"Rare Find" Moniker: How? Why? To what end? Cheats?

[Richard531]

There is no doubt that having your home designated as a “Rare Find” is a very good thing.  It gets guests more fired up to book your home (I know it does when I search as a traveler!) and it certainly indicates that your listing is popular in some way, shape, or form.  It publicly tells this to you (yay, validation!) and to your guests alike.  We have the designation on our listings because we work super hard to keep them booked 365 (like, literally, not one vacant day, ever, the entire year).  So this is not a conversation about my listings keeping/losing that designation.

Instead, I’m obsessing over competing listings in markets where we operate having the “Rare Find” moniker when they seemingly shouldn’t. I know, for a fact, that these listings are not running anywhere near the same velocity as we are.  I’m not going to stop obsessing about it, so please let’s not talk about how I shouldn’t care!  I care and it bothers me! 

OK, so then how do these guys accomplish this?  I’ve heard that they block their calendar in some way.  That’s not a Rare Find, then!  Could it be that guests all booking super last minute and there’s more people booking than I think?  But then when you look back at a month and see the number of reviews, it’ll be 4-6 per month.  A fully booked listing in pretty much any market, should easily have 10-15 reviews per month.  I mean, some listings in particular, you can look out several months and they have EVERY SINGLE DAY available between now and 3 months out.  The listing still says “Rare Find.”  Could they be in cahoots with someone over at Airbnb?  In some cases, you can observe these listings lose the Rare Find designation only to regain it several days later.  And their calendars remain the same as they were (from my overly obsessive observations).  What gives?  Anyone know anything more about this for sure?

If a place is hereby designated a “Rare Find,” it should be. . .  A Rare Find!  Anyone know anything further about this or have the same thoughts or observations? 

[Emiel1]

@Richard531 

I consider the "rare find" as a marketing trick, which is randomly supplied on listinga, to get guests to book as soon as possible.

[Paul1255]

I agree @Emiel1  and @Richard531 

Similar to when you’re browsing on a retail website and a prompt appears that  85 other people happen to be looking at the same product, 15 have just purchased it and there are only 2 left in stock 🙂 

Buy buy buy/book book book!

[Colleen253]

@Emiel1  Yes, totally. It's like the "SALE!!" sign in any store window, to draw shoppers in. Or the "FREE SHIPPING" deal, even when you know full well the shipping isn't actually free. Marketing mind games.

[Fred13]

This does remind me of the 365-day long yearly 'On Sale' campaigns many slick artists pull on the public. Yet, the sign never comes down the entire year. 

In my world, all my competitors claim their island are 'private' with the banner of 'Rent Your Own Private Island', yet their guests are sharing it with other total strangers; while in our case we rent to only one party at a time. All island are privately-owned to even be able to rent them, but they hoodwink the public by stretching the concept what it is 'private', falsely insinuating they will have all to themselves. Doesn't matter once they see ours, they will never book theirs.

[Sarah977]

@Fred13  There's a huge 3 story store in Puerto Vallarta that sells everything you can think of- furniture, tiles, lamps, fabric, bird cages, all manner of Mexican stuff. It has "50% Off Everything!" plastered across the front. What they don't tell you is that everything is 3 times as expensive there to start with than you can buy it for somewhere else.

[Fred13]

So 300% mark up minus 'Half-Off Super Sale' = 150% what everyone else is charging. Creative.

[Sarah977]

@Richard531  I'm convinced that some hosts either work for Airbnb in some capacity or know someone who does and so manage to get some special placement perks.

There was a listing, a sort of hobbit house, that was at one point featured not once, but twice on the main Airbnb cover page. Yet the reviews for this place weren't good at all. Multiple reviews stating only one thin towel per person provided, a treacherous icy steep pathway to access the place in the winter, several complaints about the difficulty in managing to get the place warm, and so on.

[M199]

@Richard531,   @Sarah977 , @Colleen253, @Fred13 , @Paul1255 

Interesting points of view.  I would like to know how the "Rare Find" actually works.  I only started with Airbnb for a short fall season in 2020.  Now my listing is "Rare Find".  I'm wondering if it is an analytic of how often a listing is booked.  Can't quite figure out the logic.  Anyone have any thoughts about analytics?  I haven't had any communications directly with Airbnb.

[Fred13]

Well my place will never qualify, for it is easy for my guests to 'find' it, since I take them there in a boat and they have no choice in the matter. 😄

[Mary996]

@Richard531 Congrats on your success from hard work. At least you will be generating income from your genuine 'rare find'... which others won't. Did you read about the 'Dulwich shed' which, without serving a meal, reached the top of the Egon Ronay guide?

[Richard531]

@Mary996, @Fred13 , @Sarah977 , @M199 , @Colleen253 

I beg to differ that the Rare Find designation isn’t; a “marketing trick.”  Which, as I read it, has an implication of “ by chance.”  It’s on there for a reason and it benefits the hosts lucky enough to get it done.  I only see it at maybe 10% of listings when browsing (or less).  So even if it’s just for marketing, it benefits those PARTICULAR hosts. That's the crux of the question.  

My original question is more to @M199 said.  What are the metrics, how do they change, and what did the people that don’t deserve the designation do to get it done?

@Mary996, I never heard that story!  Will have to check it out!

[Mary996]

The Shed Dulwich ..Amazing Fake Restaurant No 1 Trip advisor - YouTube

It was on Trip Advisor ....!

[Inna22]

@Mary996  thats one of my most favorite stories of all time!

[Colleen253]

Well @Richard531, if you ever solve this mystery, do come back and report! I'm curious now. Btw, when I was a brand new host I had the rare find badge on my listing for awhile. At the time it appeared, I had only had a sprinkling of bookings. I didn't have any secret 'in' with anyone at Airbnb who could have put it there for me. It eventually went away and I don't think it's been there since. I average about 50% occupancy, steady.