The 35 most important characters in your listing!

Crafting a perfect title is the 2nd most important part of your listing, after the pictures (Learn more about taking the perfect pictures for your vacation rental listing in our previous article).

And you only have 35 characters to get the job done in AirBnB, not all that many!

Determine your listing USP – Unique Selling Proposition

This is probably harder than it sounds at first, since you want to communicate your value and your USP (or Unique Selling Proposition) all through the title. Some people put a lot of effort into this, and some don’t. If you check the most popular listings, there is no one strategy that seems to dominate. However, if you do this well and follow our advice, you will very likely see an increased number of pageviews and inquiries.

The way I like to do it is by first deciding what is your listing’s USP.  Developing your USP takes a bit of work, but its totally worth it to determine how you stand out in the market.

Next, write down 5 other selling points of your listing!

Next, determine some other good selling points of the unit. What are the best 2-3 things about your unit? In fact, come up with 5, and see which ones make sense to put into the title! There is something unique and special about every unit, and finding what yours is, then leveraging it to the best of your ability is key to marketing your unit successfully.

My Listing Example

My title is: “Waikiki Beach Sleeps 6 with parking”

See how much info I get in there with a minimum of words? I mention, most importantly, that it is in Waikiki and near the beach. Thats #1.

Next, I say sleeps 6, because that is the max number I can accomodate, which is a big deal in Waikiki.

Lastly, I put with parking in there because parking is very difficult and expensive in Waikiki.

Test, Test, Test to find the perfect combo

I have also tried Waikiki Beach 2 bed with parking, but sleeps 6 has converted better for me because its not clear how many guests can sleep in a 2 bedroom apartment. Is it 2? Is it 4? Not many people would guess 6, but it can because of a pull out couch in the living room.

Many people don’t do this at all, and its hard to tell. By putting the number of bedrooms or how many it can sleep is useful. So, try it yourself to see if listing the number of bedroom works better than how many it can sleep.

Another thing to note, is that AirBnB will sort based on how many it can sleep, so this may be redundant to your users. Also, in your AirBnB or VRBO Market Review of competitor properties, be sure to check what the top hosts are doing.

Use every word, every character, to your advantage

I wouldn’t use listings that are short, I would use every character that AirBnB allows. Try to find ways to get all the benefits into that title that you can. Get all 35 characters working for you!

Also, try several different key selling points to see what works best for you! Do you have a good view? Do you have a pool or hot tub? Is it right next to public transit? Try several of your key selling points and see if you pageviews (from your dashboard) and bookings improve!

Do you have a good title you want to share? Post it in the comments below…