No inquiries or reservations

[David10021]

I have had a listing on AirBNB for a year and have only received one inquiry and no bookings. I also have it listed on VRBO and have gotten over 10 bookings from that. I also have it listed on my buildings web site and have gotten dozens and dozens of bookings. My write up is the same on all 3 sites but AirBNB is the only one that I get no activity on. 

Please help!

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@David10021 I suspect you are suffering from how the Airbnb search algorithm seems to work. The most important factor for getting a high placement is getting Airbnb bookings and the best way to get Airbnb bookings is to get a high placement. As such success on other platforms damages your chances on Airbnb!

I also wonder if the price the guest pays is the same across all 3 sites?

[David10021]

Hi Mike and Jane. The short answer is yes the pricing is the same. I get the algorithm theory but how can you get high placement if you never get any activity in the first place?  Is there anyone within the AirBNB organization who will investigate this for me?

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@David10021 When you first sign up you get a boost in the search engine. You could copy your listing and pretend it is new and then delete the original. I don't see anyone investigating for you but a call to customer services might get your boost.

[David10021]

Thanks. I might try that. 

[Helen3]

The issue probably is if you are getting lots of bookings from other providers you won't rank highly on Airbnb as they prioritise listings with early availability. @David10021 

[David10021]

I understand that but I allow bookings 12 months in advance so there are plenty of dates available especially beginning in August of this year. 

[Helen3]

My point is if you don't have early availability you won't be high up in the rankings and therefore those looking won't necessarily see your listing as they don't tend to look beyond the first few pages @David10021 

[Vanessa-and-Nicole0 · Accepted solution]

Hey David!

You are just north of us! We're based out of Sarasota.

Great question! One thing I would suggest is to add a discount for some of your quickest upcoming available dates. 

Don't just cut pricing, but rather, add a promotion to the date. This will give you several bonuses based on how big of a discount you give. Once you get some traction, good reviews, etc. your listing should be able to be seen without having to do promos.

To make a promo on the app:

1) Go to calendar

2) Click the 3 dots on the top right

3) Click promotions

4) Click Custom promotions

5) Select the dates and then click "select these dates"

6) Choose your percentage and click "apply promotion"

Good luck!!

Cheers,

Stay Local Vacation Rentals

[David10021]

Thank you. Worth a shot

[David10021]

This is the kind of stuff that drives me crazy with AirBNB. I tried to create a custom promotion but I cannot because AirBNB rules state that custom promotions are only available after you have 3 or more bookings. Ugh!  I CANT get bookings which is why I wanted to create a custom promotion. So frustrating 

[Vanessa-and-Nicole0]

Oh man, that is frustrating.

There might be a chance that you could still do the new listing promo if you haven't had any bookings yet. I'm not sure if you have to set that up when you set up the listing, or if you can do it after the fact.

[Naz457]

I have had my listing for almost a year. I was fully booked somehow 3 months in advance ! I got my super hose badge and bought more stuff for the houses then all stopped ! No booking what so ever ! Not even one enquiry . I am worried to use other platform as I am not sure how they check the guests in terms of identity and back ground ! Saying that I am so tempted to use other platform . I have done all of the things that has been suggested to you here and still got nothing . Good luck 🤞 to you .

[David10021]

Thanks. Good luck to you also. I have had great success on other platforms so it might be a great option for you too.