You already know how to get a property ready to run as an Alojamento Local (AL) — Portugal's licensed short-term rental scheme. Now let us look at how to build an Airbnb listing that actually fills the calendar.
1. Grab attention with the photographs
Your listing has to stand out from the rest. The easiest way to manage that is with good photographs that genuinely represent the property you are letting.
Hiring a professional to shoot the property is money well spent. The difference between a listing with professional photographs and one with snaps taken on a phone is obvious at a glance. On top of that, the first few images matter enormously — they are what makes someone click through in the first place.
The main photograph has to be the strongest one you have. Then choose four more to sit alongside it: those five are what a guest sees when they open your listing. We usually pick five that between them sum up the property and show off whatever is most appealing about it.
2. Reply almost immediately
It may sound excessive, but guests really do notice when they get an answer straight away. If you can manage it, it counts strongly in your favour. Answer every question quickly and the guest has little reason to keep looking elsewhere.
Staying on top of it is easy enough nowadays, since every app you need to run an AL sits on your phone. Keep the Airbnb app switched on and you will not miss anything.
There is a further reason to bother: response rate is one of the criteria Airbnb uses for Superhost status, and the target is replying to at least 90% of messages within 24 hours.
3. Be precise in the description
Write the description carefully — you only get 500 characters. Sell the space as well as you can. Rather than "terrace with a view", write something like "terrace with panoramic views for watching the sunset".
Make a feature of the location. Talk about what is good in the area and what is nearby: restaurants, sights, supermarkets.
And do not forget to write the description in English as well as Portuguese. Automatic translation is not always reliable, and a guest who can read your description properly is a guest more likely to book.
4. Keep working on the listing
A listing is not finished the day you publish it. Reading your reviews and the insights the platform gives you are both ways of earning more views and more bookings. Airbnb will show you trends in your area, and you can decide whether to follow them depending on what suits you and what the property earns.
Answer every question the platform puts to you about the property. It makes booking easier for the guest, because their doubts will already have been settled by the time they have read the listing and the list of amenities.
5. Work towards five-star reviews and Superhost status
Positive reviews are the clearest sign that you, as a host, and the property itself are giving guests a good experience. Keep that up consistently and your listing rises in Airbnb's search results. Hold an average of 4.8 stars and you become eligible for Superhost — which is what every host is aiming at.
Competition on Airbnb is fierce, so it is worth putting the hours into building a listing that deserves to win.
