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?

[Nancy1633]

It appears to *me* that AirBnb has tweaked the landing page-- specifically, order of icons (see mobile screenshot below).

Since the "new" launch, the icons displayed first were "Arctic" "OMG!" and other equally bizarro categories. As of today, the icons were displayed in a sensible fashion, according to (it seems) most frequently searched.

What could this mean?  

Is this small change in recognition of the presumed disastrous drop in bookings?

Anecdotally,  travelers are fleeing to VRBO and other sites to book.  From a traveler's perspective trying to book on the "new" AirBnb, I'd think the company lost its mind. 

At the end of the day, bookings are all that will matter, a catastrophic plunge in revenue may be what will fix the mess and return to the old booking platform. Until then, AirBnb is losing its customers and Hosts must leave for economic survival.  Word needs to get out to stock holders.  

 

[Mark116]

@Nancy1633  "OMG" has to be stupidest category I can imagine.  They've already got $11K Italian villas, castles, tree houses, historic properties...what could possibly differentiate OMG from any other unique or high end stay? Answer:  Brian Chesky thinks its a cool idea, so instead of the bread and butter of normal, reasonably priced listings being searchable, there is an entire category of OMG.  Nuts.

[Peggy137]

Good to know.

Money always talks doesn't it?

Looks like Brian has lost touch with the people who actually make up his company.

[Natasha-and-John0]

Maybe they want us gone.

[Mark116]

So.  I just went to the search page, and its totally different??  Gone is the scroll of Brian Chesky rentals including the Italian villa.  I got the old, boring but useful 'location' 'dates' 'guests' screen.  Nothing exciting or sexy but EASY to use.

Anyone else seeing the old version?

ETA..I did the search logged out.  When I search logged in as a member I get the same horrible new features.  

Weird.

[Katherine815]

Nope. I still see the same idiotic $14,395CDN/ night listing... such inspiration. And the same useless categories (logged in or out). 

[Annie1372]

@Mark116 

Like @Katherine815 , the display is the same as yesterday with the category and the Joshua Tree mansion designed by Ken Kellog is still the 2nd on the picture display (12 839 CAD$) right after the Gordone riviera Italien majestic Villa and right before the Uvista one from Costa Rica, log in or log out !!!

i think you were day dreaming 😇😂🤣

[Kristina46]

As an aside I once interviewed Ken Kellogg for a home magazine I wrote for. He is an amazing architect and built one of his first iconic homes here in Kona Hawaii--the Onion House. (which of course is listed on Airbnb today). He couldn't find a construction crew back in the early 60s to build his nutty design so he hand built the whole thing himself. He was one of the fathers of organic architecture, the practice of designing homes to resonate with their environment. When I met him, he didn't even have photos of the homes he had designed for clients and had fallen into financial distress. Like many creatives he couldn't keep his art and commerce straight. Here's the story if you are interested in reading it. And it has photos of Ken building the Kona house with a bucket of cement and a trowel. 

https://s3.amazonaws.com/external_clips/307417/Onion_House.pdf?1370490696

[Nancy1633]

@Mark116 

Same thing. Logged out, the site looks like it used to- welcoming to everyone from every socioeconomic strata. Logged in, it's the "new" AirBnb-- a confusing, elitist mess.

The "Design" category which is up first, serves a small, elite niche of wealthy architecture enthusiasts, not AirBnb's huge bread and butter customer base.  Why is that the first thing (priority) that AirBnb visitors see? It's pretentious. 

The OLD interface was extremely user-friendly, and gave travelers maximum control to peruse listings without commiting to dates and length of stay.  Further, all listings were shown, not those selected by an algorithm. Good job alienating your customers and partner Hosts. 

Someone tell Chesky most people are no longer telecommuting, they've gone back to working at the office.  At least in the metro NYC region.

Lastly, Categories are NOT a good idea if the idea cannot be executed accurately. And it has not been. Hosts are hemorrhaging money. Guests are not seeing their full array of choices in the places they want to go, WHEN they want to go-- instead they are steered to ARBITRARY WEEKS. So they book on VRBO instead.

Chesky has really lost touch with the concept that brought him success, and the Host partners whose hard work made him filthy rich.

[Natasha-and-John0]

“same elitist mess” sounds like the response to everything these days.

[Mark4222]

Sounds like they might be doing some A/B testing…probably would have been a good idea to do this before rolling out to everyone, but maybe there is still hope!!

[Natasha-and-John0]

Alas its still there

[Branka-and-Silvia0]

@Mark116  nope, logged in or out, same Anywhere Any week Italian villa.... no escape, sorry 😄

In your case maybe it has something to do with cache and cookies

[Natasha-and-John0]

Has anyone gotten an updated response from Airbnb? 

[Jeremy785]

Hahahaha! That’s a good one. I can’t even get their worthless “support” to even respond with empty apologies anymore. 

I have never seen a company so unconcerned with their customers, on both sides of the transaction.