How to Write the Best Airbnb Listing Description (With Examples)

Every day, hundres of new listings go live on Airbnb. What makes yours stand apart? Most hosts try to impress potential guests with professional photos, others have fine-tuned their listing description. In any case, research has proven that a photo in combination with a strong description increases your chances of getting booked.

In this blog post, we’ll discuss the following topics:

And lastly, we look at a few Airbnb description examples, analyze them, and let them inspire us.

The importance of Airbnb listing descriptions

A professionally written Airbnb listing description helps you secure bookings and manage your guest’s expectations. After all, you want them to book the place of their dreams, and not be surprised after check-in if something is not what they’d imagined. That way, there’s a low chance you’ll receive negative reviews.

Another reason why an appealing description is important is that it reduces friction. If you’re able to answer questions potential guests might have with your description, there’s no need for them to send you a message.

That being said, too detailed descriptions might turn potential guests away. They want to be able to easily scan your text for keywords. The trick is to write the right amount of words without leaving out the most important and attractive parts of your property.

Basic structure of an Airbnb listing

Airbnb allows you to split your listing description into four sections to make it easier to digest.

That being said, how many hosts use all four sections Airbnb provides? As it turns out, most fill out the description, but not everyone pays attention to the other three.

After analyzing 494,967 listings around the globe with data provided by Inside Airbnb, here’s what we’ve found.

Unsurprisingly, almost everyone is using the description section. The space section is already relatively popular as it allows you to write a rather long description, while some Airbnb hosts don’t use the guest access or other things to note part.

How to write a good Airbnb description

Let’s start with an attention-grabbing Airbnb title. As you might be aware, Airbnb made a change to the listing title length. Before the change, they allowed up to 50 characters. However, Airbnb believes that many people book on mobile devices these days, and has implemented a 32-character limit for listing titles.

Airbnb still allows you to use 50 characters, but anything after 32 characters might be cut off, so put the important part first.

Since the search results page already shows the city or total number of beds, you should focus on more important aspects to hook your target audience.

To give you an idea, here are a few examples:

“Quiet studio near private beach”

And the full 50-character description:

“Quiet studio near private beach/work-friendly desk”

Those looking for a quiet studio apartment and beach access will click to see more, and discover that this lovely apartment has a work-friendly desk.

If you do offer a work-friendly environment, make sure to highlight it everywhere in your description:

Good to know: Airbnb’s policy is not to use special characters or emoji in listing titles.

Now, let’s look at a few more tips to write a listing description that converts.

Provide details about amenities

What are amenities you offer that set your listing apart? To find out, let’s look at more data from Inside Airbnb (presented by opendatasoft).

Here are the top 20 most offered amenities worldwide:

Highlighting those might not lead to the best results as your competition will have them as well. In a country such as Australia, air conditioning is simply expected.

In such a case, analyze the competition and try to find rare amenities. For instance, in some cities, washing machines are not widely available, so guests have to visit a nearby laundromat. If you happen to have a washing machine, make sure to highlight it!

Another great amenity could be outdoor space in a crowded city. Make sure to highlight it in your description for your Airbnb listing.

Write for your target guests

If you want to get more bookings on Airbnb, you should write for your target audience. Ideally, you know exactly who might be interested in your property, and know therefore what they’re looking for.

Families might want to easily visit nearby attractions; couples could be interested in a romantic getaway to experience amazing hours with their soulmate; those looking to escape the cold weather want to jump into your swimming pool to cool off.

The combination of knowing your potential guests and cool features that set your listing apart allows you to write captivating descriptions. For instance:

Use a fitting tone

Lastly, write your Airbnb description in a tone that your guests would expect from your vacation rental. For a family-friendly home, keep it casual and highlight nearby play areas, and mention if you provide board games.

For an elegant city apartment, you might want to use a more sophisticated tone, detailing the luxury aspect. Those who are interested in these vacation rentals want to know that they are getting to stay in a one-of-a-kind property.

In any case, don’t overuse passive voice as it sounds very rigid and boring. Also, don’t just list your amenities as if you were checking off a todo list. Your amenities are listed in a separate section that potential guests can look at. Highlight one or two amenities that set your property apart.

If you’re just getting started with your Airbnb and you’re looking to get your first booking, you can have a look at the competition. Use tools such as AirDNA or AllTheRooms to get a better idea of the competition, or check Inside Airbnb if your city is listed on their website.

▷ Also read: Why You Should Use Airbnb’s New Listing Promotion

5 Airbnb description examples to inspire you

To round this blog post up, we’ve searched Airbnb for properties to showcase their descriptions as examples.

Airbnb cabin description

Maja's Hideaway, deep in private fairytale woods

Maja's Hideaway is set deep in our large private forest.
Handmade out of many reclaimed materials by Jaap, and personally designed to blend into the glorious high trees by Lucinda, with 10.5m metres of glass so you can watch the animals pass by from the sofa. The terrace is a morning sun trap for a great yoga and meditation session followed by breakfast to the birdsong chorus. Perfect for a couple (plus baby in cot) or 2 friends. Time for a nature fix with all the comforts you wish for?

What we love about this description:

Airbnb villa description

Countryside in Paris...

An Architect-Designed on the Banks of the Seine.
This remarkable floating home is located on an arm of the Seine, just to the west of Paris. Designed by a local architect, with two levels, double-height windows and large decks designed to make the most of its enviable location.
You'll find it in Neuilly-sur-Seine, one of the most salubrious and artistic neighborhoods in France. Anaïs Nin was born here, Édith Piaf lived here, plus countless painters from Kandinsky to Monet.

What we love about this description:

Airbnb townhouse description

History meets modernity - half-timbered house Bacharach

Modern design meets history.
The listed house is surrounded by vineyards in the Steeg district directly below the Stahleck castle. This unique place has a style all its own: ecological materials such as clay and wood give the house a unique flair and an unbeatable indoor climate.
The half-timbered house, built in 1622, is modernly furnished. A wood and pellet stove ensures a special evening feel-good atmosphere.

What we love about this description:

Airbnb apartment description

Enjoy Eiffel Tower Sparkle in Grand Style!

• Spectacular views of the Eiffel Tower
• Ideal Left-Bank location with easy access to the best of Paris
• Managed with the attentiveness of a 5 star hotel
• Air-conditioned! (Rare in Paris!)
• Renovated to a high standard
• Modern, well-appointed kitchen & bathrooms
• Sofa in the study converts into a queen bed which make the apartment perfect for 5 people
• No children between the ages of 2 and 13

What we love about this description:

Airbnb house description

The Garden House in Impington, Cambridge

The Garden House is a brand new, single level, contemporary-style house. It has 2 bedrooms, a bathroom and fully equipped kitchen/living room. Bifold doors open onto the patio area and garden.

The house sits in its own private garden and has parking for 2 cars. There is also an outbuilding (with tumble dryer and ironing facilities).

The house is a calm oasis but only a few minutes from Cambridge and the Science Park.

What we love about this description:

Closing thoughts

As the Airbnb description examples have shown, it makes all the difference if you’ve taken the time to make your description the best it can be. Airbnb users want to be able to imagine right away what a stay at your place might be like. The better you can help them visualize it, the higher the chance they’ll book your place. If you need help with your listing description, we at BnBmagician can write an Airbnb description that converts.