How to Write a Compelling Airbnb Listing
The decision to list your home on Airbnb can be exciting and stressful at the same time. After all of the work that goes into getting your home vacation rental ready, creating the listing may seem easy: Where is your home? How many bedrooms do you have? What amenities do you offer?
Then comes the hard part: writing your title and description. Rarely has a blinking cursor seemed so daunting. Read on for tips on how to write an Airbnb listing that stands out from the crowd, whether you are just getting started or want to improve your current listing. This post covers:
Choosing a title for your Airbnb listing
Writing a description for your Airbnb listing
Describing your space
Revising your Airbnb listing description
Choosing a Title for Airbnb Your Listing
In some ways, this is the hardest part — and arguably the most important, even though it’s only 50 characters. Your title is the first thing people see in the Airbnb search results and also serves as the heading at the top of your page. Your main objective with the title is to get people to click on your listing.
Many Airbnb hosts try to come up with something catchy and memorable, which I actually advise against in this case. While something like The Sugar Shack or Whispering Wind may convey the vibe of your property, it doesn’t actually tell potential guests anything about your space. Save the catchy name for later in your listing.
You should also avoid including details that are already covered by Airbnb’s search filters, like the number of bedrooms and whether your home is pet friendly. If someone is searching for a 3 bedroom, pet friendly home and that is what you are offering, titling your listing “3 BR pet friendly condo” doesn’t tell guests anything they don’t already know.
So what should you say? To start, think about what you love about your home and what makes it unique, in your own words. How would you describe it to your friends?
Call Out the Location
Is your home a secluded cabin in the mountains? A funky bungalow a block from the beach? A penthouse apartment steps from Central Park? A ski-in, ski-out condo? There’s your title. You do not need to mention the name of the town or city – it automatically appears in the search results.
Speak to Your Target Audience
If your location doesn’t provide inspiration, speak to the type of traveler your home is suited for. If your area attracts a lot of business travelers and your home has a great WFH setup, you might title your listing “Condo w/ Office Near Downtown.” If you offer a highchair and toys, make sure to include “Family Friendly” in your listing.
Describe Your Home’s Style
If enviable design sets your home apart, lead with that. It could be a classic colonial or a midcentury masterpiece, or maybe you’ve filled the house with art or decorated with a specific theme in mind. Again, you don’t have to get too creative – just describe it like it is.
Highlight Any Special Amenities
If you have a hot tub, a pool, or fireplace, put that info front and center. While guests can perform an advanced search for these amenities, many view them as a bonus, and these details will distinguish your home from similar properties. Airbnb provides a list of the top amenities guests are looking for, which could provide some inspiration.
Feeling stuck? Send me a message to learn more about how Splendid Host can help write or revise your Airbnb listing for a higher search ranking, more views, and more bookings.
Writing a Description for Your Airbnb Listing
Next, you’ll write the description. Once a potential guest clicks on your listing title, this is the first thing they will see after your photos and the basic details about the home (which Airbnb imports automatically).
You’ve only got 500 characters here, so it should be a snapshot of the best things about your place to grab people’s attention and keep them on the page. Focus the unique features of your home, without repeating what’s in the title.
Here is my listing, where you can see what I wrote and where the description sits on the page.
“Our spacious and comfortable home has everything you need for a getaway with family or friends — including fast, reliable WiFi, a large backyard with a deck, grill, and fire pit, brand new beds, and a soaking tub.”
Is this the most exciting piece of writing? Nope! But it clearly and concisely tells guests what to expect. My description has evolved over time (as should yours) and at this point includes details that past guests mentioned in their reviews and messages to me — a great resource if you are revising your listing!
I also change my description seasonally, highlighting the outdoor amenities at the house in the summer, and the distance to various ski resorts in the winter. I always call out the Wi-Fi (not a given in Vermont) and the new beds (definitely not a given on Airbnb).
Describing Your Space
Your Property
The next section, which Airbnb calls “Your Property,” is where you will go into detail about your home. (On the listing that guests see, it shows up in the section called “The Space.”)
This section appears immediately below your description and makes up the bulk of the text for your listing. Here, you can get a bit more creative in describing what guests can expect when they stay at your home. Highlight any additional amenities that you may not have mentioned in your title or description, such as a fully equipped kitchen or king sized beds.
Here is an example taken from my listing:
To give this section some structure, I like to take potential guests on a room by room tour of the house, starting with the common areas before moving along to the bedrooms.
While you’re writing, think what people actually do in a home. When I was writing my listing, I wanted people to picture themselves in the space — hanging out in the TV room playing games or watching a movie with their family, cooking a big meal with friends, or taking some solo time to soak in the tub.
Think about your past guests (if you’ve already started hosting) and who you want your home to appeal to in the future. In my case, we are not in a tourist town, so most of my guests are families who are either visiting relatives nearby, or groups who are looking for a more affordable alternative to staying in a ski town (we’re within 30 mins of several resorts). So I wrote my listing with them in mind.
Guest Access and Interaction With Guests
The next 2 sections are pretty straightforward — here you will specify which parts of your property are available for guest use and how much interaction (if any) they will have with the host. While this part is optional, I encourage everyone to take the time to fill in a sentence or two since Airbnb gives preference to completed listings in the search results.
Other Things to Note
This is an ideal place to mention anything else that doesn’t logically fit elsewhere.
Some possibilities:
Special amenities for dogs or kids
Accessibility features
Regular maintenance that might take place when the guests are there, like if someone comes to plow the driveway in the winter
House rules
Any quirks or possible challenges that could result in negative reviews if you aren’t upfront about them, such as an unpaved driveway or spotty cell service
A Brief Word on SEO
Explaining the ins and outs of search engine optimization (SEO) for your listing is another topic for another article, which Semrush has already done an excellent job with. I just want to mention that your title and description have a significant impact on SEO — which is to say that they impact your place in Airbnb’s search results. Just something to keep in mind if you’re hoping to get by on stellar photos alone!
Revising Your Airbnb Listing
Every month or so, read through your Airbnb listing and look for any opportunities to make updates, even if you think nothing has changed. Check out your reviews to see if there is anything positive guests have included that you may not have mentioned. It’s also a good opportunity to address anything you may have received questions or complaints about. Updating your listing frequently not only helpful for your future guests — it also helps your search ranking.
Learn more about how Splendid Host can help optimize your short term rental through consulting, marketing, and co-hosting.
Follow Splendid Host on Instagram for more tips and advice for STR owners.
