Host questions answered: Airbnb’s Summer Release

[Stephanie]

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

[Ann10]

@Jamie206- I'm usually booked almost everyday despite having a strict cancellation policy. Now for August, I've only got 2 bookings. Nothing for September and only 1 in October.

[Ana2038]

Just this week our views and bookings have taken off. Some for next month and the rest for the remainder of the year.  As long as the income is enough to cover our 2nd property we’re pleased. Not sure what happened; did Airbnb fix the search engines/algorithms/AI, was it the new/refreshing look of our listing ( we just completed a mini renovation of our listing and posted updated pictures), or is it just luck….

[Kyle325]

We're not.... at the end of July/early Aug, we had a flutter of bookings come in, I think it was 5 in 3 days, but crickets since then.... Summer Release is a bust for hosts - there's no doubt in my mind.....

[Huma0]

@Jamie206 

Sadly, no. Since the Summer release, I have had only ONE new booking across three listings and one booking from a repeat guest. Normally I am turning people away because I have more demand than capacity. 

Like @Stephanie365 , I had more enquiries and bookings in 2020 and 2021, despite being in lockdown and shut for business for months and months of those two years. The few months prior to the Summer Release, things were looking good, i.e. back to the fully booked days pre-COVID. I have never had so few views/enquiries/bookings since I started hosting several years ago. My listings were popular from day 1.

Other that two previous guests that were thinking of returning (but won't work out due to dates etc.) I've had zero enquiries since mid-July and wasn't getting many before that.

[Stephanie365]

My calendar is as empty as can be. I've been hosting 5 years. This year has been the worst year for bookings and income.

It's a truly telling story as to how truly, astronomically AWFUL the "update" has been when I did better when the country was on lockdown for COVID and I closed my calendar for 6 months than I've done so far this year. The rollout hit and my bookings and views stopped. This is not a coincidence.

And we keep getting the same corporate babble-speak platitudes. "We'll pass it along."  No, don't pass it along. Fix It.

[Joanna41]

I complain every day with no success.... 😞 

[Stephen1004]

Same.

[Bee149]

What do we do ? This is awful . Everyone is saying the same and there is no response from air b&b?? 

[Stephanie365]

I literally have not had a booking for the entire month of August. This has never happened since I started 5 years ago. While my home is never 100% booked, my weekends are ALWAYS booked in June, July and August. And I always have a few longer stays thrown in.  

I have had three 1-night stays since July 1, all of them in July. Something is seriously wrong.

[Ann10]

@Stephanie365  I'm usually booked at least 300 days a year. Suddenly, I did not have every weekend booked in August and I do not have Labor Day Booked. My views have dropped a lot. I'm a Super Host and my listing comes up 1st in the area. I keep dropping the prices, but no luck. You are right something is seriously wrong. Your listing is amazing. I can't see why it wouldn't be booked.

[Stephanie365]

Thank you for your kind words @Ann10 

Just a note about listing placement. AirBNB uses cookies to make it seem >>to you<< like you're on the first page or in the top 4 placements.  If you search incognito, or from a friend's computer, you will find your true placement is much lower. 

When I search in my normal browser, I'm always on the first page.

When I search incognito, I'm usually on page 4 or 5, behind people who are not Superhosts and who have much lower star ratings than myself.

See for yourself...

[Ann10]

@Stephanie365 -I did the incognito search and I was still on the 1st page. Maybe I've been lucky.

[Bee149]

I have had zero bookings all summer and it’s my only source of income ! It’s a huge problem

[Ann10]

I'm also having trouble getting booked on VRBO and I'm a Premiere Partner there. I come up in the 1st 5 listings in the area so it isn't just Airbnb.

[Huma0]

Well, it's been nearly four months now, so is it safe to assume that Airbnb is not actually fixing the glitches as promised? What are they doing to resolve the misery they are causing to so many hard working hosts? Anything? I am guessing not, seeing as I haven't seen any recent updates related to the Summer Release at all. Just radio silence...

In almost four months I have received a total of one new booking (and one booking from a repeat guest) across three listings that used to be fully booked months in advance. I don't think I've received even one enquiry in the past month. Views have been dire the whole time.

@Stephanie @Emilie @Sybe @Quincy @Catherine-Powell 

Is anyone listening? I understand that you have been feeding back comments, but is there any plan in place to help us out here or was it always the plan to throw hosts like us out in the cold?

[Stephanie365]

Don't you love it @Huma0 ?

       

[Lauren3492]

You are NOT alone. Its the same w/ me. 

Please airbnb, go back to the algorithm for 2021!!!

[Stephen1004]

All I hear is crickets!

[Bee149]

No one is getting anywhere with air b&b responses… we are all suffering. What do we do ?

[Huma0]

Well, here's another glitch that I wasn't aware of (although maybe someone else has mentioned it on this thread or elsewhere on the CC already). 

Yesterday, I got my first enquiry in 1.5 months (that's across three listings). I host long term stays and this was for the month of December. I thought , "Oh great! Finally!"

Nope. This guest is looking for a two or three night stay but was unable to enter the dates because I have a 28 day minimum. However, she thought this was strange as she said she book marked my room recently while she was still making plans and the 28 day minimum wasn't showing then. 

I asked her if she had been doing a general search without dates and she said, no, she had selected "a random week in December". So why is my listing showing up there? I've checked my settings and the 28 day minimum is still there...

[John-Joleen0]

This is my first time posting.....SO FRUSTRATED with the new rollout, both as a SUPERHOST  - which doesn't seem to  mean anything anymore, and as a TRAVELER.  Its tough to search through so many categories.  What a mess on both sides.  Who ever thought this many categories would make things better for travelers?  Most travelers want simple searches, fast, few clicks and move on.  I am so frustrated I don't even know how to articulate it without sounding too cocksure...I will stop here.