Ok this is going to be a little long but I think those who read it will recognize the dilemma. The above was in Nov of 18. I'm writing this as of May 2019. I've just come across this conversation after doing a number of searches from a position of someone coming to Airbnb for the first time who knows or doesn't know about Plus, Superhost etc. So I would search no plus, no super host, basic amenities, thinking if someone is looking for something other than a hotel experience they would want a kitchen, wifi, TV, a/c, heating, a private bathroom, and a bedroom - this is a whole house I'm talking about - very very centrally located in LA - a total house for guests only. I did this kind of search with and without dates. I also did a deeper amenities search (Superhost, instant booking, price range, dates, almost all amenities - smoke detector, hair dryer etc).
I found my place (I am a Superhost with over a dozen reviews (all 5+), came up only when I asked for specific days I had available - only those days. Here's a second hit to that: if I had a five-day block open and listed all five days in the search, I came up. If I listed only three of those five days, I didn't. I called Airbnb and got into a circle dance that of course lead nowhere. I also changed the price up and down. Down seems to have an effect but not as drastic as I was hoping - I'm talking going way down. So I can't figure it out really. And lastly, why is it I see other places popping up on page one, three, five and seven, when I don't show up on any of the 17 pages of 300 homes? I see these folks are double listing their places with little tweaks here and there (price, length of stay etc) to make it seem like it's a different place. (I can't imagine Airbnb can't figure out it is the same place and do something about it - in essence giving the same place a number of hits on a search). One thing I think might be affecting getting on a search is the amount of positive reviews. If you have a lot of great reviews it seems to help get you on the first page. (if it's not a plus or superhost filtered search). But not getting on at all unless you have a specific block of dates sandwiched between booked dates and it has to be all those days requested in the search to get your place a hit. One day less, no hit. Sorry to repeat but I see no rhyme or reason to the algorithm. All comments, suggestions, and commiseration welcome.
Thomas