Sudden Slow Down & Super Low Price Suggestions By Airbnb

Ann10
Level 10
New York, NY

Sudden Slow Down & Super Low Price Suggestions By Airbnb

I'm pretty much always booked and suddenly I'm not. On top of that Airbnb is giving me ridiculously low price suggestions. Is anyone else experiencing this?

24 Replies 24
Emiel1
Level 10
Leeuwarden, The Netherlands

@Ann10 

 

Price suggestions are useally ridiculous and better to be ignored.

Your base price is fair, as upto 4 people can stay for that price.

Search system has changed, maybe affecting your visibility. 

Did you check "amount of views" in menu insight ?

How has the search system changed. If I check Mohave Valley instead of Topock, then I'm on page 2 but not at the top.

@Emiel1 

 

How has the search system changed? If I check Mohave Valley instead of Topock, then I'm on page 2 but not at the top.

Ann10
Level 10
New York, NY

My views are way above similar listing and mine is the 1st on the page if you search for the town my listing is in. The prices I have now are not as low as Airbnb suggests, but close. I just can't go below $50 on a weekday and $100 on a weekend. Last summer, I ignored their prices and was busy not just for the summer, but all year long.

Huma0
Level 10
London, United Kingdom

@Ann10 

 

Are you searching incognito? If not, your cookies and browsing history will naturally show your listings higher in the search results than guests are actually seeing.

I checked in private mode and the results were the same. I was #1 on the 1st page if I searched for Topock, and appeared on the second page if I searched for Mohave Valley. Everyday, they are talking about inflation, but I have all this downward pressure on my listing even though all our costs have gone up.

@Huma0 -

I checked in private mode and the results were the same. I was #1 on the 1st page if I searched for Topock, and appeared on the second page if I searched for Mohave Valley. Everyday, they are talking about inflation, but I have all this downward pressure on my listing even though all our costs have gone up.

Huma0
Level 10
London, United Kingdom

@Ann10 

 

Without knowing your market, I can't really say what you should charge or why the guests are not booking. I have always ignored Airbnb's price tips as they are usually ridiculously low and I don't know what they mean by 'similar' listings, because any similar ones I've found in my area are priced higher, not lower, than mine. Besides, guests tell me that my listings were the best they found in that price range.

 

It's good that you are showing near the top of the search results, but with the new homepage layout, categories and glitchy search system, you can't be sure that guests are searching in the same way as you. They might be clicking on 'any week' or 'any weekend' or using the map to search and both of those appear to be glitchy and problematic. 

 

Have you had a look at your views? If the same amount of guests are looking but not booking, there is another problem going on. However, if no one is looking, it's possible they are not finding you.

@Huma0 -I looked again at my views. I have more than similar listings, a lot more, but "over time", they have taken a sudden dive. What can I do?

Huma0
Level 10
London, United Kingdom

@Ann10 

 

I am really not sure. I have been asking myself the same question. 

 

I don't really pay too much attention to the comparison to 'similar listings' because I am not sure the Airbnb AI really knows how to compare. If I look at the price tips and what it is telling me 'similar' listings are charging, I know already those listings are nothing like mine because any similar ones in my area charge a lot more than me.

 

What I have been looking at is the 'over time' comparison and there is no doubt that my views plummeted right after the Summer Release and continued to decline in the following weeks, until one of my listings was getting less than 10% of the views it got in the month prior to the Summer Release, while another listing went down to 0 views in a whole month!!! Having my listings added to some of the categories hasn't made any difference.

 

I am at a loss what to do. Airbnb's suggestions were to cut my prices, reduce my minimum stay (I only host long stays) and unblock dates on the calendar. I am not prepared to do any of those things, partly because I don't believe the lack of views has anything to do with that.

 

None of those factors affected my views before the Summer Release. A guest who booked right before that told me that my listing was by far the best within his price range and all his friends agreed, and that's for my smallest room so the others are even better value. Airbnb has said that they are seeing a massive increase in long term stays, which now make up about one quarter of their bookings, so I should be seeing an increase in bookings, not the opposite. I can't unblock dates that are not available due to direct bookings.

 

So, unless Airbnb do something dramatic from their end, and I am not sure they will, I think the answer is to list elsewhere.

@Huma0 -

 

What is the "Summer Release?" And what do you mean by categories?  I also read that long term listings were popular now. Last year, and this year, I had long term stays, but then they turn around and say to offer 1 day stays after Labor Day which is illegal in my state and would preclude long term listings. They also want to have short term stay cleaning prices which is crazy because the cleaning lady has to clean the entire house either way.

Huma0
Level 10
London, United Kingdom

@Huma0 

Thank you! My place has a water view, but it's not lake front and I don't see a category for that. This is really bumming me out. I added water view to the title but I don't think that will help. 

Sudsrung0
Level 10
Rawai, Thailand

I have never took any notice of Airbnb price suggestions, you would be out of business,

It's hard to say what to do, but you can go to You Tube lots of video's there you might pick up some tips how to improve your SEO,

How many other platforms are you listed on?