Why can't I see my listing in the Search Results? A Community Help Guide

[Jeet0]

Hello,

Questions regarding "Lisiting not appearning in Search Results" are very common and I'd like to share some reasons why this could be happening and how you can view your listing on searching.

Before getting to the details, it is important to understand how search results are determined. The linked article talks about how Airbnb's complex ranking system uses different factors to reward hosts that deliver a great experience to guests. Focus on these factors to optimize your listing.

Let's understand why you might not be able to see your listing in the Search Results:

1) Your location might have more than 300 listings. For ease of display, Airbnb only displays 300 listings at a time and thus some listings, beyond 300, might not appear during a general location search without any filters.

However, if you make use of the multiple search filters that Airbnb has to offer (like Dates, No. of Guests, Room type, Price Range etc.) then you can perform a more specific and narrowed down search which might reduce the search results and your listing will then show up if it matches the filter criteria.

*Please note that, most guests make use of the filters while searching for a vacation home.

2) You can also make use of the map by zooming in closer to your location if your looking at a very large area. Use the '+' button to zoom in and '-' to zoom out. Reducing the area will further reduce the results and you will be able to see your listing. Don't forget to click on the "Redo Search Here" button on the top.

If your listing still continues to not appears,

3) Check if it is "Listed" and not in the "Delisted" mode. To do this, visit your Dashboard >> Your Lisitng >> Manage Listing and Calendar. Expand the Menu options by clicking on the grey icon with 3 horizontal bars on the left top. Look up at the bottom of the Menu that emerges to see if your listing is active. It should appear as "Listed" with a green dot. If it doesn't click on the drop down menu and change it to listed.

4) Still can't see it? Ask the Community to see if any of the members are able to see it on searching with relevant filters.

4) Yet no luck? Please get in touch with Airbnb and they shall definitely resolve your problem.

Happy Hosting 🙂

Jeet

Updated - additional information added:

For hosts searching for your Instant Book listing, @Clare0 has created a great guide here in the Community Center sharing an overview of how this works. To view her guide take a look here. 

[Clare0]

@Vanessa228 Without filters, you are not likely to find your listing as there are probably 1,000's of listings in LA.  The search function is a tool for users to find the listing that best matches their preferences.  Think of it this way, if you went online to search for a car to buy, you wouldn't want to spend hours looking at cars you are not interested in.  You would refine your search by make, model, year, price, and other features in order to just see likely candidates for your consideration.  That's what Airbnb's search function does. 

Here's a helpful link that explains how the search function does its work: 

http://blog.airbnb.com/how-search-makes-the-best-matches/

Cheers!

Clare

[Fiona107]

Hi just thought I would add something that happened to me this morning.  I have been hosting since January and have had 14 transactions and 13 reviews - so I am now familiar with how everything all works. I live in a tiny village in Kent (UK)  called Bethersden.  This morning I tried to show my dentist who is 5 miles from my village my listing.  We put in Bethersden and did not use any filters so the search was 'anytime' for one guest. My listing did not show.  We then put a specific date in for June, when I know that I did not have any bookings.  Again my listing did not show.  We gave up in the end because I just could not get my listing to appear.  I have rung Airbnb and they kept insisting that I must have been using a filter that did not apply, but I know I didn't.  Any ideas?  Are there other parameters in Airbnb's software that exclude listings?  They were displaying listings for other villages near mine, but not my listing.

[Clare0]

Hi @Fiona107  I easily found your listing with just May 26 to May 28 and 2 guests as preferences.  

I see, however, that you have Instant Book set and likely you have established the requirement that guests must have positive reviews from hosts in order to be able to book instantly.  

Airbnb will only display these types of Instant Book listings to guests who meet these requirements if the search filter for Instant Book is turned ON.  Otherwise, without the Instant Book filter, your listing will appear but not as an Instant Book listing.  

For example, if I search without being logged in and the Instant Book filter is ON, your listing will not be displayed for me since the system can't tell if I meet the requirement.  If I log in, since I do meet the requirement, your listing will appear for me.  

When I searched for your listing, I did not have the Instant Book filter ON, and since I was not logged in, your listing appeared without the Instant Book lightening bolt. 

My guess is that when you searched while at the dentist, you had the Instant Book filter set to ON and either you were not logged in or did not meet the requirement since you only have one review from a host. 

If this is about as clear as mud, let me know and I'll try to describe what is going on in a different manner. 

Let me know!

Clare

[Fiona107]

HI Clare, What you say is logical and if it wasn't for two more facts I would be happy but I think there may be a bug in Airbnb's software.   I am going to confirm/reply/clarify some of your points see below, but I asked my neice who lives in Geneva to do a search and my friend in Yorkshire, both were not logged in as they don't have airbnb accounts and both were able to see my listing.  Here is my response in red to your notes:

"I see, however, that you have Instant Book set and likely you have established the requirement that guests must have positive reviews from hosts in order to be able to book instantly.  YES 

Airbnb will only display these types of Instant Book listings to guests who meet these requirements if the search filter for Instant Book is turned ON.  (was on) Otherwise, without the Instant Book filter, your listing will appear but not as an Instant Book listing.  My listing did not show at all.

For example, if I search without being logged in and the Instant Book filter is ON, your listing will not be displayed for me since the system can't tell if I meet the requirement. That would appear to be how it should work except for my neice and friend it was different.  If I log in, since I do meet the requirement, your listing will appear for me.   

My guess is that when you searched while at the dentist, you had the Instant Book filter set to ON and either you were not logged in or did not meet the requirement since you only have one review from a host. " Neither of us (my dentist or myself) were logged in.  We searched airbnb on google and then just put in Bethersden and nothing appeared.

I do thank you for your reply something clearly was not working properly whilst I was at the dentist and normally had I not witnessed it I would think that the dentist was doing something that was excluding my listing but that was not the case.  

There is one thought - fact that I wonder if it has a bearing on this.  When I got home I found that I was still logged in on airbnb on my laptop, with the lid shut, but when I opened the lid I was logged into my airbnb account.  Do you think that it is possible that if you don't log out of your account as a host you are preventing views of your listing.  I left it logged into the calendar.

Just want to add one more thing, when potential guests have no reviews I get a message and can allow them to book, so guests who do not have the credentials to book instantly do see my listing otherwise I would not get their requests. 

best regards Fiona 

[Clare0]

@Fiona107 Whether you are logged in on another device makes no difference.  I can be logged in my IPhone, my Mom's Ipad or my laptop and it wouldn't make a difference. 

It only matters when you search with the Instant Book filter turned ON.  As an example, I do many searches for hosts with IB who have the requirement that guests have previous reviews.  Initially I search without being logged in for the search.  I'll get results for IB listings, but those results are only for IB listings without the requirement and I might get, say, 46 listings in results.  When I log in for the exact same search, I'll get perhaps 150 results.  The additional results are those listings with the requirement and since I am logged in, Airbnb recognizes that I qualify to book instantly.  

With the IB filter OFF, again Airbnb will look to see if the guest meets the requirement to Instant Book.  If the guest does not or is not logged in, the listing will appear without the IB icon.  This type of guest will still be able to send you a Reservation Request as you mentioned.  If the guest meets the requirement, your listing will show as an Instant Book listing, allowing the guest to book instantly. 

Since your dentist was not logged in and the IB filter was set to ON, Airbnb will not display your listing to him since the system is unable to verify that he meets your requirement for recommendations from other hosts.  If he had switched to the IB filter OFF, he would see your listing but not as an Instant Book listing.  

So, to clarify,  here's the key for searches for IB listings with the requirement for positive reviews: 

IB filter set to ON: 

  -Listing will not show if guest not logged in. Only IB listings without the requirement will appear.

  -Listing will not show if guest doesn't meet requirement

  -Listing will show if guest is logged in and meets requirement (can book instantly)

IB filter set to OFF:

  - Listing will show as non-IB if guest is not logged in 

  - Listing will show as non-IB if guest is logged in but doesn't meet requirement (must send Reservation Request)

  - Listing will show as IB if guest is logged in and meets requirement (can book instantly)

Does this help?

[Fiona107]

Hi Cathy,

I understand what you are saying but 3 different people searched for listings in Bethersden, none of them were logged on because none of them have airbnb accounts, the three being my dentist, my friend who lives 600 miles away and my niece who lives in another country.  The dentist doesn't see my listing but my friend and my neice do.  So why is there a difference in the results they see? Why do my friend and niece see my listing and my dentist does not when none have airbnb accounts and my listing has not been altered between any of their searches as you say it is set up for IB with the requirement for potential guests to have had reviews.  

best regards Fiona 

[Clare0]

@Fiona107  Since I don't know how your dentist searched for your listing, I cannot give you an accurate explanation.  The only reason that he would not be able to see your listing is if the search filter for Instant Book was ON.  Since he doesn't have an account with Airbnb, your listing would not appear for him.  Your friend and neice likely had the Instant Book filter set to OFF and therefore were able to see your listing albeit without the IB icon on your listing. 

In some areas of the world, Airbnb automatically sets the IB filter to ON, requiring users to turn it OFF if they don't care about booking instantly. 

It really depends on whether the search filter for Instant Book is set to ON or OFF for users who do not have accounts with Airbnb. 

If you want, ask your friend and neice whether they searched for your listing with the IB filter on or off and get back to me with what they said. 

Clare

[Vanessa228]

Hello, if I have to cancel a guest reservation how long does it take for them to get their money back?

[Vanessa228]

Hi there, I'm still having trouble finding my listing. Can someone search it for me? The listing is in Downtown Los Angeles. Entire home, 1 bedroom, 2 beds... what other info do you need to search?

[Clare0]

@Vanessa228  I've searched for your listing before and found it easily.  How are you doing your search and what preferences (filters) are you using?  

Enter dates your listing is available, number of guests you can accommodate, any amenities you offer, and neighborhood (LA is a BIG place!).  If you set the Instant Book filter to ON, you won't see your listing unless you are logged in.  Apparently you have set the requirement that a guest have recommendations from hosts and if you are not logged in, the system won't be able to tell if you have those recommendations or not.  Note in my search I wasn't logged in and the IB filter was OFF.  Your listing appeared, but not as an Instant Book.  It would if I was logged in since I do have positive reviews from hosts. 

Here is a screenshot of my search where you can see the guest preferences I used to find your listing: 

Also, in answer to your previous message about how long it takes to refund a guest when their reservation is cancelled, it depends on the type of payment method used to book originally.  While the refund is released nearly instantly by Airbnb, it can take from 1 business day (PayPal) to 5 business days (most credit cards) for the money to be credited into the guest's account. 

Hope this helps!

Clare

[Michael883]

Thank God I found this thread, I've been going up the walls trying to understand why my apartment no longer shows up in the search engine... 

First of all, Claire from Templeton, very nice to e-meet you. Please excuse my franchise but I've read every single post with interest and can see what's coming: I'm sure you will send a reply to say that you can find my property when you search from your home. And I'm sure you will do. But here's the problem in a nutshell (and it seems I'm not the only one suffering):

I have a lovely, cosy studio, very well situated, inexpensive, which has always been rented from May-August non-stop with no issues. It's the type of place people will book last-minute for a one, two or three-night stay. The type of guests who book will 99% of the time be on a train or in another Airbnb somewhere else in France or Italy looking for their next stop. Often I get requests from people already staying in my city. A mere 1% will be on their home computer in Templeton or wherever planning a long-term trip. So it's all fine and dandy that my advert is visible millions of miles away but no help to me if people in the immediate vicinity don't have it pulled up when they run a search. No offence to you personally Claire, but it's very frustrating to be told your accommodation is online and bookable when you KNOW there's a problem and one which you are powerless to fix.

I've been banging my head against the wall trying to explain the problem to Airbnb representatives, but they maintain that the advert is published and visible online. So why did I go from 30-odd visits per day to 0 overnight? Maybe it's a quiet period, they say. Well no, it's a bank holiday weekend at the beginning of the high season and it's more than unususal to have zero requests never mind bookings. However, they will not look into the matter further, their replies are evasive and if you push the issue they hang up on you. Very professional.

I tried the snooze on/snooze off trick but with no success unfortunately.

Can I ask: did anyone encouter this problem immediately after adding a second property to their account? I did this a week ago and wondered if this was stopping my adverts from appearing so decided to delete it yesterday. But the original advert still remains invisible.

Did anyone encounter these problems at the end/beginning of a month? My views went from 30 to zero overnight around May 30 and haven't moved since. I wonder if Airbnb have decided to purposely "rest" well-performing hosts for certain months to give newbies a chance to get a slice of the business?

These are the only two elements I can think of that might offer an explanation to this madness. Airbnb support certainly aren't going to do anything. 

And don't talk to me about Google Chrome; I've searched on google, safari, via Ipad, Iphone, mac, PC... friends have searched from their devices for me... My advert simply never shows up.

I'm not paranoid by nature but after reading all the posts on here it does seem that there is a definite campaign to "rest" certain hosts for no reason other than we are working too well (I do the instant booking, I reply quickly and my feedback rate is good... I haven't refused any requests... I manage my own pricing, maybe they want us all on their "intelligent pricing"?)

I'm kicking myself right now for putting all my eggs in one basket but many thanks to the gentleman (whose name escapes me, sorry a few pages back) who suggested a few competitor sites. I'm in the process of putting my property online via these as it seems Airbnb ain't in a hurry to help us.

If anyone has any ray of light to offer in this fiasco, please let me know, I'm losing business which is there for the taking.

Thanks a bunch Airbnb!

[Clare0]

@Michael883, actually I can't find your listing either.  I've spent about an hour doing so.  You say you snoozed and unsnoozed.  What is your listing status right now?  Does it say "Listed"? 

[Michael883]

Hi Clare, yes I have gone back to 'Listed' status. Advert still invisible on searches. There is not much accommodation remaining in my immediate neighbourhood tonight and yet my place is not even offered. Really don't understand why.

[Clare0]

@Michael883  One last question:  Have you updated any new photos in the last few days?

[Michael883]

No, none at all. As I posted earlier, I did add a property for rental about 10 days ago (separate listing linked to the same account). I did wonder if this had something to do with the issue (as the second property was not being referenced in searches either), so I deleted the second advert yesterday. The first, however, still remains invisible.