Zero bookings due to Summer Release- Please read and share

[Shawn574]

I have 4 Airbnb listings. in Nashville.  As you know, it is one of the top short term rental markets in all of the United States.   All of my listings with have perfect review scores.  Airbnb is not a business for me or about dollar and cents but rather a passion of mine.  I personally bend backwards for every guest to ensure their 100% satisfaction.  I manage my own listings, I have on countless times driven to my listings to take extra towels, toilet paper, paper towels, address a maintenance issue sometimes in middle of the night. Anything the guest wants, I just make it happen again to make them happy.   Anything you can imagine, I always drop everything and make it right asap.  This is so my guests will be 100% happy and in return I will continue to get good reviews and also in return be more successful.

But it is absoustely heartbreaking what Airbnb did to hosts like me with the summer release.  After getting zero bookings or inquiries since late May or June on 3 of my listings.  I just thought it was a matter of time, or maybe inflation, current worries about a possible recession, etc.  But finally I was like wait something is not right.  So I started doing research and found countless articles and messages like this from other hosts on Internet forums.  It finally hit me, I was like wait there is no way my house with 4.96/5 star reviews in the most prime location of Nashville just couple blocks from Downtown is all the sudden receiving no bookings.  I even changed my prices to half of what they were last year at this time but still no bookings. Lowered my cleaning fee by 30% still no bookings.  Keep in mind that I was full last year at this time last year at double the price and half the 5 star reviews since my property was new.  This is happening on 3 of my listings. 

The 4th one is new and is getting bookings because it was not affected by the summer release.  I know that airbnb boost new listings but still it is getting bookings while the other 3 Zero since summer release all with spotless reviews.  So I kept doing more research and looked at my views and all the metrics.  What you know, since May/June my views almost took a noise dive.  

It finally came together to me that during the Summer Release, Airbnb probably by accident did something really bad that has impacted hosts like me.  I called Airbnb today and the rep confirmed to me that there is something wrong with my listings and he has received the same messages from countless other hosts.  

I asked him to pull up my listing on his end and view the metrics based on what he saw on his computer and systems.  What he told me was so shocking and really made me so upset and just broke my heart.

Basically in the last 14 days, there were over 5000 guests looking to book a place that matched my open dates and my house.  He told me that my house only appeared to 50 of them in a page result.  Basically my house is ghosted or invisible to other 4950 guests that were looking for a stay.  So the other 4950 never saw my house, it never appeared to them in the search result.  How is that possible?

So a house with perfect reviews, in the absolute best part of the city that was almost 90% booked last year, is now only being shown to 50 guests out of 5000?  You can walk to Broadway from my house.  I can not explain the location of my properties unless you lived here. Imagine being couple blocks from the Eiffel tower type of location. So the programming or update by airbnb basically has just made my listings almost invisible.  But why?  Why do that to a host that has perfect reviews. has made your company so much money, that takes so much pride in his work, that  ensures every guest is 100% happy so they always have a great impression of your company and they continue to use airbnb.  Why did not they catch this?  Why has this not been fixed yet?  What will happen to all my of lost business so far?  How can they make this right?

It is so upsetting because, I worked so hard building my airbnb business.  I spent countless nights in designing, setting it up and then worked so hard to earn each and every 5 star review.  I worked so hard to safe money to buy my airbnb and my other airbnb. I put every cent of my savings on the line for this.   I do this with my two young children to show them the value of working hard but this is a slap in the face from Airbnb.  Why did this happen?  Why harm your superheats who put everything on the line to make it all happen for your company and for the guests?  

I can not believe that I just noticed that this has happened. It means that for the past 3 to 4 months, I was just thinking that hey it's slow right now, it's inflation, etc. but I was just Wrong.  I feel so naive and stupid not realizing that I was being screwed by broken algorithms and search engines due to flawed programing by the Airbnb development team as part of the summer release.  

The rep told me that he will escalate this to the engineering  team for an escalation so they can fix my listings. But I have lost so much business due to being just empty for months and I have zero reservations for next year or rest of this year. If this continues any longer, I will lose everything. My homes will be all foreclosed.  I put everything on the line because I believed in Airbnb and the company's vision and purpose.  Please share this post with everyone and specially Airbnb leadership. This is not right.  My case is black and white.  My views/bookings/inquires went to almost zero since the update.  There is black and white data to prove that. The Airbnb rep himself confirmed to me that my listings are screwed up due to the update.  

[Huma0]

@Shawn574 

I am sincerely sorry to hear about your predicament, but if you believe that Airbnb do not already know about this, you are wrong. Hundreds of hosts, including me, have been SHOUTING about this on this forum and countless others no doubt, since the release was rolled out in May. Just do a search here for 'summer release' or 'categories' and you will find thousands of comments about it. Do you think that Airbnb has not seen these? Catherine Powell, Airbnb's Head of Hosting, was even participating in some of those discussions last summer.

The only thing that surprises me about what you have written is that the CS rep you spoke to was honest enough to admit that there is something wrong with the algorithm. Most of us have been told to include key words or 'front page worthy' photos or some such BS to reappear in the searches. What is the point of that? It's not the listings that are a mess, it's the search algorithm.

Also, do not assume that this is all glitches and errors. A lot of the search functionality brought in by the Summer Release is very much intentional on Airbnb's part. They have their own game plan and if they lose a bunch of hardworking Superhosts along the way, they don't care. The current drive is to recruit as many NEW hosts as possible. Brian Chesky has openly stated this as the number one priority in the Winter Release. 

[Lenore22]

In our area, I'm seeing a bunch of old listings popup as "new" with new accounts. It could be that there was some kind of transition such that the "new host" (who looks the same as the old host) created this new listing for their house, but I'm wondering if this is a workaround.

I've no idea if I'm showing up or not on airbnb, but I just booked my last free weekend until the end of January using other platforms. My next booking through airbnb isn't until mid-February. Airbnb has treated me very well, but I'm not willing to sink with them.

Unfortunately for hosts like @Huma0 with a shared listing, many of these other sites are not appropriate for them. I do hope Airbnb sorts it out sooner rather than later.

[Huma0]

@Lenore22 

I guess that hosts could, if desperate enough, simply create a new listing to get that boost in the searches, but what a shame to lose all those reviews/ratings that we've worked so hard for. 

I think it is a shame for guests too. They should be able to find the highest rated listings easily.

I have had guests tell me how very difficult it is to find decent and affordable listings here in London, even though they have a reasonable budget. Some have told me they just had to give up completely, which is crazy considering how many listings there are here.

I know though how painful and frustrating it is now with the search function. I used to find alternative suggestions easily if I could accommodate a guest. It was never a problem. Now, it seems like really slim pickings. It makes me wonder just how many listings are being hidden or buried...

[Lenore22]

It really is a shame. I periodically ask a family member to look for our place and look over their shoulder as they try to figure out the search function. They get so frustrated... just with little tasks like "going back" or wanting to change the search variables. I know how to use it because I use it all the time, but it really is enlightening to see how others struggle, and how the results returned do not always match their needs. (Initial searches for our city show several neighboring towns, which isn't bad but with 150+ listings in walking distance to town, why are the top 4 results 10 miles away during a snowy winter? Conversely if you search for our local ski park, only 3 listings show up and they are all in town: none of the hundreds of listings in surrounding towns which are equidistant to the ski park. The algorithms simply aren't there yet.)

In the end, it's understandable that users might turn to other search methods, but that doesn't help for certain niche (especially shared) listings to whom Airbnb has provided a great platform for so long.

[Huma0]

@Lenore22 

Yes, the guests who have told me they are struggling are solo travellers looking for a shared space, so they don't really have anywhere else to search.

A travelling nurse who stayed with me before but just missed out because someone booked my listing half an hour before she contacted me, ended up having to stay at home and commute from out of town every day for weeks. Not great when you are already working 12 hours shifts! 

She simply could not find anywhere decent and well located within her budget, which is crazy, as I know her budget is quite decent.

[Bob297]

@Shawn574 
Do you advertise on other websites as well?
Best not to have all eggs in one basket.
Fortunately, I do not have the same experience you have

[Kristin108]

Thank you for posting this... I too have had a HUGE drop in bookings. I rely 100% on my income from my farm stay vacation rental... And I fear that I will be out of business by the end of next year.

I am on other booking platforms, but now I realize that I will have to add even more. This makes calendar syncing a nightmare!!!

[Fred13]

"Basically my house is ghosted or invisible to other 4950 guests that were looking for a stay. So the other 4950 never saw my house, it never appeared to them in the search result."

I think that CS person may have unfortunately suggested a reason that is not the real culprit (the algorithm), the real reason may be way above his/her head.

Since May Airbnb embarked in an advertising campaign to expose visitors at large to their website to their immense and diverse amount of types of listings they have in 2022; this may have serve to spread the visitors to many other listings unlike in the past. They did this via adding categories, which maybe the visitors may now indeed be using. Yes, places with extraordinary sizzle may be getting most of the action now.

They also added starting 'filters' that walks the visitor through 'Anywhere' where they want to go and even for how long by prioritizing a period of  'Any week' (though it uses only 5 days). So as a result not only is the visitor being steered away from a specific place but even of a certain time.

These two inter-whined reasons have caused an obvious change to many host's bookings, and it is hard to tell if to Airbnb also, since so much is a secret nowadays. There are other social issues going on that may be affecting tourism, these are the strangest of time.

Regardless I am personally not taking the past as it will be (or should be) in the future and yes I am listing in other platforms, but giving thought how to best to deal with the 'new' Airbnb, and even entertaining the idea that 'the good old simple days are indeed over' and time to do something else. 

[Sabine-Ingrid0]

@Fred13  regardless what the real reason is that Airbnb is putting @Shawn574  's listing into Nirvana, its pointless to diskuss about why, it rather should be there problem to find out because its there business and thats how they make money.

What is a platform which is meant to be for short-term-rental-bookings if it doesn't create  bookings ??

Its useless as a glassdoor in a dunny (how my Australien friends would say).

I just wonder @Shawn574  , why it tooked you so long to find out that you don't get any bookings ?

If I wouldn't get bookings for more than 2 weeks I would check emidiately what happens and would't wait the whole summer passing by to get broke at the end !?

BTW, its never good to stand on just one foot.

[Fred13]

You missed the point. ~IF~ Airbnb's bookings have continued doing just fine the last 6 months, after this change, which we do not know for sure, then it is not going to go back and be much help for hosts who have hit a wall. They have a choice: continue to hit it or adapt to the new reality. Airbnb's doesn't have to create bookings for each particular host that lists with them, but collectively do so for the benefit of their shareholders.

The understanding of the whys of any event is what stops from making the same mistakes repeatedly and what to expect if we did.

[Sudsrung0]

@Shawn574 @Kristin108 

Its difficult to say whats happened, we are in Phuket, Thailand ans this year we have been really busy the best low season we have had for a few years,

All the bookings have come form Airbnb even though we are listed on other platforms not one booking from them but Im putting that down to most of the bookings we have, have been booked well in advance, right now is our Peak season Dec/Jan,

I can see in the area is busy with people and traffic, Also on FB many people looking for property so everywhere seems pretty full.

I suppose the big question what will next year be like? We are full till the end of February, March normally starts to slow down, April starts the low season,

We have been doing a bit of advertising on FB directing any inquiries to our listing on Airbnb people are looking Im using a link tracker. 

Other that that I have looked into a platform that will list me on 30+ web sites lets see if they generate bookings. 

[Robert5871]

Suggestions on what to do to help get this fixed?