Host questions answered: Airbnb’s Summer Release

Stephanie
Community Manager
Community Manager
London, United Kingdom

Host questions answered: Airbnb’s Summer Release

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Updated Jun 19, 2022

 

Just to share a quick update that we have created the promised Resource Center guidelines for listing descriptions has been published and you can read it here.

 

Hi Hosting Community, 

 

A month ago, we introduced the Airbnb 2022 Summer Release with a new way to search designed around Airbnb Categories

 

Since then, we’ve gathered feedback from thousands of Hosts through our Community Center, Host Clubs, emails, and in workshops with the Host Advisory Board and Host leaders. Thank you for your valuable comments and suggestions. 

 

Today, we want to share an update on some of the important feedback you’ve shared.  More updates will follow. 

 

You can read about them here.

 

Please continue to share your ideas and feedback as it directly assists in how we evolve our platform. 

 

Your continued support, feedback and constructive thoughts on this and many of our release features is incredibly valuable and I encourage you to continue sharing here.

 

Thanks,

Stephanie

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258 Replies 258

I’m in exactly the same situation with my lake front listing 😞

Adriana

Testify Jeremy!  Same exact thing.  Lake front beach cottages, with those words in the title.  None of those features show on airbnb search.  Worse, my listings DO NOT show using the map search.  Dozens of other listings also not showing between White Lake and Ludington. If you do find my listings, it shows availability dates in late October, but I have August and Sept dates available.  Very seasonal here and few people are interested in late October.Screenshot from 2022-06-09 09-49-58.png

@Jeremy785 I am in the same position. My property is not listed in the "Amazing Pools" plus my reviews are referring the pool, pool is in descriptions of photos and detailed descriptions,  the photos are taken from a professional photographer sent by Airbnb and the most funny my next door neighbors (10 of them) who have properties in the same complex, their properties are listed in that category. I have talked to 5 different Airbnb ambassadors so far and noone has assisted me a month now. 

 

Agreed! I'm a cabin, on a lake, in a rural setting. Only falling into the Cabin category, when many guests book for the lakeview. Hoping this is remedied quickly - know you are not alone!!! @Stephanie any word on fine tuning (or truly improving this 'update?). New is not always better and hosts are truly feeling the brunt of this.

Nancy1633
Level 10
Hoboken, NJ

Unsatisfactory. 

 

(1) Host Titles are returning in July? JULY? After AirBnb instructs us how to change them because they're "too long"? 

 

No, they are NOT "too long". Our titles were the right length to get us BOOKINGS which we are NOT getting now, thanks to the "new" AirBnb. Our descriptive titles WORKED, so who asked you to mess with them? Just because you can?   Let Hosts determine their listing titles!  Apparently we know our listings best, not you.  Don't make us wait, return them NOW.  By July, Hosts will have collectively lost MILLIONS of dollars in bookings.

 

(2) REMOVE the arbitrary week to book, remove default "week" search NOW.   It is confusing to guests, misleading, and they are NOT booking! They are booking on VRBO instead.  

 

(3) RESTORE your map and old format where guests can see ALL listings available WHERE they choose to go!  SHOW OUR LISTINGS, not those in OTHER counties, cities, states, and countries!!!  Guests are pissed off and leaving AirBnb, and Hosts are bleeding money. 

 

(4) ADMIT A MISTAKE.  This isn't working. 

 

People who use AirBnb  know WHERE they want to go when they search, and want to CHOOSE when-- it may be mid-week, or a 4-day weekend, whenever. These pre-selected weeks are RIDICULOUS and CONFUSING.  

 

(5) Travel business is BOOMING on VRBO.  Don't blame inflation or gas prices on your next report to share holders-- other sites are getting your business now that you have completely mucked with your platform. 

 

(6) Unlike Chesky, Hosts are not billionaires. Many of us have depended on this income to feed our families.  We partnered with AirBnb in good faith that the company was vested in our success.  What a betrayal. 

 

Oh, you're giving us back our listing  titles after robbing them from us.  Little difference it will make unless you undo the rest, as described above here and by other Hosts across these boards. 

Completely agree.

 

No bookings nothing absolutely nothing thinking about just

renting the property taking it off all together.

A complete betrayal.

 

Helping refugees helping groups yet killing the people that 

got you here. 

 

Hi Nancy, 

 

Norm From Australia (Tasmania), my wife and I have a small airbnb we are superhosts and have been almost since the first review, we are absolutely devastated by the changes you have mentioned above , after checking listings by searching airbnb Hobart , if we were a guest looking to explore Hobart Tasmania as a future holiday spot then we would not put in a date (as most people don't) then it brings a ridiculous weekly price months ahead and with a slashed or reduced price(not a good look) so yes you are absolutely correct we are losing bookings for the likes of hotels and hostels etc as they show nightly prices , we have a international event in Hobart called Dark Mofo and at this time of the year we are usually booked output not this year under this ridiculous Summer set up we are usually booked the week ahead and generally 90% booked , this is not the case now and we have exactly zero forward bookings where we usually have plenty , and it is not due to Covid. 

 

YES AIRBNB ADMIT YOUR MISTAKE .

 

Please change back to what has made your success as a short stay accomodation platform , not the Millionaire BS way you are targeting guests.

 

I have reached out to you several times and you have not responded with anything meaningful .

 

Norm

well written Nancy. I couldn't have said it better. This has been completely unforseen and my bookings fell off a cliff overnight. I did list my properties with VRBO for the first time and have to say, I started getting bookings immediately! I always thought of VRBO when I was looking for a whole house to rent for a trip or if it was going to be a week long vacation. But maybe with  Airbnb's disastrious Summer Release, traffic will start heading over to VRBO for short term stays too (2 nights is what I get the most). 

I am happy to hear the listing titles are coming back.

I do wish they would remove the populated dates of availability that are months out. Wouldn’t it be best for all to show dates that are immediately available and then let guest click on calendar to see further dates out? 

Some of these dates are 6 months out. In my experience the Airbnb guest doesn’t book that far out unless it’s for a large home with a large amount of guests. 
Overall though I am glad that Airbnb is taking the feedback to heart and willing to make changes. 

Karen
Louise1097
Level 10
London, United Kingdom

Some dates are 9 months or 11 months out. It's crazy! 

Louise1097
Level 10
London, United Kingdom

The average booking lead time in our locality is 26-28 days. Sez Air. One in 100 people will book up 6 months ahead, 1 in 1,000 people will book up 10 or 11 months ahead.

 

We tend to get our funeral bookings 7-10 days ahead.... unless someone is plotting a murder 😉

If I could double-love this post, I would.

 

We are in the UK, experiencing all the same problems, and more (our locations are wrong, the addressing info is wrong as based on USA addressing info, all the distances to host places are hugely, hugely wrong).

 

They will not roll back owing to loss of face. 

Well said!

Kathleen543
Level 5
Putney, VT

@Stephanie  thank you for this update. My listings in Putney Vermont are showing up as in being in London, and I’ve spent the past month trying to get this corrected.

 

All hosts in my town (60+) have the same problem. There is no London in Vermont, but there is a town called Putney near London in the UK and I suspect this is the problem.

 

My previously fully booked, humming and joyful farm stay business that supports our farm has come to a complete standstill. CS has not helped me. Is there anything you can do to escalate this for me?

 

note: the problem comes up in the search results, screenshots below. Once a guest clicks through to the listings, they are fine.  I believe that coupled with the issues embedded in the summer release, the London designation is very confusing for prospective guests, since we’ve had very few reservations or inquiries and we previously had them daily.EB1E4EE3-C979-45DF-9CDC-F46BE5ADEDF6.jpeg30F664A3-7643-4C80-B5F2-E0786812E9B8.jpeg

Stephanie
Community Manager
Community Manager
London, United Kingdom

Hi @Kathleen543 ,

 

Yes, I'm quite familiar with Putney! This is definitely a bug so I'll see about talking to the product developers to get it sorted. Thanks for being polite with your feedback despite the obvious frustrations.

 

Thanks,

 

Stephanie

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