Guidelines for writing your listing title

Your listing title is often the first thing people read when searching for a place to stay. It’s an opportunity to showcase what makes your home unique, spark interest in booking, and set expectations for guests.

Think about what makes your place appealing and sets it apart from other homes. You don’t need to tell the whole story—simply invite guests to learn more.

Start with the most important information, and try to use fewer than 50 characters. Longer titles are automatically shortened in search results to fit smaller screens. For example, the title “Country cabin with lake view, fire pit, boat ramp” may show up as “Country cabin with lake view… .”

Here are 3 good examples of short listing titles:

• Hilltop hideaway for wine lovers
• Modern loft overlooking downtown
• Beachfront villa near Año Nuevo

Capitalize only the first letter of the first word in your title. Lowercase tends to be easier to read, and it’s more conversational than capitalizing every word or using all caps.

You can make exceptions for proper names, such as a neighborhood or landmark, and abbreviations, including for a country or airport code.

Here are 3 good examples of capitalization in listing titles:

• Seaside shack at Bondi Beach
• Romantic Victorian guest room
• Eco-friendly studio near LAX

Emojis and symbols can be confusing or misleading because they mean different things to different people around the world. Using these special characters can make your title inaccessible to some guests. Stick with simple and descriptive words instead.

Using special characters (like !, #, or *) is okay, but repeating them for emphasis (like !!! or ***) isn’t. Try commas with spaces or a single slash without spaces to separate ideas.

Here’s an example of what not to do:

• ****Ski & golf chalet****!!!

Here’s a better way to write this:

• Ski/golf chalet with fenced yard

It’s generally unnecessary to repeat information that’s automatically provided to guests in search results, including your city or town, your home’s total number of beds, and whether or not your listing is new. Instead, use your listing title to add more details, like in these two examples.

Instead of:

• New, 3-bed apartment in Florence

Consider helping guests better understand your location:

• Sunny walkup near the Uffizi

Instead of:

• Brand new guesthouse in Florence

Consider highlighting a key amenity, like dedicated office space: 

• Remote work-ready guesthouse

Information contained in this article may have changed since publication.