few really simple things that you could do that
would add a ton of value to the listing itself and probably the unit also so I
hope you found that interesting in conclusion I think that the photos do a
good job a few minor things would be really helpful and what's kind of
interesting to me as I reflect back on it is you know the whole title says that
we're in Easton Town Center I already said I don't really know where that is
or how important that is but there's not a single photo of Easton town center or
the surrounds or what somebody might do in Easton town center and so that's an
opportunity to go out and take some photos of the neighborhood take a photo
of your corner take a photo of the local pub the local whatever you know coffee
shop or if it's the middle of like everything then just take some of those
photos but that'll really highlight to people why they're choosing your place
in the middle of Easton town center in fact we filmed a video on how to
photograph your neighborhood and some of the things that help people understand
sort of the experience that they might have so if you haven't seen that go
ahead and watch that video that'd be a good idea now turning to the thumbnail
having looked at all your photos I think that the best shot that you have is in
fact the living room shot so I like this photo again I would do the few things
that I suggested like the rug and an orchid and move these pillows fix the
throw a little bit and then I'd probably take this shot again I like the fact
that you can make out a television here in the corner so I would try and make
sure that you capture that and then I think some art here's something colorful
all over the art that I seen and that I look at now and I think that I recall
tends to be posters that are white and black and that's cool but um maybe it's
time to have something that's got a little bit more color just to make the
room pop a little bit so I think the thumbnail is good but I'd probably
reshoot it with a little bit of the suggestions that I made and see if you
like it if you don't like run with this because it's fine but I
think if you do what I said you'll probably agree that it is more visually
appealing to more people and that's what we're trying to do is appeal to everyone
okay so let's turn to the description and there's some things that I really
like here again you talked about that you're right in eastern town center and
there's plenty of shopping restaurants and grocery as I suggested in the photos
it'd be a really good idea to show some of that show people what you're close to
I love that it's easy access to highways and back roads and convenient to the
airport and downtown light and bright and simple it's cool I love the way that
you describe whoo it's good for great fit for couples business travelers and
families pets welcome this is sort of unique it's very rare that we see places
that are pets welcome and I think the fact that you highlight the allergy
alert is really important and a good thing I wonder not that you're gonna
change your life but just as an aside I wonder how much this is hurting your
business or how much it's helping my gut tells me that net-net it's a negative
not that you're gonna change it I'm not suggesting to get rid of your cat and I
think it's great that you highlight it but I just wonder how many people don't
really want to stay in a place where a cat lives and it could you know have
hair or urine smell or whatever just aside I like the way that you've
described it it's cozy and minimal and you have board games and so on again
second allergy alert I think that that's great
but what's interesting for me is there's not a ton of description it's a very
limited description especially relative to a lot of the other listings that
we've reviewed and one thing that's missing is in doing a little bit of
research it seems like you're very close to Ohio State and that must be a
unbelievable opportunity for people that are coming either for games or to visit
their kids at college and you have no mention of of that as you know this is a
perfect place for it we're 15 minutes away so it seems like a missed
opportunity to go ahead and highlight you know the fact that so many people
come to Columbus to visit their kids at college and you're centrally located or
convenient so I'd definitely change and add that to your description and I'm not
so sure about this one bedroom two bath because it's one bedroom I only saw one
bed which is the master and then down here when I do a little bit more work
it's apparent that what you're talking about
is queen mattress a queen air mattress and a comfortable couch for sleeping -
I'm assuming that you charge more money for extra people actually you don't know
charge and it just seems to me Bailey that if you're gonna put five people in
a one-bedroom you should get paid for that personally I wouldn't do that with
my space that's a lot of wear and tear it's a lot of people it's an
unbelievable value and so I would charge more you know charge $10 per person more
if you're comfortable with five people and now you're just increasing your
revenue and your costs haven't gone up at all so really that's all profit so to
the extent that you're okay with that charge for it I don't think anybody's
gonna be turned down you can't possibly stay five people in a one-bedroom for
$70 per night for less so it's still a great deal again I say this all the time
I don't really believe in weekly discounts or monthly discounts you're
just taking money out of your pocket at the prices that you're charging it's
still a great deal and experiment what they turn it off I know I don't even
know my guess is that you're probably not doing too much in the way of monthly
discounts are you moving out with your cat for a month at a time maybe you are
for a week but if somebody wants to take your place for a week they'll likely pay
full price and so this 10% is literally just profit that's going out and that's
one of the things that I see a lot with people that are just getting started in
short-term rentals what they're worried about is the fear of vacancy as opposed
to thinking about the opportunity of charging more and there's a price where
you know the market sort of clears so if that market clears your price on a
short-term rental you don't need to discount it just move away from that
logic stop fearing the vacancy and instead use something like beyond
pricing that we recommend for dynamic pricing and it sort of takes care of it
and I'm wondering if you do in fact have looks like a very limited availability
until we get to November and it looks like you're using some sort of smart
pricing but look there we go 10% weekly discount at six
six dollars coming out of your pocket and I'm not sure that that's really
worth it back to the description here I see the
cancellations is moderate that's your choice I personally believe in stricter
although I also recognize that that's becoming less and less common every day
you have two night minimums on the weekends that's your choice and I think
overall the description is fairly accurate missing a really good
opportunity for Columbus schools and I think it could actually be elaborated on
a little bit more you know you don't talk at all about the pool here so match
the photos with the description be more elaborate in the photos and be more
elaborate in the description again you're trying to convince people to stay
here this is the only marketing you do right like nobody knows you nobody knows
anything about you all you all they know is what you choose to share with them
and show them and so you want to just be as thorough as possible so to that end
realize that if you don't tell people a lot you don't show people a lot they're
probably not going to pay a lot but if you show people a lot and you show them
a great time in the location and you paint this picture and then you talk
about it in the description and it looks you know really an elaborate and
enticing chances are you can raise your prices and again since the name of the
game here is to have less occupancy and charge higher rates which translates to
more profits these are all things that I think you could really do and it seems
like you're doing it quite well but there's an opportunity to here to make
even more money so now let's move on to the review the final thing here
seventeen five-star reviews yes Bailey and look at this very first one you
can't make this stuff up Mandy pictures don't do this place justice that's
that's telling right like the fact that your photos don't tell the full story
and your comment right here justifies that tells you that there's room for
improvement and I think you should the location is even better see it's right
across the street from the mall that has so much to offer in a quick ride
downtown and Bailey was a great host so that's terrific again so convenient
to Easton shopping and eateries you need to really take some of those photos
easy to work with definitely recommend Bailey space more than met our
expectations very clean can't say enough things no pictures do this apartment
justice now we're hearing it twice Bailey was a perfect host she was
responsive that's great she brought her two cats you know okay
I'm you know still uncertain about that but that's your your choice her
apartment was clean definitely stay here again we're gonna just go to the second
page and see if we get something that's interesting this is a reminder Bailey
you're a little delinquent on responding to some of these other ones I love the
way that you've responded here and this is a nice personal touch I recommend us
all the time hope you have a nice family reunion right that's only said to them
that's great but I think it's time to catch up on August and September
comments let's see a beautiful apartment went out of her way to settle me in
Bailey was great to work with thank you for your sweet review okay so
look the reviews are all consistent you're getting five stars obviously
you're great hosts you care a lot the apartments clean interestingly the same
thing that I picked up on which is that we're not highlighting the photos
properly and we're also not you know picking up on the location being
photographed it seems to be evident in the reviews and I love the fact that
you're responding with personal stuff so keep that up and just try and be a
little bit more consistent and bring that up to date but overall you know
seventeen five star reviews thoroughly enjoyed reviewing your place here Bailey
and you know one thing that I see here is that you just joined in May of 2017
so that's May June July August September like you're in your fifth month you've
got eighteen five-star reviews you're a super host and it may not be
acknowledged now but you're gonna get that status it's amazing I'm so glad
that you're you know active in the Facebook group and on the YouTube
watching the videos you clearly care you're learning you're you know
educating yourself and that's so rewarding and I hope we've been helpful
in some of this and continue to be helpful on a go-forward basis so thanks
so much Bailey really appreciate your time and I hope this little review
generates more profits for you and others that are watching little
takeaways we love your feedback we love your comments to the extent that you
suggestions for Bailey leave them you know nobody's gonna take anything
personally but just be nice right like we're a nice minded community we just
want to be better hosts and we want to make more money that's it like the video
please and if you haven't subscribed please do that too
until then happy hosting have a great day