How to Write an Airbnb Listing: Tips & Tricks (2024)

Do you want to hear something crazy? You can own the most beautiful vacation rental in the best part of town with the most fabulous features and amenities — and never have a single booking. The reason? You didn’t take the time to craft a strong listing description to showcase your home to guests.

Why Are Airbnb Listing Descriptions Important?

Attention-grabbing, detailed, and honest listing descriptions are how potential guests judge your property before they have ever stayed there. In fact, a well-written Airbnb listing description can be the difference between having your property booked just a few days every month to every day of the year!

Your Airbnb description is like a miniature “sales page” or “sales pitch” for your property. It explains what guests should expect when they stay with you and offers an opportunity to showcase the unique features and amenities that set your property apart from the competition.

What Should You Add to Your Airbnb List Description?

Now for the real question. What should you include in an Airbnb listing description? Well, here is the basic structure you should follow to write an Airbnb description that will secure bookings, answer all your guests’ questions, and ultimately collect five-star reviews for your property.

A Headline

The Airbnb headline is limited to only 50 characters, so use it wisely! First, put some thought into the type of guest you are targeting and the unique selling points of your property. Here are a few tips and tricks for crafting a catchy headline that’ll cause potential guests to click through to your listing.

Adjective | Property Type | Proximity | Attraction – Mid-Century Modern Nr Sixth Street Austin

Adjective | Property Type | Feature/Amenity/USP – Stunning Waterfront Estate with Pool & Spa

Adjective | Property Type | Experience – Charming Historic Bungalow for Romance

Description Summary

Your description summary is what a potential guest will read first when looking at your property — the ultimate goal is to “hook” guests with a brief introduction that inspires them to read the rest of your listing description.

When writing your summary, imagine yourself as a potential guest in the space and paint a vivid picture of what the guest will see, feel, and experience during their stay. In this section, minimize meaningless words to keep your description scannable, utilize positive adjectives (but not generic ones — like best, awesome, and great), and provide unique selling propositions for your target audience. For example, if your property is on a traffic-free street or if you are within walking distance from the city’s top attractions.

Airbnb limits the length of this description to 500 characters, so be sure to keep it brief and focused on the experience the guest can expect in your home. Remember, there are other sections where you can include additional details about the space, location, and destination attractions.

Room-by-Room Descriptions & Local Information

Instead of creating an exhaustive list of all the amenities you can find in each room, you should focus on explaining how the unique features and amenities in your vacation rental will benefit the guest.

For example, if your backyard has a fire pit, emphasize that it is a great place to cozy up after a long day of wine tasting at the nearby vineyards. If your kitchen has a gourmet espresso machine, tell your guests how relaxing it is to wake up, make a delicious cup of coffee, and sip it while sitting on the patio enjoying the beautiful views. Do you have a well-lit heated swimming pool in your backyard? Share with guests how enjoyable it is to go for a night swim in the summer!

In this section, you should also include information about fun and unique attractions nearby. You can recommend your favorite coffee shop around the corner, the best place in town for a fancy dinner, the coolest museums to explore, kid-friendly and pet-friendly things to do, and the best hiking trails within a short drive of your Airbnb.

Guest Access Information

While Airbnb listings do not need to include every detail about guest access — they should have some general information.

What time are check-in and check-out? Will each guest be given a unique code to access the property? Will they need to meet with the host to get a key when they arrive? Your listing should include these details since they will impact the guest experience and other logistics, like flight and travel times.

Location Description

One of the most significant selling points of rental properties is often the location — so use this to your advantage in your listing description.

Is your property a short walk from the theme parks in Orlando? Can you walk to the beach from your home in Tampa? Do you have an apartment in the hub of restaurants, bars, and entertainment venues in Austin? If so — mention this in your description!

However, if the location of your property is far away from the city, be sure to mention this too, highlighting options for public transportation. Guests need truthful information, and who knows — they may want to be away from the hustle and bustle of the city anyway.

Helpful Writing Tips for Creating a Great Airbnb Description

Now that you know the nitty-gritty details to include in your Airbnb listing description — like how many characters to include in each section — follow these tips for creating a thorough, engaging property description that will convince potential guests to book your property.

Speak to your ideal guest and target audience.

You should always speak directly to your target audience in your vacation rental description. For example, if your spacious home in Orlando is geared toward families visiting Disney World, highlight areas in your rental that families will appreciate, like the children’s play equipment in the backyard, baby gear, and anything that will make their stay with kids more convenient.

If you have a studio apartment or upmarket city apartment in the city geared toward business travelers, talk about your remote work setup, speedy WiFi, prime location near conference and event spaces, or quick access to public transportation, maintaining a more formal tone of voice geared to the type of traveler you want to attract.

Present clear, specific, and honest information.

While you want to embellish and “talk up” the features of your vacation rental, providing inaccurate information will only result in a bad review! For example, if your rental doesn’t offer access to the beach, do not say it’s a beachfront home — that title is misleading.

Additionally, be sure your description’s words reflect the listing photos. Potential guests will be able to see if your vacation rental photos match the description, and if they don’t — they will lose trust in you and likely book another property. If you want your rental to show well in photos so it is easy to book — contact our team for interior decorating and short-term rental furnishing.

Keep it brief and use a call to action.

Many hosts fill the property description with unnecessary information in hopes that future guests will appreciate the details. However, the opposite is true. Too much information — especially when it is disorganized or filled with spelling and grammar errors — can drive guests away from booking your property altogether.

In your property description, focus on highlighting the amenities, location, and essential details including a clear call to action outlining why and how they can book with you!

Highlight your unique selling points & exceptional features.

One of the best ways to avoid creating an unclear listing and property description is to focus on a few extra-special things about your property and highlight them in your description. These are called your unique selling points — the features and amenities that make your vacation rental unique from the competition!

For example, does your vacation rental have a heated swimming pool when most properties nearby don’t have a pool at all? Does your house have two master bedrooms instead of just one master bedroom? Does your home have a unique rental theme, like Harry Potter or Disney World in Orlando? If so — mention these features several times in your description!

Stellar Airbnb Description Examples

Sometimes, the best way to get started writing your own Airbnb listing descriptions is to see Airbnb description examples from successful vacation rentals. There are just a few Airbnb description examples that can inspire you to write a solid description:

Set Your Airbnb Listing Apart with Professional Vacation Rental Staging from THE STAGING COMPANY

Now that you know what to include in your Airbnb description and how to set your description apart from the competition, it is time to get started on writing your own description!

However, there is one last thing to consider before writing your Airbnb description — vacation rental furnishing. Professional home furnishing creates a warm and welcoming environment “setting the stage” for high-quality images and ensuring your property is appealing to guests from the get-go!

Learn more about short-term rental furnishing services in East Texas and Central Florida with THE STAGING COMPANY to bring your property description to the next level.