Blocking listings from a particular host

[Jessica1233]

I would like Vacasa listings to stop showing up. I come to AirBnB for individually owned homes not for Vacasa. There are so many Vacasa listings, all with the same canned descriptions, that it makes AirBnB lists look like spam. Additionally, Vacasa fails to list additional fees on their listings. For example, they say "for a small nightly fee" but it doesn't show up in the booking or anywhere in the description or house rules. 

Please tell me there is a way to stop a certain host from showing up in my searches.

[Linda108]

I don't know about blocking specific companies, but I wonder if you use the filter for type of listing and select what type or types of listings you want if that would work.  Just a thought

[Jessica1233]

There doesn't seem to be any filter that would block a company like Vacasa which is trying to manage everything from mobile homes to beach houses to condos.

[Susan17 · Accepted solution]

@Jessica1233 

Vacasa is just one of thousands of huge professional management agencies and commercial entities, whose offerings now completely dominate the Airbnb platform. 

With 10,600 properties across the US, Europe, Central and South America and South Africa, 2600 employees, $207.5 million in funding behind them and growth of 13,000% in the three years up to 2019, Vacasa is one of Airbnb's most prolific "hosts". CEO Eric Bruen once claimed, "If Airbnb is eBay, then our company is Amazon" (Interestingly, co-founder Cliff Johnson abruptly departed the company in 2018, urging employees to improve Vacasa's positive impact in local communities, while keeping their relationships with each other in "a good place")

What you're experiencing whilst searching is now the new norm in most markets. Despite the EU Commission introducing new legislation at the beginning of this year, requiring Airbnb to seperate and clearly identify listings of small individual hosts from the large commercial operators - on the grounds that not doing so gives the big players an unfair commercial advantage and is misleading to consumers - Airbnb has so far failed to comply.  With activity on an account being one of the main drivers in search placement, "hosts" with vast inventories and associated increased account activity, are now reigning supreme at the top of searches, whilst the small traditional hosts are being pushed out altogether. As you've unfortunately discovered. 

Welcome to Airbnb 2019. 

[Jessica1233]

With the guest service fee now 20% (used to be more around 6%), it looks like I am better off trawling hotel deals sites anyway. 

[Branka-and-Silvia0]

@Jessica1233 

as @Linda108  said you could try to use filters for "home type" where you can exclude hotels, hostels, etc.... and "more filters" where you can exclude hotels, hostels, resorts, boutique hotels, and bed and breakfast.

It is not what you wished for but at least something...

Btw, since Airbnb allowed agencies and hotels to join our bookings dropped dramatically and small hosts start to use other platforms as well. Listing at several platforms makes our job much more complicate but I am affraid we will have to do it 😞

[Susan17]

@Branka-and-Silvia0 

While Airbnb have now stopped including hotel rooms in "private room" searches, - in some markets, at least - many operators are still listing their offerings as hotel, hostel and B&B rooms in the "hotel rooms" category, and also as regular rooms, in the "private rooms" category. 

Companies like Vacasa almost exclusively list "entire homes", so unfotunately for hosts like us, there's really no way to filter them out for guests looking to rent a full house or apartment.