Why is the 'Neighbourhoods' search functionality such a mess?

[Louise0]

Dear Airbnb,

I'm sorry if this comes off a bit, you know, rebarbative......   but truly, I'd like to meet the person(s) in charge of the 'Neighbourhoods' functionality and spank them with a wet slipper.  

My understanding is that you've introduced a metric to your algorithm which pushes guests towards specific 'Neighbourhoods' based on the prospective guests desire to experience such pleasures as 'Dining', 'By the Harbour', 'Nature', 'By the Beach' etc.  This is a rather excellent idea, but sadly its execution falls a tad short.  

I can only speak for my hometown, Sydney, but some of the attributes attached to various neighbourhoods are just a little questionable.  For example, whilst Sydney Harbour is indeed a vast and most impressive body of water, it does not extend 20 kilometres up the coast and into the Pacific Ocean.   Therefore, guests who'd confidently booked listings in Avalon and Palm Beach on your assurance that these would satisfy their urge to be 'By the Harbour' would be a little miffed/confused/ready-to-sue-someone-to-death to find that even with the strongest telephoto lens, photo ops with the Bridge and Opera House as backdrop were not forthcoming.  And hosts in Avalon and Palm Beach might be wondering why they don't pop up when a guest looks for a neighbourhood 'By the Beach'.  Does Airbnb perhaps think that the 'Beach' in Palm Beach is simply a marvellous example of Australian irony?    

Equally disappointed would be those seeking out the 'Urban Chic' of the 'pin striped prison by day'/'ghost town by night' that is North Sydney and those hoping to commune with 'Nature' in Rose Bay/Dover Heights.   I could also say something about the 'Young & Beautiful' of Double Bay - but I won't, it would be too cruel.   Fortunately, there's no risk of anyone, ever,  seeking 'Apertifs' (sic) in Neutral Bay.   Most of the residents are old enough to still be smarting over Mururoa Atoll and have patriotically eschewed any such nomenclature in favour of 'wine o'clock' or its masculine form, 'time to crack a coldie'.

So, the first problem is the misattribution of characteristics to those neighbourhoods which Airbnb HAVE delineated.   The second problem is that many, many listings are in areas that fall between these 'Neighbourhoods' and therefore don't officially exist.  Woe betide a host whose listing falls between these cracks and pity me, because it seems I'm one.

My neighbourhood is Greenwich/Northwood/Longueville.   The suburbs surrounding us - Wollstonecraft/Waverton to the east, Lane Cove to the west and Crows Nest to the north -  rate a mention, but our affluent, harbourside enclave disappears into the ether.  It's particularly galling given that we are so close to Crows Nest and Wollstonecraft that we actually share a postcode.  If I could make one suggestion to whomever is in charge of sorting suburbs into 'Neighbourhoods', it would be that they need to rethink their taxonomy and delineate using a more nuanced approach that considers both culture and geography.

The impact of the well-meaning but rather inept 'Neighbourhoods' initiative is beyond annoying.  Airbnb claims to be keen to attract Chinese outbound tourists.  We did our bit, and we were hugely popular with urbane, well-heeled Chinese family groups; mainly because of the location.  I'd average an enquiry from this demographic (which usually turned into a booking) every couple of days, if not daily.   Not any more.  Nope, despite being chockful of 'Nature' , 'By the Harbour' and offering more 'Peace and Quiet' than a Scientologist's delivery suite, we wouldn't show up today if anyone were to search for a neighbourhood with those attributes.

Our neighbourhood is lush, with dropdead views from almost anywhere and it's green and rainforesty enough to tick the 'exotic' box yet also super, super safe and family friendly with dozens of restaurants and bars only minutes away by car.  Plus we're perfectly positioned for day trips by car to pretty much anywhere in Sydney.  This exotic+safe+convenient vibe is what made us such a hit with Chinese families in the past, and the tiny trickle I've attracted in the last month have also raved about us.     I've tried countless times to get Airbnb to focus on putting our suburb(s) into a 'Neighbourhood' box of its own and to highlight the virtues of one of Sydney's most desirable locations for families, but with no success to date.

It's pretty obvious that Airbnb need a lot of help to get the whole Neighbourhoods functionality actually functional.   What you're doing now is not working.  It's not delivering the best experience for guests during their search and it's not serving the interests of hosts.  It's probably not great for the morale of the people working on it either, as they must get a barrage of complaints about the ridiculous attributes and the patchy coverage.  

I have two questions for Airbnb.  Why aren't you being more proactive in seeking input from both hosts and guests about a location's attributes and why aren't your results vetted by a local (or two) before they're published and the whole world sees how silly they are?