I'm a host in Washington DC. As a host, I find it quite annoying that Airbnb privileges surrounding areas (Maryland and Virginia) rather than showing people properties actually IN Washington DC. I often do mock searches specifically in Washington DC to see where I appear in the search results (and to make sure my pricing is competitive), however, even though I'm a 4.8 star host, there's pages of properties being shown before my listing and they're not even located in Washington DC. Yes, these listings are sometimes cheaper but I assume if someone is searching for a specific city, they expect to be shown listings actually in that city.
Does this happen in New York with Airbnb prioritizing New Jersey properties etc.?