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Your Airbnb listing is your marketing engine for your short term rental business. Do not get flagged as an Airbnb inaccurate listing because this will destroy your business quickly and corrode your credibility as a host.
It can be tempting to want to fluff up the description and not disclose certain information to just gain bookings. But this will definitely hurt you in the long run and sacrifice your Superhost status before even earning it.
This post is all about Airbnb inaccurate listing.
7 Airbnb Inaccurate Listing Warnings
1. Inflating the description
Your Airbnb listing is your primary marketing tool for attracting potential guests that visit the Airbnb platform to book their travel. It can be super tempting to have chatGPT write a beautiful and fluffy description, but do not do this. You want an accurate description that practically describes the listing instead of focusing on evoking emotion.
The more you leverage this space to help your guests picture the space versus what emotions they should feel when they enter, the better it will go for you and them when they stay during their trip. Plus, the last thing you want the guests to feel when they show up to your property is underwhelm.
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2. Saying you provide something that you don’t
As you are writing your description or checking off amenities, make sure that you say you provide something that you actually provide. Guests will read everything you have in the description or checked off in the amenities so they know what to pack and expect. I can be little things like a hair dryer or a pac ‘n play that really throw off a guest experience and your review at the end of their stay.
3. Not calling out quirks in the description
Oh boy, this is so crucial, I cannot even begin to tell you. On a Facebook group, I saw a host post a picture of a giant staircase that was walled off halfway up the stairs preventing guests from going up stairs. She was only renting out the bottom story of her house and was asking if she should post a picture of the staircase. You guys, this stair case was HUGE and it was right in the middle of the entryway. There was mixed feedback but I told her she most definitely needed to post a picture of the staircase and call out that the space was the bottom story of a two story house.
You have to tell guests anything funky about your listing in the description and if a picture is necessary, insert a photo. This will most definitely deter some guests from booking but it’s way better than people booking, being surprised and leaving you a less than 5 star review.
4. Having hidden fees for guests
Hidden fees are the death sentence for Airbnbs. Want to have extra towels? Fee. Have people over for dinner? Fee. Need to heat the pool? Fee. Be upfront in your listing with what’s included and what is considered an add-on. These extra fees are going to vary by market. Check your market for what’s normal and then be super upfront with your guests in your listing description.
5. Amenities not working
If you have amenities advertised in your listing and then they are not working, call that out in your listing or email your guests to let them know. You really should be working around the clock to ensure everything gets up and running. But if this is not going to happen by the time guests check in, make sure they know what to expect. If it’s a big deal, let them out of the reservation. I have found that it’s not worth it to host guests that are already going to have a bad experience.
Make sure to comb the amenities section every couple months to ensure what you provide is accurate. This is everything from Salt and Pepper in the kitchen to beach essentials to pool towels. Everything you advertise that you provide your guests needs to be totally accurate.
6. Inaccurate location description
Inflating the location and not providing accurate travel estimates is a huge mistake. Guests don’t get the address to the listing until 24-48 hours prior to check in so they will be relying on the information and approximate location Airbnb provides them.
If you advertise that you’re close to certain attractions and then it takes forever to travel between the listing and the attraction, you are just setting yourself up for a bad review and grump guest messages.
You also need to ensure you accurately describe the neighborhood. If your listing is in the hood, let your guests know. It’s in a loud area, let them know. If it’s in quiet, dark country setting, make sure they know and can plan accordingly.
Check out this article for all the tips on Airbnb amenities you should provide your guests!
7. Accurate pictures of the listing
As you host, you will encounter broken decor that needs to be replaced or even furniture. Every couple of years, it’s best to get new photos taken of your listing to ensure what guests are viewing is an accurate look at what the unit looks like now.
My oldest listing went live in 2019 and I’m on my third round of photos for that property. We have made several big updates over the years and would always schedule photos to go alongside the new updates so guests had the most up to date photos for bookings.
What other Airbnb inaccurate listing warnings would you call out? Let me know in the comments below!
This post was all about Airbnb inaccurate listing.
This post may contain affiliate links, meaning if you decide to make a purchase via my links, I may earn a commission at no additional cost to you. See my disclosures for more info.
