Happy New Year fellow hosts!
I was wondering if anyone wanted to share some tips for getting listings to appear higher up in the search results. I don't mean getting more people to click on the listing when it appears, or more people to book, simply how to get it to appear in the first few pages.
Here is the advice I have found so far from more experienced hosts posting on these forums:
- Use Instant Book as Airbnb is now really pushing this. But what if, like me, you are absolutely 100% sure you don't want to use this?
- New listings will get more heavily promoted by Airbnb, but only for the first month.
- Update your listings as often as you can (every day if possible), even if it is just a small tweak.
- If you can, make use of the free professional photography service that Airbnb offers.
- Build up your reviews. Some say listings with more/better reviews show up higher (others disagree).
- The more activity on your account, e.g. the more bookings you get, the higher up the results you will register.
- Lower your prices. Conversely, some hosts say raising prices will increase visibility!
- While, once upon a time, Superhost status boosted your listing results, it doesn't seem to make much difference now (majority seem to say this, while a few find it does really make a difference to bookings in their locality).
I would love to know what people think about this, as right now all of my listings seem to have disappeared from the 17 pages that come up in a general search. Now, I understand there are thousands of listings in London, mine is no longer new, I don't use Instant Book etc. However, I am getting more and more good reviews (none below 4 stars), there have been plenty of bookings/activity, I used the Airbnb photographers and I update regularly, so why am I gone from those 17 pages?
What surprised me most is that when I did a general search for London for one guest in a private room, the listing that came top was very expensive (£175 a night for a private room in a shared apartment in a nice, but not so central location), had a joke photo and no actual photos of the property, virtually no info or description and one, very scathing, review. Why does this get much more visibility than listings from well reviewed hosts with professional photos and lots of bookings?! Is it simply for entertainment value?