The New Category Only Airbnb 2022

[Kimberly718]

As a host, I am very concerned about the new Airbnb Category-only landing page. Are you?

I am shocked that Airbnb made such a dramatic shift away from the previous design of the site which used Ai to track and learn about traveler preferences and then serve up properties of interest. I can't understand why they couldn't introduce categories as a slider or ancillary search tool to showcase unique places and inspire travelers without losing the workhorse of this booking and marketing tool. 

I worked hard to obtain my 5-star rating; I had great conversion rates, visibility within the algorithm, and traveler saves.  I followed all of Airbnb's recommendations about how best to showcase my home, and how to be a great host. My summer bookings were going gangbusters until they came to a complete stop with the launch of this new design.

My luxury guest house which is located in the countryside on a historical farm, featuring a herd of longhorn cattle and horses, close to vineyards, beach, lakeside and golf courses is now relegated to one category (farm stay) where it is buried deep within a random collection of farm stays, several of which don't have farm animals at all. With no way to adjust the categories or add tags to inform the Ai, the power to market and gain visibility has been taken out of hosts' hands, and our business, marketing and success is precariously at the mercy of Ai (Artificial Intelligence). Airbnb seems to have put ego first with "design" category which features the most impossible to compete with stays in the most far-reaching corners of the world.  What is next? Will they adopt the Facebook business model of "You need us we don't need you" and "Do not contact us... ever" policy? I hope this is not the case, I truly love the platform which seemed like a Win-Win-Win for host-traveler-Airbnb. When the balance of those three things changes, many people lose. Airbnb if you're reading this, please don't let that happen. 

[Tony-And-Una0]

The number of reviews and  our  listing title being displaed on the main search result page would be a start.

I can't think of any other site that does not display the number of reviews.

I was looking for a place in Paris and was completey fed up having to click into each property for more information.

[Krisztina12]

-The number of reviews gone, it's not the same 4.98* out of 105 reviews or 5.0* out of 6 reviews.

-The headline gone, now my heated pool blends in with the other pool houses and no way to let visitors know that

[Kimberly718]

This is so bad but is anyone from Airbnb even listening? I submitted feedback three times, I submitted a ticket but they call and of course "we are so sorry but there's nothing we can do, we will send you a link to submit feedback. Is there anything else we can do to help you today?" This is the canned response. AIRBNB if you are listening you need to act fast. 

[Emilie]

@Krisztina12 On the search results page, the title and hero picture of your listing may appear differently in order to highlight what is most relevant for the Category. On your listing page, once a guest looks at your listing, the number of reviews, your preferred title and photo display remain unchanged. 

Nonetheless, I’ve shared your thoughts on this with the team!

Emilie

[Annie1372]

@Kimberly718 

There are many (many many) people that agree with you

you can see that in that post and in many other ones

https://community.withairbnb.com/t5/Airbnb-Updates/Airbnb-2022-Summer-Release-What-you-need-to-know/...

[Kimberly718]

I just can't understand why Airbnb didn't add the category tool as an enhancement in the form of a widget while maintaining the legacy of the original programming. The same canned answers too are all you get from Airbnb Superhost Support. Telling me to make sure I have my amenities checked and good photography as if I got 7% conversation rates and 5-star ratings because I didn't know how to take good pictures and write up an accurate and appealing description of my property. 

Based on the response from "support" (what a joke) our business is now in the hands of a bunch of techy's writing code so that their artificial intelligence can determine if my farm stay is in the Countryside and has Amazing Views and is my 300-year-old farm is Historic. I apparently am too stupid to be able to tackle that on my own.   Thank you Airbnb for not only killing my business in the height of the summer season but rendering me too stupid to know my own listings. 

[Chris517]

I agree.  Why alter a very workable system so dramatically, why not just add the new style of “categories” as an optional way to search, so as to enhance the system.

This is how “working systems” were improved in the early days, before everything was reliant on computer software and A.I.
We would change things slowly, by adding an improvement to an existing system, try for a while, before making decisions about dropping anything that had already been proven to work well.

Are these sweeping system wide changes being made by one person making decisions, or are there  “too many cooks in the kitchen”. 

[Emilie]

Hi everyone, 

Thank you for all of your feedback on the recent Summer Release updates. Several of you have raised concerns in various discussions in the Community Center. We are listening to this carefully and are passing on all of your valuable insights to our Product teams. 

The feedback you have been sharing on the new search functions and Categories is very valuable - a big thanks to all for highlighting your findings to us. As we roll out new  products we always review how our community interacts with them and how we can improve them.  

As you have been, please keep sharing your feedback and experiences. 

Thanks again, 

Emilie

@Kimberly718 @Annie1372 @Krisztina12 @Branka-and-Silvia0 @Chris517 @Sherri220 @Tony-And-Una0 @Nancy1633 

[Jules155]

For those who have the money to travel anywhere in the world...design design design. For the rest, those categories are a bit much. To me, a cabin treehouse on a farm by the lake is OMG. I have a tiny cabin on a farm in the mountains with pastoral views. I can't list all these to be included in searches. Luckily, I live in a tourist area that is highly promoted in magazines, tourist blogs, etc... 

Now I'm not sure where my little tiny house cabin, that has 77  five-star reviews will appear unless looking for a specific area. 

[Kimberly718]

Join in my letter to Airbnb. 

https://community.withairbnb.com/t5/Help/Airbnb-You-Broke-Our-Heart-and-Our-Business/m-p/1624518#M35...

[Christopher1432]

I just started at the beginning of the year. When I started things were great. I couldn't have one day pass by without someone booking it. This was the same all the way till about end of april beginning of May. I now have three listings I made just to try and get my place booked for a single night. I can't get the thing booked as a whole house or by seperate rooms. I'm just trying to get one night booked lol.... Haven't had a single reservation other than one that got cancelled at last minute. And I'm five miles from Disney world. What is going on what has changed. I was reliant on this money as income for pretty much everything. Looking like it's back to the 9-5 for me. Don't know what I'm doing wrong. 

[Kimberly718]

Join me in a letter to Airbnb and Brian Chesky

https://community.withairbnb.com/t5/Help/Airbnb-You-Broke-Our-Heart-and-Our-Business/m-p/1624518#M35...

[Emilie]

@Christopher1432 Good to hear you had such a great start to your hosting journey earlier this year! 

There are many factors that influence bookings, some related to the platform (see here more info on how search results work for how to influence them), and some simply linked to guests’ needs, behaviour and seasonality. 

I have taken specific note of your concerns though and we will share it with our teams internally. 

Thanks, 

Emilie

[Ken-And-Denise0]

We have been very successful with our Airbnb since 2018.  We are located in a small town in MD and have a lovely basement apartment with 182 reviews.  Since this change, we have received random requests for weeks 3-4 months in the future.  When we click on the request, they want to know if we are open for the night...the day the request was received.  We don't book without 48 hours notice but it seems as if this has been a pathway for some 'no tell-motel' requests.  

[Vintage-Bungalow0]

It’s truly unbelievable how Airbnb has devolved over the years. I joined in 2012 and have hosted well over 5000 guests in multiple listings. When I first joined, service was amazing! They even sent professional photographers to the listings for free , which was super beneficial for both the host and the guest. 

They used to provide the  guest’s uploaded photo and last name, so we had more  information from guests without reviews. 

The service center used to be located in San Fransisco and consistently provided prompt service by a competent, friendly staff. 

And remember the yearly conferences they used to hold for hosts to attend and participate in the Airbnb community?

Abs what I am really upset about, is the so-called “local taxes” they are charging guests, without any transparency or available records for hosts to confirm exactly the amounts paid on our behalf and to which municipalities. It seems like a scam. I have tried and tried to make sense of the random rates they are charging my guests and to whom they are sending the money.  

I wish there was an alternative platform, providing the same services, like Uber vs. Lyft or Grubhub vs. DoorDash.