Where do we go from here!

[Robin4]

I have been away for the best part of a month so my knowledge of current events is somewhat lacking but, I have been puzzled during my time away that my listing views have dropped from  30-50 per day to less than 10, some days just 2 or 3! On doing some checking I have come across a thing called 'Summer 2022 release search filters' which seems to answer my observations. The programming geniuses have tampered with the search page yet again.

For the life of me I will never understand why Airbnb go out of their way to upset their long term experienced, profitable hosts. Every time they tinker with the program they lose sight of the fact that we hosts have to adapt what we do and say to accommodate their changes and work with them. They don't reward us, they punish us for putting in the time and effort to make it work and be successful.

Because I don't automatically fit one of their tidy little nebulous search boxes, my listing has dropped from  page 1 down to page 5 in a search of our area.

A guest used to be able to search for a listing they liked the look of and could afford, now they can only search by its availability. Not every guest wants to stay in a listing for one week which now appears to be the default criteria.......80% of mine only want to stay for one or two nights! Listings with less than a handful of reviews are given preferential search placement specifically because of some quirky feature. I believe after reading the new TOS Airbnb have actually revived that old chestnut where hosts could buy their search placement as per this, direct from the current TOS......

Whereas, with my previously full monthly booking calendar, my 6 years of loyalty and 500+ Airbnb reviews sees me in a situation where my bookings are drying up. The search page no longer says how many reviews I have, it doesn't mention I am a Superhost, it removes all the hard work I have put into making a desirable Airbnb listing for guests to book. For goodness sake what **[Inappropriate content removed in line with the Community Center Guidelines] keep coming up with these ideas.....Airbnb are actively trying to destroy my business and the good rapport I have built up with Airbnb in this local community of mine!!'

I don't know where I go from here........I am sick and tired of trying to re-invent the wheel every time Airbnb let their programmers loose on some aspect of the platform. I don't want to but, I am going to have to look for other hosting options.....Airbnb, I have been good to you but, you have worn me down! 

Cheers........Rob

[Suzanne302]

@Fred13 

To say that all the hosts reporting less views and practically zero bookings since the change is attributed to other factors is tone deaf. It's simple statistics. It appears that many hosts aren't simply seeing less and less views/bookings, since the change, they've essentially halted. The stats tell a clear picture.

Maybe not all hosts are experiencing this, but based on the number of new faces in the CC complaining, I'd say it's pretty widespread. I tried booking as a guest shortly after the change. I gave up and found a place on VRBO where it was much easier to find what I needed.

What I'm waiting to see, is if the decrease in Airbnb bookings overall since this change will prompt another change, or if the executive ego will trump the loss in revenue.

I don't think Airbnb "owes" hosts anything. It's a business transaction and they can do what they want with their company. It sucks, and I think they're shooting themselves in the foot, but, whatever.

[Peggy137]

FYI to all, I spoke to my lawyer about a class action lawsuit, or ...something...
We can do zip, nada, nothing. The only thing we can hope for is senior management decides to undo their new change out of the goodness of their heart.

When you're dealing with billionaires don't hold your breath.

[Fred13]

@Suzanne302 No one is denying what is indeed happening, the why is the issue at hand. I am always hesitant to formulate a broad instant theory immediately from a short-time event. If this latest pattern stays a bit longer, of course then it definitely supports the new popular correlation.

I also been trying to find out if the absolute number of Airbnb bookings is indeed down, but can't find it. If you stumble upon it please post it, that should speak volumes.

[Suzanne302]

@Fred13 

The evidence is in my insights. The evidence is in the countless numbers of hosts who are saying bookings just stopped after the "change." Triple A says people are still traveling by car in large numbers in spite of record gas prices. My airport is seeing travelers at a pace closer to 2019, which means a bounce back since the pandemic. People are still traveling. They are not slowing down.

My views went from averaging +/- 30 per day to now less than 8 per day. I've had exactly one booking since the "change." I can't find my own listing, or listings of friends as a guest since the "change." The algorithm defaults to dates in 2023 even when nights are available sooner. It's a mess for guests to try and navigate.

I've also noticed those price suggestions (not smart pricing, these are merely suggestions that are a little more accurate) for popular search days are now suggesting lower prices, when they used to suggest higher prices. How does that make sense? It makes sense because nobody is booking!

I had more booking requests at the onset of Covid than I have had in the past 3 weeks.

[Diane218]

I can speak from my own experience as well. In February over 1000 views and then in May 500 for one of my cabins. Down to 300 views for another. No bookings going into the summer season when we would be getting several a week. In February I had 12 bookings for one cabin and then only 4 for May. When I search for my area, my cabins do not show up in Boone, NC. But others do like Asheville, Hendersonville - two hours away. Why is the search feature pulling in options from 2 hours away and not the listings in the area that the guest is looking for???? That makes no sense. So is the guest thinking there is no availability? Likely. That's what I would think. I had a cancellation for the first weekend in June last week. Typically that would be rebooked within 24 hours. Nothing. Before the change I had a cancellation the day before check in. It was rebooked in hours. Now a week after the cancellation nothing. There is nothing I can do. No lowering of my price. No re ordering of my photos. No changes to my descriptions. Nothing. Because my cabins are not showing up in the search so there's nothing for the guest to see. I've been on Airbnb for 6 years. This has never happened to me. My cabins are all rated over 4.9 and I've been a super host all 6 years.

[Emilia42]

@Diane218 I am having this exact same experience! I was booking very consistently in March and April. Once May came, nothing. And I'm not rebooking cancelations, something I never worried about in the past. 

[Robin4]

@Diane218  @Emilia42 

Diane, so sorry you are also experiencing this, but you are not alone. This is the first time I have seen in 7 years, a programming alteration that has affected so many experienced competent hosts. I am now seeing the same on other social sites, the scale of this says that Airbnb are in for some serious pain over this programming blunder.

How this has come about, Airbnb don't operate to a methodical business model, they operate to a 'think tank' model.....someone comes up with an idea and programmers are put to work to make it happen. Consequences are not taken into account!

Diane, I have confidence that this will be fixed, this is just the latest in a series of programming blunders, Airbnb will ride it out for a month or so and when booking stats show what is happening they will back-track faster than a fa*t in a gale of wind! 

What gets me stirred up, people who are employed to oversee this operation are paid literally millions of dollars to make sure things like this don't happen and the operation rolls along and happens smoothly.

I do not respect people who can't do their job!

Cheers.......Rob

[Emilia42]

My bookings have seriously plummeted; slower than any other summer since I started hosting 5 years ago.

The new rollout has definitely made an impact on the search function. I am still getting a few bookings from people who are zeroing in on my town (parents moving students into apartments, etc.) But in years past, my summer has always been booked solid with tourists visiting the National Park over an hour away. This year that is non-existent. And it is not because tourism is down (the Park is expecting another record year,) but I believe it is because my area is no longer populating in the search results for these visitors; they are being redirected elsewhere. 

[Fred13]

@Emilia42 There is a problem with the logarithm in what they show as being available 'next' with any particular host, I show my next opening is March 2023. It is defaulting to a week right off the bat which is foolish and may be one of the culprits for what happening.   Also, the switch from Firm and Moderate cancellation policies is definitely influencing results and bookings; another mystery. The overall bookings for Airbnb, on the other hand, appear to be up so that is not the issue. 

Yep, this things needs some work and it may not be working as intended , at all in many cases. 

[Branka-and-Silvia0]

So, as you have 6 nights min/max your island is invisible until someone enters exact dates, right? Which are somewhere in 2 years? Jesus! 
@Fred13 

[Fred13]

I have minimum 4 days/14 days max now, but shows me as not available till next year.   I been reading other boards to get more perspective from other folks, a lot of goofy things.

Like the Flexible/Moderate policies appear to be are favored by the logarithm and since as of the end of May Covid can't be used as an excuse for cancelling, perhaps that is influencing negatively hosts on Firm, Strict, etc.

The more information we can give Airbnb, the better. 

/going to work on my boat, is a simpler mental exercise than this issue; tomorrow is another day. 🙂

[Suzanne302]

@Fred13 

What is the source you are using to say overall bookings on Airbnb appear to be up? I'd love to be able to access that statistic.

[Fred13 · Accepted solution]

Upon further thought...

   Airbnb may have done this because they focused on recent surveys they conducted which told them how popular longer stays (7-days for example) are now so in essence looks like what they tried to do is two things at once: advertise longer stays (by defaulting to 7 days) and add the new category system at the same time. Since they have seen how longer stays are becoming popular and specially in the new categorized 'out-of-the-norm-places, they thought the two concepts can/should go together. Way, way too risky for many reasons.

Instead, they could eliminate any time requirement in the new categorized system like @Branka-and-Silvia0  suggested in another post and when the guest gets to the listing by either route they let them hit the 'Availability' button and do their own thing like before.

In this way the change is just another way to find places, but neither approach excludes anyone for any reason, which is half the problem now. Categorizing and including all is the other half.

P.S. 1:The supposedly 'Any Week' (7-day) requirement is now down to 5 days available or more.

P.S. 2: I connected the wrong hose in the boat yesterday and when I flushed the macerator toilet (thank God brand new), it would shoot its output through all the sink outputs in the boat and hit the ceiling. If anyone needs a boat mechanic, don't call me.

[Robin4]

@Fred13 

Fred, you and I are ok because we have over the years built up a following.....you because you created an entire bloody island, me because I created a humble hosting experience. But Fred, our formula works. Here is my current booking calendar.....

Within the next week I won't have a night free in June...I am not going broke! But it is that way because I am directing potential booking enquiries to Airbnb. The number of bookings without my involvement that Airbnb have given to me has slumped to 6 in the last 5 weeks......it used to be 3-4 a week!

Airbnb need to remember where their core business comes from Fred, there are so many hosts out their like you and I that don't need Airbnb to survive, we are going to get by. But I don't want to see the platform collapse, Airbnb have been great to me and have given me the leg up I needed to get where Ade and I are today and I want to keep supporting them.

I just want them to show me the support I have shown them!

Cheers........Rob.

[Fred13]

@Robin4 I do believe the intent of the latest added program was foremost to easily make aware of the latest broad amount of listings choices in Airbnb 2022 to their subscribers.  In the process they got a bit tricky and the program is not working as intended, few programming additions do at first, and now is subject to a series of hot fixes for a while.

While here: how many times have I said over the last 5 years: "These are the best of times", "Beware, careful what you wish for", "Be thankful for an Airbnb in the first place, imagine without", they are only charging 3% to hosts, etc, etc.  Many people have acted as if there was a wide range of booking agencies out there and were doing Airbnb a favor considering they are the evil empire, please, let's get real. 

If anything this instant drop of bookings for some shows how important Airbnb is indeed to many people. Come at Airbnb hysterically with one foot out the 5th story building and they will not listen, no reason to. Hard to communicate that way. This 'glitch' will pass, if they are given 6helpful feedback,  but I hope the appreciation of what a difference Airbnb does for us doesn't. 

/out of this conversation, I got my own struggles with renovations; now making sure some stupid toilet installation doesn't sink my ship.