Bookings have stopped

[Tim-And-Leslie2]

Our bookings have totally stopped following the AirBnB site changes earlier this year. What can we do about it? We still get bookings via VRBO, thankfully, but AirBnB has gone dead. 

[Sudsrung0]

@Tim-And-Leslie2 

Unfortunately since the changes here in the CC we cant see your listing to Critique for you.

I wouldn't put all the blame on airbnb for your lack of bookings I do a lot of research and keep upto date with whats going on,

Airbnb is a business and the changes you refereed to is basically Airbnb staying ahead of the game and being the market leader and according to Airbnb their business is up more host have registered and out here in Thailand we have been busy all year and are booked till February next year and all our business has come from Airbnb.

Somewhere I read Airbnb's business is up 15% and thats taking into account they have closed down in China which was a massive market.

Maybe you has a host have to up your game and think what are guest looking for now, not what it was 5 years ago.

[Lorna170]

@Tim-And-Leslie2   I have found that when my listing is not getting any traffic or conversions to bookings that I need to go into the details and tweak them a bit.  I move pictures around, change some of my text by adding a catch phrase or "Close to X amenity" etc.  Sometimes even changing the price of the weeks leading up to a holiday will get me a booking.

We cannot be complacent when we are listing on an advertising platform.  Look at the listings for your neighbors and see if there is anything on their pages which might be resulting in bookings that you can add to yours.  IMO, the advertising platforms may be watching us and will push us further up the first few pages if we are in there changing things up.  

Good luck and best wishes for some traffic!

[Tim-And-Leslie2]

Thanks for your input, Lorna, I really appreciate it! I am very active on our listing, changing photos, title, descriptions, etc. every week, especially since the downturn. It has made no difference whatsoever. Our issue reveals itself (since the AirBnB platform changes earlier this year) in that if someone searches for BENTONVILLE, AR as their destination and selects "I'm Flexible" in the date window, the result is 15 pages of Bentonville listings with our house not showing at all. That is the new paradigm, but their support people do not understand. If you put dates in, we MAY show up WAY DOWN THE LIST, depending on how far you have zoomed into the map. We have one of the most successful rentals in the city, but since AirBnB's changes, we've gotten nothing through them. Everything comes through VRBO. Thanks again!

[Helen3]

I would start by doing an analysis around why your bookings have dropped @Tim-And-Leslie2 

Has demand fallen in your area for your type of listing?

Has supply increased ?

If so, this is likely to be a key factor -  the summer changes are likely to be just one factor. 

Are you taking direct bookings. If not look into this and investing in marketing to drive direct bookings to your own marketing channels. 

[Tim-And-Leslie2]

Helen, I appreciate your input. Here's the analysis: our bookings have not stopped on VRBO, only on AirBnB after their website changes earlier this year. House views on AirBnB are 25% of what they were prior to that. We do take direct bookings, in fact we have had many from previous customers. We will be fine with VRBO and direct bookings, my issue has only to do with how AirBnB has hurt many of their hosts with the changes they made.