Setting goals to improve your listing’s performance

January isn’t the only month you can resolve to grow your business. Regularly checking in on your progress—and adjusting your strategy as needed—is a recipe for success year-round.

Your hosting tools and resources make it easy to track your listing’s performance, learn what works for other Hosts, and set goals for achieving the results you want.

It’s hard to know what’s working without measuring your progress. To gather info, use your hosting dashboard to:

• Reflect on your bookings and earnings
• Read feedback from guest reviews
• Study current local travel trends

The Insights section of your hosting dashboard provides basic stats, including your monthly earnings, nights booked, guest reviews, and overall rating. It’s also home to the Opportunities hub, which shows travel trends in your listing’s area, like what types of stays and amenities guests are searching for most.

As you reflect on your numbers, consider whether your pricing strategy and calendar availability take full advantage of current travel trends and seasonality or peak periods in your region. You can also use feedback from your guests.

“Listen to guests,” advises Superhost Elaine of the Balearic Islands, Spain. “They can tell you a lot about what’s less than ideal. Making improvements will lead to you being able to command a better price.”

To delve deeper into your data, try turning on our professional tools to access your performance dashboard. (You can switch back anytime in your account settings.)

These pro tools let you track your performance—occupancy rate, average nightly price, guest views, and more—across multiple listings over the past year. You can also compare your metrics to similar listings to help identify which of your hosting strategies are most effective.

Once you’ve identified what may help you improve your listing’s performance, you might wonder how to go about making changes. Rather than start from scratch, you can draw on the experiences of other successful Hosts.

Here in the Resource Center, you can find Superhost tips on topics like making a business plan and adding amenities on a budget. Or check out our complete guide to taking your hosting to the next level.

You can also learn from other Hosts by searching for posts related to your needs in the Community Center. For example, let’s say you’re exploring different ways to manage your finances. Superhost Ann of New York City offers up her approach in a community post.

“My first goal is to average more income per day than expense per day,” Ann writes. “I keep a spreadsheet with the running totals. Last two years have been in the black, so that's a trend I want to continue.”

The next step is to turn all that info you gathered into goals for the year ahead. Think about what deserves the most attention and what actions you could take to kickstart your progress.

For example, here are some common goals and ways to reach them:

1. Increase your bookings and earnings
Getting your pricing strategy just right may take a few tries. To meet your financial goals while appealing to guests, consider adding a pet fee or offering a discount for longer stays.

Keeping your listing current can go a long way toward hosting success. With an understanding of local travel trends during peak, high, and low season, plan your calendar availability.

While you figure out what works best for you, Superhost Andrew of Berlin recommends being patient and focusing on guest satisfaction: “Some Airbnb listings are fully booked year-round, but it usually takes a solid year to figure out your patterns and build up a reputation from reviews.”

2. Get better guest reviews
Spruce up your listing description to set clear expectations and highlight the amenities guests want, like high-speed wifi and a fully stocked kitchen. Make sure to include high-quality photos that truly show off your space.

“The lead photos carry most of the weight of selling the listing,” Andrew says. “Crisp images with eye-catching colors, cropped to keep the subject fully visible in a tiny format, are essential.”

Guests care a lot about cleanliness too: A spotless space can lead to positive reviews. Reassure guests by sharing what you’re doing to clean and sanitize your place.

3. Simplify your hosting routine
Finding more efficient ways to handle frequent tasks can make it easier to host and to reach your goals. Try using quick replies and scheduled messages to automate your communications with guests.

Other time-saving tactics include simplifying your check-in process, streamlining your cleaning routine, and clarifying your house rules. “House rules should not read like legal mumbo jumbo,” says Superhost J Renato of Rio de Janeiro. “If they do, nobody will read them.”

Whatever your hosting goals, we’re here to help you achieve them—and make this your best year yet.

Information contained in this article may have changed since publication.