Hi, this is Jing again with the Bali Business Review. Today I'm actually in Taiwan and I'll be reporting on a really interesting topic that many owners constantly ask us. And the simple question is, what is the right type of design for my property in Bali?
I'll go through some of the history and evolution of the very captivating white Mediterranean design. I'll also go into some more details about how you can select a really, really good, unconventional, unique design by studying our analysis of some of the top performing properties on Airbnb. Stay tuned and find out more on this Bali Business episode of how design affects experience and experience affects your investment value.
Okay. So before we go into too much detail, let me explain some of the methodology by which we have actually determined how to look for really good design. So if you'll take a look at my screen here, what you'll see is a simple chart, but this chart reveals a whole astounding amount of information.
What does this chart show? This chart essentially shows in red, the number of highest reviews to the number of lowest reviews for the top 200 properties that we've been able to find on Airbnb in Bali. So the red indicates essentially declining number of reviews.
And what does the blue represent? The blue chart represents the rate. So the rate is which, by which we'll sort it by rate.
The rate indicates the properties that get the highest rates consistently versus those that get the lowest rate. Okay. So that's what you can see right now here on the blue chart.
Now, the really interesting analysis has been done by our incredibly gifted and talented data engineers at Bukavista and working on behalf of the Bali Business Review. What they've been able to do is to essentially go throughout the entire index of database on Airbnb, specifically for Bali. And what they've been able to collect is this astonishing information.
So we'll show you what this looks like. Okay. So if we take a look at now, let's go with this one first.
Okay. So here's an index of all the highest, it's a balance of the most reviews at the highest price. Okay.
You can see Laputa, Villa number one, Bamboo Castle in the Sky is by far the most astounding performance in terms of the highest price at $289, but also at the highest number of reviews, $444. Okay. So what does the design for one of the number one properties of Airbnb in Bali look like?
Well, let's open it up, take a look inside. Laputa looks like this. Very, very Instagrammable.
You can see from the design and also from the choice of location that this is an experiential masterpiece. The way that this particular property is laid out is really capturing, I think, the full benefits of its incredibly scenic location. It overlooks a mountain, river valleys as completely natural and unique design.
And so by those elements alone, it can command a price that is also unique and fairly high. This is a very strong design principle by which most owners of properties don't really understand. Most property owners will go with a safe design, something that they've seen their friends do.
The problem with that, especially in a vacation rental marketplace, unlike let's say a primary destination, is that on vacation rentals, people are primarily seeking the experience. And so if your experience looks visually like so many other experiences, then your price then will be a commodified price. So Laputa, I think, is a really good example using our data analysis of somebody who is really exploring the boundaries of bamboo architecture and building something appropriate for also their region.
Is this a practical design? By no means. Is it a luxurious design?
Well, let's take a look at the kitchen. The kitchen is just simple concrete, no cabinet doors, and you can even see a little bit of the kitchen pipe standing out. But who cares?
This is a once in a lifetime experience that is only available if you book through this particular listing. So it commands a fairly large price and also a ton of reviews behind it, which indicates incredible amount of investment value. All right, let's go to the next one.
Here's a 15% off. Okay, so this one's going definitely more transactional, I would say. Intimate Pool Villain Ubud, $279, but 500 reviews.
So probably even better revenue performance, although at an average lower price by $10. Okay, but let's open it up and let's see what's there. Oh my god, it's been actually removed.
Okay, so that's a false lead. That apparently property has been removed. So let's go to the next one.
All right, let's look at this one. Tropical Glamping Cliffside Ocean View Annette, question, question. Not sure why there's so many questions here.
I believe this one's a Nusa Penida. So let's open it up and take a look what's inside. Bingo, there you go again.
You can see that one of the really winning designs seems to be using a very natural architectural style. They're using strong Balinese elements. They're capturing also the very good essence and integration with their amazing and fabulous locations.
The previous was on a really, really amazing hillside, mountainside retreat. This one is definitely a unique location along the cliff sides. So from one look at it, you can see that there's a lot of organic, soft touches, plenty of use of local elements.
Now, once again, you can take a look around and you'll see that it's not for everybody. There's definitely gaps and holes and places for critters to crawl in. But just in terms of the overall experience offered by it, wow, there you have it, right?
That's a pretty astounding, but also you can imagine how commercially dangerous that could be in any other option, right? You have a net bed that's really on the edge of a cliff there. But okay, once you have something that's been built out to be so visually stunning, so visually impactful, it just carries its own momentum on a platform that relies on visual search like Airbnb.
So if it is seen, it will start growing and the more it grows, the more you're able to command a higher price. All right, so that's fantastic and very helpful. Okay, let's go to the next one.
The next property that we see is a hideout beehive property. So let's go ahead and take a look at that. I think we're beginning to see a pattern here, yeah?
So it seems like a lot of these designs that are doing really, really well are all incorporating bamboo. They're incorporating natural organic structure, and they're just excelling on the platform. They're doing so good.
High prices, huge number of reviews, and consistent bookings. Okay, so once again, all three locations, by the way, if you haven't noticed, are in not very popular areas. They're all in more natural scenic areas too as well.
Okay, let's go with one more, Kamiya Bali, and then we'll go on the other metric, okay? Kamiya Bali is Seboya Bamboo House. Okay, I don't think this needs to be spoken.
Okay, you can see it's a very similar aesthetic and a build to what we first initially saw. Tons of reviews, pretty high prices, bamboo architecture used throughout, natural organic lines, kitchen surprisingly all very understated and maybe even under built. These kitchens are quite simple, but they lend themselves to a lot of, let's say, desirability.
These net beds overhanging on the edge are very cozy, quite dreamy. It elicits the fantasy of what you can do on holidays. So yeah, I guess that's the insights that we've been able to discover.
I want to go for one more, okay? Let's go for one more. Let's go for this one, Deluxe Cliffside Jungle Villa, $195 with 449 reviews.
Let's open that up. Oh, look at this. Okay, this property is a far more common design, infinity edge pool overlooking the Ubud jungle side, pretty standard modern layout, white lines, tropical furniture, practical.
Practical, you don't want furniture that's too fluffy or heavy in tropical weather. So this rattan is a good compromise. Good highlights for the windows using probably teak, brown, white ceiling fans, adds a natural ventilation overlooking the jungle side.
So the one thing that we've been able to see in terms of the properties with the highest, let's say, prices has been that they're going for, I think, integration. Integration, natural, and I think cohesion between the way the property looks and the way the environment is too as well. And the funny thing is, as of yet, we have not seen a single white Mediterranean design yet.
So that's something also to think about. Okay, now let's zoom out a little bit and let's go over to the other metric, which is not just by the rate, but by the total number of reviews, okay? So we're going to resort this list and we're going to look for who's the winner in terms of not just the highest price of reviews, but by just bare volume of reviews.
Okay, here we go. Here's the first one, Chubang Lantang Cottage. Let's look for this one.
Absolutely massive, 892 reviews. Let's open that up and see what it looks like. Gorgeous.
Okay. Chubang Lantang is in Nusa Penida and it's got 913 reviews. That's staggering for a single listing on Airbnb.
Once again, the infinity edge pool seems to be a real game changer. The interior design is modern, maybe a little bit industrial with the gray tones. Okay.
Sequence of cottages, a natural alung-alung roof, which is good. You know, I'm going to dispel just quickly a discussion I've been hearing for ever since my very first days in Bali. So for 20 years, I've heard whether or not it's better to use an alung-alung roof.
And so there's two camps. There's one camp that says that it's a terrible roofing material because one, it's flammable. Two, it also needs to be repaired every so often because it's a naturally organic and decaying material.
And three, there's critters that live up there and they can infest the roof and start dropping everything. And that might sound pretty disgusting for anybody who's considering to buy a vacation home, but there's also a really strong reason to keep it. Number one is that nothing speaks, I think, of the architecture or the visual, let's say, identification of a particular property than the roof integration with the culture.
What do I mean? I mean, you think of a pagoda, right? And a pagoda's essence is defined by its clay, ceramic tile roof.
And you know, you're in the far East. You think about like an onion dome and that indicates you're probably in Eastern Europe. Well, the roof of tropical Bali is probably thatch.
So that really strong visual identification with your location and that integration between your design and the culture in where you have built up your property, I think, is really strong given this alung-alung roof. And unbeknownst to most people, you're helping to support and continue a traditional Balinese artisanal practice of putting up these types of roofs too as well. So consider it, consider there are some benefits, clearly financial too as well.
It's the one pattern I'm beginning to see. All right, back to the examination of this listing. Oh yeah, really clever use of photography too as well.
The property owner or the manager has understood how, once again, to tell the story of how the location and the property have a very good interplay. So you can see this infinity edge pool overlooking a ocean, overlooking a bay, and then affording a pretty unique and staggering experience here. These pictures are very marvelous, showing the volcanoes in the background and really putting the experience to scale.
Okay, fantastic. So this property is crazily affordable, I think also at, let's see, well, the average price is $73. But look at those reviews.
And now you just have to take 73, multiply by the reviews, and multiply by three, and that gives you a rough picture of how much revenue has been transacted on this single property. Okay, let's look for the next one. Best Vacation Kamala Beach Front View Unique Cozy.
Let's open that up and see. Once again, a lot of reviews, 750 reviews. So let's open that up and see what's there.
Okay, wow. This is in Thailand. Okay, sorry, this scraping is irrelevant, so let's skip that one.
Let's go to another one. Firefly Eco Lodge Bamboo, birds love. Okay, this one's for a really, really low price of $38, but it makes up for that more than in the total number of reviews it's gotten.
Okay, you can see the pattern here, right? This overwhelming reward for using bamboo and sustainable materials is completely proven by the popularity and the evidence of bookings. Okay, this is a very rustic orgranic experience.
You can see that the ladder to the upstairs space is provided by slots on a bamboo pole. Yep, very, once again, unique visual style, immediately identifiable, cool dining area. Okay, some guest pictures.
Some murals, an overall scene setting picture, good composition. So a lot of the design, I would say, needs to be also fully captured by who the photographer is. The photographer has enormous responsibility to tell the story.
So just like in cinematography, it's a good idea to use a different number and collection of shots, some closeup shots like this, some zoomed out, some overall detail shots. So I think that's a tip if you're building your own Airbnb listing, to put a diversity of different shots so that the whole story of your property can be told well. Okay, so that's it.
That's our 15 minutes today, and hopefully that gives essentially a unique and also strategic and insightful overview of how design actually works. It's not necessarily the design that developers are trying to sell, the white Mediterranean design. That design, in addition to being a little bit overused these days, is actually surprisingly very affordable to build.
So there's a very, very hefty profit margin in that type of design. But you can see that the designs that really get, let's say, the traction and also the virality and are rewarded by revenue and bookings seem to be the ones that are painstakingly built with, let's say, natural integration. They take into account something about how the local environment and how about the perception of a Balinese holiday would actually be, and they pay homage to, I think, local customs and traditions.
Okay, great. That's this episode of Bali Business Review. My name is Jing, and join us for your next episode.
If you like what you see, please don't forget to like, subscribe, but most importantly, comment. We are always in the mood to hear about your thoughts and your particular facts that you might see. Hey, we've been enlightened many a time by being proven wrong.
So feel free to comment and engage right there below, and we look forward to seeing your engagement soon. Bye-bye.
