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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Hilda31 · ‎23-11-2017

Agree on the questions about instant book. Instant book sounds more convenient to travelers and hence bnb stresses the importance. However, there’s many reasons that instant book is not the priority option for the host .

Anne668 · ‎02-12-2017

I too could not possibly use Instant Book.

We are letting out our home; it is a highly individual, listed house; and we live here! On the very rare occasions when a guest has sent through a Reservation Request without emailing to ask me questions (and without reading the listing properly) I have accepted straight away it has been a disappointing experience for the guests (because they haven't taken on board what they're getting) and therefore extremely stressful for us, and has resulted in the very, very few mediocre reviews on our listing. Whereas when the guests and I engage in (often quite long) message conversations first (extremely time-consuming and therefore costly for me, by the way!) the experience is almost invariably a wonderful success and we all have a great weekend together.

In addition, because we also let out individual rooms in the same house – and because Airbnb doesn't have a facility for cross-referencing the calendar so that guests can't double book the same space – I have to monitor everything manually and check there isn't a clash.

We are Superhosts, we go to endless trouble for our guests, nothing (reasonable) is too much for us to do for them... but Instant Book would be an utter disaster.

I hope Airbnb isn't going the way of eBay and becoming more and more a resource for professionals rather than keeping the original vision.

Kay1 · ‎02-12-2017

Last summer, my bookings fell to almost nothing. Then I read on here about the new InstaBook feature being favored over SuperHost. I too have guest in my home and prefer to chat with them first. Well, after turning on InstaBook, my 'hits' went up 91%. Yes 91% of potential guests were not seeing my listing because I wasn't doing InstaBook. Last month, I was back to 50+ vacancy as usual. Very, very frustrating. I'm hoping to get out of this business shortly. Selling my home and moving on! lol.

Yasmin2 · ‎02-12-2017

We use instant book as home hosts and with our experience guests can still enquire first before booking and it's up to me to accept or not. I get a feel for the potential guest, look at their profile and reviews and if they are new to Airbnb with no reviews I check in with them if they have read our house rules as they needed to tick the box that they were read.

Everything is written clearly about our home and the service we offer, we don't try to sell ourselves, simply offer what is true and this way we get the right match otherwise creating high expectations, there will be the disappointment.

Of course, there are those who don't read the information and have some ideal picture in the mind of what they expect, the human condition has wants and needs and we are not here to fulfil the impossible! If a guest feels uncomfortable, they don't need to stay and I let them go to find some other more suitable accommodation. For us dollars are not the priority, it's about people. And the income that comes is a bonus.

Having an open heart and a great love for humanity the type of guest that are booking with us are looking for a more true connection that's why they choose the home hosting experience which was the original concept of Airbnb.

As a superhost, instant book is a workable option for us. Having said that there is always more to learn about hosting. Airbnb offers all the information to support us to become better hosts and as we go we learn more each day from each others hosting experiences

I can also appreciate those that are not comfortable with Instant book as that needs to be honoured too... Yasmin

Edwin57 · ‎02-12-2017

I have instant booking and it works well for me,and for those who had bad experiences I belive it has to do with the why you handle things, you know know what I mean

Virginia144 · ‎22-12-2017

How may I require a guest have positive reviews in order to make a book in my space?

Huma0 · ‎16-01-2018

@Lizziethank you for posting this information. It's helped to clarify a few things for me. For example, it was my belief that having Superhost status was supposed to boost your ranking in the search results. In fact, I'm almost sure I read this initially in the list of benefits of becoming a Superhost, but that was a while ago. Perhaps it has changed.

I also have read on these forums numerous times that keeping your listing updated, i.e. tweaking it as often as possible, will help it to rank higher. It seems this is a myth and it's been a waste of time constantly tweaking the listings for this purpose!

One of the things I don't think was covered (sorry if I missed it) was how new listings are given a boost. I understood when I signed up that this would be for the first month. However, on another thread, a host suggested that there would be some sort of boost for several months or a year. I wonder if this is the case or not?

I have noticed that after being almost fully booked in the first year, my enquiries and requests dropped DRAMATICALLLY, and many other hosts have mentioned the same thing on these forums. Perhaps it's due to increased competition in the market, but it's kind of weird that this starting happening almost exactly a year after the listings first went live. It would be great if you could get the team to shed some light on this.

It seems that most of the discussion here is focused on Instant Booking and, while I see the attraction of it for many guests and some hosts, Iike many others, I have too many reasons not to use it. It doesn't matter how much information you give on the listing, the majority of guests do not read it nor the house rules, even if they are ticking a box saying they have agreed to them. If you don't clarify a few things before booking, it leads to all sorts of unpleasant issues.

I'm not arguing that Airbnb should get rid of Instant Booking altogether, but rating listings higher for that regardless of any other criteria, e.g. quality of reviews, is wrong. What annoys me far more though is the fact that the filter is automatically on. I am sure the majority of guests won't even realise this and turn it off, so that means those of us who don't use Instant Book are close to invisible. That is completely unfair and needs to be changed. Using Instant Book as a filter should not be default, it should be an option you switch ON rather than OFF, just like selecting only properties with Superhosts.

I'm sure this has all been said many times before, but I don't think that addressing that last point is too much to ask. For a host who really puts my all into hosting and has the reviews/Superhost status to prove it, plus a rather lovely home at a very competitive price, it's so frustrating not to be getting the bookings just because Instant Booking does not work for me. If things continue like this, my rooms will definitely have to come off Airbnb. It's just not viable anymore.

I know you are just the messenger, so I'm not trying to shoot you!! I am sure you passing on this information to the relevant people, but I fear that it will be no use. I don't think it will be long before hosts will have to use Instant Booking if they want to use Airbnb at all, and that's sad.

Sarah977 · ‎08-02-2018

@Lizzie So reading through the list of questions and answers a couple things jumped out at me.

"What factors affect my listing's placement in search results"- some of the things listed as "influential signals that make a difference" are : How often guests click on your listing, how often guests attempt to contact you from listings page, and how many booking requests you accept.

This is such a non- answer and is absurd, because if one's listing is buried and often doesn't show up in search results, how in the world could these things happen? If my listing is low ranked or doesn't even show up on certain devices, how could a potential guest even try to book so that my listing would move up the ranking?

"Listing appears on Airbnb app but not in desktop version with same filters". Answer is that there is a different ranking of listings depending on what device and location the guest is searching from. SAY WHAT? Why on earth should the device one is searching from affect what the guest sees as listings? This makes no sense whatsoever. Whoever came up with this one should be fired.

Brisas-Kukulcan0 · ‎27-02-2018

Hi, we are coming to the end of the livestream Q&A and my one question as a Superhost did not get answered. Supposedly one of the new features of the Superhost program is a dedicated search filter for Superhosts (which has existed on desktop already for quite some time). Why does Mobile not have a dedicated Superhost filter? Thank you!

Karen466 · ‎02-04-2018

I'll add my voice to the throngs who agree that Instant Book should not be favored in search results - and hosts should not be pressured to turn it on. You say it is only 1 of 100 factors, but you also say it's the #1 way to improve your ranking. Which is it?

My space is a room in my own house. Guests have to walk right through my living room to get to their space. I say clearly that the kitchen is not part of the deal, but I often get requests for people expecting to use the kitchen, for extended stays (like a boarding house). If they had booked instantly, I would have to contend with strangers in my kitchen, or I would have to decline them anyway. It's better if I have an opportunity to explain to them why my situation is not what they are looking for.

AirBNB started as a couch surfing site - surely you can't expect hosts to allow just anyone to crash on their couch without even a conversation first.

Instant Book and Self-check-in are great for stand-alone spaces or spaces with separate entrances, but you're then encouraging people to take spaces off the long-term rental market. Rooms in people's homes require a more intimate level of trust and familiarity.

I understand a need to prevent discrimination, but this is not a good way. I think you should have badges people can choose to "fly" on their sites, like a rainbow badge, or an "all are welcome" badge, so guests can feel assured, and they can provide feedback about the veracity in their reviews.

EDIT: also agree whole-heartedly that Instant Book should not be a default filter. I was just browsing as a guest and didn't realize at first that it was selected! None of the others are automatically "On." Neither should Instant Book.

William284 · ‎02-04-2018

Here! Here! Well said. I have a "diligent consumer" discount mentioned at the end of my house rules. I tell readers that if they have read my listing and rules, then they will know to ask for the "diligent consumer" discount, and I'll give them $15 off their first night. Fewer than half of my guests ask for the discount. What does that tell you? People simply do not read the listings or the house rules. I wouldn't use Instant Booking on a dare. And the presumption that people who don't use Instant Booking might be more likely to discriminate! That is insulting, irrational, and preposterous. If there is an iota of real evidence that any host has discriminated, then Airbnb (and the legal authorities) ought to throw the book at them. But I'm of the opinion that the kind of people who are members of the Airbnb community are not the kind of people who would tend to be close-minded bigots. It just doesn't fit. The more they push Instant Booking down our throats -- the more attractive they make their competitors such as booking.com and others. If this isn't a host-guest relationship -- that is, if this is merely a quick (instant) booking service -- then Airbnb has lost its way.

Rosie---Torry0 · ‎16-10-2018

We are Superhosts with a “plus” property in the hills of Los Angeles. We rarely deny a booking request but seem to be getting a rash of Bad requests lately. Our last three booking requests have been either “sketchy” locals looking for a party house (we do not cater to locals) or bogus accounts (no photo, no ratings, etc...)just trying to get our address (opening is up to being robbed-which has happened by the way) once we accept the reservation as they get our address.

Airbnb agents have tried to get me to accept these requests stating that three Denied booking requests in a row will drop our search rankings. We’ve had another rental in Oregon but the clientele were completely different and we didn’t have to worry about such things.

I feel that this rule needs to be revised, especially for Airbnb’s in larger cities. It creates a whole different set of challenges that others may not have to deal with and we shouldn’t be penalized for not accepting reservations that we are not comfortable with. Just my two cents....

Yasmin2 · ‎31-05-2019

Hi Rosie

We have also experienced bogas accounts and odd requests including advertisers and have had to decline 3 times in a row ...on occasions .I do call Airbnb to report this incase I get penalised for rejections

I to feel uneasy about this rule however its good to know Airbnb are on our side and as I do inform them about whats going on and they are supportive.

Philip-and-Cheryl0 · ‎31-05-2019

I am new to Air B&B. When I log in as a traveler My house does not appear anywhere!! I applied several filters to match my house to no avaiol. It does not even show up on the map. WHat is wrong!!! How do you contact someone at Air B&B???

Simone288 · ‎31-05-2019

Maybe you can't see your property because you did something wrong from the Airbnb 's point of view. Did you recently refuse a booking? Your latest guests made not too good comments about your property? Or maybe Airbnb does consider you are new and you have to stay in line .

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