Airbnb search criteria & type of accomodation

[Gordon118]

@Emilie@ScottHello, Please consider the following issue & let me have your feedback.   The Airbnb application does not allow a listing to be defined as self-contained. It's either the whole flat or a private room with shared facilities.   When travellers search for accomodation they either tick 'Entire place' - just for you, or 'Private room' with shared facilities.   There needs to be another category 'Self-contained' to represent 'Private rooms' with private facilities  which also show up when travellers tick 'just for you'.  Please plan for this platform enhancement. Best regards, Gordon

[Anonymous]

@Gordon118  The Entire Home category already includes self-contained units like yours, which have a private entrance and no shared indoor spaces. See also:  https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/5/types-of-places-to-stay

Entire places are best if you're seeking a home away from home. With an entire place, you'll have the whole space to yourself. This usually includes a bedroom, a bathroom, a kitchen, and a separate, dedicated entrance. Hosts should note in the description if they'll be on the property or not (ex: "Host occupies first floor of the home"), and provide further details on the listing.

You could change the property type on your listing to attract more guests who are searching exclusively for self-contained properties. But guests who were open to staying in a shared home have been tremendously pleased with your home so far, so your listing might already be perfectly targeted as it is.

[Gordon118]

Hi Andrew, thanks for your post.

Originally we listed as 'entire accomodation' because that's exactly what we offer, so we had a lot of interest & delighted guests.

However Airbnb now assumes that this means our entire principal residence, so with restrictions on how many days we can let each year in France.

We now list as a 'private room' in our principal residence & views in the last 30 days have dropped from around 280 to 90 & still dropping. In fact our listing meets the requirements of 'Entire place', however travellers won't find it. Other hosts will be struggling with this problem too.

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Gordon118 An interesting problem created by French regulations. I wonder whether the regulations class your listing as a separate property and hence actually Airbnb listing criteria are correct.

[Gordon118]

Thanks for your interest. No our private room with all facilities is actually only part of our duplex flat & separated by a door blocked on both sides when occupied by guests. We use the whole space when not reserved & also for family visits etc. We are properly registered for property taxes, insurance etc. & it is not legally separate.

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Gordon118 Then rather than have a separate category what is really needed is for Airbnb to somehow recognise the difference between your listing and an entire place subject to restrictions on renting. Sadly I fear this will be just too difficult for them to cope with.

Have you tried listing as an entire place and then asking Customer Services to remove the rental restriction?

[Gordon118]

Thanks again for your posts, you have summarised the problem very neatly. Airbnb don't have a 'self-contained' category & if we say 'entire place' then Airbnb apply the strict rule that you can only let your primary residence for 120 days per annum.

We live in our primary residence all year round & only let part, so yes I have tried to progress this with support in France, so far unsuccessfully.

[Emilie]

Hi @Gordon118, and thanks for raising this issue! 

I know the regulations in France can be quite challenging to navigate, though this is a problem I've never come across. On top of @Anonymous and @Mike-And-Jane0's advice, it might be worth you asking for advice on our French-speaking Community Center as well, in case anyone else has run into a similar challenge locally and would be able to give you some tips? 

Either way, I'll share this feedback with our team as well, thanks again!

Emilie

[Gordon118]

Thanks Emilie, Yes I have been pursuing this in French too ever since the regulations were first put in place for Paris & again now this year in my town. I will check whether this has been flagged on the French community site. 

The response so far is that it needs to be 'private room' since 'entire place' means that the 120 day rule applies, in my case incorrectly. We live in our primary residence all year round & only let part for Airbnb visitors when not using it ourselves.  

It's not a question of tips that will help. The type of accomodation field should include a category something like 'Self-contained private rooms' or 'Independent private rooms' which would also appear in search results 'just for you'. Please plan for this platform enhancement. Best regards, Gordon

[Gordon118]

@Emilie @Scott Another enhancement in this context is that the upfront summary people see is incomplete & should include other elements.

When entering details of our listing, the Airbnb application expressly requests each space to be listed with an indicator whether shared. So we have:

Bedroom - not shared

Bathroom - not shared

Kitchen - not shared

Dining space - not shared

Patio - not shared 

However IF travellers find our listing & click on it, the first things they see is the cover photo & a summary that reads: 2 guests, 1 bedroom, 1 bed, 1 private bath.

This summary is incomplete & should include "1 private kitchen, 1 private dining space, 1 private patio" as well.

Thanks for your involvement, Gordon

[Gordon118]

@Emilie@Scott

Sorry to bother you with this again - is there any way to flag this with Airbnb application developers, so that my two requests are added to the list of possible enhancements please?

All the best & take care, Gordon

[Emilie]

@Gordon118 Apologies for the late reply! You've shared your ideas in the right place, we read and pass on your feedback to the right teams as we go. The only other thing you can do if you'd like is register your feedback on this page as well. 🙂