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?

[Huma0]

@Branka-and-Silvia0 

Unfortunately, I don't know a lot of hosts in London. The ones I did know stopped hosting when the pandemic started, or before.

However, I believe you are correct. Something just isn't right. People ARE travelling. They are just not booking on Airbnb anymore...

[Tony-And-Una0]

We are 70% booked via Booking.com

It was always around 30% historically.

No loss of revenue for us. But Airbnb has lost the revenue. If this was their business plan, good luck to them. We don't understand it.

[Denice0]

So bringing back our unique titles (below a bolded generic one) hasn't helped with bookings.  Is anyone at Air evaluating the new-zoom-out-map and why we have to hover over our properties for them to appear on the map?  Essentially why are you hiding Superhost listings?  Out with the old and in with the new doesn't sound inclusive.  @Mark-and-Gabriela0 @Emilie @Gigi169 @Huma0 @Branka-and-Silvia0 

[Huma0]

@Denice0 

Yes, to me this seems like a much more major issue than the listing titles. Unless a guest is looking for a very specific location, they are not going to zoom that close on the map. I am in London and none of my potential guests are going to zoom in over my house to find me!

[Gigi169]

@Denice0  @Huma0 

Totally agree 100%.  People are just putting the name of the town and mostly search that way. (I’ve asked how they search) And now when people search by town, we no longer appear. But the places close to us appear. The ones that appear have no superhost status, lower number of stars… so what happened to priority listing for Superhosts?  That was the big carrot for all the extra hard work to become a superhost. 
The property next door to mine is run-down, poorly maintained, no superhost and lower stars but still comes up first in search and mine is nowhere to be seen. 
We are in the middle of the highest high season we’ve ever seen here and I have 0 bookings this entire week. 

Congrats Superhosts!  This is your reward!!

@Airbnb @Emilie 

[Huma0]

@Gigi169 

I don't think that Superhosts ever got preferential treatment in the searches. Airbnb's wording around this was deliberately vague. I believe that the 'advantage' was simply that guests could search for Superhosts only if they selected that as a filter, but I am not sure many will actually do this. 

There was a thread here on the CC a few years back where a group of hosts did an experiment by conducting the same search and the results that came up showed pretty clearly that being a Superhost or having high ratings for your listing didn't make any difference. Many listings that came up on the first page of the searches had ratings well bellow the 4.7* that is supposed to be a basic requirement, let alone the 4.7* for Superhost. A good chunk of them had 3. something stars...

[Jennifer2672]

My bookings have been exceedingly slow since the "update." Two things have happened in the past week that are making me wonder what is up. My husband gave our link to a friend who wanted to see it, and he said the app showed that there was no availability until summer of 2023. I've got lots of open weeks from September on. Another friend reached out wanting to book four specific days I had open in September. I happily gave her my link. The platform wouldn't let her book them, although they were open on my calendar. After three days of her talking on the phone to customer support, she gave up. I'm losing business....and beginning to think that direct booking is my best option. 

[Denice0]

@Jennifer2672  that is alarming - only showing availability in 2023, and then not allowing a friend to book - when you know the dates are available!  I would try to get an explanation from CS through a chat, last resort for me is the phone, and send-in feedback.

If  you can get an answer and they say it's not a computer issue/glitch, I would surmise this is about Airbnb controlling listing visibility/bookings and directing guests to the properties Airbnb wants to book.  As your 2 friends searches showed; It has nothing to do with helping guests find the properties they want to book even though they are available.  Airbnb has stated they want to direct guests to less popular destinations.  They have control  over hosts and it seems they want more control over the guests too.  They can hide properties to imply less availability, show misleading locations (zoom out) on maps, and misrepresent categories and filters, but I don't know how they can force an informed guest to book something they don't want?  Sadly, your friends gave up, as will other informed guests.

The rollout/update is going on 3 mos.; it's definitely time to diversify.  I  have gone back to Vrbo and am looking at other OTA's; I will be  getting a channel manager for direct booking too.  

[Gigi169]

@Denice0  Great observations. That would explain our dismal bookings too. Hiding our listings seems to be an unfair business practice. 
I feel frustrated that I have 0 control over my listing now. And no hope in sight or acknowledgement from them that there is even a problem. THAT for me is the worst part. 
Crickets. 

@Jennifer2672 

[Jennifer2672]

I called support. It was less than satisfying. They told me that they looked at my listing and it was publicly available, and they couldn't tell me anything about my potential guest's issues, as "the guest would have to take up that issue with her support team." As my friend who gave up on booking called support three days in a row and they were unable to help her, I don't think sending her back to ask more questions is a good move. 

[Huma0]

@Jennifer2672 @Gigi169 

Only showing availability in 2023 doesn't mean that that exactly. What happens when you do a search for 'any weekend', 'any week' or 'any month', is that it will show what appears to be random dates on each listing that have nothing to do with the earliest availability. Of course, most guests are not going to know that and will just assume those are the first available dates, which would be a logical conclusion. They are not to know that the new search algorithm is illogical (or, as you suggest, designed to direct them away from certain listings and encourage them to book others).

I wanted to book an Airbnb but didn't know the exact dates, so searched for 'any weekend'. It took me a while to find one I liked, but that one was showing dates in November and I wanted to go in the summer. Most guests would think, "Oh well, what a shame, that one isn't available." Luckily, I thought to go to the listing anyway, scroll back on the calendar, where I could see there was weekend availability for every month from July to November, manually adjust the dates and book for August, but how many guests are going to know to do that?

Your friend not being able to book specific dates that are available and CS not being able to give any answers is even more worrying...

[Mark-and-Gabriela0]

It happened the same to me, I booked a hotel because I couldn’t find a listing

[Emilie]

Hi @Branka-and-Silvia0 @Denice0 @Huma0 @Mark-and-Gabriela0 & @all, 

Thank you for all your recent comments regarding the lack of bookings  and views you've been experiencing lately. I understand you would like answers and although I'm afraid I do not have more at this time, I am raising your concerns on my end. I want to assure you that we are still reading you, and listening to you. Should I get any new update, you will be the first to know! 

Emilie

[Natasha-and-John0]

Haha

[Peggy137]

Emilie, by the time Airbnb gets around to addressing our concerns we will be bankrupt, but thanks for the thought.