Airbnb 2022 Summer Release: What you need to know

[Airbnb]

Our 2022 Summer Release represents the biggest change to Airbnb in a decade. We’re introducing:

• Airbnb Categories: A new way to search that makes it easy for guests to discover millions of homes they never knew existed

• Split Stays: An innovative feature that pairs two listings when a guest searches for a longer stay

• AirCover: The most comprehensive protection in travel, included for free with every stay

Get all the details on the Resource Center, and tell us: Will you be updating your listing for Airbnb Categories and Split Stays? How will you update it?

[Emilie]

@Gigi169 The normal CS team should be able to help you out, but the process was evolved not long ago so if you talked to them before that was updated they wouldn't have been able to help indeed. Let me see if I can nudge this one for you since you've contacted them already. 

I'm sorry if you've felt ignored here, that was absolutely not our intention. My team has been (and is still) reading, collecting and passing on all your comments to the product team, and answering where we can!

Emilie

[Mark-and-Gabriela0]

@Emilie

it’s not one person who feels ignore, it’s more than 80 % of ABB hosts who are loosing revenue, mostly to ZERO

People is surviving thanks to BOOKING or VRBO, ABB abandoned us as a toxic boyfriend who doesn’t want to give us any explanation about it.

it’s sad for us because we can’t believe it, but it’s real

[Huma0]

@Emilie 

From my personal experience, it doesn't seem to matter if you get added to the relevant categories or not because your listings can still be totally buried in the searches (category or non category) unless you zoom the map in right over your property, which obviously no guest is going to do.

Since my listings were added to categories, no bookings at all and my views are still dire. Directly prior to the release, my views were excellent and the bookings coming in thick and fast. I was getting more interest in my listings than I could accommodate and having to turn people away. 

Now... nothing. And I am not the only one clearly. When is Airbnb going to admit that there has been a major balls up here and do something to actually sort it out? Sure, they have brought back our original listing titles and now we can apply to be in categories, but clearly that is not solving the real and major issues going on with the changes brought about by this Summer Release.

Again, not intending to shoot the messenger here. It's just that we are still not getting any meaningful solutions from Airbnb and it's been nearly two months...

[Gigi169]

Crickets… 😞

[Peggy137]

This is exactly my situation as well. 

[Mark-and-Gabriela0]

 **[Private conversation removed in line with the Community Center Guidelines]

[Mark-and-Gabriela0]

Sorry my fellow hosts, I keep sending messages from CS, but it is soooo ridiculous and it’s hurting us sooo much this hidden mess Summer 

[Denice0]

@Gigi169 , Did you contact superhost CS to get included in the nat'l park category, as Emile suggested?  I hope this is helping to "unhide" your property, so it will book.  My 3 properties have been in the nat'l park category since early in the rollout, but I'm never sure when they are hidden or visible.  Often when I search I will see 1 out of 3, when the calendars are all available.  I've also seen posts that properties/ hosts have a shelf life of about 5 years, and then Airbnb wants new different hosts.  I don't understand this when experienced superhosts are low maintenance and easy money for this OTA.

I did get a flurry of views (they went over 20 on occasion) and thus bookings for 6 days; it was like the switch  was turned on and my properties were visible for a short window.  It appears the switch has been turned off again, as I got my allotted bookings.  @Huma0  I 've seen you and others mention the same, but not sure if being added to categories has actually helped your views? 

I do not use the professional hosting tools, just the basic tools under the "insights" tab.  I have noticed for my peak season that it states "the average lead time for bookings in my area is 26 days".  It seems like I'm being told not to expect bookings further out than about 2 months?  Anyone else seeing this?  Is a shorter booking window part of the new rollout model?

It also says today, searches for my area are up 55% from a year ago.  This means the slower bookings are not a result of the economy.   Is it because the search area, on the map zooms out and has been increased to include properties which could be 1-2 hours from the national park entrance?  I will say lately the zooming out has been a little better.  Just trying to get some insight on the trends that Airbnb is telling me about on the insight page.  After 11 years of renting I have returned to Vrbo, where I started, and I'm getting bookings.  It reminded me of back in the day, when all you needed was a $130 OTA subscription - no booking fees for guests or hosts, no cc fees most people paid by check, we communicated by email and phone, and we paid our own lodging taxes.   The days before Air.

[Huma0]

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@Denice0 wrote:

Often when I search I will see 1 out of 3, when the calendars are all available.  I have experienced exactly the same thing, i.e. one of my listings being more prominent in searches than the others and getting a few more views but I honestly cannot figure out the reason. That used to be my least popular room and the last one to get booked because, even though it is nice, it is the smallest. It's not showing up higher because of price, availability nor ratings. I just don't get it.

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@Denice0 wrote:

 @Huma0  I 've seen you and others mention the same, but not sure if being added to categories has actually helped your views? 

---

No, not really. The one listing that was getting slightly more views (still not great and no bookings) was already automatically placed in three categories at some point. Since I have gotten the other two placed in those categories as well I have not noticed any improvement in bookings or views. It's still the worst I've ever experiencing since I started listing the rooms back in 2016.

[Mark-and-Gabriela0]

@Gigi169 CS told me to open my calendar, I did … now one apartment has ZERO reservations, it used to be my star 97% occupancy AirbnbPlus!!!

[Gigi169]

@Mark-and-Gabriela0 gah!  They told me the same thing. I was set to only 3 months out at a time so I could catch all the last minute bookings. And was FULLY booked. CS told me to set it for indefinitely but still dismal. Also blamed my photo order. Anything but their algorithm. 

[Mark-and-Gabriela0]

They blame my pictures too…. Airbnb TOOK THE PICTURES!!!

[Huma0]

@Mark-and-Gabriela0 

Likewise. We are told we need to have "front page worthy" photos to show up in searches, but mine were taken by professional Airbnb photographers, whereas listings with truly terrible photos are showing up on the map instead. 

[Alexandra1554]

What is going on with airbnb customer support?! Whoever they outsourced to is a complete joke and airbnb needs to listen to the recorded calls. Every time i call airbnb they just transfer me around and put me on hold and never even attempt to help me whatsoever! they can't even pull up a reservation! How can airbnb as a company have hired such unqualified people. The last person I talked to couldn't even form a sentence. I don't even think they were listening to my call, they were playing a video game or something and just mumbling things every so often so that the call time continues and they get paid.

[Branka-and-Silvia0]

 Report from the field

I have some dozen friends who are also hosts in Zagreb and elsewhere in Croatia and all of them are saying that this summer they are fully booked through Booking.com. They got just a few guests from Airbnb, almost noone.

Previous years, the ratio BC vs ABB was equal but this year everything changed.

All of them would like more Airbnb guests because they are better than those from BC but, they are not getting any, despite the lower price on ABB

I don't know if this outcome is intentional and is it global, but, judging by the hosts I know in my area, Airbnb lost a lot of service fees this summer. Something just isn't right.

@Airbnb @Catherine-Powell  @Brian