blocking my space for personal use

[TwinPaws0]

Hello everyone, I tried to find some valid information on the following subject: our daughter wants to visit us for a week, and we would like to block our Airbnb space for that time. We have heard different answers and couldn't get anything solid. Will blocking our listing for a week have an effect on the ranking?
We just started as Airbnb hosts and are already doing pretty good with our listing, and we don't want to be negatively affected.

[Patricia2526 · Accepted solution]

Hi @TwinPaws0 

 Hope all is well, generally won’t negatively affect your hosting status, as Airbnb allows hosts the flexibility to manage their calendars. 
Sharing link here on how to manage your calendar  https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/447

[TwinPaws0]

Thank you @Patricia2526 , after reading multiple other posts and comments, I assume that it would only, naturally affect the ranking if I would block longer periods of times, because that would of course diminish my bookings throughout the month...

I wanted to make sure that there is no intentional penalizing if I block a few days here and there. 

[Emilie]

Hi @TwinPaws0, 

Welcome to the community, and great to hear everything is already going pretty well! What have the guests thought of your tiny home so far? The amenities and surroundings seem lovely. ✨

I'm glad to see that Patricia's advice was helpful. 🙂 If you have any more questions about calendar management or else, do let us know please!

Have a lovely day,

Emilie

[Lorna170]

@TwinPaws0   To answer your question, blocking a few days, a week or even more for personal use (your daughter's visit) will NOT have an effect on your ranking.

Many owners have their listing on multiple sites which means that the synced AirBnB calendar will have blocked dates that are not AirBnB guests.  If those other sites generate significantly more traffic and bookings than the AirBnB site, effectively limiting the number of bookings that AirBnB could generate, then, and only then might you see a decrease in your ranking.

[Marisa182]

@TwinPaws0  I blocked my listing for a little over a month last August, and my Airbnb has been on life-support ever since. There is no other explanation for it! Almost all my guest come to work, lecture, or do research at the National Archives or the university near by, and I don't believe that has suddenly stopped, and I firmly believe that, and possibly declining a one night stay to a very strange guest that wanted to help improve my listing and even help market my place outside of Airbnb. I thought that was really strange, and declined. Big strike against me!

So, I suggest you invite your daughter, but don't recommend blocking the week. Good luck!

[Frances3408]

@TwinPaws0. Hi Twin Paws, welcome to hosting. Another idea that might help if you're worried. You can always use Pro Tools to set up a special season for that week and make it very restrictive so its unattractive to book (think check in day limitations, min nights, nightly rate etc). Or keep simple and just block (which Airbnb does understand hosts need to do for personal use). Repeat booking declines do have some impact on search rankings from what I can tell rather than blocking a week.