Ranking and Views dropping due to poor inquiries and declines

[Corey183]

Hi Community - Ranting and raging a bit so bear with us.

We had instant-book on since the start of our listing and recently getting really poor inquiries. We're talking about people who openly wanted to use our place for parties, fake profiles (confirmed) and worse. After 3 of these in a row, which we declined, we received an automated note from AirBnB that we'd be suspended due to a low acceptance rate.  So we called them, explained them all, send them all the proof and it was "investigated" 

They told us in order for it not to hurt us (which by this point we lost half our views after these 3 declines), they said to call them if this happens again and it won't hurt us since they'll remove the inquiry for us. Our traffic has been extremely low since then, and barely getting any views. FINALLY, we get an inquiry and even though we state our place is for 2 adults only, this couple wanted to bring their family.

We unfortunately cannot accommodate, as it's a small , 1bed separated guest room, with no room for a cot or anything like that. They understood and said they removed their request, but it didn't happen. So I contacted AirBnB as they required, explained it to them, and they removed the inquiry. THAT DAY our traffic fell to half of even what it was then and hasn't increased since!  

To put into perspective, we were getting, on average, 80-100+ views/day on a weekday (88% 1st page), and now we're getting 10-15 views on a weekend (21% 1st page)! We have not idea what we can do and AirBnB support is less than helpful. They offer nothing and tell us to just "work on improving our listing"

We just started in June, and have a 4.97 rating. Local/similar listings are getting fully booked at similar prices, with fewer amenities and this is 100% correlated to traffic. 

We're open for any advice on what we can do, as this is so heartbreaking. We've worked so hard getting our property created and listed only for an algorithm to ruin us for things out of our control --- fake profiles, partiers, etc wanting to book our place and we're forced to decline the inquiries. 

[Sarah977]

@Corey183  Yes, I understand what you are upset about that is affecting your business. But you are having to decline because they won't withdraw the booking requests, so was just trying to offer a suggestion as to how to push the requesters to do that.

[Corey183]

@Sarah977 Understood. The challenge we have is that we have nearly 0 traffic now...for the last 3 weeks.No inquiries, bookings, nothing. We're trying to see if there's anything we can do to get some juice back. 

[Patricia55]

Hi @Corey183   I just did a search for St Augustine, FL - Entire place - 2 guests - 11-13 Oct.  This resulted in 300+ stays. Your listing showed up at the top of the 2nd page...

[Corey183]

Thank you for taking the time to search,  bu we're focused on 1st page, views and direct correlation to booking.  We were at 88% 1st page,  and now 18% since this occurred 3 weeks ago.  1st page converts 4-5x, and 1st several listings 10-12x over subsequent pages.  Much like a Google search. With the increase of poor booking requests and needing to decline them,  airbnb has effectively pushed us out and we've had 0 bookings in 3 weeks now. We're looking for any insights to improve this algorithm issue. We've already updated the listing and photos to force a rescan, but nothing...

[Sarah977]

@Corey183  Don't you think everyone wants to be on the first page? That's obviously impossible. Perhaps there are several new listings in your area that are being given the new hosts boost?

[Corey183]

@Sarah977  I'm looking for assistance here, please. We were performing very very well, and maintained it very very well. This is directly attributed to what occurred with the declines and looking for any assistance. The day this happened, as all 3 were the same day, is the exact day we completely dropped and had nothing since. 

[Michelle53]

@Corey183 If anyone had the magic beans, we'd all be using them. At some point, it's necessary to take bookings. If you have instant book turned on, I'm not sure I understand why that isn't bringing in something firm, but everything you are getting is via a request to book. 

[Corey183]

@Michelle53 We got knocked down. Hard. No fault of our own...so thought I'd reach out to the community. Instant booking doesn't allow people who don't have verified profiles and positive review history (i.e. new profile, or no ID loaded, or 0 reviews) - in which case they have to request. 4 weeks ago, we got 3 of these in less than 24 hours and tried to resolve it with the guests (2 were fake profiles, and one was a party request). They didn't withdraw, so we had to decline them. Airbnb was aware and said it wouldn't impact us, but we got a notice that we'd be suspended for declining too many. They then said to contact them to help. We did and they said there was nothing they can do.  So we're stuck. Since then, we've had 1 inquiry which had to be declined due to them trying to bring a family, when it's only space for 1-2 people. It's been 3 weeks since then, and our numbers haven fallen off the chart. Barely any traffic, no views, no inquiries, nothing. AirBnB is again aware and said it's their algorithm due to declines. These aren't our fault, especially when they have fake profiles trying to book our place (i.e. Speaks Spanish only, lives in texas bio, address in Paris, and writes us that they live 25minutes away in FL). 

[Michelle53]

@Corey183  Then you have to change something. Listing description, pricing, target audience, photos. Whatever it is that's resulting in less-than-optimal requests right now. You have to evaluate what your competition is doing and see why they are getting good results and you aren't.

Obviously, your placement was actually getting you requests. Just ones you didn't like. 

I don't think there's any magic formula. It's a grind back from where you are.  You're dealing with a search algorithm. It doesn't recognize whether something is your fault or not.   You can't buy clicks like Google. You have to take bookings, one way or another. 

Of course, nobody wants to take bookings with red flags all over them.  But you got into a downward spiral - you have to shake yourself out of it.  Dwelling on how you got there isn't going to help you get yourself out. 

Step back and take a long look at your listing and try and see where you can be more competitive with your target market.

[Corey183]

@Michelle53  Thank you. We've done all of the above, and guess just need to wait and see. Like we've mentioned, the challenge is that we have 0 now. Our traffic for the entire weekend was just under 20, when we were getting 80-100+ on a regular weekday. We're not concerned about how we got here, but seem to need to share it with others to explain or at least steer the conversation towards improvements for traffic versus what to do when we get a booking request. We know what got us here, and just trying to pick ourselves up - hence the outreach to the community. We know it'll be a grind now, and know that there's no silver bullet. I've been in Marketing for 20+ years. If others have had this happen to them, we'd like to learn from it, and get any insights or tips from their experience that could help. Thanks again. 

[Sarah977]

@Corey183  "Since then, we've had 1 inquiry which had to be declined due to them trying to bring a family, "

Maybe you just accidentally used the term "inquiry" instead of "request", but in case you aren't aware, inquiries do not require that you either pre-approve or decline. Just answering the guest's message within 24 hours is all that is required. 

[Corey183]

yes, @Sarah977 a request to book.

[Sarah977]

@Corey183  I don't understand what sort of assistance you are  expecting. Your ranking dropped, as far as you can tell, because of the number of declines you've had to make. So reducing the number of inappropriate requests, so you don't have to decline, would seem to be the best way to achieve that.

Of course all hosts agree that we shouldn't be penalized for declining inappropriate requests. But no one here can do anything about Airbnb's unfair policies.

[Corey183]

@Sarah977 I was wondering if people had suggestions for improving ranking and views. That was all. I was merely explaining the situation that got us here. 

[Brian2036]

@Corey183 

I don’t know what is included in the algorithm, and there are search filters at work also.

What if you double your price, wait a day, then reduce it to what it was before?

Would that make the computer think you’re offering a huge discount?