Airbnb Won’t Acknowledge My Listing is Gone—Need Help Escalating

[Brandi141]

Hi fellow hosts,

I’m hoping someone here has insight because I’ve been stuck in support limbo with Airbnb for almost a week.

I’ve been a Superhost since 2021, have 90+ bookings, a 4.99 rating, and have never changed my listing’s location settings. Yet suddenly, my listing no longer appears in search results—at all. I’ve tested every possible filter (number of rooms, pool, pet-friendly, etc.), and it’s completely missing.

Airbnb support keeps giving me scripted responses about fluctuating search rankings and how placement varies—but this is not a visibility issue, my listing is just gone. They claim everything is fine on their end, but clearly, it isn’t.

I’ve also had multiple people try searching, including my property manager, who manages dozens of listings on Airbnb, and none of them can find my listing through search either. The only way to access it is through the direct link.

Based on my booking history, I suspect this issue has been going on for weeks, if not months. I have had zero bookings or even inquiries for the next six months, which is completely abnormal for my listing.

At this point, I’m wondering:

1. Has this happened to anyone else? If so, how did you fix it?
2. Could my listing have been falsely flagged, reported, or altered? Support won’t confirm.
3. How do I escalate beyond front-line reps? They keep saying they’re “checking with the team,” but nothing happens.

I’d really appreciate any insights or suggestions. This is incredibly frustrating, and I need real answers from Airbnb.

Thanks in advance!

[Joelle43]

Hello @Brandi141 

I can see that you have a listing with a 4.99 rating under your profil so tried to do a private search to try and see if it came up but I come across a problem when I tried to enter the location that your listing appears under - Gand, New York.  I can't select this location as it doesn't come up as a place to select?  Only Gand in Belgium.

[Brandi141]

Hi @Joelle43,

Thank you so much for checking!

My listing is actually in Ghent, New York, so it might be a translation issue with Airbnb’s system (like @Shelley159 pointed out). Interestingly, an Airbnb rep told me a few days ago that there was an issue with my location, and they claimed they fixed it—but clearly, something is still off.

Really appreciate you taking the time to look for it!

[Shelley159]

Hi @Brandi141 

Yes, to me it looks like there's some sort of problem, I just don't know what ...

@Joelle43 I can find Ghent, New York (maybe the French translation is messing with you and turning it into Gand? 😀). But when I search, I can't find the listing. Can you try again and see whether it comes up for you at all?

I've checked the calendar - it shows availability from 26 March and only a 2-night minimum. It should show up, especially when I specifically enter available dates. I also looked at the listing's map and searched under 4 of the other towns nearby. Then I enlarged the search map in the area of the listing, and still couldn't see it in the search results. I'll keep thinking of things to check, but for now it looks like a problem.

Brandi maybe Unlist, wait a few hours (or a full 24 hours?), and re-list it again in the hope that it will start things up? I have no idea whether it will work. If you want to try: Listings tab, click the listing, Click the settings icon and set Listing status to Unlisted (be sure not to go to "Remove listing" at the bottom!). Maybe you want to wait a bit before you try this, just to give some more people in the Community Center a chance to take a look at the issue.

This is probably a difficult one to resolve through Support - you may get a long list of Help articles on how to search on Airbnb. But if nobody here comes up with a good solution, you'll have to try until you get a support agent who can pinpoint the issue.

@Joan2709 can you find the listing in search, or do you have any ideas what the issue could be? Is there anyone specific who knows how to find missing listings @Elisa ?

[Shelley159]

@Brandi141 is there any chance that you may need to get some sort of permit in your area? Not sure if this could be an issue.

New York’s approach to short-term rental regulations varies from city to city, town to town, and even neighborhood to neighborhood. Understanding the local ordinances that apply to your specific location is crucial.

[Zheng49]

Yea I did some searching and it does seem like Ghent, New York requires a permit for hosting short term rentals. 

I don't see a permit # listed in the listing, and that could be why the listing is not showing up in this case. 

[Brandi141]

Hi @Zheng49,

Thanks so much for digging into this!

I hadn’t run into permit issues before, but I’m going to double-check with my property manager to be sure. That said, I looked at other listings in my area and don’t see permit numbers on any of them.

But I’ll definitely investigate and update here once I know more—really appreciate the help!

[Brandi141]

Hi @Shelley159,

Wow, I really appreciate how thorough you were in searching!

That’s exactly the issue—no matter how much I narrow things down, it just doesn’t appear. Even when my property manager, who oversees multiple listings, tried searching, he couldn’t find it either.

I actually did try unlisting and relisting (both myself and my PM), so great advice! Unfortunately, no change yet. 😞

On the permit issue—my PM keeps a close eye on local laws and recently updated me about rule changes in a neighboring town, but as far as I know, we’re in compliance.

That said, it doesn’t hurt to double-check, so I’ll look into it again. Thanks for flagging that!

[Joan2709]

@Brandi141 

Thanks for the tag @Shelley159 

Here's what I think might be happening. I have been working with several Hosts with the same issue as you. Previously great occupancy rates, awesome reviews and great amenities, but all of a sudden, their listing isn't appearing in search results anymore. As a matter of fact, Airbnb is showing listings in neighboring towns and not theirs because the other listings have more recent reviews and are deemed "more popular" by the algorithm. This is why Airbnb is saying the algorithm is doing exactly what it's supposed to - placing the "most popular" listings with recent reviews ahead of yours, even if they are in a neighboring town. Airbnb sees these listings having a better chance of getting booked and therefore places them higher in the algorithm. 

I think Airbnb has made some "tweaks" to the algorithm and is heavily favoring listings with more recent reviews (more popular) lower prices, lower cleaning fees, no extra guest fees and good photos. They also keep referring to listing "engagement". This is when someone sees your listing in search, clicks on it, and hangs out looking at your photos, reviews etc. However, if the guest quickly clicks away it means there is something stopping them from staying longer. If could be price, added fees, poor photos, etc. The "booking funnel" is wide at the top and narrow at the bottom (like an upside down triangle) and there could be areas along the funnel where there is resistance to a booking conversion for your listing.

Not sure if you have Pro Tools turned on so you can watch the performance data on your listing, but I would bet not only are your views down (obviously), but your listing to booking numbers are probably down. This means there are "barriers" to the guest lingering on your listing.

Here are some suggestions to help you get some bookings so you will "reappear" in guest searches and what areas might be obstructing guests from booking your place.

Lower or Get Rid of Your Addl Guest Fees

Guests hate any kind of fees. You have extra guest fees after the 8th guest and many of your competitors don't. Also, your extra guest fee is very high $100. Most Hosts charge only $10-$25 addl guest fee (if they charge one at all). Because your addl guest fee is so high, the price per night goes up by $200 for 10 guests! I would get rid of the addl guest fee for now. You can always add it back later, but I would lower it to $25/addl guest.

Lower Your Cleaning Fee

I do think your cleaning fee of $300 is a bit too high, but you have to factor in the pool and hot tub. Try lowering it below the $300 level though. Try $289 for now and you can always raise it after you get some bookings.

Price

This is probably the biggest factor in algorithm search placement. I think your price of $695 is a bit high for off peak compared to similar listings in your area. Right now you need bookings, so I would price the listing at least 20% lower than your competitors to get some bookings. Instead of lowering the price manually, use Airbnb's Custom Promotions to lower the price. You get 4 free benefits at the 20% level and free advertising (emails to guests). Use caution though, if you are using other discounts, the custom promotion will stack on top of some other discounts. We don't use early bird or last minute discounts, but we do use Rule Set discounts and they will stack on the custom promotions increasing the discount. After creating your promotion, try booking as a guest to see what it looks like. Check you calendar price after setting the promotion, as the price shown on the promotion when creating is an average price over the dates of the promotion and not necessarily what will appear on the calendar. I like to set promotions for Mon-Thur and another for Fri/Sat/Sun (lower discount). Custom promotions will not work overnight, but you should see a difference in a week or two:

Create Custom Promotions

https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/2982

Get Professional Photos Done

Part of "engagment" is getting the guest to click on your cover photo and hang out in your listing. Some of your photos look professional, but most don't. Professional photos done by a photographer familiar with Airbnbs will pay for themselves in one booking. You can also normally deduct the cost as a business expense. Your current photos are not doing your listing justice. 

Here is an example of a professional Airbnb photographer's photos:

https://www.zachnicholz.com/airbnb-promotion

Change Your Cover Photo

Your cover photo should be a show stopper". Exterior twilight photos do very well on Airbnb. I would reshoot the photo below at twilight. Turn on ALL the lights inside and outside the house and garage. If you have pool lights turn them on. Get the fire pit and hot tub going and reshoot the photo. Wait for until you see a warm, orange glow from the lights, but can still see the house, pool clearly. Make this you cover. I would take from different angles, straight on and at an angle. A slight up angle is better so get lower when taking the photo with the sky in the upper 1/3 of the photo and just barely seeing the stars. A professional photographer will know what a "twilight" photo is and help you with that.

Reshoot at twilight - less foreground

I would make this photo your second one

This should be your 3rd photo for now - I would crop it though

Captions on Photos

Every photo should have a caption. Don't just say "Firepit". You want to tell guests what they can enjoy or do in the space. Say "gather around the firepit in the evening for smores and stargazing!" Use your positive guest comments about particular amenties or spaces as ideas for captions. 

Photos of EVERY Amenity

You mention you have gym equipment, crib, high chair, pack n play, kids dinnerware, bikes, BBQ, Hammock, but no really good photos of these?  Families with kids like to see the kid amenities. Many hosts group the kids's amenities together and take a photo (high chair with kids dinnerware on it, pack n play open next to the high chair) - you get the idea. Gym equipment might be important so some.

That's all I can think of at the moment. Let us know here how it goes.