3 Simple Ways To Improve Your Listing And Increase Requests Now

As a landlord, it is not always easy to know which part of a listing will lead prospective tenants to book an apartment.

If you are unhappy with the number of requests you are receiving–or not receiving–it may be time to take a step back and see how you could improve your listing. The first question you should ask yourself: if I were searching for a furnished apartment, would I book my apartment?

In this article, we’ll cover these 3 ways to improve your listing:

1. Update Availability Regularly
2. Upload High-Quality Photos
3. Improve Your Listing’s Title and Description

1. Regularly Update Availability

It may seem obvious enough, but our listing search page favors apartments which update their availability regularly and you won’t run the risk of your apartment being requested when it’s unavailable.

This is also important for the appeal of your listing itself, as your listing shows the last time you updated your calendar availability. Our most successful landlords update apartment availability at least every 3-5 days.

2. Upload High-Quality Photos

When prospective tenants browse through furnished apartments on Homelike, first impressions count.

That is why the photos you choose are essential to the success of your listing, as tenants will not personally view the property before booking. What a potential tenant sees in the photos will be one of the top reasons they book—or do not book—an apartment.

If your photo is low quality, many apartment seekers may just scroll past without taking a second glance. That is why your apartment photos should be high-quality, well lit, and give an accurate representation of how the apartment looks in real life.

Tips for taking and uploading high-quality photos:

• Take photos in natural light for natural shadows and truer colors, but turn on every light in the space to add warmth. Hint: cloudy days produce a softer and more even light
• Include photos of every room, at least one exterior shot, and highlight unique details or amenities
• Upload photos in landscape mode with a resolution of at least 1280×780
• A minimum of 6 photos are required, but listings with 15-20 photos are booked more frequently
• When in doubt, hire a professional interior photographer

3. Improve the Title and Description

To improve chances of someone requesting your apartment, be sure to take time to write a unique, in-depth description highlighting the top features you think prospective tenants should know. The title should also be short, but descriptive.

Tips for improving your listing description:

• Start off with a general summary of your apartment–make sure to be unique in this first line
• Include a short description of each room and any amenities not mentioned in the Homelike listing options
• Be honest about any aspects tenants should be aware of, even if it is negative (i.e., loud street, narrow 5-story walkup)
• Highlight best features (i.e., near supermarket, parking available, friendly neighborhood)
• Make sure description is free of spelling and grammar errors

Here’s an example of a description which has some room for improvement. It lacks details about rooms and amenities but does a good job pointing out relevant information (i.e., 5th floor without elevator).

Below is a great example of a well-detailed listing description. It points out the unique aspects of the interior, information about each room,  special features (i.e., a smart TV), and a quick overview of the neighborhood.