"Last Modified" counter

Susan-and-Eric0
Level 3
Cape Town, South Africa

"Last Modified" counter

For over one week, the "Last Modified" counter under the "Listings" menu has failed to update for all my listings.  I update my listing every day and previously, this counter would detail the number of hours since the previous update for each listing.  Then about a week ago all this changed.  The counter stopped working since 27 April.  Is this a known problem/bug?  Who can I address this technical issue to?  Any advice or answers would be most appreciated.  Thank you.

14 Replies 14
Emiel1
Level 10
Leeuwarden, The Netherlands

@Susan-and-Eric0 

Sotware bugs can be reported via Airbnb Feedback 

 

BTW i updated one of my listings today and counter says:  today

Thank you. Bug reported.

Ute42
Level 10
Germany

.

@Susan-and-Eric0 

 

Why do You update Your listing every day?

 

To keep my listings fresh and relevant, so as to improve visibility in search.

@Susan-and-Eric0 I know it is commonly believed that editing your listing frequently improves search placement, but I've never seen any communication from Airbnb or any other evidence that supports this belief. Do you have more information?

 

https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/39/what-factors-determine-how-my-listing-shows-in-search-results

Thank you Lisa.  I've been told by a number of local Airbnb representatives in the past to keep listings updated as much as possible. So I've taken them at their word. Irrespective,  the counter in question is unresponsive and seems like a bug in the system.  I know of a number of other local hosts that are experiencing the same. 

Nikos14
Level 3
Hersonissos, Greece

Same with me,  counter stopped working since 24 April, even though I keep updating daily.  

Ute42
Level 10
Germany

.

@Susan-and-Eric0  

 

I asked You why You are updating Your listing every day and Your answer was:

 

  • To keep my listings fresh and relevant, so as to improve visibility in search.

 

The rumor that the constant updating of a listing will help Your position in search results is a fairy tale. Airbnb puts those listings on top of search results that have the highest likelyhood to be booked soon, bc the sooner and faster listings are booked by guests, the more money airbnb makes with their service fee.

 

I have last updated my listing on oct 18, 2020, and I am always placed well in search results.

 

 

2021-05-08 Last updated Oktober 2021.jpg

 

 

You are not the only one who believes that updating the listing helps in search results. @Ann72   wrote in the thread „Let's talk about search“:

 

  • we can control responsiveness and listing freshness:

    Getting a booking or a review, making changes to your calendar,
    changing just one word in your listing description, or adding new photos refreshes the listing.“

 

 

@Katrina79  has the same opinion in said thread:

 

  • Ann72 has good points that quick response time, clicks, and listing freshness help bump up your listings

 

 

Let's be serious: What monetary advantage for airbnb would there be, if they put listings on top of searchresults in wich hosts are constantly playing around.

 

Cc: @Lisa723 

 

 

 

 

 

@Ute42 @Susan-and-Eric0 

 

I agree it is difficult to imagine how editing listing text or photos would increase the likelihood of a confirmed booking and/or Airbnb’s service fee, which are of course Airbnb’s measures of success and their only rational motives to bump a listing in search results. 

As for what Airbnb representatives (what are “local” Airbnb representatives anyway?) may have said, this means nothing to me personally as Airbnb reps consistently say all manner of nonsense that bears no relation at all to actual fact.

 

My own theory is that there may be some consideration of recent *calendar* updates, as an out-of-date calendar actually can  impede a completed booking, and I have seen this claimed in pieces by previous Airbnb employees. But this is just a theory, as is any belief about factors other than those in the article I cited above, since Airbnb keeps the actual algorithm secret.

Sarah977
Level 10
Sayulita, Mexico

@Susan-and-Eric0  Tweaking things on my listing, which I also read at one point helped to raise search ranking, has never made one bit of difference.

Ann72
Level 10
New York, NY

@Susan-and-Eric0 @Nikos14 I've been having this problem, too, and I posted about it a week ago but have had no response from the admins tagged:  https://community.withairbnb.com/t5/Help/quot-Listing-Details-quot-can-t-be-edited/m-p/1443256  I make a change, and then the page just loads and loads but never updates the listing.  So frustrating.  I so often get bookings right after updating the listing that I enjoy having an easy task to do to keep the listing fresh. 

 

While "updating the listing" is not in the list of factors in the algorithm as far as we know, things like "hover time," "past guest acceptances," and "commitment rate" are factors (sometimes appearing under other names).  It's easy to see how these factors correlate with a host who keeps refreshing and improving his or her listing, and how these activities on a host's part factor into page rankings.  Yes, Airbnb does make money from an attentive host who pays close attention to a listing and keeps it updated.  The opposite is a host who doesn't block dates on the calendar when he or she should, has outdated information like driving directions or amenities lists, never refreshes the photographs, or any number of other possible host interactions with a listing. 

 

Those listings that aren't kept up to date will eventually correlate to inquiries or requests that are turned down or bookings that are cancelled, poor reviews, or a low response rate from the host.  And those things lead to a loss of income for Airbnb.  So it is 100% in Airbnb's interest to promote listings that are kept up to date.  One way they're kept up to date has nothing to do with the host interacting with the listing and everything to do with frequency of bookings.  The more frequently the bookings come in and result in completed stays and positive reviews, the less the host has to do. 

 

From a blog post on this subject:  "If your listing gets booked consistently by people who just started their search, then you have a better chance of being ranked higher.  On the opposite end, if people arrive at your listing and constantly question it before booking, that’s not great."  It takes very little imagination to see that the first instance is a listing that's kept up-to-date and the second instance a lackluster listing that feels stale or uninspiring.  That is not the exact same thing as saying that ONLY updating your listing every day leads to more bookings.  Obviously not the same thing at all.  But when viewed as one way a host shows how committed he or she is to giving guests the best possible experience, it becomes the backbone of a number of factors.

 

This reminds me that I got a new blender for the space and have to go add it to the list of amenities...

.

@Ann72 

 

You are a hard nut to crack as we say in Germany. 😅

 

😂😂😂 @Ute42 

 

I met two guests this weekend.  The man said, “You’re so sweet” and the woman said “She is not sweet.  She will cut you.”  This was said with love and made me very happy.

Same thing I noticed. I have been doing the daily refresh and it no longer shows.