Unlist my property while i build my Airbnb page

[Jackalahar0]

Hi,

I'm a new (to be) host and I'm currently in the final stages of getting airbnb ready before listing.  However because I want to make sure my listing looks great with all the right words and such, I went through the steps of creating a listing, published my listing and then immediately unlisted while i continue to edit it, upload photos, work on wording etc.  It may be a month until the property is ready to be listed 'live'.  

I'm wondering, is it detrimental for me as a new host to have published a property and then immediately unlisted it for a period of time?  I understand that the 3-5 bookings in the new listing period is very important and wouldn't want to jeopardize that.  LMK your thoughts!

Thanks you!

jack

[Joan2709]

@Jackalahar0 

Yes...unfortunately, you jumped the gun a bit. Airbnb only gives you a temporary boost in the first 3-4 weeks and that time frame is critical to the success of the listing. Not sure if "unlisting" stops the clock on that or not. It you don't have any guests booked (sounds like you don't), I believe you can delete the listing and create a new one when you are actually ready to accept guests. Airbnb does have a "bot" that looks for duplicate listings, so hopefully that won't end up being an issue. You can contact Airbnb Customer Service and see what they say about that?

Before deleting the listing, I would copy and paste all the sections of your iisting that have text in a Word document so when you do create another listing (if that's what you decide to do), then you can just copy and paste the text into the new listing and not have to recreate it all over again.

[Jackalahar0]

ahhh yes i was afraid i was a bit too excited... thanks for the great info!  I am inquiring with Airbnb support but likely will delete and relist (and yes, make a document with all my wording and such).  Thanks for the response Joan!

Jack

[Cory249]

Not sure this will be viewed positively by AirBNB, but if I could go back and offer the discount for the first 3-5 guests, I would NOT do it.  Or perhaps, I would do it, but only list my property as available for a month or two, tops.

I started with my STR last year and signed up to give out that discount in hopes of getting 5-star reviews on my listing asap...  Started in December of 2024 and one of the first bookings got that discount for a stay in September - which did absolutely nothing for me b/c I already had numerous 5-star reviews.

As far as listing your property....  DO IT NOW!!!  Just block the first month off, so you've got time to finish your projects.  Most people aren't booking for this week or next week in the month of January (at least in my market - Boulder, Colorado area). 

I work in Excel all day, every day, so I track a lot of stuff on my end.

Unfortunately, I have not had many bookings for the month of January - and not a SINGLE booking for the month of January that originated in January (hoping I can change that), but between last year and this year, I have had 12 bookings made in January for 53 nights throughout the year (42% of those bookings were for stays within the next 30-120 days and the rest were for at least 120 days out...  I have my settings to allow people to book a year out.)

In summary - think strategically on using the discount for the first guests and list your property now!

Hope that helps!

[Joan2709]

@Cory249 

Yes...that might be an option....just go live and block the calendar. That said, if @Jackalahar0 isn't sure all his listing settings are ready (cancellation policy, cleaning fee, booking settings, availability, cleaners, etc.) he might get reservations he really didn't want.

I advise my new Host clients that want to use the 20% new listing discount, to only open their calendar for a month or two (and definitely not holidays). This prevents a guest from booking far out for the discount, or on a holiday. The goal is to get 3-5 bookings quickly (with good reviews). 

[Cory249]

Wish I'd talked to you before going forward with that discount!  Didn't think much about it!

Great advice though!

[Jackalahar0]

Thanks Cory!  This is another option for me rather than just deleting listing... i'm contacting airbnb support and see what they say (i'll report back).  Appreciate the detailed response!

Jack

[Jackalahar0]

Okay, some info from Airbnb Support:

I asked (after the more detailed concern): "But will it lessen my chances of being boosted by AirBnB algorithm as a new host if i leave it unlisted for over a month?"

They responded:

"Regarding about that, it will not affect your listing even if you leave it unlisted for month as the system make sure that all the listing will appear equally specailly for new listing.

The algorithm considers many factors to determine how to order search results, but some factors have a larger impact than others. In particular, the quality, popularity, price, and location of a listing heavily influence how a listing appears in search results. The algorithm also encourages variety within search results—so that guests are presented with listings that have different Hosts, different characteristics, and a range of prices.

-Quality. The algorithm assesses many characteristics to evaluate listing and trip quality, including the listing photos, ratings and reviews, listing characteristics and amenities, and customer service and cancellation information. Higher quality listings with better ratings and reviews tend to rank higher in search.
-Popularity. The algorithm evaluates the popularity of a listing using a wide range of information, including how guests engage with the listing. Examples of guest engagement with a listing include how often guests save a listing to their wishlist, how often guests book, and how often guests message the Host. More popular listings tend to rank higher in search.
-Price. To determine how attractive the price of a listing is, the algorithm considers a variety of price data, including total price and how that price compares to other listings in the area for the given dates. Listings that are priced below other comparable listings in the area with similar guest capacity and amenities tend to rank higher in search.
-Location. The location of a stay has a large impact on how the listing appears in search results. Listings located in places that guests like to stay tend to rank higher, for example: accommodations close to popular landmarks."

[Joan2709]

@Jackalahar0 

Thanks for sharing their response...but not sure the 1st paragraph is correct. I'm afraid you'll find that you don't always get correct answers from Airbnb CS unfortunately. The rest of the paragraphs are true for any listing, not just a new listing. 

Alot also depends on the number of listings in your area. Airbnb will only display 15 pages of listings with 18 listings per page. If you don't appear on the first 3 pages, it's very difficult to get booked. Be aware that if you want to get an idea where your listing appears to guests, you can't do it while logged into your account on Airbnb. Your listing will always appear first. You have to use an incognito/private window browsing and type in the city, state where your listing is. That will give you an idea what guests might see.

[Jackalahar0]

Hey Joan,

Yeah you're probably very right about them not being the most accurate... the misspelling and bad grammar didn't help my confidence either.  

here's one other thing to throw at you before I delete listing:  my property is in a pretty rural area (spring green, WI)... there truly aren't that many listings, though there are more than one page.  I guess i'm just concerned that deleting listing and remaking with same name will trigger issues... IDK, guess i gotta just choose one way or the other!  hah

Appreciate your expertise!

[Joan2709]

@Jackalahar0 

Wish you well on what you decide 😊

I don't know the particulars of your property and number of Airbnbs in your location, but as long as you don't have any reservations/bookings, I would just delete the listing and start over when you are ready.