When a listing first enters the market, the aim is to generate a pipeline of bookings, which results in booking momentum and those coveted first guest reviews. This is a crucial period, as the various channels place importance on the first 90 days a listing is live.
The first handful of bookings are often the most difficult to secure as the listing is brand new with no reviews. Guests are naturally more hesitant to book properties with no reviews. Once the first few positive reviews begin to come in, this provides a catalyst for more bookings as guests are confident they will have a positive experience staying at the property. Hometime calls this time the 'ramp-up period' of a listing.
To encourage these crucial first bookings, the Revenue Management Team often apply a 20% New Listing Discount to encourage early bookers. These first few bookings also help with SEO ranking of your property in the Airbnb search algorithm.
Please remember that the first few months of performance generally do not indicate the overall performance across a full year. Listing performance is based on several factors and needs time to build momentum.