Listing visibility drops from 780 to 170 views/mo over the summer months…

[Don-And-Emily0]

Hi Everybody,

Have any of you experienced a steep drop in views over the summer months? I know websites are driven by various algorithms which are influenced by the changes we make to our listings but we did not change much in the last few months and the viewership decreased more than 300%!

I could see this happening if a host increased the price for example, but we keep lowering ours hoping we will get more exposure, but the opposite is happening.

any suggestions?

thank you

[Helen3]

Likely it's because of an increase in supplying in your area. Nothing to do with your actions.

you asked for suggestions - don't rely on Airbnb - use other STR companies and set up your own website/FB page fir your listing . 

[Jillian115]

@Don-And-Emily0   I searched your area, and it seems you don't appear if there are no dates. You do appear on a search in September but not on a search in October.

The same has happened to me. If you search my town without dates, I don't appear at all. The only way to get to it is to expand the map, and it's nearly impossible if you are on mobile.
If I search with dates, my listing will appear if the dates are close enough and other listings in the local area are booked. On Airbnb, if someone searches Jamestown, it's mostly Sonora listings that show up. I believe this is happening with your listing some of Catskill and a lot of Hudson Valley appear.

For me, the cut-off is about two blocks from my house. I still get bookings, but they tend to be last-minute. Before, I was fully booked three months out. This changed for me on the last major rollout, when they updated the search about four months ago. My views dropped by the 100's. I have sent requests to Airbnb, but I have never received a response.

My listing is a bit different—my bookings are for two people and not six. So last minute seems to work for the most part.

[Don-And-Emily0]

@Jillian115 Thank you so much for testing the search option. I really appreciate it. We don’t appear in the first week of Oct because we put a hold on the weekend for a return client. 

It may be true what @Helen3 mentioned about the increase in inventory. Our area is adding a lot of homes as airbnb inventory so it will be to our disadvantage, although most of them are very different than ours.

I will call Airbnb to see what we can do about the visibility decline. It is just too drastic.

kind regards,

[Jillian115]

@Don-And-Emily0 Sure. I tested only dates you had open I think I searched October 13-16.