4 Reasons Why Property Description Will Increase $ for You
By: Stephen Peters
Tags: Vacation Rental Property, Vacation, Description

So you’ve made the decision to start renting out your cute little home. You’ve got the place, the furniture, the decor and even the silly lamp your husband picked out. You’re on Airbnb, VRBO, Booking xyz, abc, 123 bookings. Your listing is up on all the places Google suggested, but there is still one small minor detail missing from your listing: the description.

It used to be that you could list your property and BOOM, just like that, people would start booking. Well, unfortunately, times change and now people want to know more than just how far your cute little home is from the nearest beach. Pictures are great and they definitely do justice, but the property description is the cherry on top; a Pièce de Résistance.

Here are four reasons why you need a property description:

Establishes trust: Here’s the deal: your first-time guests are people that are unknown to you as you are to them. If you don’t have a stellar description, your guests likely won’t trust you easily. The description is the first chance you have to gain the trust of your guests; it’s the first contact they have with you. The description needs to be accurate and detailed; if they find something major or even minor that was not adequately explained or even omitted in the description, this could result in trouble. Giving full disclosure in the beginning is the key to someone trusting you. Gets the guest’s attention: Here is an example of a bad description: “Two-bedroom for rent, 1 bath, parking, wifi, cable, pool out back, five minutes away from the beach.” This is kinda boring. Here is a better example: “Here is a two-bedroom unit with a fabulous view of the garden out back that is immaculately maintained and mature. It comes with a full bath and large shower, fresh linens are available upon request. Also, you will have access to fast, state-of-the-art internet and cable (if you still watch cable). A wonderful pool is at your disposal any time (floaties included) and the best part is that you are only five minutes away from the beach! Access to tons of restaurants and bars, you will not want to leave.” You want your guests to be captivated by what you have to offer! Things guests might not like: Ok, ok, I know what you’re thinking. Why would you want to do this?! Sounds contrary to what you are trying to do: attract guests. Remember what I said in the first point? Disclosure. Remember, you’re trying to build trust. Let me create a scenario for you: Jack and Jill booked your wonderful condo for the weekend in sunny South Florida. What they didn’t expect was that parking would be a pain you know where. “Wait! No parking! Where am I supposed to park my car?” Jack yells, “I’m sorry, sir, you will have to park in one-hour parking and move your car around every hour.” Now, your guest will likely write a nasty review about your cute little home. A bad review doesn’t look good and definitely has influence on new guests. Had you said from the beginning “unfortunately parking is not the best…” your guest would be prepared to face parking challenges. Suggestions for alternate parking solutions would go far in resolving the parking problem you face at your home. Let the guest know about you or the property manager: This point goes back to trust. Another key to building trust is giving your guests insight to who your manager is. Let them know who they are dealing with. If they have an understanding of who the person is they are meant to deal with, trust is established. I would much rather stay at a place where I have an idea of who John is rather than a place where I know nothing about Bob. Share some personal, relatable details about yourself so the guest feels they are booking with an actual nice human being rather than through a bot’ something like that

There you have it, four reasons why giving a good description of your property is important. Don’t be shy, if you don’t know what to say, ask your previous tenants if they can offer any reviews or advice. You can also ask a friend or family member to stay there and give their input. All in all, the more information you provide the better off you are.

Good luck!