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 

[Ute42]

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Hi @Ann72 

Again and again and again threads are popping up in which hosts agonise about their 4.9xxxx**** average rating of their places.

In september I did a research on the market in New York. The question I was asking myself was:

• Who's making money in New York?

Obviously those listings with the highest number of reviews are making money. So I trawled through 15 pages and took a look at all the NY listings with more than 100 reviews. Then I looked at their average rating and on which page they were placed in search results:

line	Found on page # x in search results	No. of reviews position	No. of reviews	average rating
1	5	1	540	4,80
2	7	2	540	4,80
3	3	3	480	4,67
4	7	4	476	4,61
5	6	5	411	4,71
6	12	6	408	4,77
7	15	7	408	4,58
8	14	8	400	4,57
9	4	9	395	4,80
10	12	10	332	4,66
11	1	11	320	3,68
12	9	12	315	4,81
13	9	13	311	4,72
14	3	14	308	4,84
15	9	15	302	4,73
16	9	16	301	4,74
17	9	17	285	4,63
18	14	18	281	4,82
19	15	19	268	4,53
20	7	20	254	4,91
21	14	21	253	4,79
22	11	22	252	4,69
23	9	23	250	4,80
24	6	24	246	4,71
25	6	25	245	4,75
26	6	26	245	4,60
27	8	27	244	4,80
28	13	28	241	4,55
29	14	29	233	4,87
30	11	30	225	4,80
31	15	31	224	4,90
32	11	32	222	4,82
33	9	33	221	4,76
34	8	34	219	4,90
35	7	35	212	4,79
36	12	36	211	4,86
37	8	37	199	4,86
38	4	38	194	4,87
39	15	39	189	4,57
40	13	40	188	4,78
41	8	41	187	4,82
42	8	42	186	4,83
43	13	43	184	4,95
44	11	44	177	4,76
45	1	45	176	4,55
46	6	46	176	4,71
47	3	47	174	4,78
48	2	48	173	4,73
49	6	49	173	4,92
50	13	50	173	4,66
51	2	51	170	4,77
52	7	52	163	4,75
53	13	53	162	4,79
54	6	54	161	4,85
55	2	55	160	4,97
56	10	56	158	4,92
57	13	57	157	4,90
58	10	58	155	4,85
59	4	59	153	4,71
60	3	60	151	4,72
61	2	61	150	4,91
62	11	62	150	4,62
63	4	63	148	4,66
64	14	64	148	4,51
65	5	65	145	4,49
66	9	66	145	4,49
67	4	67	141	4,78
68	14	68	139	4,82
69	13	69	137	4,94
70	8	70	135	4,84
71	11	71	133	4,78
72	14	72	130	4,89
73	11	73	129	4,66
74	14	74	129	4,87
75	15	75	129	4,81
76	13	76	127	4,91
77	8	77	125	4,90
78	15	78	124	4,78
79	9	79	122	4,80
80	7	80	121	4,90
81	1	81	120	4,30
82	2	82	119	4,51
83	8	83	118	4,92
84	2	84	114	4,88
85	6	85	110	4,85
86	10	86	107	4,67
87	1	87	104	3,77
88	3	88	104	4,67
89	5	89	103	4,42
90	8	90	103	4,42
	average average * rating			4,73

The top 90 listings with more than 100 reviews had an average average rating of 4.73*. That's not exciting, but it isn't terrible either. Maybe 4.73* is the average rating of all the 4,2 Million active listings on airbnb.

An interesting listing is to be found in line 11. In early september it had 320 reviews and an average rating of 3.68*. And I found it on page 1 of search results. This is the listing:

While in September this listing had 320 reviews and an average rating of 3.68*, now, december 2020, it has 475 reviews and the average rating dropped to 3.56*

https://www.airbnb.de/rooms/32676180?source_impression_id=p3_1607023676_SxJRHnHHamIPXtUd

Some of the reviews for this place are really bad, these are all from nov 2020:

• Bathroom & bed was dirty

• The entire room smelled like an ash tray, the couch was dirty, bathroom was dirty, just everything was stained and dirty

• If I can give this place zero stars I would !

• Bad hotel, rooms are not the same as advertised

How did this place manage to get that many reviews in the past  months. I mean, this place must have been completely booked up with one night stays all of the time.

New York is Your hometown, what do You think is the reason for this place beeing that successful, is it the location? Their guest Kofi wrote in nov:

• The Location can’t be beat. Definitely Worth it on that alone

Obviously the average rating isn't a dealmaker and it isn't a dealbraker either. While some hosts are obsessed by staring onto their average 4.9xxx*** ratings, guests just don't seem to care. So why get excited over it?

cc:  @Katrina79 @Anna9170 @Sarah977 @Kelly149 @Emilia42 @Emiel1 @Debra300 @Jessica-and-Henry0 @Sharon1014

[Kelly149]

@Ute42 this is crazy-making... how in the actual world can reviews go up by 155 in one quarter? It's like every time you turn around you realize there is another reason why ABB is a scam... "Bad *HOTEL*, rooms are not the same as advertised"

*EMPHASIS MINE* grrr

[Emilia42]

@Ute42 That is really interesting because this "hotel" has also not signed up for the ECP nor do they have a single booking for the future (completely open calendar until next September)

[Ute42]

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@Kelly149 @Emilia42 

I think this is the Steward Hotel, corner 7th Ave / W 31st street in NY. They have 7800 reviews on Trip Advisor. Maybe they have 200 rooms and the room displayed on airbnb is just a sample room. Then if guests book they distribute them to whatever room is available at the time.

[Kelly149]

@Ute42 clearly that is true (that they're getting whatever room is available...)

But, HOW, that calender can only have one booking per night, so I just don't understand how they could be cycling more people thru... it's just so messed up that actual hotels are on ABB... SMH

@Emilia42 at least they haven't signed ECP... I was imagining that they had and then still getting terrible reviews and no one cares... still SMH

[Emilia42]

@Ute42 You could be right. The functionality for hotels room is probably different than our little listings. I bet hotel rooms don't have to commit to the Enhanced Cleaning either!

[Debra300]

Host listings here on Airbnb may have similar options like the more traditional hotel platforms such as Booking and Expedia.  When a room category is created, the host can then list an amount for that room type which will be available to rent.  Based upon the reviews, it seems that some rooms are definitely better than others.

@Ute42 @Ann72 @Emilia42 @Kelly149 @Katrina79 

[Debra300]

@Ute42,

Thanks again for sharing.  You're always on point again with that wonderful German efficiency.  I want to point out that on row 87, another listing appears on page 1 of the search results, and has a 3.77* rating.

I never paid much attention to star ratings until I started hanging out here on the blog, and then you all schooled me on their real non-impact it has on bookings.  So, I just continue to give good service and choose not be bothered about those darn stars.

[Sharon1014]

@Ute42   So much for the "Enhanced Cleaning" badge huh?  Complete farce.

[Anonymous]

@Ute42  Impressive numbers crunching as always, and you're absolutely right that the ratings average is a vastly smaller factor for guests than it is for the more analretentive members of the host community. New York might not be the most representative market, but it's a great example of how much location trumps ratings as the prime desirability factor in a city that's as uniquely skewed against this kind of rental as NY or SF. The search format encourages the user to narrow the scope down to a map position for more easily than it guides the user to the more refined filters, so it seems inevitable that lower-rated listings in the most coveted locations outperform higher-rated listings in the outer bands of an equivalent search radius.

So far, I've only hosted smack dab in the middle of a location that is pretty popular with the prime Airbnb demographic, so I haven't found that ratings or Superhost status had any effect on bookings. Maybe it's different for hosts who have to market to the outer bands of their typical guest's search radius.

[Ann72]

@Ute42  This is an amazing study - thank you!  It fits perfectly with my review philosophy:    As a consumer I make every decision about online purchasing based on the quantity of reviews PLUS the overall rating - not the rating alone.  So I'm no longer stressing the occasional 4 for location or value.  Just write the review, people, especially in the off-season, so guests seeking accommodation can see positive reviews from every time of the year.

This example is particularly fascinating, but you hit the nail on the head:  location and price.  $158 a night is cheap for a New York hotel room, and that corner - 7th Avenue and 31st Street - is super convenient to at least a dozen subway lines.  From there you can walk to midtown, you can shop at the big stores on 34th Street, from Macy's on down, you can walk to the Highline, you can walk to Madison Square and get a burger at Shake Shack, you can get taxis easily to go anywhere, you can get subways to Brooklyn and every other neighborhood in Manhattan and the Bronx.  And Queens, if you have to go there lol.  

The other thing going on with this listing is that it's a hotel, so they don't have to list every tax and fee up front, which keeps the sticker shock down when people book.  Not so nice when they arrive and the hotel adds on the room tax and whatever else they want to add (in one guest's case, $75 for parking - she didn't seem to know that there are parking garages everywhere in that neighborhood and if she went around the block she'd probably find a cheaper option).  Also, as a hotel, they can put up that one room, but the guest might not get that exact room, so the huge uptick in the number of reviews in a short period probably covers multiple rooms booked under that one listing (though I don't know how they do that with the calendar...).

Anyway, brilliant study @Ute42, thanks!!!

[Katrina79]

@Ute42 This is a nice display of data, and I love that you took the time to organize it. In your chart there are four listings on page one and the average between them is 4.08*, significantly lower than the total average of 4.73*. It does appear that a higher average star rating has very little to do with search placement. 
Interestingly enough I just had a guest initiate a conversation with me about his past Airbnb experiences. He is well travelled with a 5* rating and over 30 host reviews. He told me he always uses the Superhost filter when searching for an Airbnb 😳 We discussed Superhost and he wanted to know what the criteria was to get the badge. When I told him the criteria he was unimpressed, I guess because he has put such value in Superhost requirement when searching for a place. I let him know that sometimes I do and sometimes I don’t meet the Superhost requirements, in my case it’s all dependent on the 4.8* requirement, I’m always good in the other factors. I also explained how if I have trouble with a guest and call them out on it, whether I have to cancel a stay, break up a gathering, address rule breakers or fix damage, the guest almost always leaves a very low star rating which in turn affects my rating. I’m not about to turn a blind eye to disrespectful guests because I’m worried about not reaching Superhost status for the next quarter, nor should ANY host. 

[Emilia42]

@Katrina79 @Ute42 @Anonymous @Ann72 

A few retaliatory reviews aside though, it does make you wonder why so many of these low rated listings get the amount of traffic/bookings that they do. Especially when they are in highly competitive areas like New York City and can be easily replaced. A quick scan of the written reviews should turn most guests away. Booking an Airbnb is truly a gamble and you never know if you will get your money back so why take the chance with so many previous negative experiences. 

But then my mind also goes to the fact that almost all of these ratings are well above 4.0 stars which really shows how over-saturated Airbnb is with 5-star reviews. 

[Debra300]

It appears that in response to the poor reviews that mentioned the hidden costs, and probably because of consumer law, the hotel has updated it's listing details, and placed fee info at the top, but the guest will still have to do the calculations manually.  However, they still do not disclose the exact parking fee, but instead only have parking for a fee under the amenities section.

For many people, 3-4 stars is still acceptable, because it represents average to slightly above average on most scales that go to 5 stars.  Also, since it is a hotel, most people can request a different room if the one given to them is in poor condition.  Lastly, since it's not an individual host, many people are inclined to gloss over any comments about unfriendly staff attitudes.  I really don't understand why someone would think that it's beneficial to book a hotel through Airbnb instead of directly with the hotel.  It's not like the room was booked as part of a travel package with transportation to the destination, and garnered a discount.

@Emilia42 @Ann72 @Ute42 @Katrina79 @Anonymous @Sharon1014 

[Anonymous]

@Debra300 The only scenario where it makes any sense to me to book a hotel room through Airbnb is when you want to use up a credit/voucher before it expires. 

On an unrelated note:  every accommodation I've ever stayed in in NYC has been a total dive. I've only been there on a limited budget (usually a stopover on the way somewhere more affordable), with no intention of sleeping much, and I wanted every dollar I could spare to go toward all the fun I was having instead of a room that would sit empty all day. I'd have been more than happy to take a badly-reviewed room for a couple nights if it was (relatively) cheap and conveniently located.