Let's talk about search

[Ann72]

Some of us got off-topic on another thread, but I wanted to talk about it some more, so I'm starting this.

I'm SO curious about how guests use the filters when they search but I know that as @Ute42 said we will never be told.  I have heard that the algorithm uses something like 100 factors to rank our listings.  But how do guests search and how are the results impacted by what filters they use?

It might be interesting for 4 or 5 of us to conduct the exact same search with an incognito window.  We can decide on a place, dates, and number of guests and then screenshot what we find.  I don't know if this will actually tell us anything, but that's the nature of experiments.

Would love to hear what you've all observed.  Full disclosure - I have no idea how people find my places, since the location part of the algo is so very, very strange.  I'm sometimes more likely to show up in a search for a town an hour's drive away than I am for a search in my town.

@Ute42 @Sarah977 @Katrina79 @Robin4 @Emilia42 @Debra300 @Kelly149 @Anonymous @Colleen253 @Anna9170 

[Ann72]

@Anna9170  Sure, absolutely, if you'd like to do that I'll add an Anna 2 search 🙂

[Anna9170]

@Ann72 

Yeah, airbnb ES

[Jessica-and-Henry0]

@Ann72 

Here's a screenshot of a search I just did on my laptop - just the 1st page, top 3 lines of listings. 

[Ann72]

@Anna9170 @Jessica-and-Henry0 @Ute42 @Debra300 @Katrina79 @Emilia42 

Latest averages:

4.4 stars

77.77% SuperHosts

I haven't averaged the stars by excluding the 0-star new listings.

Here's a shot of the latest version:

Here's a link to the Excel document above:  https://1drv.ms/x/s!AkgBMXb1XFVZhCUo3HInrXm910Vb?e=F174ES

[Debra300]

@Ute42, @Ann72, @Anna9170, @Katrina79, @Emilia42, 

@Jessica-and-Henry0 

I agree with Ute, again.  I posted a new listing this past February, and the very first review that I received was a 3 star rating from a very immature person.  That didn't stop the place from getting reservations, and it has been consistently booked.  

I did a search on Edge for Atlanta, Oct. 5-12, 2 adults.  I was not logged into my account, but did not use a private window.  The third listing has a 3.83 star rating with recent negative reviews.

I did the search again in a private window still not logged into my account.  The fifth search result was a different low rated listing with 3.67 stars, and all of the reviews are recent.

Neither of the low rated placed have rates that were outside of the range of their competitors that have much better ratings and reviews.

On a side note, have you all seen the extra search filter in the search results map?

I entered Silver Comet Trail, and the result said 4 locals recommended the place.  I don't know if it's hosts or some others that h

When I clicked the smaller results window a new page appears that displays the comments, and map location for the place.

Airbnb makes recommendations for nearby experiences and places to stay.

Click the Add to your plans button at the bottom of the page, and a pop-up appears that lets guests add the place to their itinerary.  

[Ann72]

@Debra300 I had seen that but had not drilled down that far.  Actually think it's pretty cool.  

[Ute42]

.

Very interesting thread. I'll sleep over it and than see what conlusions we can draw from the results.

Good night everybody.

[Sarah977]

@Ann72  @Ute42 I'd be into participating in this, and I'd be searching from Mexico, so it might bring even different results. 

But for the life of me, I cannot figure out to do a screenshot in Chrome on my laptop. There are no options for screenshot when I click on the three dots, not even under "More tools" which is where it's apparently supposed to be.

Can you tech-savvy folks help me out here?

[Ann72]

@Sarah977  Oh great!  To get a screenshot, hold down Command Shift and the number 4 at the same time.  The mouse pointer will turn into the screenshot icon, and then you drag that over the area you want to shoot and let it go.  Give it a try!

[Sarah977]

@Ann72 Nope, that doesn't work. BTW I'm on a PC, not a Mac. I spent 2 hours one day reading everything I could find on Google re taking a screenshot and finally gave up in total frustration.

[Ann72]

@Sarah977  Oh sorry, I thought you were on a Mac!  Okay, it definitely doesn't seem easy.  I went to my Windows server and did this:

CTRL-Shift-I, CTRL-Shift-P, type "screenshot," choose one of the 4 screenshot options.

Then I got an Aw snap, something went wrong, but I did get a screenshot.  Here it is.  I found it in Downloads.

I wouldn't blame you at all if you didn't want to go through with it!

[Sandra126]

@Sarah977 , look on your keyboard, on mine it's to the right high up. Says print screen or abbreviation. Press it, then paste it wherever you want.

[Sarah977]

@Sandra126  Thank you, but nothing whatsoever happens on my screen when I press that key. Grrrr.

@Ann72  Thanks- I did go back and do a search on how to screenshot and came up with exactly what you just said. That does work and I now remember that I had succeeded once before by doing that and then promptly forgot about it. It's quite convoluted, isn't it? 

[Debra300]

@Sarah977,

I find that  using the Snipping tool under Windows Accessories is much more convenient:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O_55eg00H-w

[Sarah977]

@Debra300  Thank you. I'll try that out.