What could be affecting the bookings for December

[Milagros163]

Last December 2024, my Airbnb was fully booked for the month. What could be affecting that no one is booking it this year? Is it because of more local Airbnbs around, because of the Government shutdown, or because recently negative reviews? 

[Andrea6232]

Buongiorno @Milagros163 ,

it is most likely due to recently negative reviews

Andrea

[Milagros163]

I thought about it, but I also checked other Airbnbs closed to me and their review score are lower than mine, but they are booked. I had the smart pricing on, and even reduced my price and eliminated the pet and cleaning fees. 
Luckily, I got two new booking for December, and they are returning back guests.

[Margaret491]

Ive found guests are either booking 4 weeks in advance or very last minute and on the day more and more…. Have a look at the new dynamic cancelation policy, Change policy of bookings for week off to moderate and next day bookings to flexi, this will help you get first page in search

[Milagros163]

Hi Margaret, I believe my cancellation policy is flexible, but I will check. Thanks for the advise.

[Anika191]

Hi @Milagros163 

I did a quick search for 2 guests coming to New Haven for a weekend in December, and you came up second.  Yay!

I think guests are booking later than they did last year.  My December is wide open as well, but we did well with last-minute reservations last winter, so I'm hopeful.  Not having a booking over Christmas yet is nerve-racking!

Good luck!

[Milagros163]

Hi Anika, thanks for looking in to that. Hoping on late time reservations as well. 

[Bhumika]

Hi @Milagros163 , how are the bookings looking for you in November currently? Have you had any guest inquiries for the second half of the month?

I noticed that hosts @Margaret491 @Anika191 @Andrea6232 have also shared some of their observations on what could be the reasons for low bookings. We'd love to hear what you think!

Regards,

[Milagros163]

Hi Bhumika, Thank God, we had the month of November booked for the whole month. This was booked with three months in advance.  

[Alissa-and-Jeff0]

My December bookings are low, too!  Much lower than they have ever been. And November too. We even have Thanksgiving still available, which is very unusual for us.  We've been hosts for 13 years, and something is definitely up. Not sure if it's the economy or an algorithm change on Airbnb's side.  

[Csaba54]

The same situation in Europe! Exactly the same! For 10 years, every month was booked in advance. From January to December. Now in November and December there are no guests at all! Even during covid, there were more bookings than now for the last 2 months of the year. So this economic recession is global! On the American continent, thank your current president for this! And we also thank him and the Russian president. But this phenomenon is due to all the American arms dealers and oil extraction lobbies who wanted to get even richer on this current situation!

[Milagros163]

Hi Csaba54, 

I feel the same way, lets just hope this ends soon. 

On my part, I had the smart pricing on, and reduce my price and eliminated some fees just to see if this will attract more guests. 
I finally got two new bookings for December and they are returning guests.

[Tenzin25]

👍

[Wendy-May0]

@Milagros163 

That is a frustrating situation, and it's completely understandable why you are looking for answers. Going from fully booked to empty is a major concern.

When a sudden drop in bookings happens, it's rarely one single issue; it's usually a combination of factors. The key is to systematically check the major areas that have changed since last December:

1. Price and Competition

• Market Saturation: Your local competition has definitely increased since last year. The number of listings in almost every city is much higher than in 2023.

  • Action: Check the pricing of the 5–10 newest listings closest to you. Are they significantly cheaper while offering similar amenities? If so, you may need to adjust your strategy.

• The Algorithm: Airbnb penalises listings that sit empty. If your price is too high, it gets ignored, leading to more emptiness, which then signals to the algorithm that your listing is undesirable. It's a tough cycle to break.

  • Action: Try dropping your price for the next 2–3 weeks to encourage a few bookings. Getting any bookings (even at a slightly lower rate) will boost your visibility.

2. Review Impact

• Negative Feedback: You mentioned recent negative reviews. This is the single most likely cause of a sharp booking drop. Guests check reviews first, and even one or two critical recent reviews can be a major red flag.

  • Action: Go to those reviews and leave a professional, factual, and non-defensive host response. If the review mentioned a specific problem (e.g., "slow Wi-Fi," "dirty bathmat"), publicly state: "This issue was addressed immediately after the guest left; the Wi-Fi speed has been upgraded," etc. This shows future guests you fix problems.

3. Calendar Settings and Listing Health

• Minimum Stay: Have you increased your minimum night stay since last year? A longer minimum stay (e.g., 3 nights instead of 1) can severely reduce the number of potential bookings, especially for December travel.

  • Action: Test reducing your minimum night stay back to 1 or 2 nights for a week to see if bookings increase.

• Instant Book: If you turned off Instant Book, turn it back on. The algorithm heavily favours Instant Book listings.1

The Government shutdown is unlikely to affect general travel demand significantly, so focus most of your energy on Price/Competition and responding constructively to those Negative Reviews.

what exactly did the negative reviews mention?