Why does my listing does not show up when searching for one night stay?

[Eric48]

Recently, my AirBnB listing does not show up in searches when looking for reservations of one night. It will only show up when looking for places that are available for at least 2 nights. When searching for locations without a specific date set, the listing will appear first. This issue specificly relates to searches for only one night.

My minimum reservation requirement is set to 1 night and my maximum is set to 5 nights. My maximum accomodated guests is set to 3.

I've seen a few people post on this forum within the last month saying they've experienced similar issues. I'm hoping this isn't a problem specific to me and would be gracious if somebody could let me know whether or not this is a website-wide issue.

The listing can be found here: https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/9647531

[Ally-And-Iku0]

I spoke to AirBnb about this just now.  The guy was very helpful but was unable to get it working (not a surprise as it is clearly a bug).

I originally reported it 3 weeks ago and had no update and problem is spreading.  Worryingly the agent couldn't find any other reports of this kind of problem being reported.

It is being escalated (again) - hopefully it will be resolved quickly as it is a disaster for my listing.

[Dede0]

@Greg14, @Eric48, @Ally-And-Iku0, @Nan2, @Debs-and-This-Is-Malcolm0 -- The sad part is that after so many people (including even AirBnB support people who were kept in the dark by AirBnB) it's apparently turning out that all of these weird results were part of an unannounced experiment by AirBnB. (They probably think of it as Beta Testing, but in my software career, both Alpha and Beta testing were conducted with the full compliance of the testers.) Here's what I'm talking about... The following is the text of an email received by at least one host within the past 2-3 days:

"At this time, we're experimenting with getting more high-value bookings by filling your listings' calendars more strategically which is why your "XXXXXX YYY ZZZZ" listing will only show in August for searches of 3 or more nights. This is a permanent change. This change will make the listing's calendar open for longer-stay searches. In the short term, your calendar will be more open than before, but as time goes on, the unbooked days will be filled up and the overall impact will be at least neutral."

If true, this is stunning. And, even after the secretive experimenation, potentially fatal to a good number of hosts.

[Nan2]

@Dede0 - Yes, that's the email I personally received yesterday and copy/pasted/posted in another thread. "This change is permanent." Seriously? Someone else mentioned being told about the experiment as well. I followed up last night after receiving the email about the experiment to share my opinions on this and ask to be removed. No response beyond the generic "your voice is important to us!" email. Heh. I'll be calling again. @Eric48, @Ally-And-Iku0, @Debs-and-This-Is-Malcolm0

[Dede0]

Yeah, @Nan2. I just wanted to get that email into as many related threads as possible. Even more than once, considering the semi-broken state of the forums after Monday's "upgrade". (A lot of longer threads have lost the earlier comments due to:

This widget could not be displayed.

This widget could not be displayed.

This widget could not be displayed.

And so on...

I think we need to get the word out to as many long-time hosts as possible. AirBnB might be dissuaded from actually putting this bad idea into practice.

[Ally-And-Iku0]

It does sound likely that  "experimentation" is the cause of the problem.

I have a number of concerns about it:

- Why roll this experiment out to hosts who never get 3 day bookings (I only get 1 day bookings)

- Why no information to hosts (I never received the mail you posted)

- Why not have this as an opt-in option for hosts rather than forcing it on them.

- The problem is wider than August - it started as August but now affects July

I noticed this issues because I got no bookings for my busiest period of the year.  I have a small number of bookings that pre-date this change, but unless it's fixed, I expect no further bookings in July/August - a complete disaster.

[Berma0]

I live in a small coastal town with very few listing and mine does not show up either.  I put in 30+ days for traveling professionals.

[Sara2]

@Greg14 this issue has been raised by many of us on another forum one email actually posted to a host last week explained that hosts with minimum 2 or 3 nights were being "pushed" more by ABB and the one nighters were not showing , I understood it was a business decision , a host friend of mine in a seaside resort relies upon her Friday till Sunday or Monday guests and has not been getting them even though there was a festival in her town

Apparantly the one nighters are thought to get the odd one night guest by themselves. at least you are not alone in your investigations.

[Nan2]

Is this issue really resolved for you? Or anyone? I began contacting airbnb about this problem in the middle of April. My listing stopped showing up for 1-2 nights in early April. I've called several times - I think I've spoken with 9 different customer service reps now. It's so discouraging. I was just starting to hit my stride after beginning hosting in February, and it more or less just stopped overnight. Not sure if you've noticed but the date at which the problem corrects itself keeps pushing further out as weeks pass by. When I first noticed the problem, it corrected itself in mid-August. Now it's rolled forward and it corrects itself in early September. So in essence, it will never be fixed unless someone actually takes the time to fix it. 

Oh, no, holy crap, I just got this email, just this moment, saying that basically airbnb decided my minimum stay will be 3 nights. 

"At this time, we're experimenting with getting more high-value bookings by filling your listings' calendars more strategically which is why your "Decatur 1 BR - great neighborhood!" listing will only show in August for searches of 3 or more nights.
This is a permanent change.

This change will make the listing's calendar open for longer-stay searches.
In the short term, your calendar will be more open than before, but as time goes on, the unbooked days will be filled up and the overall impact will be at least neutral."

[Dede0]

@Nan2 Oh, no! This is NOT good. It does explain what some hosts have been experiencing, but it's NOT good. I haven't received that email yet, but that sort of change will cost us LOTS of money. (We typically stay 90-95% booked without this sort of misguided "help" from AirBnB. For them to say that "this change will make the listing's calendar open for longer-stay searches" is silly. My calendar (and yours, and everyone else's) has always been open for longer-term searches. And they're either ignorant or dishonest to say "as time goes on, the unbooked days will be filled up and the overall impact will be at least neutral". That's not true. Any two 3-day (or 4-day, etc) bookings are just as likely to end up 1 or 2 days apart as they are to end up 3 (or more) days apart. And that will leave the empty 1 or 2 days unbookable. In the long run, the number of unbooked days will rise, not drop.

[Nan2]

@Dede0: Yes, I'm glad I now understand the issue, at last, but it's a completely unacceptable situation And a terrible experiment! Do they tend to make nonsensical changes like this without telling the hosts? Or for that matter, without telling the poor customer service team who is stuck with fielding the complaints and can only tell you your issue is on a "list" to be addressed. Even that is incorrect! If they think they're doing us a favor, they're certainly not trying to correct the search problem. 

And with the rolling forward of the problem, I'm guessing they have the "experiment" set up to show your listing again for 1-2 nights as it gets closer to the unbooked dates. For example, I can now see my listing when I search for 1-2 nights in early June, when previously, I could not. 

Good lord.

[Dede0]

@Nan2, Yeah, they'll probably start allowing 2-day (and then 1-day) searches find the affected listings as the dates near. But if they apply the 3-day rule to all of us, what are potential guests going to do when they need to make a 1 or 2 night booking 2-3 or more months in advance? Will their searches simply come up empty? Will AirBnB advise them of the behavior?

In any case, I seem to be able to do a pretty good job of filling my calendar without this forced "assistance" from AirBnB, and I'd prefer that they let me choose how long I want my default minimum to be and when I want to apply shorter or longer custom minimuns. For on thing, Austin is a tourist destination, and lots of tourists come only for a 2-day weekend for concerts or special events (which they often book months in advance). Is AirBnB going to cost me those bookings?

I don't get their rationale for making this type of change, and I think it's horrible that they tested it on unknowing hosts.

[ZenHomes0]

Hi @Nan2, I'm having this issue now, did they really send that to you in an email??

[Nan2]

@ZenHomes0, @Ally-And-Iku0: Adam, sadly yes, I received that email on Monday afternoon from an airbnb rep. I've been calling them since mid-April when I first noticed the issue and at this point I've communicated with 12 different reps, and this guy is the only one who seemed to have any knowledge of the experiment because all of the others said it looked like a programming issue. I was told by a supervisor that this specific issue was on a priority list to be fixed. Obviously that was wrong.

When I noticed the issue last month, my listing was affected from roughly June 1 through mid August. Last time I checked, it's now rolled forward and is affected from early/mid June through end of August. So I assume the way the programming works, they open your listing back up again if it's not rented maybe about 3 weeks out. That kind of fits with the way the rep described it in the email. I don't know how many listings are affected or how they picked us. It's just wrong on every level that they would override the host's settings, not ask or tell the hosts, and only inflict this disadvantage on a small group of hosts. Not really sure what to do next.

Here's the entire email I received (copy/pasted):

Regarding the way both your listings are shown in search results, we make ongoing changes to the search page and features available to help travelers find the listings that are most relevant to their needs and desires.
That often includes experimenting with the placement or existence of different buttons or filters, and gathering associated data to see what our users like best.
At this time, we're experimenting with getting more high-value bookings by filling your listings' calendars more strategically which is why your "Decatur 1 BR - great neighborhood!" listing will only show in August for searches of 3 or more nights.
This is a permanent change.

This change will make the listing's calendar open for longer-stay searches.
In the short term, your calendar will be more open than before, but as time goes on, the unbooked days will be filled up and the overall impact will be at least neutral.

We are always working to improve our policies, and we encourage you to submit your feedback in direct reply to this email. Even when unable to accommodate all requests, Airbnb truly values user feedback -- your voice is both powerful and essential. I’ll be sure to pass your thoughts on to the right team.

[ZenHomes0]

Hi @Nan2 thanks for your prompt reply! It seems very strange that this affects only SOME hosts though, I checked out another host with multiple listings whose listings are also similar to mine (12 guests, entire place) and that host doesn't seem to be affected by this at all.

Anyway one Airbnb rep did get back to me regarding this and he managed to find my listing for the requested date (16 Aug to 18 Aug) which is why I'm still very puzzled about this. Perhaps it really is an experiment that certain countries guests are from? A friend of mine in Germany couldn't see my listing with the 2 night criteria. This screenshot was taken very recently (2 days ago, I suppose from the UK) and my listing shows up first on the left side.

[Nan2]

@ZenHomes0: It's definitely only been applied to some hosts (an "experiment"). There are only a handful of listings around me that fit the same search criteria and they all pop up consistently for 1-2 nights. Hence putting my listing at a distinct disadvantage as it never shows up. Based on the email from the rep, it's clear that they think this is a helpful change, and maybe for some listings it would be helpful, but not for me! I love the 1-2 night guests. That's the most appropriate timeframe for my space. I only want it rented out 10-12 nights per month. I had just changed my settings to a 4 night max when this change went into effect. But most of my guests are 1-2 nights. Or were. I have zero airbnb summer bookings from mid-June through all of August. Zero. Hence I've blocked some time on my calendar and I'm renting the space to friends here and there since airbnb isn't showing my listing. It's really disheartening and frustrating. As you know!