Your top questions about Airbnb Search

Lizzie · ‎21-09-2017

Hello everyone,

One of the most popular discussion topics here in the Community Center is on how Airbnb Search works. We brought your most-asked questions to the Airbnb Search team and have gathered the answers for you.

I really hope you find the responses helpful. To read the responses to each question, please click on the 'Read more' buttons! 🙂

Lizzie

Answers to your top Search questions

You’ve created and published a fabulous listing and now your friends and family want to check it out. How do they find it? And among all the listings out there, how does the Airbnb algorithm decide which ones to show a traveler searching in your area? As we hear questions from hosts, two basic categories of questions emerge: What affects a listing’s ranking, and how can I find my listing online? So we took your most asked questions to the Airbnb Search team and have gathered the answers for you. Let’s dive in.

1. On search ranking, and how to improve yours:

What factors affect my listing’s placement in search results?

That’s a great question. We have an algorithm that looks at over 100 signals to decide how to order listings in search results. Most of those signals have to do with things that guests care about, like positive reviews and great photos. If you think guests might care about it, it probably factors into your ranking! The reason is this: you’re most likely to get a booking request (or be instantly booked) if a traveler finds the type of place they’re looking for right away. We get a lot of information from the traveler about what they want for then show them listings that match their needs most closely.

Not every signal is weighed equally, and you don’t need to have a perfect listing or an unbeatable location for your listing to rank well. But there are some really influential signals that make a difference. Some of those include: how often guests click on your listing in search results, how often guests attempt to contact you from your listing page, how many booking requests you accept, if you use Instant Book, and how competitive your listing price is.

That’s a great question. We have an algorithm that looks at over 100 signals to decide how to order listings in search results. Most of those signals have to do with things that guests care about, like positive reviews and great photos. If you think guests might care about it, it probably factors into your ranking! The reason is this: you’re most likely to get a booking request (or be instantly booked) if a traveler finds the type of place they’re looking for right away. We get a lot of information from the traveler about what they want for then show them listings that match their needs most closely. Not every signal is weighed equally, and you don’t need to have a perfect listing or an unbeatable location for your listing to rank well. But there are some really influential signals that make a difference. Some of those include: how often guests click on your listing in search results, how often guests attempt to contact you from your listing page, how many booking requests you accept, if you use Instant Book, and how competitive your listing price is.

Why are listings with Instant Book prioritised ahead of other listings in the search results?

The main goal of the search algorithm is to facilitate bookings. And if a guest has an excellent experience booking and traveling on Airbnb they’re highly likely to use Airbnb again in the future. This helps travelers and hosts alike. We’ve seen for many years that—all other things being equal—travelers prefer to use Instant Book because they can book quickly, skip the wait time for hosts to respond, and avoid possibly being rejected. Because of the high booking success for hosts and guests, Instant Book gives your listing a boost in searches.

That said, many of you have amazing listings and use a Request to Book approach to hosting. It’s important that you know Instant Book is only one of more than a hundred factors in your listing search ranking. You can absolutely rank really well in searches without being an Instant Book host.

The main goal of the search algorithm is to facilitate bookings. And if a guest has an excellent experience booking and traveling on Airbnb they’re highly likely to use Airbnb again in the future. This helps travelers and hosts alike. We’ve seen for many years that—all other things being equal—travelers prefer to use Instant Book because they can book quickly, skip the wait time for hosts to respond, and avoid possibly being rejected. Because of the high booking success for hosts and guests, Instant Book gives your listing a boost in searches. That said, many of you have amazing listings and use a Request to Book approach to hosting. It’s important that you know Instant Book is only one of more than a hundred factors in your listing search ranking. You can absolutely rank really well in searches without being an Instant Book host.

If I’m a Superhost, will my listing get a boost in search results?

Although we don't give an explicit boost to Superhosts in search, the factors required to become a Superhost do help your listing rank higher. Moreover, we give guests the option to filter their search results to only display Superhosts and occasionally showcase Superhosts on the results page.

How can I improve my listing ranking in search results? Are there any settings I can adopt to help my ranking?

The best way to immediately improve performance in Search is to enable Instant Book. Our research shows that guests prefer the booking experience that Instant Book provides. Even when they don’t filter for Instant Book listings, they often choose them over others because booking a place to stay quickly means they can get on with planning the rest of their trip. Other ways to quickly boost your ranking:

Make a fabulous first impression. Make sure that your first photo is a bright, attractive, high quality, horizontal image of your listing. The more clicks you get from curious travelers, the higher you’ll rank in search results over time. An enticing and realistic photo is the very best way to show off your space in an instant.
Price your listing competitively. Travelers are frequently looking for a great value for their trip, and by using tools like Smart Pricing, or setting your own competitive price, you can get the benefit of well informed pricing recommendations.

The best way to immediately improve performance in Search is to enable Instant Book. Our research shows that guests prefer the booking experience that Instant Book provides. Even when they don’t filter for Instant Book listings, they often choose them over others because booking a place to stay quickly means they can get on with planning the rest of their trip. Other ways to quickly boost your ranking: Make a fabulous first impression. Make sure that your first photo is a bright, attractive, high quality, horizontal image of your listing. The more clicks you get from curious travelers, the higher you’ll rank in search results over time. An enticing and realistic photo is the very best way to show off your space in an instant. Price your listing competitively. Travelers are frequently looking for a great value for their trip, and by using tools like Smart Pricing, or setting your own competitive price, you can get the benefit of well informed pricing recommendations.

Is it true that if guests add my listing to their wishlists, my listing will get a little boost in the search results?

Yes! When travelers add your listing to their wishlist, it does indeed help your search ranking! One individual wishlist may not make a visible difference but over several months, if many guests love your listing and choose to wishlist it, it will rank higher. We also use listings that guests wishlist to better personalize their search experience, so they’ll be likely to see your listing again in future searches.

Is it true that editing and tweaking my listing every day will help boost my listing in Search?

Repeatedly changing or tweaking your listing will neither help nor hurt your Search Ranking. If you’re happy with your photos, price, and description, feel free to leave it as is and wait for booking requests to arrive!

Can I pay to advertise my listing so it appears on more search results?

Airbnb does not offer pay-for-placement in Search. This allows us to generate impartial search results for the best matches between hosts and guests. But you can advertise, if you like. We’ve made it easy for you to find, copy, and paste the information needed to embed your listing on social media and your personal blog or website: On your listing page, you’ll see “Share” on the right hand side of the screen. Underneath that, you’ll see the embed icon. It looks like this: </>. If you click that icon, you’ll see the information you need to easily copy and paste your listings code on your personal blog or website.

Why am I on the last page on search? This way no one will ever book my listing?

It’s important to know that some searches, for example city-level with no dates, are not highly representative of how a traveler looking to book uses the website. Some of those searches can capture many tens of thousands of listings. Travelers that book tend to use specific dates, zoom in on the map, or look for certain amenities using filters. So there will be far fewer listings in the search results than with a general search with no preferences or filters.

If I have to decline a booking because a guest doesn’t meet my House Rules, does this impact my search ranking?

Because being rejected for a booking is one of the worst experiences for our guests, we do factor this into Search Ranking. However, we understand that sometimes you legitimately need to decline a traveler, and we take that into account. We’re most interested in how you compare to other hosts, rather than just counting your rejections.

A single rejection will not significantly hurt your ranking, but over time, rejecting more guests than other hosts in your market will lower your ranking. We find that a large majority of our hosts are able to accept most booking requests, and our best Request-to-Book hosts accept almost all of them. You can help travelers know if they should try to book your space by writing clear, detailed House Rules and keeping your calendar up to date. Make sure your settings and amenities lists also set accurate expectations.

Because being rejected for a booking is one of the worst experiences for our guests, we do factor this into Search Ranking. However, we understand that sometimes you legitimately need to decline a traveler, and we take that into account. We’re most interested in how you compare to other hosts, rather than just counting your rejections. A single rejection will not significantly hurt your ranking, but over time, rejecting more guests than other hosts in your market will lower your ranking. We find that a large majority of our hosts are able to accept most booking requests, and our best Request-to-Book hosts accept almost all of them. You can help travelers know if they should try to book your space by writing clear, detailed House Rules and keeping your calendar up to date. Make sure your settings and amenities lists also set accurate expectations.

2. On finding your listing online

I just created my listing and it appears as published on my profile, but when I search for it I can't find it. If other people search for it, they can't find it either. Why is that?

There is usually a delay of around 6 hours between the time you publish a listing and when it shows up in search results. This gives you time to make final changes to your listing settings before receiving your first booking request. It also gives Airbnb time to ensure every new listing is suitable for the marketplace. If you don’t see your listing within 24 hours, you can contact customer support to find out why.

I haven't received a new booking in awhile, so I searched for my listing and asked a friend to search for it too. Neither of us could find it, and it’s not showing up even when I add specific details and filters. What can I do?

If your listing is in a popular market with numerous listings, it may be necessary to apply several filters to show your listing. Don’t worry, this is how travelers search and they’ll be able to find your listing too! We recommend using dates on your search, and checking that they match your calendar availability and minimum nights settings.

A common reason Instant Book hosts (or their friends) may not see their listing is that they’ve chosen to require a guest have positive reviews in order to make a book their space. If you’ve chosen this requirement, it means your listing will show up as a Request to Book, not an Instant Book, listing for logged out users or new guests if the Instant Book filter is applied. This is because a logged out or new traveler will not be eligible to instantly book your place.

If your listing is in a popular market with numerous listings, it may be necessary to apply several filters to show your listing. Don’t worry, this is how travelers search and they’ll be able to find your listing too! We recommend using dates on your search, and checking that they match your calendar availability and minimum nights settings. A common reason Instant Book hosts (or their friends) may not see their listing is that they’ve chosen to require a guest have positive reviews in order to make a book their space. If you’ve chosen this requirement, it means your listing will show up as a Request to Book, not an Instant Book, listing for logged out users or new guests if the Instant Book filter is applied. This is because a logged out or new traveler will not be eligible to instantly book your place.

I can’t find my listing. Does it make a difference if I’m logged in or logged out?

Most listings on Airbnb should show up in searches regardless of whether you’re logged in or not, although the ranking may appear different. This is because Airbnb search is personalized, and when a traveler logs in we have more information to better match them with listings. One exception to this is for hosts who allow Instant Book but have chosen to require that guests have positive reviews. In this case, if the Instant Book filter is applied, your listing would not show up to travelers who are logged out. This is because we can’t tell if a logged out visitor to the site has reviews.

I can see the listing appearing on the map in the Airbnb app, but when I go to view the same listing (with the same filters) in the desktop version, it isn't appearing. Why is this?

Airbnb Search is personalized to help travelers find the best listings for their trip. Part of that involves looking at the device and location they’re searching from. This means that you may experience a different ranking of listings on different devices.

I have Instant Book activated, but my listing doesn't come up in the results. Isn't Instant Book supposed to boost my listing on search results?

Instant Book does give you a boost, but it sounds like there may be another reason you’re not seeing your listing in the results. Make sure that your search criteria match the settings and requirements you’ve established. Anything from minimum nights requirement to date range, number of guests or not having reviews can hinder you from seeing your listing in a search. And of course, if you require guests have previous ratings, then it may be that you haven’t traveled on Airbnb yourself or that you’re not logged in as a guest.

I can’t find my listing when I search for its title. Why doesn’t Airbnb have keyword search? Will it be implemented in the future?

Keyword search, and especially free-text search, is extremely technically challenging, but an exciting product to build! Rest assured that we have an excellent team that is always investigating how to improve the search experience, and we hope that changes like these will make it into the product in coming years.

The most important thing is this: you’re a unique host who offers a one-of-a-kind experience, because you’re you and your space isn’t like any other. We hope these tips and answers help you understand the sometimes complicated nature of matching unique travelers with hosts. Focus on what you do best, play up your strengths, and don’t worry about showing up first in search.

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Janis22 · ‎22-10-2017

I took Instant Book off of my listing because of a few bad experiences with it, including two guests booking at the same time (I also use VRBO.)

Sheila146 · ‎22-10-2017

Sorry, what is VRBO please?

Jan272 · ‎22-10-2017

Vacation Rental By Owner. It's an older platform for listings, owned by HomeAway, which sold out to Expedia, I believe.

Lary1 · ‎22-10-2017

I have two different properties. I have one on Instant Book and the other isn't. There are lots of other variables involved in the properties such as one is a three bedroom home on the water and one is cottage on the water. The cottage is on Instant Book but the house still gets more inquiries and booking. I have noticed with instant book that guest still ask questions and when you reply they cancel the booking because it doesn't meet their needs. One of the concerns I have about putting the house on Instant book is it's a great house for parities and I don't allow parties. Even though it's clearly outline in house rules, please still ask. With that said, after reading this info, I am going to experiment with Instant Book on the house and see what happens. I will try a couple of bookings and get back here with my results.

Jan272 · ‎22-10-2017

I stopped using VRBO to list my rentals because of their asinine algorithms and bots that would threaten I would lose my listing privileges because of my "low conversion rate" (lots of people would look, few would inquire, and almost none would book). I was doing much better on Airbnb, so I eliminated all other platforms and went all in. I am a Superhost - have been for quite awhile. I use Instant Book and have had no issues - I actually prefer it. But if I get fewer bookings because of these changes, I will be VERY upset. Furthermore, if I get fewer bookings because I set my own prices and don't agree to the significantly lower "suggested" prices, I will be LIVID. I hope that is not the case.

Perfect-Stay0 · ‎22-10-2017

Hello, i want to ask if i refuze a reservation and i have instant booking installed ,will it inflence my ranking and the way airbnb promots my listing? i reviced a reservation at a price under the market for a very demanded period so i would like to change the price.Thanks for the answer.I want to add that i havent canceled a reservation before.

Tamar16 · ‎22-10-2017

We do allow pets, but would like to add an additional cleaning fee, because of additional fur, dirt, and laundering of the pet beds.

I don’t see a place to address this, only a place to add a fee for additional people.

please advise!

George255 · ‎22-10-2017

We started out with instant booking and had conflicts between inquiries and bookings. We also find guests don’t always read house rules before booking. We resolved these issues by dropping instant book. Now guests can communicate with us during the booking process, enabling both host and guest to best meet/exceed expectations.

Jim95 · ‎22-10-2017

Add my name to this list of hosts who do not like “instant bookings”, and the not so subtle pressure (and onus) that AirBnB puts On all of us. As others have stated, this is our home and not a hotel. I need to have some communication with potential renters before I can accept a booking, to see if it is an appropriate fit, and to ensure they are aware of the house rules (and accept them). As I understood it, the “instant booking” thing was initiated to counter criticism that hosts were denying people due to race or other issues. But i do believe that the vast majority of hosts do not Refuse bookings for any such reasons. But we who only wish to have some control over who stays in our homes, are punished for this just the same.

Jana90 · ‎22-10-2017

Thanks for all the good info Lizzie!

-j

Peggy81 · ‎22-10-2017

I also agree with the hosts who have had negative experience with Instant Book. Shady characters and drugs aren’t worth it!!!

Kathy229 · ‎22-10-2017

I have been an Airbnb host for just over 2 years close to a college town. I have thoroughly enjoyed the experience meeting people visiting from all over the world and have conscientiously maintained a superhost status. I feel like I am an ambassador for our area...not what you get with an average hotel experience. We are always present when guests arrive to welcome them, introduce them to the space, answer questions, etc.

I require that all of my guests be verified because the space is located within our home where we live and sleep. I want to develop a connection with our guests before arrival such as who their guest is, the purpose of their stay, etc. to be sure the fit is right, and that I get a 'sense' of who they are. I have been suspect of Airbnb's verification process because I have literally had requests come through where their headshot was nothing more than a tattooed bicep or the back of their head kissing their girlfriend. This is my way of becoming invested in the vetting process. I am not interested in taking the risk on instant booking for these reasons.

I believe the original Airbnb business model was more representative of a 'community' of hosts and guests. I think that Instant booking dilutes that idea...but that's business!

Marouano0 · ‎22-10-2017

Yes good and give encourage to get better in Airbnb.

Kristy26 · ‎22-10-2017

I also agree it's not right to give priority for Insta-booking. Our airbnb is our primary home (which could become legislation in our city). Because if of this, it has more amenities and high-end décor for our guests, it also means we need to be more selective who our guests are. We live in a popular part of town for nightlife and when we have not been careful who we accept, we have had parties on our loft resulting in our custom marble island being damaged. I can’t risk more of my furniture getting destroyed. That island cost me more than months of what I made from Airbnb.

Kathie10 · ‎22-10-2017

I reluctantly gave in to Instant Booking, and my experience has not been bad at all. I only allow guests with positive ratings from prior hosts. Also, my listing is more on the high end, so cost eliminates less desirable guests (read college students on spring break).

My complaint about the search system is that my home (2BR-2BA) is frequently compared to homes that are not comparable in any sense (for example, 1 BR's). This creates a false comparison whereby my home looks more expensive, when in fact it is larger and accommodates more people.