@.Sybe.
@.Sybe. Thank you for your questions. I have 2 Airbnb's at the beach in Ventura, California. I did not raise any of my pricing since 2021, let the Airbnb pricing algorithms do their magic in 2022 and monitored what happened. Also, I have looked at all of the comparison listings Airbnb provided and gave feedback on what was a similar listing and what wasn't (thumbs up or thumbs down). The algorithms changed the pricing based on demand for the similar listings. (It was very interesting to see what happened). The homes for most of 2022 continued to book well. After the big adjustment to the search structure, the pricing changed too. My upstairs 3+2 Ocean view is priced between $388-$425 typically. The Airbnb algorithms raised it to, in some cases $476-$650. A few nights at the end of 2022 it went over $1100 per night (Crazy). Similar things happened to the downstairs home 2+2 no view. The pricing typically ranges from $292-$355 per night. The Airbnb algorithms raised it to $400-$680 per night (Also Crazy).
As a result of the obvious malfunction of the pricing algorithms I am monitoring the daily pricing and adjusting it to what I know the market is or close to the current market rates for similar listings in the area.
In addition, I noticed the Promotion feature was having issues in November 2022 and have called customer support to figure out what can be done to provide a promotion. One out of 3 customer support persons were able to help me and one showed me a work around that would only work for a full week or more. It isn't possible to offer Thursday through Sunday any more which is the period when most people want to get away for the weekend. The weekly promotion has not resulted in any bookings.
Since the Airbnb computer and algorithm issues showed up, my 2 homes have been vacant over 6 weeks in December and January, which is highly unusual. I did have some cancelations due to illness however they did not rebook quickly as they usually do. I am on Instant book with a Flexible Cancelation policy. The Crazy pricing, I believe was a contributing factor as well as the Promotion ability issues.
Fortunately my repeat guests are able to find the listing, but the Crazy pricing had a negative effect. If we are not making money neither is Airbnb.
The latest pricing (as of the first week in January 2023) on Airbnb now reflects my minimum pricing or close to it. Another recent Airbnb computer change.
One of the news updates for Hosts suggested we change our listing descriptions and update and/or take new pictures. If the listing is successful do the hosts really need to do this or are these search algorithms being modified too? If they are (which I suspect is happening) then I will be complying with the suggestions. I do have concerns that the upcoming changes to the Airbnb Search results in the same debacle the pricing and category changes have had. The Airbnb IT Department learning curve had an overall, negative affect on my business in a significant way. I can see they are figuring it out, but my concerns are elevated.
Lastly, I conducted a customer Ventura Airbnb Search a few days ago. M
any of the listings are showing a significant reduction in nightly prices, sometimes more than $100 per night. Also it is curious that there are listings for Oxnard, Malibu, Santa Barbara in my Search for Ventura (Only). The statement from Airbnb said there were 1000 listings in Ventura. There are only 213 Short Term Vacation Rentals Licensed with the City of Ventura. The County of Ventura has about the same amount. Malibu, Oxnard and Santa Barbara are not Ventura. My personal Airbnb Search shows how out of whack the Airbnb Search Engine still is.
My apologies for the length of this response. The question is complicated, the answers are many and I have been doing a lot of research to try to figure out how to keep my properties booked through Airbnb. At present I do not have them listed and have not had them listed with anyone else. Airbnb is a great company and a fantastic concept. I hope the powers running this company can get it back on track. As a Customer and Host, the personal touch and attention to detail brought me to Airbnb. The AI, IT and changes to a BOT response system isn't good hospitality on its own. Hospitality is a personal business. It is very hands on. Good luck to us all in 2023 and beyond.
Cheers,
Patti