Airbnb’s biggest change in a decade killed 10 years of our work. What about you?

[BenkaandKeith0]

In three weeks we will celebrate 8 years of hosting with Airbnb. While we survived the Covid crisis, Airbnb is now destroying us all with their changes.

We are 30+ consecutive time Superhosts, who believed in Airbnb so much we quit our jobs and dedicated our lives to full time hosting, so it is insulting to read the founder proudly calling the actions causing our demise "the biggest changes in a decade…”

We’ve spent weeks trying to understand why our bookings this spring and summer are so incredibly low, from +80% booked capacity to 0%, and we've found several causes. The first is a malfunctioning pricing tool. Once we offer a discounted rate, if we later try to offer a larger discount, the system is calculating our base rate off of the first discounted rate, rather than our actual base rate. And if we don’t use the larger rate, we don’t qualify for the perks.

Secondly, de-prioritizing the names of the listings and emphasizing their automated titles is misleading. For instance, our Magic Tipi Retreat, which is high-end glamping, is now listed as "Tent in Park Hills", the same as our rustic Famous Home of Hammping, giving potential guests the wrong perception. For years we’ve been nurturing the concept of high end hosting, and they’ve now pigeonholed us as a campsite.

Thirdly, the category "Tipi" has been removed from search & listing options in the Special Stays section. Oddly there is now space for everything like Cycladic homes, kezhans, ryokans, minsus, truli, OMG!, riads and dammusos, but seemingly no room for tipis. They are not listed under camping either. So where do people go to find a tipi? Seems Native Americans are once again getting the short end of the stick.

Fourth is the change listing the number of beds in search results. Our Tipi now shows as having “4-beds” rather than accommodating 6 people. This may seem like a small detail, but you understand the implications. How do guests know if 4 beds hold 4 people or 6? The same problem with our Peaceful Treetop Cottage, where they only show “1-bed”, but we can accommodate 4 guests (we have portable mattresses).

To paint a clear picture of how their “big changes” have degraded our ability to host, here are our statistics for the number of nights booked in June since we started. These show Airbnb’s revisions have dropped us to levels at or lower than our first year of hosting.

Tipi: 2022-6, 2021-16, 2020-26, 2019-28, 2018-23, 2017-24
Cottage: 2022-14, 2021-22, 2020-24, 2019-24, 2018-27, 2017-26, 2016-23, 2015-14
Hammping: 2022-0, 2021-2, 2020-12, 2019-17, 2018-9, 2017-14, 2016-7

To put everything in perspective, and to preempt Airbnb’s claim that our prices are too high, here are some statistics for our listings. In the last year the Value Rating on one of our properties has risen for 9.2%, another for 4.8% and the third for 6.7%. In the same period, our Overall Rating on two listings is 100%, and on the third is 98.7%. And we monitor this ourselves. Our properties also have over 1,200 reviews.

Is anyone actually benefiting from these changes? Well, according to SEC data, in the last three months, while the stock lost nearly ½ its value, Joseph Gebbia (Chairman, Director and Ten Percent Owner) sold over $267,000,000 in Airbnb stock, CTO Aristotle Balogh sold $3,456,000, CFO Dave Stephenson sold $9,485,000, Director Jeffry Jordan sold $2,240,000 and Director Belinda Johnson sold $11,944,000 for a total of about $294,000,000 in stock.

Rats leaving a sinking ship?

Shall we?

[Mary5109]

We (Airbnb hosts) are experiencing the same lack of bookings in CA, since the summer release. Shame on the platform!

[Sally10]

yes I have been with Airbnb for 12 years has Dom quite well ! This year I understand people are sending less but bookings have gone from almost 

80 percent full or more to this year 50% and that is with much lower prices. yes our utilities and expenses also have gone up.I met with my bookkeeper and agrees its a Bad year very Bad. And the changes have just been the wrong timing. 

[Sally10]

totally Agree Mary5109

All over Ca.

[Mary419 · Accepted solution]

I may start a new thread for this question but just hoping to get this same group to comment. Did you all see the earnings call reports yesterday? Best quarter ever? Seems really weird for the many hosts I saw posting that their bookings had fallen off a cliff.

@Huma0 @David8879 @Kyle325 @Wende2 

I have been wondering who was staying quiet having their best quarter of their hosting lives... but then I did notice the stat they gave out saying during this amazing quarter more than 50% of stays are 7+ days. That does not sound normal. This sounds like a whole different business. Not the real vacation rental business I have known for the last 11 years.

Also, so many references to new hosts. I never would have a problem with that except it has really seemed lately like getting new hosts is the core focus and old tried and true hosts with great properties are not seen as important. Here is a transcript, let me know if you need me to point out the many references to the new hosts plan.

https://www.fool.com/earnings/call-transcripts/2022/08/02/airbnb-inc-abnb-q2-2022-earnings-call-tran...

What do you all think about all of this? 

[Mary419]

Also forgot to point out he says their search results are now showing properties 30 miles apart. I have never in my professional or retail customer life known of people with that much openness about their location. It just sounds hard to believe that is working for more than a few here and there. My inquiries usually have an extremely specific destination in mind (a wedding venue, a concert, a beach, a tourist city/landmark). 

[Huma0]

@Mary419 

No, I hadn't seen that yet. Thanks for flagging that up. I was waiting to hear what the results would be and this is surprising.

As for longer stays, no, that doesn't surprise me. That was part of Brian's whole spiel in his Summer Release video. He also said that stays of a month or more were up by 33% or so on the previous year. Meanwhile, I was told by someone else at Airbnb that long term stays (again a month or more) now make up 25% of its bookings, which is huge.

HOWEVER, I specialise in long term stays and my views and bookings have dived. Surely, as someone who exclusively offers long term stays, I should be seeing an upsurge given the stats above? Actually, I was doing just dandy right up until the Summer Release and then it was a massive crash and burn. So, what the heck are these guests booking instead if Airbnb is still raking in the money? One of my current guests told me that my listing was by far the best place available in London within his budget and all his friends told him, "book it!!!!". He found me right before the Summer Release. I know that what I offer is in demand (enough guests have told me so), so why aren't they booking anymore? Are they being forced by Airbnb to pay more for less because they no longer get to see what I, or other similar hosts, offer?

As for the location search. Well, London is a big city, but  I can confirm that none of my guests are looking for somewhere 30 miles away from my location. They want something convenient to their work, internship or place of study, not some back water.

[Wende2]

@Mary419   I recently had one booking for the last weekend in Aug, thank goodness most were booked back in April/May.  Fell off a cliff, disappeared off the face of the Earth, you name it, that's what's happened to me.  My friend around the corner isn't getting booked either.

People come to this area mostly for Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge, the Harriet Tubman National Museum, both 5 - 6 mins from me, as well as the Chesapeake Bay, boats ramps mins away.  One other place that offers 2 bedrooms on the second floor is maybe a 1 - 2 mins closer to the refuge and Harriet, but I offer an entire apt, on the second floor.  By now I should be booked til, if not thru Oct., all my Autumn...I'm trying to being the word Autumn back...late season bookings were always made by Aug.  I don't know what the heck they did, but I know it's screwed me big time.

I did notice they showed the distance from me, when I did a search for myself.  I suppose that's to show the guest how long it will take to get where they're going.?

I recently searched, I use duckduckgo, articles about airbnb, I was shocked and disgusted at one, and surprised that the category OMG!, is actually abnb themselves.  The article mentions the millions spent on it.

I'm working on my listing with vrbo.  Figure if I can get 12 - 14 days booked between the two every month or so, I'll be looking like I did on here the last 3 - 4 yrs.  I'm just starting my 6th yr this month.  Happy Anniversary to me.

[Bernadette413]

Any slightly critical article about airbnb I clicked on lead to a dead end.

[BenkaandKeith0]

@Mary419 Yes, we were shocked by the earnings report. I was so certain Airbnb would be down I was about to short the stock, but the analysts were suggesting otherwise.

There could be income coming from some new sources, or there were enough bookings from before the platform changes to run the course. Will be interesting to see what Q3 will bring.

[Huma0]

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@Mary419 wrote:

Also, so many references to new hosts. I never would have a problem with that except it has really seemed lately like getting new hosts is the core focus and old tried and true hosts with great properties are not seen as important.

---

I think you might have hit the nail on the head here. Those new hosts who are getting the bookings are unlikely to post here on the CC saying how well it is all going. Most hosts (from what I have read) start on Airbnb with high expectations and they get a bit of an initial boost in the searches anyway, so those expectations are somewhat met for a short period before the real graft begins.

They are also more compliant and less complaining. They use IB, Smart Pricing and host guests for next to nothing whilst still bending over backwards and offering way more than they are charging for to build up their reviews.

Isn't that a win-win situation for Airbnb?

[David8879]

Yes, the map showing entire region when potential guest searches for specific city is the biggest trick the Devil ever pulled off 

[Mark116]

We're still dead.  Our views went down to ZERO yesterday.  LOL.  Summer Release, indeed.  

[David8879]

Could be worse.

AirBNB could be taking money from you.

Or it could be raining.

It will get worse

[Susan4764]

I feel for all you hosts out there in the same situation as me.

I am a Superhost of many years with a consistently 5* rated Listing. 'Summer Release' has not been helpful what so ever, where the multitude of categories is concerned.

Airbnb - PLEASE make it easier for guests to view an area that they wish to visit FIRST, then give them the option of what kind of accommodation to stay in!!

Just out of interest, to try and find out why my bookings have declined so much in the last couple of months to NONE, I tried finding an affordable listing in my area. 

Opening the first page of 'Travelling' and pretending that I was new to the Airbnb platform looking for any accommodation to attend a funeral in mid Devon, I clicked and zoomed in to that specific area on the map assuming that it would show ALL listings, and to my amazement, couldn't find mine!

After scrutinising the page, found filters and filled them in. STILL no sign of my listing. I realised that the page assumed that I would like to view BARNs. I didn't want a Barn and my listing isn't a Barn either.

Again, Airbnb - PLEASE make it easier for guests to view an area that they wish to visit first, then give them the option of what kind of accommodation to stay in.

PLEASE make this alteration soon, seemingly I am not the only one with this dilemma!

Many thanks, Sue

[Huma0]

@Susan4764 

It seems to default to 'barns' as that is the first category listed. Before that, it kept defaulting to 'islands'.  By deflating, I don't just mean that's what you are shown on the homepage before you put in your search criteria or zoom on a map. You search for something else and then you try to zoom in on a map or enter some filter or other and all of a sudden the search jumps back to barns!

It's super annoying. 

I booked an airbnb a few weeks back but it took absolutely ages to find something I liked. It was really a painful process, and I never found that to be the case before. Plus, I almost missed the listing that I ended up choosing because of the stupid way the dates are displayed now for 'any weekend' etc.