Is setting up multiple listings for the identical space allowed?

Alexandra316
Level 10
Lincoln, Canada

Is setting up multiple listings for the identical space allowed?

Hey all! 

I have a neighbour who has a great Airbnb property. It's super cute but very basic an inexpensive: it's right on a major hiking trail and it caters to people who are looking for more of a glamping experience. Last year, his reviews fell to a 4.75 (I feel like people failed to manage their expectations... The place is inexpensive and it's rustic, but good). So he decided to start again with a new listing for the space rather than trying to boost his old listing. I'm curious if this is allowed by the terms and conditions? I find it a bit vaguely worded:

"You may only maintain one Listing per Accommodation, but may have multiple Listings for a single property if it has multiple places to stay."

In his case, he still has two active listings (although the calendar is blocked on the older listing). So to me that says it's not okay to have multiple listings for the exact same space but it doesn't prevent you from starting a new listing for the same space if you're unhappy with your reviews, as long as you don't have the same space listed more than once. 

Am I correct, or is there anything that prevents you from just starting again with a new listing if your old ratings aren't all you would like them to be? And do you get the new host/listing boost every time you re-list the property?

I had over 150 guests before I got my first less than 5-star review, and it was a terrible disappointment. I think I'd prefer to stick with my existing listing with all the history and not perfect reviews, but was kind of wondering "what if". If you've done it, how did it work out for you? 

16 Replies 16
Helen3
Level 10
Bristol, United Kingdom

No it's not allowed to avoid hosts doing exactly what your friend is doing and starting a new listing to hide bad reviews.

 

you are not correct Airbnb can see if you do this particularly if you use the same email /contact details . 

 

if Airbnb find out he can be banned from the platform @Alexandra316 

 

 

@Helen3 but he didn't set up a new Airbnb profile: it's a new listing on the same profile. I know you're definitely not supposed to have more than one Airbnb profile as a host or guest. 

Angelica-Y-Jorge0
Level 10
Mazatlán, Mexico

@Alexandra316 unless he has renovated the property or made some major changes I do not understand how his rating will change with a new listing? If it is the exact same property guests will still have the same issues and ratings in the future. If his previous listing was misleading in some way I would suggest updating that. 

Jorge

@Angelica-Y-Jorge0 yes, fair enough. I'm generally also more of the feeling that you should stick with the existing listing. But my question was is it allowed?

 

To me, it seems a bit sketchy because although the written reviews remain, the new guests can't see the old stars, just the written reviews, and they can't see that the host is just re-listing the same space because the original listing is gone. And you're right, if guests are complaining about issues and they're not getting fixed, the same star ratinga will likely come back. But then presumably the host will do the same thing all over again. 

@Alexandra316 This is kind of a side note, kind of related. But how many guests do you think are actually accessing a host's profile? When I am on your listing page and I click your face photo it brings me down to the bottom of the listing where I can see the little blurb about yourself. Nowhere does it say "Host's Profile." I cannot get to your profile unless I click this face photo again. So I bet there are a lot of first-time/inexperienced Airbnb users who have no idea that a host has multiple listings or see the reviews from other properties or past listings. 

@Emilia42 good point. Not many, likely. I usually look if I'm staying as a guest, but likely a lot don't. They just see a new listing with a few good reviews and think "Yeah, I'll go for that." 

Sure enough, the house will generally get the same types of reviews. @Angelica-Y-Jorge0 But I think the biggest takeaway with this "approach" is that new bookings could stall (or the price is driven down by previous poor reviews.) And by creating a brand new shiny listing, the host is "baiting" new bookings from a clean slate.

Emilia42
Level 10
Orono, ME

@Alexandra316 This is done ALL the time from what I notice. I "follow" a host with a handful of listings and one listing gets very mixed reviews. Apparently, the inside of the apartment is nice and redone but the apartment complex is not. Many reviews speak of drug deals, homelessness, and mentally ill neighbors. You can tell that Airbnb will either suspend the listing or shut it down after a string of bad reviews but then the listing will appear again from scratch. Last summer I notice that the host's profile had been deactivated. I found all the listings (brand new) under a different host's profile. Needless to say, these hosts have hundreds of reviews on their profile but only a few reviews associated with each listing. It can definitely be done and goes unnoticed by Airbnb. Or they just don't care.

Kelly149
Level 10
Austin, TX

@Alexandra316 there was a time when I was trying to manage 2 listings for exact same space... both were live at the same time.

one allowed 2 guests, had to have abb recs and was priced lower, this was back when abb was targeting "business" trips, this one was request only

the other allowed 2-10 guests, had no requirements and was priced higher, this one was IB

 

this was fine and allowable, kind of like the host who has 3 listings for one space: 1b, 2b, whole house...

 

in the end I abandoned it, bc even "good" abb guests can have issues and my place just isn't well suited for business travel anyway

@Kelly149 but there were still some differences there and you had a reason for having two listings for the same space.

 

I'm really trying to figure out if they could remove your account for deleting your listing then re-listing the exact same space to get rid of poor reviews. Is there a rule against it? I agree @Emilia42 they seem to turn a blind eye to it regardless... There are many hosts who do it habitually to get rid of their scores of poor reviews. Bad reviews on old listing, new listing.... Goodbye bad reviews... Hello glowing reviews from sock puppet acocunts... Then come the bad reviews from the real guests, then rinse and repeat. 

@Alexandra316 In a way, how would Airbnb know? You can have multiple listings with the same address. I have two different apartments both at the same mailing address (I left out the actual apt. # when inputting the address but I don't think it matters.)

@Emilia42 agreed: there are totally legit reasons for having more than one listing at the same address, and Airbnb definitely shouldn't just say if the address is the same, the property should be delisted. 

@Alexandra316 not saying they shouldn't, but I really doubt ABB cares one whit.

 

For example, the town nearest me has very strict rental rules, one could even say that many listings there are *illegal*. Does ABB do anything to prevent this behavior? Nope, not at all.

 

"doing the right thing" has never seemed very high up their priority list. Feature, not a bug, and all that...

Ute42
Level 10
Germany

.

@Alexandra316  

 

You said Your friend wants to start from srcatch with a new listing bc the average rating for the existing listing fell to 4.75*. Where's the problem? That's a perfect average.

 

 

Recently I did a research that showed that the average rating for the 20 listings on page 1 of a search for Mallorca was at 4,74*

 

https://community.withairbnb.com/t5/Hosting/Nervousness-when-I-get-a-review/m-p/1440113/highlight/tr...

 

 

In december last year I did another research on the New York market. The result was, that the 90 most successful listings in NY also had an average rating of 4.74*

 

https://community.withairbnb.com/t5/Host-Circle/Let-s-talk-about-search/m-p/1380698/highlight/true#M...

 

Read this thread from the start, very interesting.

 

 

The point is, the average rating of a place really has no impact on Your rental success on airbnb.