hey YouTube this is Richard founder of short-term rental secrets.com and Airbnb
super host at the request of a subscriber and thanks so much for
subscribing I really appreciate it they wanted to check out their listing
and give critical feedback the good bad and ugly about what they could do better
to drive more business to their air B&B and so I'm happy to do that and if you
want us to review your site go ahead and leave in the comment section the link
and we'll pick some occasionally and do it but my main man Charles
behind-the-scenes thought it would be helpful to users to introduce a little
bit of structure so he came up with the following format I'd love your feedback
if you think we could do it better let us know but for the time being when we
review listings on Airbnb or VRBO we're going to have a framework and that
framework is five-fold one the thumbnail is at the right image to the working
title is that title the best title possible three let's take a look at the
photography and the order the story that's being told as we review the
photos for what are the guests comments and feedback that the host is getting
what are my thoughts on that and finally fifth the description of the property so
I think going through and reviewing things with consistency in this
framework is really going to help focus us and derive the most value and I'm
really excited today to be reviewing the first one here Brooksville Manor okay so
I have not looked at this site before and I'm taking a look at it the very
first time just the way that a user would and this is really inviting the
home looks really beautiful and it's got some privacy and it's clear to me it's
evident that there's landscaping that it's well-maintained it's got beautiful
location and mountains and this American flag I mean this is really a piece of
Americana and if I'm looking for this sort of home in this location I think
this is a very nice thumbnail now since I haven't seen the rest of the photos I
reserve the right to change my opinion but this is inviting and I would love to
come stay here if I was in the area so good job one comment I would make about
this is I have yet to see drones being utilized a lot you may have seen them in
some of our videos and we're big leavers in the drone aerial shot so
really nice job taking a drone photo it's going to separate stand apart on
that SEO results when you're looking at a bunch of different thumbnails the one
from the aerial will definitely set apart I think that that's a really nice
touch so well done on that the next item on our framework here is the title and
this is titled Brooksville Manor to be very honest it leaves me very flat so
Jeff here's my little bit of advice on the title imagine that you were sitting
down at a bar with a friend that you hadn't seen in a long time
and he asked you about your property would you just turn to them and say
Brooksville manor and leave it at that or might you say private estate on one
acre called Brooksville manor right so like I think it's really valuable real
estate you have an opportunity with a certain number of words and characters
and you should use it even though it might mean an awful lot to you
Brooksville Manor might be a family name it goes back generations I'm making this
up but it doesn't mean a lot to somebody just looking at the site like me it's a
third item on our framework here's to view the photos and like I mentioned
earlier since I haven't seen them it's possible that I like a thumbnail
superior to the one that you're actually using at which point I'll be happy to
point it out so let's go ahead and view these photos and this looks like it's
the drone shot that you used only cropped if you did in fact crop it
I might actually use this one because it shows that circular driveway it looks a
little grander it doesn't show the home so much but it shows a lot more of the
woods and the privacy and that's probably why I would like to stay there
so if that's something that air B&B did the cropping I understand if it's
something that you thought was superior so you could show the flag and highlight
the size of the home I actually would pan out and show the panorama and the
mountains in the sky and the privacy and all that because again it's pretty
evident that the home is big and I don't know that you need to highlight it like
that oh it's lovely inside and I love the way that you put the name
Brooksville Manor in the upper left corner
so that people don't you know download the photo or steal it I mean I'm not
sure exactly why you did it but I do see that and I think that's a really nice
detail and the home looks really nice and inviting and I would probably try
and use some of this stuff in your title charming historic old-world days gone by
I mean whatever theme you've used I would encourage you to use that in the
title here's a great room fireplace it looks like a nice deck again this looks
really really lovely the one thing that stands out to me on this photo is you
know less than ideal but it's not that big a deal is this electric cord it's
just like front and center but otherwise the photo looks you know really nice at
the right height looks like a very nice great room it's really clean it's
spotless it's staged the pillows are great I mean I think you're doing
terrific work here and I'm just you know very impressed and I'd love to stay here
so so far I'm very impressed and this photos really nice I don't know
if it's just the the sharpness of the photo but this photo in particular I can
see different colors and textures and I'm not sure it's a better photo than
the living room but just for whatever reason I'm drawn to this photo the
kitchen looks great the eat-in kitchen it just looks big and I assume in your
description you talk about eat-in kitchen the dining room looks great I
think you're doing great work with the photography the media room or the movie
room is fantastic and I can just imagine you know sitting down there I like the
way you took the shot of it this angle as well and I can see the surround town
speakers and the movie posters and there's the billiard room in the game
room and the bar I mean you know to your credit you're doing fabulous work with
the photos and photography in the order you know I started in sort of the family
actually living and then I'm starting to see the bedrooms and then I
go into the player in the recreation area in the kitchen so I think this is
all fine and as I see the decor it's you know clear that its period and its
historic and its antiques and it's by design and so I assume in your
description you're covering all that but you might want to bring that up and
again in the title but I love what I see and again I think you've got the right
thumbnail shot but I would recommend panning out I think it's going to show
more magnificently and show the privacy which you want to highlight so very well
done I'm very impressed good job so one thing
that dawns on me now is you don't do a lot with the surrounding area
photography I don't see any of the local sites any of the local cafes I don't say
to the local trails why do people come here besides hanging out at your
billiard table and using the master bedroom what else are they doing in the
area and you may want to take photos of that to help them understand sort of the
opportunities and what they should consider and what they should do and you
know if you think about when you go to book a hotel or something they don't
just show you the room right they show you the pool they show you the beach
they show you the you know movie theater whatever it is you want to paint that
picture and so I think while you've done tremendous work taking great photos of
the home and it's spotless and the photography is excellent I would
encourage you to do similar in the immediate area that surrounding the
local cafes the local community the local brew pub the hiking trail the
mountain the river the rafting I'm not sure what happens here but you are and
you should highlight that in my opinion okay so let's turn to the fourth item
here which is the guest reviews and it looks like there's only two reviews here
so it's possible that air B&B is in your preferred platform or that you're just
getting started it doesn't really matter we've all been there and it's a start so
congratulations it looks like this review is
particularly helpful and by the way use some of these reviews to draw out titles
and descriptions and stuff so the first review that I'm looking at it from
February of this year and it says it's an amazing place to stay close to winter
green ski resort okay the views were breathtaking so breathtaking views
you know ski nearby the house is gorgeous and so spacious with enough
room for our party of 16 the amenities were perfect gracious host very
welcoming I would definitely recommend it so great job I'm sure that's a five
star review and that's going to help build your presence I would recommend
that you reply to this and have a response and again there's a video that
I've highlighted sort of how I handle it but you want to reply to all these to
show that you're you know fully involved closed-loop that you care that you're
paying attention that you're attentive the second review here first and
foremost outstanding hosts welcome and clearly proud of the property I could
see that in the photos but they felt it themselves personally they felt at home
before arrival thanks to their responsiveness ensuring it was a great
Thanksgiving weekend the listing itself set the bar pretty high and then it
exceeded our expectations that's key anytime you exceed expectations you're
going to get five star review and here's interesting
it's ideal for hosting UVA alums and different tours and holiday dinners and
we'll definitely be back so again I would respond to this and thank them and
maybe target some of this to UVA alums and the local wine and brewery tours and
include that in your description so not a lot to say here other than great start
on these reviews I'm sure they were both five-star I would recommend that you go
ahead and reply to them so let's go ahead and do that okay so now the fifth
item is the description the very first thing that I see here is that it's a
hundred percent refundable and that you allow guests to cancel up to 24 hours
before your trip and get a full refund if that works for you continue to use it
Jeff I think that that's very very guest friendly and host challenging I don't do
that myself I use a strict policy I have another video that you should review
about sort of which policy is best but I think if you're running this as a
business and I think you are the hundred percent refundable puts way too much
bird on you and not enough certainty so I
might change that if this were my listing I definitely would change it the
description here my place is close to great views with all due respect Jeff
that's room for improvement my place is close to great views restaurants &
dining parks art and culture you'll love my place because of the outdoor space
and comfy bed I think we found the area where you're going to have the most room
for improvement it's in the title and in the description the photography you
nailed but and and by the way there is a service that does professional
descriptions and their travel writers so they understand exactly how to write
something that's engaging and compelling and so on and I think that there's room
for improvement here I'm not going to be able to dictate what I think you should
say but I'm going to try and encourage you to enhance it and things like
conveniently located to all restaurants skiing dining in parks with unbelievable
views or vistas nearby right something like that as opposed to very direct or
you saved my place is close to great it's just it's too it's too choppy and
it's not changing the picture that you want I also think that the you'll love
my place because of the outdoor space and comfy bed could be enhanced and I
would say something like Brookville manor is extremely private with I read
five acres of land and the custom antique furniture not only looks
period-appropriate but is extremely comfortable the place is good for
couples business travelers families with kids and big groups and again I think
just a few enhancements my place is good is a little bit soft I might say
selected by many couples and business travelers because of and then give a
reason the house is close to the wineries and breweries of central
Virginia this close to golf course of skiing and Blue Ridge Parkway it is a
home away from home visit our website okay so you may have
listings and better description there but I think that this first paragraph
you should really spend a little bit of time and enhance it Blue Ridge short
drive to historic Charlottesville and Thomas Jefferson's Monticello okay so
the first sentence is a little bit repetitive it doesn't add a lot of value
but it is the first time that I've seen that it's close to Charlottesville
historic Charlottesville and Thomas Jefferson's Monticello and so I think
that you want to incorporate that a little bit more you've got a two-night
minimum the neighborhood you know this is where I think you have hidden this it
took me a long time to get to this is a private gated property with five acres
of accessible land I would be highlighting that earlier up I think
overall the description is where you're going to improve your success on Airbnb
and possibly your own website more I think you've done really great work with
the photography but I think that the written aspect could use an element of
selling the dream painting the picture showing people how they might use it
including photos of the things that they could visit during this day and then
writing about that and just telling that story a little bit more but overall I
think this is a great listing and I think you're going to do quite well with
it I'm not sure if the price is a deterrent or if that's sort of what the
area goes for I'm sure you do but I would question that as well if you're
not getting the right number of bookings you might want to play with that and if
you haven't subscribed to something that does dynamic pricing weather could be
beyond pricing which is what I use and I don't know if they're in your area but
they probably are or if they're an A or B and B has their own pricing model you
might want to play with that but I think if you're not getting the booking that
you want the next variable is to fix the description take additional exterior
photos of the area and then work on the pricing and with those three things I
think you're going to find a lot more success than you're currently having and
I wish you nothing but the best thanks so much for letting me review this it's
been a real honor and I hope you and other subscribers found this interesting
if you did go ahead and like it if you have comments or questions or you
like a different order format go ahead and leave that in the comments as well
and if you haven't subscribed to the channel what are you waiting for do it
thanks so very much have a great day happy
you