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?

[Louise1097]

95% of ordinary properties don't have a category. 

[Janet201]

Same for me

[Louise1097]

I'm curious to know how many folks make a booking based on the presence of a grand piano. Why the heck is this in *primary navigation*?

And 'Arctic'? How on earth is it responsible ir sustainable tourism to take thousands more people to the Arctic? Again, in primary navigation.

Most people are looking for a building with rooms, that is pleasant or even chic, at a reasonable price, in the place they need to travel to. None of these properties even feature in the categories. It is a complete nonsense to present folks with properties costing £7,000 a night  - that's 30% of the average wage in this country - in a place they have no interest in going to - when they just need to book a few nights to attend a wedding in a particular town, or similar.

[Nancy1633]

Burying this thread (notice that?) will not hide a drop in bookings from AirBnb shareholders. 

The "new" AirBnb's obstructing a traveler's ability to search ALL properties at their chosen destination, the removal of descriptive Host Titles, and suggested arbitrary future "available" WEEK is utter chaos;  the near wipe-out in business Hosts are experiencing is proof.  

A simple 'one-click' property search comparison between VRBO and AirBnb's respective home pages illustrates AirBnb's folly. I searched "Margaretville, NY" on both home pages, with no travel dates. 

In one click, VRBO showed this map:

In the same one-click search, AirBnb showed this:

Oh, goody. A map of the United States... with a SECOND chance to search for my destination!  Plus 50 categories!  My head is spinning!  (Hmmm,  do I want an igloo or $9,000/night Barcelona mansion?) 

Nah. I know where I want to go.  I search again...  now I see a "curated" list of generically-titled  properties offering selected arbitrary future dates that I can reserve. But wait, I WANT to choose my own dates.  What does this mean?  Is the property booked up until March 10, 2023? (It's not.)

I'm confused!  What makes one cabin different than another cabin, because the descriptive Host titles are GONE.  Oh, I have to click on one property at a time to see the descriptive title and reserve that arbitrary week that I don't want. 

That's enough. I'm going to VRBO or Booking.com or Google a local hotel.

With any luck, shareholders will fire Chesky and the next honcho will undo the "new AirBnb" AI experience that is driving Hosts out of business, and Guests to book elsewhere.  

[Lisa34]

I would encourage all of us to search as a guest and give feedback to Airbnb as a guest, not just as a host.

Here is what I see on that score:

1) The search function does not work anything like it did before, which is confusing.

If you do not enter dates, which I would say most people thinking about an area do not at first so they can see all of what is available before narrowing things down, it defaults to a week in the future.

There is no rhyme of reason to the weeks shown. One would assume it would show the next available week or weekend, but it does not. Most people would stop their search of that area and move to  another location thinking everything is booked. This is not good for Airbnb, hosts or guests.

I searched for a place in middle TN and was mostly shown dates in December and into March 2023. If you click on the property though you will see they have loads of openings, sometimes months at a time, prior to the dates Airbnb is showing. That is very misleading.

If you choose a weekend it works similarly, showing random 2 night weekends. This means as a host if you have week days or even if you have random weekends coming up soon that is not what is being shown. It is not sequential at all. Guests will assume you do not have any weekends before then.

CONCLUSION: 

Defaulting to “ I’m Flexible” search is a terrible terrible thing for hosts and guests! This needs to be changed and I would encourage travelers and hosts to give this feedback at every opportunity.

2) If you use any of the categories it shows some of what might be in the area or not, depending on if the category is populated fully or not. When I added Design to my search it showed me properties in Nashville about an hour away and as far as Blue Ridge GA and Asheville. There are properties in this town that would qualify though. I know because I have stayed at them before. Same thing for treehouses. I know there are great tree houses in this town, but they are not shown.

3) If you use a category it moves the map. I searched for a town between Nashville and Knoxville. When I applied a category the map moved to center on Chattanooga, hours away from where I wanted to stay because I was visiting family.

CONCLUSION: Categories the way they are displayed right now, not being fully populated, is very misleading and shows a lot of favoritism to major markets. They should be fully populated prior to roll out to not be a frustration or confusing to guests.

[Lisa34]

If you believe any part of what I wrote above please like the post so it gets noticed more. I will also give this feedback to Airbnb directly, but if we all do that would help move the needle. 

[Janet201]

Plus, it is TOO TEDIOUS to look at picture after picture of living rooms that all say "condo in New York.  I went to booking.com after 2 pages of this and booked there. At least there I got some information. 

[Louise1097]

I have signed up with VRBO today. They called me back immediately and are setting everything up for me today. Simples. Cannot be worse. 

[Louise1097]

We have just signed up with VRBO, today.

They have a special team, taking Air hosts. They set it all up for you. 

[Louise1097]

VRBO called me today, they are setting me up right now. Next stop Booking - much as I hate them, they cannot be worse than this. Nobody can find me any more on Air. 

[Natasha-and-John0]

Maybe they are being paid to fail.

[Tony-And-Una0]

I was tyring to book a place in Las Palmas for next February. The map search kept mowning me away from the area I wanted to actually be in. 

I genuinly got confused.

I ended up booking the same place as last year as I couldn't be bothered with it anymore

I only booked on  Airbnb to use my superhost voucher.

[Lisa34]

I would love to know what gets you included in categories. We have an Airbnb Plus property that was inspected by Airbnb for amenities. It has a 5.0 score, has had loads of guests, was rated by AirDNA as in the top 5 for profitability for our area, had great views and bookings prior to categories roll out and It qualifies for Amazing Views, Chef’s Kitchen and Cabin!. It is hardly showing up at all. I am alarmed and loosing money hand over fist as our peak season dates are clicking by and many are empty! 

[Louise1097]

Categories is a completely dumb algorithm. Post a pic of a chicken and you are farm stay. Post a pic of a local village pond and you amazing pool. Post a pic with snow and you are suddenly a ski resort. 

[Stephanie365]

@Lisa34  What gets you into categories is whether or not the Dumbbots "feel" you.
Literally, they're leaving it up to the bots.