Owners are constantly searching for the formula to boost bookings, but what motivates reservations? Are these fancy amenities? Authentic photographs? Or might it be the surroundings? While all of these elements play a part in your Airbnb success, a compelling description is the one essential element that creates the initial hook. What maximizes your reservations is the guest hook (well, and good management software for properties on Airbnb, of course). So how will you persuade visitors to make a reservation?
Many hosts are intimidated by the necessity of effective Airbnb copywriting and are forced into hiring one outright. While working with a pro is an excellent method to guarantee a top-notch description, it’s not the only one.
We’ve compiled all the best advice and techniques for creating effective Airbnb copy, as well as some suggestions for hiring a specialist if you decide to outsource it. If you want to improve your bookings, don’t overlook the things that result in reservations, such as your Airbnb description and vacation rental software.
What does writing for Airbnb entail?
The term alone puts pressure on hosts to write a professional-level description if they hope to earn any bookings at all. The good news is that once you know what your visitors want, it’s fairly easy. Even better, no two descriptions are the same, so coming up with a distinctive one can make your listing stand out from the competition.
A purposefully designed listing description for an Airbnb listing that focuses on search engine criteria and the visitor hook is known as Airbnb copywriting. In essence, the elevator pitch for your Airbnb will be the words that draw in customers.
Why is copywriting for Airbnb listings important?
Writing “two-bedroom flat in the city center” would be simple, but it doesn’t entice guests. It’s crucial to have a strong Airbnb description, but it takes a lot of effort. It won’t take just 15 minutes to complete a task with only 50 characters and a strict character count restriction.
Despite the initial work required, the reward is substantial. The perfect guest will be drawn to your Airbnb listing, your page score will increase, and—best of all—you’ll receive more reservations! Let’s take a deeper look.
Impress prospective visitors
The ideal scenario is for all of your customers to find you through word-of-mouth advertising or by doing a direct search for your Airbnb listing. Sadly, this doesn’t happen very often. Most of the time, you’ll have to persuade total strangers to feel secure enough to reserve a room in a strange town. You’ll need to persuade visitors to book a reservation solely based on your Airbnb listing. Now it makes apparent why having good Airbnb copywriting skills is important.
How are you going to make your “two-bedroom apartments in the city center” stand out when you might be vying for the same weekend slot as a million other ones? Effective Airbnb copywriting distinguishes your listing from the competition and charms any visitors who land on your page.
Clearly state what is expected.
You must intervene because your property is unable to speak for itself. In your description, convey the vibe of what you expect from your visitors. Although this isn’t the place to list your house rules, you can save the hassle of having to oversimplify regulations later on by exhibiting your property’s “feel” in a positive way.
Attract the appropriate crowd
Similar to that, you want to draw visitors who will fully value everything your resort has to offer. You’re not simply protecting your peace of mind when you sell your property. Imagine that you manage a tiny cottage rental business outside of the city. You perceive your place as a peaceful retreat from the city, ideal for calm travelers or couples, but other visitors might see this as an opportunity to hold a sizable friend reunion without worrying about noise concerns.
Increase the popularity of your Airbnb listing.
Keep in mind that your Airbnb ranking doesn’t exactly match a Google ranking’s trend. However, SEO is still important in a different sense. Your listing will be rewarded if it is descriptive as an echo of Airbnb’s push for quality. Going right to the source, Airbnb states that “having a concise, accurate description of what visitors will get starts building a competitive listing.”
You have a better possibility of improving your rank in the Airbnb search feature if your Airbnb copywriting is well written.
The best Airbnb copywriting techniques
Although you are now aware of the value of effective Airbnb text, you may still be curious as to what makes an Airbnb description unique. If you’re hesitant to hire a pro, there are several pointers and tactics you can use to become your own in-house Airbnb copywriting guru.
Draw attention to your key selling points.
Many hosts make the error of disclosing either too little or too much information about the property in the title. One or two selling elements at most should be included in the headline of an Airbnb listing. Put “rare” in the headline if having a jacuzzi is unheard of in your neighborhood. Putting your huge sale in the spotlight will draw the interest of prospective customers.
However, you don’t want to overwhelm visitors. If you make your title appear like a laundry list, visitors will simply go on to the next listing since it is too cluttered to look at. Therefore, it is best to find the right balance between the two. Your best qualities should be highlighted without going overboard.
Keep fillers to a minimum.
Your property should be mentioned in your description. Filler words and generalized adjectives do not benefit your visitors. Using the wrong descriptive terms might make your property seem spammy in addition to making it seem generic. Your adjective selection must convey a mood of positivism without leaning too far into falsehood. The following are words to avoid:
- Beautiful
- Pretty
- Nice
- Great
Also, please refrain from using the word “extremely.” The only thing you’re accomplishing when you utilize words like “extremely” to accentuate or enhance a point is wasting four letters that could’ve been better employed in place of a more precise word. For instance, the breathtaking landscape can be more accurately described in the same number of characters as really good views. Use your limited space wisely when describing.
No negative language
Even when conveying a positive message, if you do so in a negative manner, the effect will be just that—negative. Particularly when you’re attempting to persuade guests that your hotel is the ideal choice for their holiday, you want their entire experience to be good.
Let’s take the case of a cabin that exists in the Nashville area’s surrounding woods. The first description might have included, “Quiet cabin far from the busy highway.” The first adjectives that come to mind are busy and highway, which, despite having a positive selling feature, have a somewhat unfavorable connotation. Let’s give it another go: “Quaint cabin hidden in the Nashville woods.” You convey the same idea but in a much friendlier manner.
SEO is still crucial.
For guests to choose the ideal accommodation for their trip, Airbnb features a complex algorithm (about 100 criteria). The rating algorithm is incredibly accurate at matching passengers with suitable accommodations, but if you want any of the sought-after traffic, you’ll need to learn how to exploit it.
All you have to do is follow the instructions because Airbnb is clear about what it takes to get up the rankings. Although not the only factor is taken into account by the algorithm, description is an essential one. So what do you need to do?
According to their website, “The algorithm takes into account the frequency of clicks on your listing, the frequency of contact attempts from your listing page, and the volume of booking requests you accept. Your listing will rank higher if many visitors add it to their wish lists, and those visitors are more likely to locate it again when conducting subsequent searches.
In essence, your listing must be clickable. Your listing moves up the page the more clicks it receives. Airbnb visitors will be drawn to your listing and, as a result, your rating in the search results will rise if your listing has an intriguing headline that properly describes your property.
How to choose the ideal copywriter for Airbnb
If you’ve never worked with independent travel writers, you might not know where to start. Be certain that we can assist! Nowadays, it’s more typical than ever for freelance copywriters to focus on writing for a single sector, and Airbnb copywriting is no different. It can be difficult to find the appropriate person in such a specialized industry, but if you know where to go, you’ll be well on your way to finding the Airbnb copywriter of your dreams.
Referrals and personal recommendations
An excellent place to start is by asking your network of friends and coworkers who own vacation rental properties for any ideas. Property owners who have gotten good service are typically happy to share the provider’s information with others, especially when there is a chance that both parties will gain from the transaction.
Ask your peers for recommendations and suggestions, or you may even start conversations on internet forums for communities that provide vacation rentals and see what happens. These talks may take place on websites like Airbnb or HomeAway where your vacation rental is already listed, as well as on LinkedIn groups, Facebook pages, or Reddit threads for professionals.
Freelancing websites
Try utilizing online freelance marketplaces like Upwork or Speedlancer to jump right in and locate freelance copywriters to spruce up your site. The biggest and possibly most well-known tool available for both professionals and organizations is Upwork. You may quickly scan through the profiles of freelance writers, read reviews of their work, and discover the range of prices they want.
You might even discover that copywriters will fight for your attention with really competitive rates, as the market for freelance writing is already quite saturated, and this is especially true when it comes to in-demand travel writing projects. Do your research before choosing a writer, familiarize yourself with the market, and use the reviews and portfolios of different writers to help you decide.
Agencies
You might choose an umbrella copywriting firm and let them manage the paperwork and decisions for you instead of selecting the specific person for the task.
One choice is to go with a specialized company like GuestHook, which is quite knowledgeable about vacation rental ad descriptions. Alternatively, go with a more all-encompassing firm like Copify, which works with well-known brands from a variety of industries and will match you with a copywriter suitable for your position.
Check rates before you hire someone because many of these services charge by the word or the post.
The Internet
You can actively look for freelancers utilizing the website’s advanced search feature, as well as using discussion sites like LinkedIn. Thanks to LinkedIn, your search results will be sorted by how relevant they are to your network. You can ask your common connection to introduce you if you have any shared connections because they will appear in the top results.
Additionally, a lot of freelance travel writers and small businesses that write will have profiles on social media sites like Facebook and Twitter. To get all the results that are relevant and have those terms in their bios, just type in your search term and select the “Accounts” option on Twitter.
Additionally, you may search Twitter for relevant hashtags that independent contractors are using; Productive Writers’ list is a great place to start.
You can start a conversation with freelance travel writers on social media as a fan of their work right away, which is a terrific way to establish a connection and begin your working relationship with them.
Summary
One of the major players in the vacation rental market is Airbnb. Getting your hotel listed and seen on this well-known OTA could result in significant booking success! With the absence of word-of-mouth or direct bookings, all reservations must begin somewhere, and this is often from your listing’s title and description.
You’ll be able to get the number of bookings you want by using Airbnb copywriting. You can quickly see a boost in Airbnb reservations if you follow our expert advice on emphasizing your best selling points, minimizing meaningless adjectives, maintaining a cheerful tone, and incorporating SEO into your writing.
You’ll require a reservation management system to manage your incoming stays after you become a booking superstar thanks to your amazing Airbnb copywriting abilities. You can easily manage your Airbnb bookings with the aid of Lodgable. With our free trial, you can see for yourself.
