Super Host Listing

[Linda1359]

I am a Super Host in the small village of Central Tilba, NSW, Australia (My Place In Central Tilba).  I find it really disappointing when, a lot of the time, Airbnb show listings that are NOT Super Hosts first, before my listing in searches for Central Tilba.  And, at times, neighbouring towns' listings are featured before those in Central Tilba when the seach is for Central Tilba.  If Airbnb value Super Hosts so much and appreciate our hard work, in my mind Super Host listings should appear first in searches for that location, not after those who are not Super Hosts.  And, if a search is for a particular location, all listings for that location should be shown before showing listings for neighbouring locations.

[Robin4]

@Linda1359

Hi Linda, I just did an incognito search of your area using just available dates and three guests and your listing showed up number 2 in 135 listings.......

I don't think many of us would wish for better exposure than that. Can I compliment you on your listing Linda you have a really nice property!

Funnily enough we have exactly the same outdoor setting as you have, complete with a lazy susan.

All the best Linda!

Cheers.....Rob

[Linda1359]

Thanks for your reply Rob, and yes they are great outdoor settings.  My point is though, that yes, mine came up second in your search, but the one on top is not even in Central Tilba, it's in Narooma, some 18 km away and there are plenty of super hosts in Tilba!  When I've done a search, 2 come up on top of me and although they are in Tilba, they are not super hosts, which are the points I'm trying to make in that Airbnb doesn't really look after their super hosts in a specific location.  

[Robin4]

@Linda1359

Linda I have done a few other searches for your area and the order does change but you have to appreciate the algorithm that governs search placement responds to activity and it may be this that is to a certain extent affecting the search order.

On each occasion that I have searched you have come up in the first three listings and when I turn on the superhost filter on each occasion I have started another search you have come up as the number one property.....

And even not using the Superhost filter the two properties before you are within the same close area as your listing. Any search that consistently puts you in the first 5 of 260 available listings is something to be happy with!

Personally I think the system is working pretty well for you. Almost all hosts would kill for the sort of visibility you are getting!

Cheers...........Rob

[Oomesh-Kumarsingh0]

@Linda1359 I completely understand your frustration concerning the ranking system! I am also in a very similar situation here where new listings are ahead of me in the search list.Airbnb does this in order for the new listings to get booked asap in order to hook more and more hosts to the website.

What i can advice you to do so that to increase your chances to appear at the top is to update your listings as well as your calendar on a daily basis.Happy hosting!!!

[Linda1359]

Thanks Oomesh, that's a great tip.  I did ring AIrbnb up  a while ago and spoke to them at length about the unfairness of the way they sort the listings, after I found I was down to about 15th on the page and I was so annoyed that those above me were mainly not super hosts in my locality and also not super hosts from  nearby localities.  I went back to the top shortly after that conversation!  You would imagine that if you searched for a certain location that is where you wanted to stay, so logically all those in that locality should be shown before those from other locality.

Another I thing I find really annoying is that reviews by guests from other countries start from the end of the reviews, so if you have a run of guests from overseas, it actually looks like you've had no reviews lately (especially when you've got over 20-30 pages of reviews) and no-one really sees them.  I just cannot see a logical reason for this and firmly believe they should all just be in date order (newest first of course).

[Ben551]

@Linda1359 There are a whole raft of things you have to do in order to maximise your placement in search results. It’s called search engine optimisation (SEO) and, to get it right, requires quite an in depth look at your listing description, pricing, ratings, whether every description box is full and has the right key words, photograph quality, photography narration, number of photographs, instant book, daily calendar updates, time spent logged into the listing backend..... sheesh I could go on for over a page. If you get all this bang on, you will nail that top placement whether you are a superhost or not. I’m not a superhost, but my listing is constantly hitting #1 for my approaching free dates.

I suggest doing some searches and reading up on SEO. I did it and the results have been superb.