How to make your Airbnb more attractive?
Tags: Airbnb, Attractiveness, Data Analysis, Seattle

Question 3: What features are more important for attractiveness?

With the above analysis, we find several numerical and categorical features that can be closely related to different attractiveness groups. These features are:

host_response_rate, host_acceptance_rate, accommodates, instant_bookable, price_per_accommodate, price, host_is_superhost, host_response_time_cat, calendar_updated_cat, cancellation_policy_cat

In this question, I use a random forest classification model to predict the attractiveness groups, i.e., feature “attractiveness_cat,” and evaluate the feature importance (here I use Permutation importance²).

Figure 7. Feature importance in Random Forest Classification Model

The prediction accuracy of the Random Forest Classification model is 0.58, with feature importance shown in Figure 6. It can be observed that features with comparatively higher importance are host response time, whether the host is a superhost, the price of the home, the price per accommodate (price divided by the number of accommodates), the frequency of calendar updated, and the rate the host accepts guests’ reservation requests.

Conclusion and Possible Suggestions

In this case study, I’m trying to explore the attractiveness of Airbnbs in Seattle. On average, we could see that among all the neighborhoods in Seattle, Seward Park, Ballard, and Rainier Valley seem to be more popular than Airbnb homes in other neighborhoods.

If you want to be an attractive Airbnb host, there are several possible suggestions:

Don’t always reject guests’ reservations.

The High-attractiveness group has a significantly higher acceptance rate (0.98) than the Low-attractiveness group (0.65). Thus, consider being more hospitable and accepting more reservations.

Make your place instantly bookable.

About 1/3 (0.32) of the hosts in the High-attractiveness group choose to make their homes instantly bookable, while in the Low-attractiveness group, the value is only 0.07. Consider providing this type of convenience to your guests to increase the attractiveness of your Airbnb.

Respond to a reservation request as soon as possible.

In the High-attractiveness group, about 3/4 (74.1%) of the hosts respond to reservation requests within an hour, and 93.9% of the hosts can send out their responses within a few hours. Yet, in the Low-attractiveness group, the two numbers are 25.2% and 54.7% respectively. Timely responses are recommended, as they show that you are likely to be hospitable, attentive, and considerate, thus increase the attractiveness.

Update your calendar frequently.

In the High-attractiveness group, about 41.3% of the hosts update their calendars within three days, and about 59.8% do that within a week. In the Low-attractiveness group, the percentages are 20.9% and 26.8%, respectively. Frequently updating the calendars will provide more accurate information on availability and booking. This may also reduce the probability that you have to reject reservations because of unavailability or incorrect information.

Avoid being too strict on the cancellation policy.

Nearly 1/2 (46.7%) of the Airbnbs in the Low-attractiveness group have a strict cancellation policy, while for the higher-attractiveness group, this proportion is about 1/3 (35.5%). Given some degrees of flexibility in the cancellation policy may be attractive for people who still have some concerns when booking home for trips.

Provide more description of your home

The High-attractiveness groups are shown to have longer descriptions of their homes, comparing with the Low-attractiveness groups. Usually, a longer and more specific description of your home may provide more details that travelers may care about and concern about.

Get recognized as a superhost.

In the High-attractiveness group, about 42% of the hosts are superhosts, while in the Low-attractiveness group, this percentage is only 7%. This indicates that a recognized superhost is more likely related to attractive Airbnbs, and success in the business. Indeed, being recognized as a superhost means that you are already working perfectly in pervious aspects.

1b1b (one bathroom and one bedroom) homes with one or two beds and lower prices might be promising.

An interesting finding is that homes in the High-attractiveness group have fewer bathrooms/bedrooms/beds and lower prices than homes in the Low-attractiveness group. It is possible because that people who choose Airbnbs would prefer economical accommodations. Thus, homes with just-right size, number of rooms/beds, and price would be popular. In other words, 1b1b (1 bedroom 1 bathroom) with economical price can be promising in the market.

When making predictions on whether an Airbnb is attractive or not, the most important features I would take a look at are:

the price (including the price and the price divided by the number of accommodates, i.e., price per accommodate)

how quickly the host responds to a request

whether the host is a superhost

calendar updated frequency

how likely the host accepts reservation requests from guests

Do you have other ideas on how to make your Airbnb attractive?