Dropped views.

[Mike-and-Paige0]

Hi Airbnb host family, 

         I have a question regarding dropped views. I have a 4.9 rating and at for awhile my property was getting many views. For the past 6 months are so they have dropped significantly but the bookings have been okay till recently. 
       Can any of you relate this this situation? 

Sincerely, 

      Mike&Paige 

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Mike-and-Paige0 I think most hosts can relate to this. It is very difficult to keep your property on the first page of the search engine as no one (except a few Airbnb employees) really knows what determines the search position. It also appears that the algorithm changes with each release of new hosting tools (if not more often). Add into the above the oversupply of property in some areas, the boost given to new listings and the general economic malaise and you may find your answer.

[John5097]

@Mike-and-Paige0 

I follow views, booking, and other listings very closely for over 3 years.

It depends on how guests search. If your listing pops up on first page with specific dates or if it pops up without any dates or number of guest entered in search. Airbnb executives have said that most bookings are from guest searching specific dates, so those would have much higher conversion to bookings.

Instant booking will also give more views. I used to almost always be the very first listing when searching for dates if mine were available. Then switched to request to book and a few are in front of mine now but mine still books up way before theirs does. Mostly because it's a nicer listing and guest love it. There is no other way to put it and this allows me to see how adjustments affect views.

Also if I get a cancellation views usually ramp up. But with the request to book I don't get as many as I used to. I used to be always be featured on the first page, even only three listings were displayed. There are a lot of newer listings as well in more value oriented locations.  

In part its also the economy. If guest are searching for value, which is what I imagine a lot of people are doing now. 

Also I dropped my cleaning fee. This I think hurt my views as it shows the nightly rate on the map, so other listings that have lower nightly rate, have higher total price with the cleaning fee, as the map just shows the highly rate.

This may not apply to your listing. Just sharing some observations. Almost all of my booking must come from guest searching specific nights. I prefer the request to book. I didn't have any real problems with IB. With one of the updates Airbnb got rid of requirement for first message so I switched to RTB, and stayed booked. 

Finally, the higher interest rates must be a factor. When guest book their card is charged, so they start paying interest rates if it's not paid off, so guest may be waiting and not planning as far in advance. A few guest have reaching out to me wanting to know if they could pay installments in more incriments but host don't have any info on payment plans with guest. If Airbnb was smart they would offer more flexibility and not charge their card right away. Just an idea. 

[Amy1554]

Hi, John, you have 300+ reviews and they are all 5 stars! It's very impressive. I'm really interested in learning more about how you accomplished this. Could you share some insights on how you achieved such a remarkable status?

[Helen3]

Many hosts are experiencing lower views and bookings . A lot of this is due to falling demand because of the recession in many countries combined with over saturated markets @Mike-and-Paige0 

[Fred13]

Even with a very popular listing like ours we are experiencing the oddest of patterns,  until recently we hardly had any views or bookings for this Fall and onwards. Only in the last 3 weeks we started to  fill up for Nov-May; why so late we have no clue. Spooky. It appears people are nervous and hesitant to commit themselves till the 'last moment'.

[Joan2709]

@Fred13 

You hit the nail on the head (as it were 😊) All the market research I am reading says that guests are booking shorter stays and more last minute in 2023. 🤔

[Amy1554]

My view dropped from 150+ to 14 while similar listings still have an average of 180. I didn't increase my price or anything. My price is still in the 25% percentile. Bookings also dropped. I did everything I could but no much change. What should we do?