How can Hosts benefit from Airbnb’s redesign?

[Quincy]

As people start to feel comfortable traveling again, they’re not always sure where to go first—or when. So we just introduced a whole new way for guests to explore listings and discover great places like yours.

The new features can help you reach more guests in the earliest stages of trip planning. For example, we’ve added 21 Airbnb Categories, from Camping to Iconic Cities, to highlight great stays that guests can browse. Your listing could pop up in someone’s feed as soon as they open the app.

As a Host, you can improve your chances of getting noticed by making sure your listing details are as current and complete as possible—and complemented by attractive photos of your space. You can find out more on the Resource Center. 

What’s one thing you’ve done recently to make your listing really shine?

[Denice0]

@Quincy @Sybe thanks for trying to clarify this chaos.  In another thread, the Chesky thread, Sybe is looking into why this is not true.  The title, photos, and number of reviews are not displaying in a location (normal) search.  Any help in getting clarification form all the community managers would be greatly appreciated by your stakeholders.

[Laurie6]

It does not show.... when a traveler wants to see everything offered in an area in order to be sure to select the best property....with a search without dates.  Lack of info.

[Amy94]

@Quincy  Requiring a guest to click on a listing to see the title, number of reviews, and a decent photo is counterproductive. I see cover photos of the insides of pantrys, a recliner, tons of couches (up close???). These are not things guests search for nor are they likely to click on them. 

Also, I live on an island at the beach. We are ALL beach properties. But the only ones coming up on my island are the actual beachfront homes.  However I am being shown homes 2-3 states away. On the beach. These “improvements” will drive many new users away.  It’s cumbersome and inconsistent.  

I have a very small window to get bookings in a seasonal, tourist destination. I am a private room in a shared home so I can’t list anywhere else.  This is killing my business.  I was

up to 1500+ views and started dropping immediately after the release.  This morning I was down to 450 and still dropping 

Please rethink this.  You are killing your small hosts who have been loyal forever.  I’ve been a Superhost for  6 years with over 200 reviews.  That’s not going to go much farther this year in light of this disastrous rollout.  

And for the love of Pete, stop trying to force WFH, digital nomads on everyone.  We don’t all want roommates. If we did, we would advertise on Craigs list.  The average stay in my area is 3 days per the opportunities you show me!   Quit trying to get me to go family friendly with a dedicated workspace. I am beach friendly with a hot tub and a homemade breakfast. I provide everything a guest needs for their perfect beach stay but I can’t get any guests!!

[Julie1247]

No it doesn’t Quincy, have a good look at your own system.

[Kimberly718]

It also makes it really challenging and overwhelming for travelers. 

[Gillian166]

I'm really curious to know if you have beta testing on these changes, and do hosts get invited to participate? I've never seen any such invite here in the forums. 

found my listing is actually listed in Amazing Pools (i did a search earlier and it didn't show up, perhaps the dates thing defaulting to week-long stay is the issue?)
question: if a guest thinks my pool isn't amazing, can they demand a refund? Fun times ahead. 

[Laurie6]

I suspect they had a timetable and a release deadline...

but ran out of time.

So they released this but it's not ready.

[Branka-and-Silvia0]

@Gillian166  of course they can, they have 72 hours to ask for a refund 🙂

[Gillian166]

@Quincy 
How can Hosts benefit from Airbnb’s redesign?

At this stage i'm coming up with zero answers to this question.   

[Jennifer2672]

My house is a fun, 1950s vintage time capsule ranch in a moderately sized Midwestern City. I don't see that anything is coming up under these special categories for any of the 300 or so Airbnbs in our community. The special categories lead you to cities hundreds of miles away  Add to that, I now have no unique name and guests cannot see how many ratings I've had in the search, so my listing with a year and a half of five star reviews looks the same as someone with a week of five star reviews. I'm having a hard time understanding how this is going to help guests in my community, or my Airbnb in any way. In fact, people may come to the conclusion that we don't have what they're looking for and go find a hotel.

[Quincy]

Hi @Jennifer2672, your home is lovely, indeed! The title and main photo only changes in the flexible category search page. Whilst listings are categorised algorithmically (Hosts cannot categorise their own listing), you can increase your chances of appearing in a category. More info on that is explained here.

[Jennifer2672]

2 points- The title and number of reviews does not show up when you are scrolling through options using specific dates. This annoys me even as a traveler, because when I decide which properties to click on to consider staying, I am very interested in knowing how many reviews they've received. I now have to click into every property to see that. 

2- I've looked at the categories, and there are really none that I fit into, due to geography or without expending a lot more effort and expense. Your changes have made it harder for me to stand out as a host. And your categories are meaningless for the majority of us who don't have the types of properties that Brian Chesky wants to visit.

 

[Susan1188]

@Quincy @Sybe @Jennifer2672 

This is a real slap in the face!

I've been accepting short stays, on which I make no money due to full professional clean and laundry service for just 2 nights, in order to get a maximum number of reviews compared to my competitors who only take 1 week stays.

I feel completely cheated.

Bait& Switch!!

So someone who has ONE five star review (from his cousin) shows up on equal footing with someone who has hosted 200 guests from all over the world with consistent service for 5 years!!

[Krisztina12]

Well said! Thank you Susan!!!! This is my problem too, how can you compare a couple of 5* reviews to 105 reviews if no one see it! I was so proud of my hard work on the reviews and now all gone........:-(

[Gillian166]

@Jennifer2672 oh my, LOVE your listing!! great job.  gave you a ♥️