Please add "Any Dates" to new search filters

John5097
Level 10
Charleston, SC

Please add "Any Dates" to new search filters

Overall I like many of the new features with the recent Summer Release search filters. The Categories  is great idea. However there needs to be improved ability for guest to search for "Any Dates" or "Weekdays". There are a number of ways this could be done. 

As it is now the default is for guest to search "Any Week" this means only listings with 7 day availability will be displayed.

Guest need to select "Im Flexible" then three choices of "Any Week" "Any Weekend" and "Any Month" This is how it looks. My listing does appear as the first option for "Any Weekend" however potential guest only see the next available weekend, which for me is November. Its the same for "Any Week" 

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So adding a "Any Dates" or "Weekend" would help this so that guest don' have to scroll though each listing calendar to see what other weekdays open. My weekends always fill up first anyway, so its the weekdays that are already harder to book. 

This is what it looks like with "Im Flexible" which isn't flexible at all. Guest having to check "Im flexible" and then "Weekends" isn't intuitive who have a flexible schedule, as many guest also book weekdays just to save a few bucks as rates are a bit lower. 

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Another option would be to expand the flexibility window for selecting specific dates. As it is now the maximum is 7 nights. So incrusting to say 30 nights as an option could allow guest to search the entire month. 

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So I think this is a great approach to help guest find the place they are looking for, the ability to find available "Weekdays" is lacking. This could make it more challenging to rebook cancelations if they are on a weekday. 

As it is now I have a maximum of 5 days to allow as much flexibility with cancelations as possible. Its easier to rebook and I can be more flexible. Its not unusual for guest to contact me the night before a reservation and want to change the dates, and I'm still able to rebook. So would need to make major changes to my cancelation policy and consider listing on other platforms. My first year was 2020 and I had over 80 cancellations. 

The average stay is 4 days. We get 7.4 million visitors and its a lot like Disneyland. 
By the way Orlando gets 75 million visitors a year and average stay is 4.5 nights. 
Maine gets 22 million a year. 
South Carolina 30 million a year. 
North Carolina 48 millón a year. 
Georgia 111 million a year, likely Atlanta has a huge impact with shorter stays. 

My listing does really well with Airbnb algorithms so I''m not giving up hope. They search guest reviews and help future guest find desirable locations which is something Airbnb is very good at. Mine does drop down to the #2 spot for "Amazing Views" and 2 guest for the area but I can live with that. I'm usually feathred on the first page with no search filters. But think these suggestions could help and it will be a major change if it becomes more difficult to book weekdays. 

My guest love my place. I very much enjoy offering a good value but sill need to make a certain amount each year. I very much enjoy feeling appreciated. They are so excited when they find it. I get honeymooners each month and almost every reservation is a special event. I hope Airbnb appreciates this as well, and want to continue to help guest find the right place for them. Most of the guest in this area are within 300 miles and take shorter trips. 


47 Replies 47

@Gillian166 

That sounds terrible! What were they thinking? Guest wants to go to Sydney for a few nights and the search comes back with somewhere different for a week five months out?

 

 Brian Chesky did the usual rounds on several business shows, like Bloomberg, CNBC etc, I happened to see the Bloomberg one, and he boasted this new feature as part of his ongoing strategy that the future of travel is changing and guest are now working away from home for longer stays in out of the way places like near national parks and Airbnb new update would facilitate this revolution in travel. 

I"m thinking he also let go all of the programmers because this is a disaster. I thought the AI and algorithms would work they way they did in the past, which it was really good at. As apparently I'm the only host in the area who can use a phone to list the accurate distance to town and the beach. All of the others are five minutes to each, even when the beach and town are 20 miles apart. I also don't check "beach access" as I'm 8 miles away, but all the other host in my area do, so the guest reviews have worked best for me, as they mention the beach all the time. 

The Bloomberg host also asked Brian about the designer he was working with, as he was famous, (can't remember the name)  and if he had much input to the new Summer Release and how it was working with him, as Brian said no, that it was all done in house, but that future updates were with the famous designer. But Brian went overboard on how this was the greatest update in Airbnb history and how it would revolutionize travel. Oh he did mention feedback from the community so that's a plus and at least a tiny chance he might reconsider this approach. The Bloomberg host also mentioned that host were pushing back over the guest centric approach, and he denied it and said vast majority of host were very happy and cited "front to end" Aircover for host that he claims covers everything and no other company offers this. This was in context to the Aircover for guest and of course host don't mind Aircover for guest. 

Oh well guess I need a super long break this year anyway. 🙂 

@Gillian166  I think we are the beta test group!

Gillian166
Level 10
Hay Valley, Australia

I'm a big fan of visionary people who form companies and do clever things to solve problems (not so much a fan of the word "disruptor" though), and Airbnb did exactly that. So, respect to Mr Chesky and team. And their website is really lovely to use, something the others still can't seem to catch up to. But this latest "vision" is coming from a place of elitism, he's lost touch with the everyday people. I work for myself so i have the privilege of being quite flexible in my travels, but still, I have children, so we are limited by things like school terms and of course, money. I've really enjoyed scrolling through the categories and looking at some amazing places, in the same way I enjoy scrolling through Pinterest or Instagram. But it's not functional for the actual purpose of finding somewhere to stay. I'd hope he brings back a simpler way of searching, in tandem with this new rollout. 

btw Mr Chesky, you can't travel to Australia with your dog, not even with a private plane. (see: johnny depp/amber heard) so that whole thing about travelling to France for a month, in summer, with your dog was just such a 1%er situation. cringe.  

John5097
Level 10
Charleston, SC

Quick update. I did have a cancellation for a weekend in July. Page views did increase some. However, I also discovered that both Air Conditioning and Heat were checked off in my amenities. Of course this isn't something I would turn off and had just checked them about a week ago after receiving an ABB email about a bug that turned off some amenities, so think it was related to this update. I also just installed a mini split haetpum 4 months ago and injured my finger in the process. But I do feel a lot better now that I discovered this and who knows how many others have been turned off and won't even realize it?    

I agree with others that its going to be harder for guest to find open single dates. I'll likely need to change to allow 7 days or longer but even then it still could be harder for guest to find open nights especially on weekdays.  

On the mobile app my apartment is showing Bay View, Harbor View, and Waterfront, in the amenities, although there is no option for host to select Bay or Harbor View. However, when selecting Amazing Views, Charleston, Two Guest, it zooms back out and only shows beach front listings in Myrtle Beach and Hilton Head for 600-1200 a night. The same with Lakefront, National Parks, Farmsteads etc. The beach also has "Beach" "Beach front" "Amazing views" and "Surfing" and beach listings are very limited in number as its just a small sliver on the coast. For example the closest beach to me gets millions of visitors a year, but only has 1000 short term rentals that can only rent out for 2 months a year. 

I get a lot of guest from all over the country who are here for a few nights for medical treatments, surgeries, and follow ups for the local hospitals. I've had mothers and daughter stay for surgery during peak of pandemic in April 2020, and guest following up on brain surgery from Montana. Back then Airbnb promoted itself as an essential service for guest who needed to stay for medial reasons, and STRs in my area were considered essential services like hotels,  but now that there is a lull in covid, Airbnb is now making it much more difficult for guest to find stays shorter than a week close to the hospitals, and instead direct them to some other area for week long stays. 

Brian Cheskey is already an iconic historical figure, one of the rare individuals who was in the right place at the right time and started an amazing company. I've posted about this before and his inspiring personal achievements. He went to Cuba with Obama when the president was opening relationships, and Airbnb was the only American company doing business there. So nothing personal. I like the concept but its targeted to increase earnings by promoting week long stays in higher end, more expensive listings, to the point that occupancy rates in popular listings could suffer. Although I'm also seeing  a lot more places that normally would have been much lower ranking as they have low ratings, so the update kind of stirred up all the muck that had settled to the bottom as places that are popular and good value are already booked.

  

John5097
Level 10
Charleston, SC

Well, I was able to book a popular weekend. But think a lot of people are missing the point. There are millions of host and guest, so either they will find the new formatting useful or confusing.

I'm surprised the new format leans so much towards booking entire weeks or weekends. Time will tell though.

One thing I really enjoy are my guest. I can say this is a very good partnership with me and Airbnb. I love my guest. In a world where I'm having to adjust to so many people who are angry, condescending, gaslighting, and oppressive, and just best to say, "ok have a nice day" and move on, my guest are a very positive influence and really appreciate all the effort and Airbnb. I've also had good experience with the customer support. 

But the truth is that both Guest, Host and Airbnb will adjust to what works for them. Some host may be less compatible and each of us are unique. I don't think I need to rely on any one platform, but still just trying to provide accurate and truthful feedback. 

This past two weeks almost all of my guest were on multi stop trip, most headed out of Florida back out West. Even my guest in their 70s are out all day every day, and tell me they wish they had stayed longer and will be back, although not sure they will be able to find my listing again. 

Jules155
Level 4
Banner Elk, NC

@John5097 Just for curiosity sake, I searched Airbnb on the host site BING.

This is what popped up. This is the old version of Airbnb with specific days or I'm flexible available. 

https://www.airbnb.com/a/stays/?account_id=142001799&campaign_id=380403558&ad_id=80951606671906&ad_g...

It also takes you to the old menu with "All Homes" being the first option, and not the new "Design" first option with all the glorious homes with $2000 a night price tags.

I'm not quite sure why different hosting sites are showing two different home pages for AirBnb, but I like the old format much better! 

John5097
Level 10
Charleston, SC

@Jules155 

The first page may be the older layout but loads the new web design after entering dates, or no dates, but I suppose that's better than the default "Any Week" ?  

  As it is now if "I"m flexible"  if "Any Weekend" is selected and selects desired months to search only listings will available weekends will be displayed. Same with "Any Week" only listings with 7 available nights will display. So either add a function to allow guest to select the desired trip length or add "Any Weekday" so guest can search listings with available weekdays.  That would really help a lot I think. 

Edit: Or better yet, change "Any Weekend" to "Any Dates" and have a check box to the side for search weekends only.  


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Emilie
Community Manager
Community Manager
London, United Kingdom

@John5097 Great suggestion, thanks for continuing to test this out and provide feedback!

 

I have read a few others mentioning the "anytime" search option, and although we've relayed your previous comments already I'll pass on these as well to the product team. 🙂

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Merci de jeter un oeil aux Principes du Community Center/ Please follow the Community Guidelines

@Emilie 

Awesome thanks so much. You can see how I had an open weekend for July, after a cancelation, that ramped up page views but as soon as it was booked page views plummeted to 11 which is lowest I've ever seen, and I have four weekdays available on the following week in July. So it appears it will be more difficult to book weeknights.

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It looks like I'll need to use a much different approach. Allow 7 nights, go up in rates 25% and use strict cancellation policy.  In 2021 I had guest every day of the year, and only blocked off a week in 2022 to make updates, but think that will likely change. No worries though! Gonna just roll with the changes! 

John5097
Level 10
Charleston, SC

I had a cancelation for June 11-13 that's not rebooking like it used to do.  Normally my views would immediately ramp up to 100-200 and rebook within the same day. But stuck at 30 views per day.

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These dates are a Saturday, Sunday and Monday, but don't show up in the Weekend view. I already had a 3 night minimum and booked just fine months in advance with the old search features. But now the search says my closest weekend is in November. 

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So a Saturday and Sunday aren't a weekend? 

This is what guest see for my amenities, Harbor View, Bay View and Watherfront but not in any catogries. The Amazing Views has only a few beaches on the entire coast hundreds of miles apart. Also its an "Amazing Find" but not getting views like it used to when guest cancel. 

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All my other reservations were done before this update. Other host will have difficulty booking nights that cancel. 


 





 

@John5097 This is happening to me too! On May 16th, I had a cancellation for Memorial Day Weekend. It has not been rebooked yet which is baffling me and I'm running out of time.

 

Apparently, Airbnb only considers Friday-Sunday a weekend. They started with these metrics last year when they rolled out the stupid Flexible Search Feature. Which I think is very pointless, since as we all know, flexible people can travel on Saturday-Sunday too! I don't understand it.

@Emilia42

It appears it will be more difficult to book or rebook weeknights. All of the categories for our area directs guest hundreds of miles away, and if you try to zoom back in, it erases the search area, and defaults back to All Homes, and doesn't repopulate any listings. 

 

After that most guest probably won't even try and figure out how to navigate the Flexible Stays, as its all not very intuitive. This is first time the search defaults to Any Weeks. 

Its reminding me of early Covid when there wasn't many travelers. I have a high conversion rate so will likely manage, while considering other options. 


@Emilia42 I find the new search is unusable. Period. Our humble little listing is doing okay since the insane revamp, but that can change at any time in 2 weeks, or at random.

 

I did a VRBO search to compare, it was fast, direct and easy.  All results reasonably priced without having put in any pricing.

@Emilia42 

Guest aren't booking weekends as soon as they used to either.  Hoping for the best but anticipating lower occupancy rates moving forward. 

I'll still need to rent for another 5 years just to break even on renovations. Then could be wiped out by a hurricane any year, as the nice views come with higher risk, so in reality would need to rent 10 years to get paid for all the work involved.

At this point my guess is that not as many potential guest aren't using the new design. I really don't understand it either but used to adjusting. 

John5097
Level 10
Charleston, SC

Update: 

As we all know and don't understand why is Airbnb now displaying random weeks far in advance? 

After searching for our city, Charleston, two guest, it defaults to Any Week, so the each of listings display random weeks, most in the winter months, when listings have other weeks available before that in more popular months. Some, including mine, has displayed a week in 2023. So guest assume that's the first week available and keep scrolling by and clicking somewhere else. 

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Then click on Amazing Views, one of the new catigrories, and it zooms back out to a cluster of high end multi million dollar beach houses hundreds of males outside the search destination, professionally managed, all displaying the first 5 nights available that are all in the popular summer months. 

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So the new Summer Release is designed to misrepresent regular listing's availability in order to favor muti million dollar investment properties. 

I don't mind not being included in Amazing Views or any other category, but I'm very sad that such a strategy would be implemented. I'm sad for my guest and over two years of maintaining all 5 star reviews. 

I'm still getting bookings and made some adjustments, and will be making more changes and updates in 2023. 

I also posted this screenshot of the TOS  back in another topic on the previous update on March 30th 2022.  So while probably legal they the Summer Update is actively misrepresenting regular listings availability to favor high end investment properties. 

It would be nice to have some kind of explanation from Airbnb about this. I'm guessing that this won't be sustainable. 

https://community.withairbnb.com/t5/Hosting/Another-update-which-will-increase-guest-refund-requests...



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