Two houses on the same road can earn very different amounts on Airbnb. Often the difference is not the house but the listing: the cover photo, the first lines of the description, a minimum stay that blocks the short gaps, or event weekends left at the ordinary price. This is how we prepare a listing for a holiday home in Kerry, step by step, whether it goes on Airbnb, Booking.com or Vrbo.
Start with the homes guests compare you to
Before writing anything we look at the homes a guest sees next to yours: same area, similar size, same platform. For each one we note the price across the year, the minimum stay, the cover photo, how the description opens and what reviewers praise or complain about.
From that we can see where your price should sit against the homes around you and what guests in the area care about; on the Dingle Peninsula that is often the view, parking and whether you can walk to the beach. We also see what the other listings get wrong, which is usually the easiest way to stand out.
Photos: the cover and the first five
On every platform the first photos do most of the selling. A guest scrolling search results sees the cover and, if it works, the next four. We choose a cover that shows the house at its best and in its setting, then order the rest the way a guest would walk through it: the main living space, the kitchen, the best bedroom, the view, the bathroom.
Booking.com and Airbnb both ask for room tags, and both reward listings where the photos match the room list. If a room has no good photo, we say so rather than hide it, because a missing bedroom photo makes guests suspicious.
A description that is true to the house
The title and the first two lines matter most, because that is all most guests read. We lead with what the competition review showed guests want, and we keep every claim checkable. If the beach is a ten-minute drive, the listing says so. Overselling brings bad reviews, and on a small peninsula reviews follow a house for years.
House rules, arrival instructions and the guest information are written once and adapted to each platform. Booking.com has fixed fields for much of this, Airbnb gives more free text, and Vrbo sits in between.
Settings, prices and the event calendar
Most of the money is decided in the settings. We go through rooms, beds and amenities so the house appears in the right filters, then the check-in and check-out times, cleaning and pet fees, the cancellation policy and the minimum stay.
Prices get the most attention. A base rate by season is not enough in Kerry: the Listowel Races, the Dingle Food Festival, bank holidays and school breaks all need their own prices, set well ahead, because those weekends sell months in advance. We also check how the platform discounts longer stays, so that a weekly rate does not undercut the nightly price by accident.
One calendar across the platforms
A house listed on more than one site needs its calendars linked from the first day. We connect the new listing to the existing ones so that a booking on one platform closes the dates on the others. iCal links refresh with a delay, so for houses on three platforms we recommend a channel manager. Our guide to Airbnb, Booking.com and Vrbo explains the risk of double bookings in more detail.
What only the owner can do
Some steps have to be done by the owner in person. Booking.com checks the identity of the business behind a listing and may confirm the address by sending a letter with a code. Payout bank details are entered by the account holder. From 2027 every listing in Ireland also needs a Fáilte Ireland registration number, and the owner registers the house personally between 1 and 31 December 2026. We tell you exactly what is needed and fill in everything else.
Have us set up your listing
We offer this as a fixed-price service for owners who want to keep running their own bookings: competitor review, listing text, photo order, settings, prices and calendar link, for €250 plus VAT per platform. You approve the draft before anything is published, and the listing stays in your account. See the listing setup service and choose your platforms.
If you would rather hand over the bookings and guests as well, see holiday home management, or browse all our services for owners.
FAQ: setting up a holiday home listing
How much does listing setup cost?
€250 plus VAT for each platform: Airbnb, Booking.com or Vrbo. All three together cost €750 plus VAT. The platforms' own commissions are separate.
Can you improve a listing that is already live?
Yes. We review the competition, rewrite the text, reorder the photos and correct the settings and prices, for the same price per platform.
Do I keep control of my account?
Yes. The listing is in your account, or in a new account opened in your name, and stays yours.
Do you take photos?
We work with your existing photos and tell you if they are holding the listing back. Photography can be quoted separately.