Low/no bookings 2023

[Donna1344]

Hello fellow AirBnb owners,

I am completely gobsmacked. I have been a SUPERHOST for as long as i can remember. I have always had bookings, even though the pandemic. Did really well through the holidays 2022. January hit and nothing. It is March and still nothing, this is so not the case for me!  Is anyone else experiencing this. I am completely thrown off here. Any information, thoughts, ideas y’all can offer would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you, A very concerned AirBnb Owner. 

[Helen744]

Donna1344 I am not exactly sure what is happening but it is happening to a lot of people but not in some parts of the world.People during the pandemic times could not travel internationally and were eager to stay locally for respite as it were from lockdown.Now they are back to a certain extent at well known tourist hot spots to which they generally have to travel further. By the same token tourism in some countries is reliant on international tourists , who may or may not be able to travel to your country and even once in your country are finding disruptions to local transport still exists. There is also international monetary woes keeping a lot of people home.Airbnb makes little comment on how hosts are coping in different countries and although offering assistance internationally for those in crisis have used the 'gig ' economy to make a great deal of money. Individual hosts suffer , not because the product is not good but because of arbitrary  increases in the 'favoured host'. The mapping system that did present you to guests involves too much work on the guests behalf . The algorithymn is broken in my opinion.Smaller hosts are losing out to the rise of the megopolis host .Airbnb needs to be matched by a start up gig hosting platform so that a better balance is achieved.    .... H

[Pat271 · Accepted solution]

@Donna1344  So sorry this is happening to you. You have a beautiful property.

As we have seen repeated over and over again by various hosts on this forum, you got caught in a bad timing situation.

I notice your first reviews happened right as we were coming out of the lockdowns, so I assume that’s when you first opened.

At that point, people were reluctant to travel very far, and beautiful, peaceful properties with wide-open spaces free from Covid were in high (almost desperate) demand. Would-be hosts, recognizing the demand, jumped in by the thousands with gusto, saturating many destinations with too many listings.

Then, as @Helen744 described, requirements and quarantines slowly lifted, and people began to turn their attentions back to more traditional, far-flung vacation destinations, like Europe, Hawaii, etc. Traditionally, rural locations are seasonal, and we are in the dead of winter.

You entered the scene at the right place, right time, but that quickly turned as the demand for the solitude of a beautiful rural location began to wane. Guests already got their fill of those vacations in 2020 and 2021.

Again as @Helen744 said, the above are not the only reasons. In addition, Airbnb has revamped their platform to attract and steer a different type of customer to a different type of property, as well as widen search results to include areas not requested in the original search, while at the same time removing properties that used to show up prominently in the original search.

I’m sure you can see how all of the above can result in many thousands of properties falling off a cliff as far as interest and bookings.

I think, though, that the upside for you is that we are coming into the spring and summer seasons, a period of time in which properties like yours typically get more traction. Perhaps you’ll get some bookings if you just hold on a month or two longer. 

Your best bet going forward is to treat your property as a seasonal listing, and squirrel away your profits to survive the more quiet winters. This is what has been the tradition in rural areas, seaside locations, national parks, etc. for decades; some very popular resort areas close down completely from November through April.

I haven’t had a chance to look at the area surrounding your property, and indeed other rural areas in Georgia, but you might try to see how properties in those areas are doing in comparison to yours. My guess is you will find that they are in the same situation.

[Fred13]

Good points made below. The pend-up demand to travel further was curtailed by the difficulty of meeting requirements of vaccination, etc and then they all have been dropped and now tourism in far-away places exploding last year and appears to be booming this year. Belize has been exceptionally busy, every place, every tour packed, just like we saw first hand in Europe when we spend a month there in October.

[Trude0]

Very good points already made by @Fred13, @Pat271 and @Helen744.

I’d just like to add that if you haven’t already done this, it might be good to do some test searches. To check that your listing comes up when it should, and with correct pricing. Test with different lengths of stay, weekends and weekdays, different check in days of the week, different number of people. Check all the amenities your listing has, when searching. 

I mention this, as I once experienced that I had some seasonal setting that I had entered a long time ago, and forgotten about. Min 5 days’ stay in the summer, or check in only on Fridays, or something like that. 

[Naz457]

I was wondering what happened to my booking as well. First, I thought I probably done something wrong with the "Price Setting" or something else and I stuffed it up for myself. I don't know about you guys but I find the website and the app the most nonuser friendly ones.

Anyhow, now I know it wasn't my lack of technical knowledge, as so many people stating the same thing, "NO BOOKING". I have started last year, and I was always fully booked 3 months in advance. Now, I don't get any booking?! Nothing from this month on ward- only one of my places got a booking for 2 months due to massive discount.

I was even considering taking my bookings to some other platforms?! But I guess, as long as interest rate is rising the budget gets tighter for everyone.

I hope things get better for everyone. 

[Bill1256]

We have also bee Superthosts for many years.  We have been with Airbnb and VRBO for seven years now.  Our nights rented has been going up steadily with the past two years being our best.  This year seems to have fallen off drastically.  Airbnb says rentals are up 82% in our area but our bookings are down. We raised our rates based on what we have done in past years but the increase  has not been out of hand by any means and seems to be in line with other properties in our area.  I have read that the number of overnight rentals has increased significantly and people are offering everything under the sun as a rental.  Our inquiries are down. Our instant bookings are down and our nights rented is down.  This is the time of year that we are typically booked through the summer.  We have a lake side cabin with a private dock.  Perfect for families or fishermen.

I just don’t know what to think.

Bill and Sonja

[Doreen68]

We are in the same boat too.   We get 85% of our bookings from air  but this year the bookings are way, way down.  Think I may have to go back to booking.com

We were always getting enquiries, now there are very few.  We have good reviews and am a super host - still little or nothing.

Doreen

[Tracy987]

I live in Canada, and my airbnb is down to 1/2 the bookings it's had in previous years. 2020 was ok and 2021 &2022 were better each year. I think people are able to travel more since the pandemic, also some economic factors all contribute to the slow down. Best of luck to all going forward.

[Theresa432]

Same! Superhost for years then absolutely nothing starting in May. It sat empty for months until I rented it through a different platform. Did you notice whether your rental popped up in the search? Mine isn't populating. Customer service denies this is happening, but I've had 4 different friends and family do a search and even zoom into my complex, and it doesn't show up. If you've gotten resolution for this, I'd really love to know what it was so I can implement it. Thanks!

[Doreen68]

Same here.  So few bookings.   Who do you advertise with now?  Ours used to be at the top of most searches, now it's quite a way down.  Worrying!   Am thinking of using booking.com

Doreen