No bookings since Jan 2023

Mohammed252
Level 1
Birmingham, United Kingdom

No bookings since Jan 2023

Up until Dec 2022 I used to be about 70% booked. Since the start of January 2023 I am not seeing any bookings. Does anybody what has happened?

46 Replies 46

I went from having fairly consistent bookings for the 6 months that I have listed, to suddenly getting ZERO inquiries from late November until mid-January (7 weeks). I have 100% five star reviews and have not cancelled anyone, I respond quickly, etc.

I called and questioned it. I was told "we will refresh your listing," and my views immediately went from 5-10/day to 30/day and I got 3 inquiries and two listings in two days. I didn't know you could track view/day, booking rates, etc-- it is under INSIGHTS>VIEWS. Now the views are starting to retreat back toward their norm. I'd like to know if my views were artificially suppressed before, or if they just artificially boosted them to throw me a bone. Either way, it's amazing what they can do. I'm in an area where it should really just be a case of location, amenities and price.

Huma0
Level 10
London, United Kingdom

@Gary1133 

 

That's really interesting. I have not yet heard of someone getting a 'refresh' from Airbnb. I was just told (after the Summer Release) to lower my prices (that's a no), allow shorter stays (no, again) and open up dates on the calendar (not possible, those are blocked for direct bookings, which I need since Airbnb has screwed so many of us over). 

 

Other hosts have reported they were advised to improve their listings, include 'front page worthy photos', key words, etc. etc. 

 

It's all meaningless. Airbnb's algorithms have been redesigned and that redesign does not favour many previously successful hosts.

Trude0
Level 10
Stockholm County, Sweden

I’ve also never heard of a ”refresh” option, but it certainly sounds like it might be a possibility that Airbnb have. As well as supressing listings. I’ve been watching my views per week, and have sometimes seen strange patterns, were I would have quite many views every day for a week or two, then suddenly drop to zero for a week. Right now I’m on my way up again from a ”zero-week”.

 

However, when searching incognito/private view, my listing right now actually comes up on page 1-3, depending on dates. (That used to happen only when not incognito.) So I’m thinking if I’m clearly visible and showing up high in searches, but still not getting many views, it is probably because there are not many guests booking right now, for the dates I have open (have not opened May-Aug yet). Or could it be that people just hate my first photo…? 😂

 

 

You are 100%  correct it killed one of my listings and Airbnb doesnt care at all.

Same thing for me. I have a great listing with  4.9 stars and a long-standing super host. We were booked straight from the day the listing was open and as soon as the law changed the listing went cold. It's been 4 months

The app has a filter that shows the listing is active and visible but to very few. I went from thousands of views to only 300 for a two weeks or more period.

 

It could also be that the algorithm only shows a handful of guest verse thousands. My listing doesn't require a permit because I rent for over 31 days. This is not an issue there are lots of mid-term travelers looking for longer stays. I have had Zero inquiries zero bookings and zero support in over 4 months. The Airbnb staff said because they can see it there is no issue.

I have dropped the price taken off cleaning and offered deals. I have changed photos and followed every suggestion the app sent. It's a technical issue that has something to do with their filters and the algorithm, but the customer service refuses to do any tech research. Good luck and try another platform don't wait the customer service has been zero help

Very few Airbnb reps know about the clearing/ refresh option or have the ability to do the "refresh" but it does exist. 

I have had it done about 4 times in the last 7 years. It works every time.

I had them do this earlier this year and I went from zero to an influx of bookings. Then it stopped again and has been dead ever since. When they refresh your listing or clear cookies on their end it somehow enhances the algorithm only upper management typically American-based customer service reps have done this.

 

The issue is if you ask for an American rep they become very defensive and stall you then close the ticket. Don't allow them to lie to you some reps have the ability to put filters on your listing that kills your business. I had a guest lie about my listing years ago because they wanted to scam money back. The rep didn't check with me he just blocked my listing somehow. So it was visible, not bookable. Another rep caught this and asked for proof that the guest lied and then immediately removed the filter. Within the week I had a booking. 

Darran6
Level 2
London, United Kingdom

Not wanting to state the obvious or repeat what other have already said, but I think January is always a tough time of year (in the UK). I've been hosting 8 years and have a close to 100% occupancy for the dates I want to host, but I always have to work that bit harder to make it happen in January. 

 

Being aware of this, I keep it in mind quite far in advance. I keep an eye on my local competition, and set my pricing very competitively, with an aim to get a longer stay booking quite far in advance. I accept my actual "profit" will be minimal due to this. I'm happy if I break even in January, and taking this approach I always do. 

 

This year I've had only one vacant day in January, with two bookings making up the 30 days, so I'm very happy. 

 

December was definitely the most difficult month I've ever had. I really had to work to get bookings, at a time when I normally have no problems. The cost of living crisis is definitely hitting consumer spending, so I guess it's no surprise. This is likely impacting you too, amplifying the usual quiet January where everyone is broke following Christmas and clinging on for dear life for pay day at the end of January.

 

Be aggressive with your pricing, and keep updating with an eye on your local competition. View January as a month where you just want to take money in. Your profits will come at other times.  

January is my biggest booking time out of the whole year. And like everyone else for some reason I have zero inventory in Airbnb! Expedia and Bookings.com are working just fine, but AirBnB has not been booking since January as well. Then when I look at the inventory in Airbnb, it shows nothing. But Siteminder, my channel manager shows inventory…. 
I am calling support tomorrow.

Daniel7370
Level 2
Richmond, IN

We have also seen a marked drop off in bookings over the past few months. It is not because of increased competition, at least not locally, since other hosts in the area are also seeing little or no activity. Also, when I say that bookings are down, that is relative to what we would expect for these months based on many years as Airbnb hosts.

 

I wondered about the "Summer release" issue but when I search our area for listings, our listing  comes out near the top like it usually does. But we live in a small midwestern town with few other Airbnbs nearby. When looking for places for us to stay when we travel, I have seen some weird things. I recently searched for Wrightsville Beach NC Airbnb listings on my phone and got a lot of listings for the nearby town of Wilmington, where rates are lower, and almost none for Wrightsville beach. I thought that there must be more than that and checked that I did not have any filters engaged, I did not. I tried zoning way in on the map, still nothing. Then I checked the same area using the Airbnb site on the web browser on my desktop computer and found scores of listings for Wrightsville beach. (but note that I was also using the web browser on my phone). Since I could not find those Wrightsville beach listings on my phone, even when I was specifically trying, there is something funny going on with how Airbnb shows listings on the phone.

 

But, as I said, that does not seem to be the problem for our own listing.  I checked the rates at the local hotels and found some that had similar or even lower rates than us when all fees are included. They are not great hotels, but not terrible either, still I think we offer a better place to stay. Also I have no reason to believe that the hotel rates have recently gone down. So I am still not sure what has happened to recent Airbnb bookings.

I listed my property in January as a new member of Airbnb and thought it would fly off the shelf.  So far,  I have had zero bookings but 100 viewings.  Is this amount of viewings positive?  Being new I'm not sure what to expect.  Any advice from more experienced owners would be appreciated.

 

Bhumika
Community Manager
Community Manager
Toronto, Canada

Hi @Lucinda92 , 

Welcome to the Airbnb Community Center!

For starters, to gain some insights related to your listing, you can ask other Hosts to critique your listing: How to ask for listing critique on the Community Center (Click here).

How has February been so far? Were you able to get a few guests and experience Hosting them?

Can’t find what you’re searching for? start a conversation


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Please follow the Community Guidelines

We had one return guest for one night this month. No inquiries, no reservations

We had a guest that was their in December that came back one night. She left Feb. 1st. We have had mo inquiries or reservations since. For the year we have had 2 reservations. We do ask guest to tell us about their stay. I have a guest journal on the table. It says “read a note, leave a note.” The inside cover ask to leave a quick note sharing what they enjoyed, anything they didn’t like and any ideas for improvements. We rarely get bad reviews. There is always that guest you can’t make happy. We listen also. We have removed and improved a lot of items. People love the cabin and the nightly price. We allow pets and several pet amenities. . They you for coming into the conversation to help.

Mollyna0
Level 1
Tofino, Canada

My Airbnb is showing 0 inventory, which is incorrect…. Is yours like that?

Sarah5000
Host Advisory Board Member
Adelaide, Australia

This year lots of traveller are travelling with budget!! If your price is reasonable , you should get a booking. Perhaps more supply but less demand ? So booking comes slowly.. 

Sarah