Vacation rental and hotel description examples: 10 words to delete
The best vacation rental descriptions are specific: they tell guests what they will see, hear, and do, and they skip the words every other listing uses. Below are vacation rental description examples built around the 10 words I’d delete first, each with a before and an after, then three complete rewrites: a villa, an agriturismo (a farm stay), and a B&B in the city.
The same rules work for small hotels and for any vacation rental (a holiday let or holiday rental, if you’re British), on Airbnb, Booking.com, Vrbo, or your own website. The examples are set in Tuscany, where I’m based.
10 words to delete from your vacation rental description
Each of these words is so common that it no longer tells a guest anything about your place.
1. Cozy
In listings, “cozy” is often a polite word for “small,” and many guests know it.
- Before: “Cozy apartment in the heart of Lucca.”
- After: “A 45 m² one-bedroom inside the city walls, with a reading chair by the window.”
Rule: give the size, then the one detail that makes the space comfortable.
2. Nestled
Every farmhouse in Tuscany seems to be “nestled in the rolling hills.” What guests need to know is how far away you are and how they get there.
- Before: “Nestled in the rolling hills of Chianti.”
- After: “On a hilltop 5 km from Castellina in Chianti. The last kilometer is a gravel road, fine for a normal car.”
Rule: give distances and access. If the road is unpaved or the stairs are steep, say so before guests book.
3. Luxury
Unless your place really is high-end, “luxury” sets an expectation you can’t meet, and the gap ends up in your reviews. Airbnb’s own advice to hosts says the same: exaggerating can lead to disappointed guests and negative reviews.
- Before: “Luxury villa with every comfort.”
- After: “A restored stone farmhouse with new bathrooms, linen sheets, and air conditioning in every bedroom.”
Rule: name what you invested in, and let guests decide whether it’s luxury.
4. Unique
If every listing is unique, none of them is.
- Before: “A unique experience in the heart of Tuscany.”
- After: “In late September you can pick grapes with us and taste last year’s wine from the barrel.”
Rule: replace “unique” with something guests can actually do or see at your place. If you can’t name it, the word was empty anyway.
5. Charming
“Charming” is a verdict, and the guest should reach it on their own.
- Before: “Charming apartment in the historic center.”
- After: “Terracotta floors, a painted ceiling from the 1700s, and a kitchen renovated last year.”
Rule: show where the charm comes from, then stop.
6. Boasts
Nobody says “boasts” out loud. It’s brochure language, and it puts distance between you and the guest.
- Before: “The hotel boasts a panoramic rooftop terrace.”
- After: “The roof terrace looks west over the old town. On summer evenings we serve drinks there until 11 p.m.”
Rule: write it the way you would say it to a guest at check-in.
7. Conveniently located
Convenient for what? Guests plan in minutes, on foot or by car. “In the heart of” has the same problem.
- Before: “Conveniently located in the heart of Florence.”
- After: “A 7-minute walk from Florence’s main train station and 15 minutes on foot from the Duomo.”
Rule: give walking or driving times to the places your guests actually go.
8. Home away from home
It sounds warm and describes nothing. What makes a place feel like home is practical.
- Before: “Your home away from home in Tuscany.”
- After: “A full kitchen with a real oven, a washing machine, and a desk by the window with Wi-Fi fast enough for video calls.”
Rule: name the three things that make a long stay easy.
9. Perfect for…
“Perfect for couples, families, and groups of friends” means you haven’t chosen.
- Before: “Perfect for couples, families, business travelers, and groups.”
- After: “Made for families with small children: a fenced pool, high chairs, and a lawn you can see from the kitchen.”
Rule: pick your best guest and write to them. You’ll lose a few who were never a good fit.
10. Peaceful
Peaceful, relaxing, tranquil: every rural listing says it.
- Before: “A peaceful and relaxing oasis immersed in nature.”
- After: “The nearest road is a kilometer away. At night you hear owls, and in the morning the church bell from the village.”
Rule: show the quiet instead of announcing it. Say what guests hear, and what they don’t.
Italian-English phrases that give away a translation
If your description started in Italian, some phrases survive translation word for word, whether a tool translated it or a friend did. They sound normal in Italian and odd to English-speaking guests. These are the ones I see most often:
| Italian | Word for word | Write instead |
|---|---|---|
| la struttura | “the structure” | the house, the farm, the hotel, or its name |
| immersa nella natura | “immersed in nature” | “surrounded by olive groves, 2 km from the village” |
| dotata di ogni comfort | “equipped with every comfort” | the three that matter: air conditioning, a dishwasher, parking |
| vista suggestiva | “suggestive view” | “a view across the valley to the towers of San Gimignano” |
| borgo caratteristico | “characteristic village” | “a medieval village with one café and a Sunday market” |
| prodotti tipici | “typical products” | “pecorino cheese from the farm next door and our own olive oil” |
| posizione strategica | “strategic position” | “an hour from Florence, Siena, and Pisa” |
| non esitate a contattarci | “do not hesitate to contact us” | “Questions? Message us on WhatsApp.” |
A word of warning about “suggestive”: in English it often hints at something indecent, which is not what you want next to a photo of the bedroom.
The fix is to write the English version in English, starting from what you would tell a guest on the phone. On Airbnb you can add a description in each language; for any language you don’t add, guests see an automatic translation that you have never read.
Vacation rental description examples: three full rewrites
Here are three complete descriptions, before and after. Use them as Airbnb description examples, or adapt them for Vrbo and your own website. Each “after” tells guests who the place is for, what the space is like, how to get there, what they’ll do, and who they’ll meet.
A villa with a pool
Before: “Nestled in the rolling hills of Tuscany, this charming luxury villa boasts panoramic views, a private pool, and every comfort. Perfect for families, couples, and groups: your home away from home in a unique, peaceful setting.”
After: “A stone farmhouse for two families on vacation together, 25 minutes by car from Lucca. Four bedrooms, each with its own bathroom, and two living rooms, so the adults can keep one. The pool (12 × 5 m) faces west and gets the sun until evening. The last 800 meters are a gravel road, fine for any car. I live in the village below and can be there in 10 minutes.”
An agriturismo
Before: “Our characteristic agriturismo, immersed in nature, offers a relaxing stay in a strategic position. We produce high-quality typical products. Do not hesitate to contact us.”
After: “A working olive farm for guests who want to see how oil is made. Six rooms in the old barn, with thick stone walls that keep them cool in July. Florence and Siena are both about an hour away. Breakfast is bread from the village bakery, honey from our hives, and eggs from our hens. We press our oil in November, and you’re welcome at the mill. On Friday nights we all eat together: pasta, vegetables from the garden, and our wine.”
A B&B in the city
Before: “Our cozy B&B is conveniently located in the heart of Florence. Professional staff, a high-quality breakfast, and all the amenities for a unique stay!”
After: “Three rooms on the top floor of a 17th-century building, a 5-minute walk from the Duomo, for travelers who want to see Florence on foot. There’s no elevator, so I carry your bags up. Breakfast runs until 11: warm focaccia from the bakery downstairs and real espresso. I’m Giulia. I grew up on this street, and I’ll give you my list of places to eat that most visitors walk past.”
Want your descriptions to sound like your place, not like every other listing?
Where the words go on Airbnb, Booking.com, Vrbo, and your website
The rules are the same everywhere, but each platform gives you a different space to write in.
- Airbnb. You have 50 characters for the title, and Airbnb suggests using fewer: long titles get cut off in search results on small screens. Guests scan the description for key features, so lead with what matters most, and skip the amenities list: it has its own section.
- Booking.com. You don’t write the main description. Booking.com generates it from the rooms, facilities, and location you enter in the Extranet, and translates it, so keep that information complete. Your own words go in the host profile (Property, then Your profile), which you can write in more than one language.
- Vrbo. You write the headline and the description yourself: up to 40 characters for the headline, 400 to 10,000 for the description.
- Your own website. It’s the only place where you choose the format and the length, so it’s the place for the longer story: who you are and why you run the place. If your site still reads like a brochure full of these words, that’s one of the signs a hotel website needs a redesign.
How to rewrite your description in four steps
- Circle every word from the list in your listing and on your website’s home page.
- Test each sentence: could it describe the listing next door? If so, cut it. Often the sentence works better without the word.
- For every claim that’s left, add a fact. Instead of “quiet,” say what guests hear. Instead of “well-kept,” say what you do.
- Read it to someone who has never been there. If they can’t describe the place back to you, add details. Then compare it with your photos: if the text says “sunny terrace” and the photo is dark, guests will believe the photo. If your gallery needs work too, here is when professional hotel photography is worth it.
Make it sound like the same person everywhere
Everything you write, from the Airbnb description to the Booking.com host profile and your website, is also your brand’s tone of voice, so it should sound like the same person. I explain how that fits with your logo, colors, and photos in hotel branding for small hotels and B&Bs.
Rewriting descriptions is one step of a bigger plan, and not always the first: my five-step marketing plan for hotels and rentals puts the steps in order. If you’d rather hand the job to someone, rewriting listings and website copy is part of my marketing work.
