Airbnb Description Examples: How to Write an Airbnb Listing
The description section of your Airbnb listing is a great place to share useful details and key features of your vacation rental property with prospective guests. This includes stating who the property isn’t for, as well as who it is suitable for!
Read on to find out how to write an effective description, how to make the most of the character limit, as well as some great Airbnb description examples.
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How to Write an Airbnb Listing That Gets Bookings
When you are writing an Airbnb description, be sure to showcase your property’s distinctive features, share its captivating backstory, demonstrate your familiarity with the local area, address common inquiries, and craft a compelling call to action. Ensure that the description is grammatically correct, flows smoothly, and is honest and authentic.
Need help writing your Airbnb listing description? Check out my Airbnb copywriting service.
Airbnb Description Tips: How to Write an Airbnb Description That Converts
To create an exceptional Airbnb listing, ensure you incorporate the property’s unique selling points (USPs), narrate the property’s story, and offer details about the surrounding area. Honesty is valued by guests, so be transparent about any shortcomings alongside the property’s advantages. Write the description for easy scanning, allowing guests to swiftly grasp key information, even if they choose not to read the description in full.
Unique Selling Points
Why should a guest choose your vacation rental over another? Early in your description, emphasize the unique aspects of your property, whether it’s a hot tub, parking, beachfront location, a work-from-home setup, or something else. Ensure that the best features of your rental property are presented in the first few sentences to grab your guests’ attention.
In the Airbnb description example above, the host has highlighted the unique feature of the glass bedroom, allowing guests to experience the exceptional views of Iceland, the night sky, and even the Northern Lights.
Story-Telling
If there’s a special story behind your Airbnb rental property, share it with your guests! Perhaps you restored an old farmhouse to its former glory or embarked on a career change to start your luxury glamping business. Maybe you identified a gap in the rental market that needed to be filled or aimed to offer a luxurious experience at an affordable price.
Inform your guests about the inspiration behind the design of the vacation rental property and the choices you made to develop it in the way you did.
In the Airbnb description example above, the Airbnb host explains why they designed the property in the way they did, and what features were important to them when building the property.
Local Expertise
When creating an Airbnb description, consider what amenities and features of the location would be important to you. Strive to transform the short-term rental property into an immersive experience by offering suggestions for local pubs, restaurants, shopping, or family-friendly activities.
Tailor your local knowledge to your target market, emphasizing the aspects of the local area that make it an exceptional place to stay. Include the names of recommended restaurants and attractions you believe they would enjoy, or even create your own unique Airbnb experience to give guests something to rave about in their reviews!
Need help writing your Airbnb experience copy? Take a look at my Airbnb Experiences copywriting service.
Honesty
Always maintain honesty in your Airbnb listing description when describing your property’s features. Just as it’s vital to highlight the positives, being transparent about any drawbacks is equally important. This approach establishes clear expectations for potential guests, ensuring they choose your property only if it’s the right fit for them.
If you oversell the rental property by stating something like:
“Fantastic private pool for you and your family to enjoy in peace!”
…but in reality, the pool is small and shared by ten other properties on the street, you risk receiving negative reviews because the property won’t meet your guests’ expectations.
Instead, try:
“Access to a delightful community pool for all the family to enjoy!”
Scan-ability
Lastly, ensure that your Airbnb house description reads well, with no spelling or grammar errors, and is easy to read. Most people make split-second decisions when looking at a short-term rental, so they need to quickly extract the information they need from a description.
In the vacation rental description example above, the Airbnb host effectively presents key points using bullet points to enhance readability. Put yourself in the shoes of a guest, considering what aspects would matter most to you, and emphasize these key features accordingly.
In this example, the Airbnb host has provided valuable information, but its presentation makes it challenging to digest because it isn’t broken up into paragraphs or bullet points. As a result, some crucial details could be overlooked. For instance, it’s important to note the property isn’t suitable for those with mobility issues, and you need to message the host directly if you plan on staying there with children.
What is a good booking rate on Airbnb? Find out!
The Best Airbnb Description Examples
The best Airbnb listing descriptions weave a compelling narrative, create vivid imagery, and provide the reader with everything they need to know about the space. Let’s examine some vacation rental description examples below to gain a clearer understanding of how to craft an Airbnb description that effectively showcases your space.
Airbnb Description Example One: Story-Telling
The example below paints a picture of a famous property, telling the story of how it came to be and what guests can expect when they stay there. Words like ‘exclusive’, ‘meticulous’, ‘organic architecture, ‘handcrafted’, and ‘masterpiece’ give the reader a sense of the beauty and scale of the property, which is echoed in the incredible photos.
Airbnb Description Example Two: Unique Selling Points
In the example below, the host has painted a picture with words while highlighting the most unique features of the space, such as the ‘glamorous, lengthy balcony,’ ‘a marriage of veined stone and glass,’ and a ‘fully-outfitted kitchen.’
To enhance the Airbnb house description, they should consider breaking up the lengthy paragraph into smaller, more reader-friendly sections or using bullet points to make it more digestible for the reader.
Learn how to write an effective Vrbo description to maximize bookings.
Airbnb Description Example Three: Honesty
In the example below, the Airbnb host maintains the same level of honesty when addressing who the vacation rental may not be suitable for. They clearly indicate the need for guests to bring their own car charging adapters or leads and clarify that the property is not ideal for individuals with limited mobility due to the numerous stairs. They have also said that the bedrooms are small, which one would expect from a converted water tower.
Airbnb Description Example Four: Scan-ability
In the example below, the Airbnb description is well set out, with clear paragraphs and separations between local and travel information.
What is the Airbnb Description Character Limit?
The Airbnb summary description character limit is 500 characters, which is somewhere between 70 and 120 words. However, only the first two paragraphs of the Airbnb house description are shown before the reader has to click ‘Show more.’ This means that you should include the most important details in these first two paragraphs.
Beneath the summary section, you’ll find the ‘the space’ section, where you can delve deeper into your description and provide additional details about your property. To my knowledge, there’s either no limit or a very generous one for this section. I suggest taking advantage of this opportunity to elaborate on the summary and showcase more of the distinctive features and advantages of your space.
Read on to find out how to make the most of the Airbnb summary description character limit, and check out my other free resources on writing Airbnb descriptions for more information and examples.
Including an ‘FAQs’ section
If you find yourself regularly fielding the same questions from prospective guests interested in booking your rental property, it could be a sign that this information isn’t easily accessible in your description or isn’t immediately apparent to those who skim it.
To make the most of your Airbnb description within the character limit, consider including a section for frequently asked questions (FAQs) along with their corresponding answers, and a call to action. Avoid redundant information, such as your personal contact details or repeating amenities that are highlighted elsewhere in the description.
In the Airbnb description example above, the Airbnb host has preemptively answered common guest questions like:
- ‘What size are the bedrooms?’
- ‘Is there a kitchen on the property?’
- ‘How many people can the property accommodate?’
- ‘Is there a fireplace?’
This proactive approach means that the host is less likely to receive messages asking these questions, saving them time when responding to potential guests and ensuring a higher booking conversion rate.
To enhance the guest experience even further, Airbnb hosts can include frequently asked questions in an Airbnb guidebook or house manual, which guests can refer to after booking. You can even email a copy to guests in advance and provide a printed version for their convenience during their stay.
Read about what to include in your Airbnb house manual.
In the vacation rental description example provided above, the host has thoughtfully organized the questions and answers for easy scanning. This layout allows you to quickly identify a relevant question and read its corresponding answer.
Extra Airbnb Listing Description Tips
Avoid Including Personal Contact Details
Airbnb typically restricts the inclusion of personal contact details, such as phone numbers or email addresses, within the listing description. Their preference is for guests to initiate contact through their platform. Consequently, adding such information would be counterproductive as it consumes valuable character space and should be avoided.
Guests can get in touch with you via the Airbnb website or mobile app. The most effective means of communication with guests is directly through the Airbnb app, as it streamlines the process of addressing any potential issues that may arise.
Discover four easy ways to improve your Airbnb description.
Don’t Repeat Amenities Unnecessarily
Guests can filter by amenities and location, and information about the number of bedrooms, beds, and bathrooms is displayed above the description. This means that you don’t need to repeat this information in the description unless it makes your property especially unique. Repeating these details wastes precious characters! Remember, you are limited to 500 characters in your Airbnb summary description section.
Guests have the convenience of filtering by amenities and location, and crucial information regarding the number of bedrooms, beds, and bathrooms is prominently displayed above the description. Therefore, you don’t need to repeat this information in the description, unless they contribute to making your property particularly unique. Repeating such details only wastes valuable character space. Remember that the Airbnb summary section is limited to 500 characters.
Add a Call to Action (CTA)
Don’t forget to include a compelling call to action (CTA) that tells your guests what to do, particularly in the summary paragraph, and create a sense of urgency. Include a sentence like:
- ‘Book now as we’re filling up fast this summer!’
- ‘Drop me a message if you want to know more about the local area before booking.’
- ‘Reserve now to avoid disappointment!’
This is important to ensure that you convert more readers into bookings!
Find out how to get more bookings on Airbnb.
Conclusion
In summary, your Airbnb description needs to highlight your property’s unique features while providing honest and detailed information about amenities and location. It should incorporate a clear call to action, address common inquiries, and highlight local attractions. To enhance readability, use bullet points and paragraphs, and be sure that sentences are grammatically correct.
Furthermore, be mindful of the Airbnb description character limits, especially in the listing title (50 characters) and summary (500 characters). For inspiration, you can also check out some Airbnb description examples that we’ve examined in this blog post.
If you need assistance crafting the ideal Airbnb description for your property, don’t hesitate to reach out to learn more about my Airbnb copywriting and vacation rental copywriting services.