Your Airbnb Listing Title Sucks And How to Fix It

As you create or refine your Airbnb listing, one of the most ignored things is crafting a great listing title.

Does your listing title read like a newspaper headline that takes hold of potential guests’ attention and make them want to click on your listing from the search.

Once on your listing, the description and photos will do the rest of the heavy lifting to turn the curious guest into a booked guest.

So how do you choose the best converting title to fit into 50 characters?

It can be a bit tricky, but I will help you understand how to make your title work for you.

It really comes down to testing and experimenting…as nearly everything with Airbnb hosting is.

Follow these tips for winning titles.

Don’t Only Describe Your Unit

“One Bedroom Loft” for your Airbnb listing title isn’t going to tell your guests very much.

It also won’t convince many to book let alone even click to actually view the listing.

All things equal, would you click on”One Bedroom Loft” or “Elegant Modern Loft in Downtown LA”?

Pro Tip: Put something attention grabbing and descriptive in the title.

Don’t Use Redundant Location Information

When guests search for listings, they already have to put in a location in addition to the dates.  Plus the listings themselves already show the location of the units.

Don’t be redundant and waste value text-real estate to tell the potential guest what they can see just a line below.

Use location related information only to be more specific.  Pick a landmark or something recognizable that has the greatest potential appeal.

For example, “Staples Center” is better and more descriptive than just having “Los Angeles”–the guest is already looking at the search results from having searched for listings in “Los Angeles”.

Do Update Titles Regularly

If  your area has NO seasons and NO special events ever, then skip this one.

For everyone else…changing your title to be relevant for an upcoming event or season is a must for your Airbnb listing.

Walking distance to upcoming Comic Con? Say so.

If you know when and why potential guests are looking for lodging in the area, you can adapt your title to increase the appeal of your unit.

Pro Tip: If there is a popular convention coming up, adding something like “–walking distance Comic-Con” can increase both click through rate and conversions for your listing.

Learn more about special event pricing.

Do Speak to Main Appeal

Speak to the appeal for the kinds of travelers you’re targeting.

If you are consistently attracting a certain type of traveler with well-known needs, try to appeal to them in your title.

Maybe your area gets more younger travelers who often seek the night scene.  Having something like “walking distance to bar district” answers the question in their head without them having to even click on your Airbnb listing.

Think about a guests biggest need in traveling to your area and try to answer that in your title.

Find Your Key Descriptor

Is your space charming, quirky, modern, spacious, cozy, epic, etc….?

Find one that best describes your space AND is most likely to register with your target audience.

Be honest though.  Picking the wrong word could set potential guests up for a let down once they actually click on your listing, which could hurt bookings.

Use All Available Space!

Hosts only have 50 characters but we see so many using only 20 or 30 characters for their titles.  You might not get another chance with that prospective guest.

So use all the space you can to be as descriptive as you can.

Use Abbreviations

Don’t waste your limited space by typing out entire phrases that can be easily abbreviated.

Here are some useful abbreviations:

• with –> w/
• bedroom –> BR
• bathroom –> BA
• air conditioning –> AC
• central air –> C-Air (CA isn’t descriptive enough and could lead to confusion)
• walking distance to –> 5 min to
• downtown –> DT
• convention –> CON

Start with Proven Formulas

Airbnb Title Formulas

Formula: [Adjective] [House Type] with [Valuable Amenities]
Example: Spacious Apt with PARKING & Queen Beds

Formula: [Adjective] [House Type] [Proximity] [Popular Destination] + [Amenity]
Example: Charming Cottage 1 Min Walk to Lake + Jet Skis

Formula: [Adjective] [House Type] great for [Type of Experience]
Example: Private Guest House Great for Quiet Getaway

Getting prospective guests to view your property can be a difficult feat.

By putting the right keywords in the title, you will attract more interested guests. Try to keep the content relevant to your target audience like we talked about before.

Also, use concrete descriptive words like spacious or private.

Lastly, avoid abstract terms like nice or unique.  Nice is an opinion that can change from person to person, and all spaces are unique on Airbnb…so don’t waste the characters.

That’s all the tips we have for now…now it’s your turn to share.

What are some great or not so great Airbnb listing titles you’ve seen?

Share them below!