My goal is to keep my listing in high standing / good rating / favorable algorithm - considering that, what is the best method to block off the winter season? As I see it, there are a few ways to do it and I would appreciate hearing the community's experience and opinion on each option. All the previous posts I found on this were 2+ years old so I thought I would pose again.
- Block the dates - By selecting months at a time and 'blocking' / making unavailable those dates just as I would during the season for a day or two at a time if I needed. Pro: My listing is still active, they can book dates in the future since I have a window (6mo) greater than the time I would block, and the listing still shows on searches if they do not have dates selected. Con: Does showing I have less available dates over a time period hurt my listings ranking overtime? Will that bleed into the beginning of the next season? I think I experienced that this year but I’m unsure. I was thinking of maybe only blocking the weekends and turning off instant book, if that were the case, so that I would still have available dates showing... if that makes sense.
- Snooze the listing – Is this a better option than blocking dates? I’m guessing the ‘snooze’ feature was created exactly for this circumstance but I’m still unclear if it is a better move when it comes to staying competitive. 99% of my reservations are made < 2 months out, so its not like I would be losing too much business but I definitely don’t need to “take a break from hosting”. I still continue to manage the account, however it is too risky to have guests up on the gravel mountain road when there is snow, ice, and frequent power outages.
- Temporarily unlist – This I’m thinking would be the most ‘damaging’ to a listing’s ranking… I would lose the opportunity to book months further ahead, wouldn’t appear in searches, and could not continue to manage. Listing it as an option though for reference.
Thanks in advance for your reply!
Other links on similar issues, but not quite:
Post from 2016: "How do I shut down for the winter season?": https://community.withairbnb.com/t5/Help/How-do-I-shut-down-for-the-winter-season/m-p/212724#M21231
Post from 2015 - “How does Snoozed work?”: https://community.withairbnb.com/t5/Help/How-does-Snoozed-work/m-p/6676#M169458
Snoozing or Deactivating, help article: https://www.airbnb.co.nz/help/topic/1041/snoozing-or-deactivating-your-listing
