I just released my free tool to help you create the perfect, customized Airbnb title.
Prefer to watch this as a video? Click here for the “Master Your Airnb Title” video.
The Airbnb title is for your guest, not you. It is the second most important feature of your Airbnb listing, excluding price and location which are filtered before any Airbnb title is read. My experience tells me that 85% of Airbnb hosts are not getting this important feature right.
Regarding price, I wrote an article explaining an Airbnb pricing hack to guarantee more views. There’s nothing you can do about your location with regards to your title.
Given how many Airbnb hosts overvalue their property in terms of their nightly rate, it is surprising to see so many lackluster titles. We have all seen them (these are actual Airbnb titles):
Beautiful, Relaxing Home in Central Location
Private and Clean Rustic Cabin Next to Lake
Two Bedroom Condo in Amazing Area Cheap Price
Ugh! This blog post is long overdue. By the end, you will understand what goes into (and stays out of) the best Airbnb titles.
[bctt tweet=”The Airbnb title is for your guest, not you.”]
Focus On The Front Of Your Airbnb Title
May I demonstrate?
Ouch!
21…miles from what? Seems far.
Over…overlooking a prison?
Maybe I am overreacting. It is ‘Overlooking Garden’ and ’21 minutes from downtown’, but hopefully you can see the point. On mobile or tablet and sometimes desktop, the end of the Airbnb title may be cut off.
Pro Tip: Changing ‘minutes’ to ‘min’ and ‘from’ to ‘to saves 4 and 2 characters, respectively. You get 50 in your Airbnb title. Example: Private Studio 21min to DT w Pool + Lounge Access (49 characters)
Regardless, those great adjectives are not selling the FPG (future potential guest), This brings me to my next point…
[bctt tweet=”Focus on the front of your Airbnb title because the ends are cut off on mobile devices.”]
Your Airbnb Title Should Be 50 Characters Or Damn Close
Airbnb appears to favor listings with longer titles. The maximum length of any title is 50 characters so get to it or within a few characters of it. Refer to Figure 10 of this Airbnb search analysis.
Use Your Amenities To Sell The Guest
Do you live in a city environment typical of parking issues, but have a parking space for the guest?
Do you have a private rooftop with a hot tub overlooking the Sydney Harbor?
How about a massive back patio with a fire pit and built-in BBQ?
A game room?
If you’re a standard home, how about Netflix? Fiber optic Wifi? Balcony? King bed?
[bctt tweet=”Create the best Airbnb title by highlighting your unique amenities.”]
No matter what kind of listing you have, even a single bedroom, let the guest know in the Airbnb title. Other less dazzling, but unique and/or useful amenities are:
- Self-check-in
- Fireplace
- Full kitchen
- Washer + dryer
- Garden
- Office
- Keurig
Under the right circumstances, these may all be used in your Airbnb title.
Avoid Generic Adjectives In Your Airbnb Title
Simple. Do not use adjectives. If you have any of the following words in your title, go to jail. Then, pat yourself on the back for finding this post and go change them when you are finished reading:
- Beautiful
- Cozy or Comfy
- Convenient or Central
- Charming
- Renovated
- Luxury
- Spacious
- Studio, Condo, Townhouse, apartment, home, house, etc.
You do not want to use these because they are generic and do not communicate any information to the guest who is looking at a dozen other listings. You want to GRAB the attention of the FPG. Telling them your home is quiet and convenient in a central location is not going to accomplish that objective.
I want to comment on ‘luxury’ and ‘renovated’ which are, let’s say, tier 2 adjectives? At least they provide a bit more context, but you still do not want to use them in your Airbnb title. Why?
- Luxury – The photos will communicate this thoroughly to the guest. You want to communicate as much information to the guest in the least amount of time so this becomes an unneeded word. Delete it and add something better. Plus, if your home truly is luxurious, you will likely need to explain what makes it so. “Heated bathroom floors!”
- Renovated – The pictures will also communicate this, but you need to add what was renovated and when. This is great to include in the ‘About this listing’ section. “Completely renovated in 2017!” If I am a guest, I am now thinking this home is not going to give me any hot water, heating, electricity, wifi, etc. issues.
Do Not Use The Airbnb Title To Identify One Of Your Listings (◔_◔ property managers!)
More than once I have seen a code or number in the listing. It is always a property manager trying to identify the listing for themselves while totally disregarding the FPG. I get it, it makes life easier for you. But, it does not make life easier for the FPG. Well, it sort of does. It makes their life easier by easily looking over your listing in favor of one with a better title. Hopefully, after reading this article you understand how important your Airbnb title is and how to do it right.
Recently, Airbnb added a section in the ‘Title and Description’ area of your Airbnb listing to address the internal name.
CAPITAL LETTERS
To me, capital letters seem to be connected with low quality and scammy behavior. The obvious point is to stick out and draw more attention to your listing. Capital letters give you less space because each individual character takes up more space. This is especially important on mobile devices. I do not use capitals for my listings or the listings I optimize.
Do Not Add Your Neighborhood
This is a controversial recommendation. I know people who recommend using the neighborhood, especially a well-known one. I very rarely use the neighborhood. I assume one of two things:
- The average FPG does not know anything about your specific neighborhood so telling them is not going to encourage them to book (ie save the words for something that is)
- The neighborhood is so popular that the FPG already knows about it and whether or not your home is there or not.
One exception might be if two drastically different neighborhoods are bordering each other. Let’s say one is known for crime and the other is upscale and your home is on the border (yes, these do exist, look up Palo Alto and East Palo Alto or Nob Hill and the Tenderloin in San Francisco). In this case, I may specify in the title or somewhere prominent that my listing is in the “nice” neighborhood.
[bctt tweet=”Remove your neighborhood from your Airbnb title and replace it with your amenities.”]
Here is a perfect example. Piedmont is a small, residential, upper-class neighborhood that no one’s ever heard of while Oakland is generically known for crime. Most guests coming to the area do not know the nitty-gritty on what parts of Oakland are good vs bad, etc. so it might make sense to call out the neighborhood here. Test it. Do you have the neighborhood in your title? Tell me your reasoning in the comments.
(Maybe) Use A Location-Specific Descriptor
I am referring to a man-made structure (stadium, etc.) or a natural formation (beach). If you are by a stadium, you may think about using its name in your Airbnb title.
I do not recommend this because the map shows your location within a few blocks. It is not necessary. The guest will zoom in the location and then look for a listing.
Below, I typed in ‘Wrigley field’ and only one of the top 6 had ‘Wrigley’ in their name. In this specific case, I do not think most guests will care if they are 2 blocks or 6 blocks from the stadium. In your case, if it DOES make a difference, then add it (ie “6min→Wrigley”)
If you are next to a natural formation like a beach, it may make sense to call this out. Some guests want to literally be right on the beach. It may be difficult to know this without asking due to the way Airbnb shows the map. This listing could be anywhere from in the water to a 5-minute walk to the beach and uphill.
If you cannot communicate this any other way, you can consider adding it to your title. However, I suggest you select ‘Specific location’ in the ‘Location’ section of your Airbnb listing to better set the guest expectations.
Using Symbols Or Emojis ☞ Airbnb Title
I started using emojis and symbols in my Airbnb listings in 2013 and it is my most powerful technique. I use a whole range of symbols for the listings I optimize depending on the situation.
In the past, I have used:
- musical notes (♪♫♬♩)
- arrows (→⇒↓⇓←⇐↑⇑↔➡️⬅️)
- sunrise (☀)
- stars (★☆⭐️✭✫✩✬✯✰✪⁂)
- chess pieces (♛♔♕♖♗♝♘♞♙♟♚♜)
- wingdings (✱✲✳❃✶✴❄❉❋)
- checkmarks (✓ ✔ ☑✅)
- figures (☄⛷☀️☘️☕)
- letters (ⓐⒷⓔⒼⓗⓘⓛⓝⓞⓡ Ⓣⓤⓥ)
- hearts (♥ ♡ ❤️)
- the degree symbols (270° Views)
But, the most common ones I use are the star (☆) or the heart (♥) or simply “|” to cleanly separate my Airbnb title. Instead of saying ‘heart of downtown’, use the symbol to communicate the same information in fewer characters. Do not overdo it, though! Three maximum.
However, be sure to check on both desktop and mobile if your symbols and emojis show up. Sometimes they do, sometimes they don’t depending on the browser or operating system.
[bctt tweet=”Check out this complete list of emojis and symbols you can use in your Airbnb title.”]
Is this allowed on Airbnb?
I would be remiss if I did not point out that technically this is against Airbnb’s content policy. On the website, Airbnb states that “listing titles that include symbols or emojis” are not allowed. Even though they are not allowed, many hosts seem to be getting away with it. Please consider the risk versus reward in choosing to apply this strategy and don’t feel like you’re missing out if you decide to not implement emojis in your title. It’s just one small strategy in the grand scheme of your offline and online hosting abilities. Please take this into consideration when deciding whether or not to add a symbol or emoji to your title.
Airbnb Title → Conclusion
The title is for your guest, not you. With so many Airbnb listings in your area (read about Pelin and her insane Airbnb competition), you need to do everything to set yourself above your competition. After the cover photo, your title is extremely important so why not optimize it for more Airbnb views?
Do you break any of my above rules with success? Tell me in the comments, please! I want to learn, too.
