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Friday 19 September 2014

14 Ways to Optimize Your Flat Posting



You’ve seen our great improvements on our flat postings, so now you’re wondering how to make sure that your flat sticks out amongst your peers? We’ve got your answers! Starting from the top of your new page and working our way down.

Cover Photo
We’ve added a cover photo to our flat pages to further personalize them - choose yours to define the mood of your flat, rather it’s the view outside your place or just a beautiful room in the property!

Thumbnail Map
When a guest checks out your flat, one of the very first things they’ll see is an approximation of where it is on the map. This should answer a lot of questions that you otherwise would’ve had to field!

Host Categories
We’ve created three different categories for our hosts:
Experienced Host - a host on FlatClub who has had successful bookings.
Trusted Host - a host on FlatClub who has been verified & is ready to welcome you.
Pro Host - a host who rent out apartments and rooms as a business.
New Host - a host who recently joined & is eager to give you a great experience.
So guests will know more about you straight away - we recommend getting verified to become a Trusted Host in order to become an Experienced Host later!

New Tabs
Guests can now more easily navigate between the different content on your flat’s page - from pictures, the description, location, and reviews! This makes things much more simple & will help to answer any questions they have.

Photos
This is a great opportunity to take advantage of our free photography service, and excellent photos will definitely pitch you ahead of the competition. Get in touch with us and schedule your free photography session now!

Flat Description
Here’s your chance to work on your flat description as well - and we can help. We offer a free copywriting service for flats on FlatClub, so let us know if you’re interested in getting your description boosted a bit. We’ve also taken the most asked questions and their answers from your existing description and made them easier to find for guests.

Nearest Underground Station

This is some great info to share straight away on the flat page - it’s probably the number one question that hosts receive! Make sure that your flat placed on the map accurately.

Amenities
We’ve added categories for amenities as well, so they’re easier to digest and understand. This is a great chance to add any amenities you might’ve forgotten - or maybe pick up some extra towels or linens.

Map
There are four informative tabs on the map:
Location - This one is pretty self-explanatory, this will give guests a general idea of where your property is located.
Transportation - This is a very handy tab for guests, they’ll be shown an overlay of the nearest bus stops & what they’re called, alongside the nearest DLR, Overground, and Underground stations.
Bookings in the Area - Guests, especially club members, might be curious to know that others have been staying in this area. For example, if your prospective guest is an LBS student, they’d be interested to know if other LBS alumni & students have stayed nearby.
Around the Area - Our Yelp API is such an exciting feature it’s gotten it’s own blog! In short, this tab will show guests the coolest stuff near your flat.

Commute Time

Guests can enter in their ultimate destination in your city, or even just a landmark they’d like to see - and when they do they’ll be shown the commute time via public transport, walking, or biking. No need for you to calculate it out for a guest.

Reviews
We can import external reviews for hosts now, and we’re making all the stays at your flat available to view - even if the guest hadn’t left a review! We highly recommend encouraging reviews out of your guests; the best way to do this is to leave them a review yourself.

Other Ways to Optimize Your Flat:

Availability & Response Rate
Our biggest suggestion is to be a good host - be responsive and proactive with your availability. Now your response time and availability updates are visibile, so make sure you’re well updated. The best way to stay on top of your availability is to sync your external calendar to FlatClub. We also have a button where you can easily confirm that your calendar is up-to-date. Click it frequently to refresh the availability, even if there are no changes, to maintain a high ranking. Having a good response rate & a synced calendar means more relevant bookings with less questions.

Cover Photo
We all know a picture speaks a thousand words, so a cover photo will do a lot of talking for your flat! Your cover photo will introduce the rest of your flat to your guest, so make sure it looks brilliant. Need some inspiration? We think the cover photo is a great opportunity to show off the view from your flat - whether that’s a park, the city, or anything in between. This helps your guests get a feel for your flat in real space. If you can’t seem to get the perfect shot, take advantage of our free photography service.

Update Your Profile
Your personal profile is now more prominent, so it’s a great reason to add some more information and make it more appealing to guests. Add a profile photo & a summary about yourself so guests feel like they know you better.

Those are just a few of the ways to improve your new flat view & make it stand out a bit more. If you’ve done something fun & interesting with your flat posting, let us know and we’ll share it on the blog. If you want tailored advice for your posting please contact us at hosts@flat-club.com and your account manager will assist you!