Being close to the beach or within a short walk to public transport? A clean property or a well-styled property? What Airbnb guests really expect?
Whether your property is currently listed on Airbnb or you are still looking into getting started with short-term rentals, as a property owner, you probably asked yourself this question at some point. Identifying the expectations of your guests is extremely important to understand how you can increase your property’s occupancy rate and maximise your rental income. If you want to have a successful listing on Airbnb (or any other booking websites), you need to meet your guests' expectations first.
A big misconception when it comes to short-term rentals is that luxury property features, such as a swimming pool or ocean view, are enough to secure bookings and maximise rental income. In reality, Airbnb guests care more about the cleanliness of a property and frictionless guest communication.
At MadeComfy, we looked into more than 1,300 reviews from guests who stayed at properties we manage across Australia. Our team analysed keywords in the guests' reviews and the findings are quite interesting. Take a look at the infographic below:
The key takeaways of our analyses are:
Investing in a good quality service for guests is the key to secure more bookings and increase your chances of receiving 5-star reviews. Keeping your property clean and communicating in an efficient and friendly way with the guests are their top priorities. After guest communication and cleanliness comes interior design in the list of guests’ priorities. This shows how important is for property owners to invest in good quality furnishing, as guests have the expectation to stay at beautiful and comfortable properties.
38% of the reviews that mention any location keywords in their review indicate that a short distance to the beach is ideal. But what about properties that are not close to the beach? The second biggest group of reviews mention the words “pubs”, “cafes” and “restaurants”, meaning that guests also want to be close to places for food and entertainment. 21% of the guest reviews indicate that being close to public transportation options is also relevant. The remaining 11% of the reviews point out that having parks and nature close to the property is very attractive for guests.
Naturally, guests enjoy having a swimming pool (3%) or a balcony (32%) at the property they booked. However, the most important property feature for them is a parking space inside or close to the property (56%). When guests book accommodation, they don’t want to spend hours looking for parking space, as we can conclude from the figures.
Airbnb guests like to be surprised with some extras and treats at the properties. Laundry and Dish soap are the most popular extras, according to 36% of the reviews. In the second place comes fresh towels and linen with 30%. 24% of the guests who mention their favourite treats, talk about how great is to have a good quality coffee machine and tea at the property, whereas 10% love having cosmetics, shampoo, conditioner, and other toiletries.
To finalise, reviews from guests who stayed at our Sydney properties slightly differ from the reviews written by Melbourne guests. The final section of the infographic is a word cloud with the most mentioned keywords by guests in both cities. In Melbourne, guests prioritise property amenities as well as coffee machine and tea in their reviews. Guests who stayed in Sydney properties, in the other hand, talk about the short distance to the beach and reinforce that a quick response from the hosts is a priority.
As the figures show, a good quality hosting service is more important for guests than specific property features. It's important to invest in delivering a great guest experience and make sure the communication with the guests runs smoothly. The Wow factor is a combination between guest management and efficient property management.
MadeComfy is a property management and hospitality company specialising in short-term rentals. We offer a complete end-to-end service package that includes marketing of the property, managing the rental process, coordinating cleaning and linen change-over, and acting as the primary contact for guests. To know more about us, visit our homepage: https://madecomfy.com.au/
