Your top questions about Airbnb Search

Lizzie · ‎21-09-2017

Hello everyone,

One of the most popular discussion topics here in the Community Center is on how Airbnb Search works. We brought your most-asked questions to the Airbnb Search team and have gathered the answers for you.

I really hope you find the responses helpful. To read the responses to each question, please click on the 'Read more' buttons! 🙂

Lizzie

Answers to your top Search questions

You’ve created and published a fabulous listing and now your friends and family want to check it out. How do they find it? And among all the listings out there, how does the Airbnb algorithm decide which ones to show a traveler searching in your area? As we hear questions from hosts, two basic categories of questions emerge: What affects a listing’s ranking, and how can I find my listing online? So we took your most asked questions to the Airbnb Search team and have gathered the answers for you. Let’s dive in.

1. On search ranking, and how to improve yours:

What factors affect my listing’s placement in search results?

That’s a great question. We have an algorithm that looks at over 100 signals to decide how to order listings in search results. Most of those signals have to do with things that guests care about, like positive reviews and great photos. If you think guests might care about it, it probably factors into your ranking! The reason is this: you’re most likely to get a booking request (or be instantly booked) if a traveler finds the type of place they’re looking for right away. We get a lot of information from the traveler about what they want for then show them listings that match their needs most closely.

Not every signal is weighed equally, and you don’t need to have a perfect listing or an unbeatable location for your listing to rank well. But there are some really influential signals that make a difference. Some of those include: how often guests click on your listing in search results, how often guests attempt to contact you from your listing page, how many booking requests you accept, if you use Instant Book, and how competitive your listing price is.

That’s a great question. We have an algorithm that looks at over 100 signals to decide how to order listings in search results. Most of those signals have to do with things that guests care about, like positive reviews and great photos. If you think guests might care about it, it probably factors into your ranking! The reason is this: you’re most likely to get a booking request (or be instantly booked) if a traveler finds the type of place they’re looking for right away. We get a lot of information from the traveler about what they want for then show them listings that match their needs most closely. Not every signal is weighed equally, and you don’t need to have a perfect listing or an unbeatable location for your listing to rank well. But there are some really influential signals that make a difference. Some of those include: how often guests click on your listing in search results, how often guests attempt to contact you from your listing page, how many booking requests you accept, if you use Instant Book, and how competitive your listing price is.

Why are listings with Instant Book prioritised ahead of other listings in the search results?

The main goal of the search algorithm is to facilitate bookings. And if a guest has an excellent experience booking and traveling on Airbnb they’re highly likely to use Airbnb again in the future. This helps travelers and hosts alike. We’ve seen for many years that—all other things being equal—travelers prefer to use Instant Book because they can book quickly, skip the wait time for hosts to respond, and avoid possibly being rejected. Because of the high booking success for hosts and guests, Instant Book gives your listing a boost in searches.

That said, many of you have amazing listings and use a Request to Book approach to hosting. It’s important that you know Instant Book is only one of more than a hundred factors in your listing search ranking. You can absolutely rank really well in searches without being an Instant Book host.

The main goal of the search algorithm is to facilitate bookings. And if a guest has an excellent experience booking and traveling on Airbnb they’re highly likely to use Airbnb again in the future. This helps travelers and hosts alike. We’ve seen for many years that—all other things being equal—travelers prefer to use Instant Book because they can book quickly, skip the wait time for hosts to respond, and avoid possibly being rejected. Because of the high booking success for hosts and guests, Instant Book gives your listing a boost in searches. That said, many of you have amazing listings and use a Request to Book approach to hosting. It’s important that you know Instant Book is only one of more than a hundred factors in your listing search ranking. You can absolutely rank really well in searches without being an Instant Book host.

If I’m a Superhost, will my listing get a boost in search results?

Although we don't give an explicit boost to Superhosts in search, the factors required to become a Superhost do help your listing rank higher. Moreover, we give guests the option to filter their search results to only display Superhosts and occasionally showcase Superhosts on the results page.

How can I improve my listing ranking in search results? Are there any settings I can adopt to help my ranking?

The best way to immediately improve performance in Search is to enable Instant Book. Our research shows that guests prefer the booking experience that Instant Book provides. Even when they don’t filter for Instant Book listings, they often choose them over others because booking a place to stay quickly means they can get on with planning the rest of their trip. Other ways to quickly boost your ranking:

Make a fabulous first impression. Make sure that your first photo is a bright, attractive, high quality, horizontal image of your listing. The more clicks you get from curious travelers, the higher you’ll rank in search results over time. An enticing and realistic photo is the very best way to show off your space in an instant.
Price your listing competitively. Travelers are frequently looking for a great value for their trip, and by using tools like Smart Pricing, or setting your own competitive price, you can get the benefit of well informed pricing recommendations.

The best way to immediately improve performance in Search is to enable Instant Book. Our research shows that guests prefer the booking experience that Instant Book provides. Even when they don’t filter for Instant Book listings, they often choose them over others because booking a place to stay quickly means they can get on with planning the rest of their trip. Other ways to quickly boost your ranking: Make a fabulous first impression. Make sure that your first photo is a bright, attractive, high quality, horizontal image of your listing. The more clicks you get from curious travelers, the higher you’ll rank in search results over time. An enticing and realistic photo is the very best way to show off your space in an instant. Price your listing competitively. Travelers are frequently looking for a great value for their trip, and by using tools like Smart Pricing, or setting your own competitive price, you can get the benefit of well informed pricing recommendations.

Is it true that if guests add my listing to their wishlists, my listing will get a little boost in the search results?

Yes! When travelers add your listing to their wishlist, it does indeed help your search ranking! One individual wishlist may not make a visible difference but over several months, if many guests love your listing and choose to wishlist it, it will rank higher. We also use listings that guests wishlist to better personalize their search experience, so they’ll be likely to see your listing again in future searches.

Is it true that editing and tweaking my listing every day will help boost my listing in Search?

Repeatedly changing or tweaking your listing will neither help nor hurt your Search Ranking. If you’re happy with your photos, price, and description, feel free to leave it as is and wait for booking requests to arrive!

Can I pay to advertise my listing so it appears on more search results?

Airbnb does not offer pay-for-placement in Search. This allows us to generate impartial search results for the best matches between hosts and guests. But you can advertise, if you like. We’ve made it easy for you to find, copy, and paste the information needed to embed your listing on social media and your personal blog or website: On your listing page, you’ll see “Share” on the right hand side of the screen. Underneath that, you’ll see the embed icon. It looks like this: </>. If you click that icon, you’ll see the information you need to easily copy and paste your listings code on your personal blog or website.

Why am I on the last page on search? This way no one will ever book my listing?

It’s important to know that some searches, for example city-level with no dates, are not highly representative of how a traveler looking to book uses the website. Some of those searches can capture many tens of thousands of listings. Travelers that book tend to use specific dates, zoom in on the map, or look for certain amenities using filters. So there will be far fewer listings in the search results than with a general search with no preferences or filters.

If I have to decline a booking because a guest doesn’t meet my House Rules, does this impact my search ranking?

Because being rejected for a booking is one of the worst experiences for our guests, we do factor this into Search Ranking. However, we understand that sometimes you legitimately need to decline a traveler, and we take that into account. We’re most interested in how you compare to other hosts, rather than just counting your rejections.

A single rejection will not significantly hurt your ranking, but over time, rejecting more guests than other hosts in your market will lower your ranking. We find that a large majority of our hosts are able to accept most booking requests, and our best Request-to-Book hosts accept almost all of them. You can help travelers know if they should try to book your space by writing clear, detailed House Rules and keeping your calendar up to date. Make sure your settings and amenities lists also set accurate expectations.

Because being rejected for a booking is one of the worst experiences for our guests, we do factor this into Search Ranking. However, we understand that sometimes you legitimately need to decline a traveler, and we take that into account. We’re most interested in how you compare to other hosts, rather than just counting your rejections. A single rejection will not significantly hurt your ranking, but over time, rejecting more guests than other hosts in your market will lower your ranking. We find that a large majority of our hosts are able to accept most booking requests, and our best Request-to-Book hosts accept almost all of them. You can help travelers know if they should try to book your space by writing clear, detailed House Rules and keeping your calendar up to date. Make sure your settings and amenities lists also set accurate expectations.

2. On finding your listing online

I just created my listing and it appears as published on my profile, but when I search for it I can't find it. If other people search for it, they can't find it either. Why is that?

There is usually a delay of around 6 hours between the time you publish a listing and when it shows up in search results. This gives you time to make final changes to your listing settings before receiving your first booking request. It also gives Airbnb time to ensure every new listing is suitable for the marketplace. If you don’t see your listing within 24 hours, you can contact customer support to find out why.

I haven't received a new booking in awhile, so I searched for my listing and asked a friend to search for it too. Neither of us could find it, and it’s not showing up even when I add specific details and filters. What can I do?

If your listing is in a popular market with numerous listings, it may be necessary to apply several filters to show your listing. Don’t worry, this is how travelers search and they’ll be able to find your listing too! We recommend using dates on your search, and checking that they match your calendar availability and minimum nights settings.

A common reason Instant Book hosts (or their friends) may not see their listing is that they’ve chosen to require a guest have positive reviews in order to make a book their space. If you’ve chosen this requirement, it means your listing will show up as a Request to Book, not an Instant Book, listing for logged out users or new guests if the Instant Book filter is applied. This is because a logged out or new traveler will not be eligible to instantly book your place.

If your listing is in a popular market with numerous listings, it may be necessary to apply several filters to show your listing. Don’t worry, this is how travelers search and they’ll be able to find your listing too! We recommend using dates on your search, and checking that they match your calendar availability and minimum nights settings. A common reason Instant Book hosts (or their friends) may not see their listing is that they’ve chosen to require a guest have positive reviews in order to make a book their space. If you’ve chosen this requirement, it means your listing will show up as a Request to Book, not an Instant Book, listing for logged out users or new guests if the Instant Book filter is applied. This is because a logged out or new traveler will not be eligible to instantly book your place.

I can’t find my listing. Does it make a difference if I’m logged in or logged out?

Most listings on Airbnb should show up in searches regardless of whether you’re logged in or not, although the ranking may appear different. This is because Airbnb search is personalized, and when a traveler logs in we have more information to better match them with listings. One exception to this is for hosts who allow Instant Book but have chosen to require that guests have positive reviews. In this case, if the Instant Book filter is applied, your listing would not show up to travelers who are logged out. This is because we can’t tell if a logged out visitor to the site has reviews.

I can see the listing appearing on the map in the Airbnb app, but when I go to view the same listing (with the same filters) in the desktop version, it isn't appearing. Why is this?

Airbnb Search is personalized to help travelers find the best listings for their trip. Part of that involves looking at the device and location they’re searching from. This means that you may experience a different ranking of listings on different devices.

I have Instant Book activated, but my listing doesn't come up in the results. Isn't Instant Book supposed to boost my listing on search results?

Instant Book does give you a boost, but it sounds like there may be another reason you’re not seeing your listing in the results. Make sure that your search criteria match the settings and requirements you’ve established. Anything from minimum nights requirement to date range, number of guests or not having reviews can hinder you from seeing your listing in a search. And of course, if you require guests have previous ratings, then it may be that you haven’t traveled on Airbnb yourself or that you’re not logged in as a guest.

I can’t find my listing when I search for its title. Why doesn’t Airbnb have keyword search? Will it be implemented in the future?

Keyword search, and especially free-text search, is extremely technically challenging, but an exciting product to build! Rest assured that we have an excellent team that is always investigating how to improve the search experience, and we hope that changes like these will make it into the product in coming years.

The most important thing is this: you’re a unique host who offers a one-of-a-kind experience, because you’re you and your space isn’t like any other. We hope these tips and answers help you understand the sometimes complicated nature of matching unique travelers with hosts. Focus on what you do best, play up your strengths, and don’t worry about showing up first in search.

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Simone288 · ‎20-11-2017

We all can change the situation. I've been reading so many disagreements about the Instant Booking system. Airbnb has to understand. We, the hosts, the majority of us are very un pleased about Instant. Let's go back to the old system: the friendly one. We want to know who is coming to my house. Please Airbnb change it. Say no to instant guests!

John451 · ‎23-10-2017

Well said. It is helpful to both the guest and host to have an email exchange before booking. I have avoided a few heavy duty partiers that way and have also been able to advise a few guests that, based on their needs, my place wasn't exactly what they wwere looking for and they might want to choose a different listing.

John

Bibi15 · ‎23-10-2017

Totally agree with not using Instant Booking; it does not work for our home and really cannot understand why Airbnb keeps pushing this feature without understanding where hosts come from. I want to have a conversation with my guests BEFORE they book my home nor AFTER; not meeting expectations because there is no communication is very, very costly.

Kaye17 · ‎28-10-2017

Your security and safety has also to be taken into account. These days you just dont know what some one is like, then to,have them in your own home with you , could be a problem. It is vital that you know more about this unknown person or group before you open your front doot to them

Virginia134 · ‎24-10-2017

I don't use instant book either and totally agree with you. I would rather work out if the guest is mutually compatible before the booking takes place and if I am comfortable with them staying in my home with me. I like to know a bit about the person that arrives on my doorstep before they arrive! I can see that instant book may work for a self contained of completely separate place but not when you are sleeping under the same roof as your guests. Airbnb should accomodate this factor.

Anne-And-Wayne0 · ‎22-10-2017

I agree. I tried instant book and had to cancel a guest because the room was suddenly booked by a family member. I did it immediately but was penalized by Airbnb. Plus this really puts you under the gun to get the room cleaned

Norma7 · ‎22-10-2017

It has been most interesting to hear all the comments. We have been hosting for two years and I prefer Instant Book. We have had interesting and lovely guests and so far no problems. We are booked most of the time. Instant Book is freeing. I don't constantly look at my phone to answer questions. I always greet guests with a welcoming message and have a dialogue with them immediately. I appreciate the phone signal I receive from Airbnb when a guest has booked. I look at their background and learn where they are coming from and for what reasons they are traveling.

Being able to read the message history of our conversations is extremely helpful. Thanks Airbnb.

Mary356 · ‎22-10-2017

Thanks, Norma, for expressing my thoughts beatifully! I've been hosting for 14 months now and have had only one unpleasant experience with guests. I don't believe anything would have been different if these folks had not been able to instant book.

I communicate with each party to help them plan their visit, to alert them to unique circumstances they may encounter in my area and to ensure that we all have a good experience while they are staying in my casita. Instant book works beautifully for me!

Kaye17 · ‎28-10-2017

Norma, like you, instant book works for me. When the people book I learn about them and why they are coming to stay. They do have the house and property to themselves, so,Imdont have the concern if we are going to get on OK. So far, I,have been very lucky, and our guests have been lovely. My big concern is if they go and have a big party, which is definitely against house rules, but because I live a distance away from the airbnb house, I really wouldnt know until it is too late.

Norma7 · ‎22-10-2017

It has been most interesting to hear all the comments. We have been hosting for two years and I prefer Instant Book. We have had interesting and lovely guests and so far no problems. We are booked most of the time. Instant Book is freeing. I don't constantly look at my phone to answer questions. I always greet guests with a welcoming message and have a dialogue with them immediately. I appreciate the phone signal I receive from Airbnb when a guest has booked. I look at their background and learn where they are coming from and for what reasons they are traveling.

Being able to read the message history of our conversations is extremely helpful. Thanks Airbnb.

Julee1 · ‎23-10-2017

I agree with Michelle. I too had instant book on one of my listings. People would instant book it, then they would take the time to really read through the listing and realize, too bad, it is not something they wanted. So, after spending a lot of time getting their reservation on my paperwork, computer, etc., they would cancel !!!!

Jann3 · ‎23-10-2017

@Julee1,

This is where cancellation policy kicks in. I do a Strict policy. If they cancelled over a week before they get here they get 50%, then after that, zero. It cushions the blow (on me) of those that do what you are suggesting.

Sheila146 · ‎23-10-2017

Hi Jann, I can see the strict policy working well, and I would go for that instead of moderate, except I am concerned it would discourage some advance bookings as the penalty kicks in immediately (do I have that right?). I would love to see an option in between like penalizing 50% for cancelling month before, 100% after a week before. I have sent this suggestion in to airbnb a few times. Our listing is in a very competitive airbnb market, Vienna, Austria (and airbnb is advertising here to attract more hosts). In 16 months of being a host, I have had only a few cancellations, so it has been okay. I do IB, nad have had very few problems.

Sheila

Paul685 · ‎29-10-2017

Hello there,

Yup! We seem to do pretty much the same thing. I set mine to 5 days and it works just fine. I have had 1 "ticked off" future guest that cancelled 2 days before but to AIRBNB'S credit, they defended our cancellation policy for me! Even after I sent the person an email explaining our cancellation policy! Luckily I got 2 bookings within 3 hours so it actually benefitted us.

Hooray for a decent and fair cancellation policy!

Caroline432 · ‎25-10-2017

I've been on air bnb for just over a year now. I've always allowed instabook and I feel as long as you keep your price in the high range you will attract the quality guests you want. I've had over 85 reservations and not one problem. Every guest I have had has been amazing !

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