Lack of booking past several months.

[Sherrie70]

I have been hosting in my small town since 2017. Had supper host status right through but lost it through COVID. Have had severe lack of bookings the past several months. Is it due to higher fees Airbnb is taking? I have lowered my rate well below what I was able to get in the past. What’s up?

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Sherrie70 Airbnb fees have not changed in the last 4 years at least. Actually if you have dropped your rates then Airbnb's fees have reduced in absolute terms.

[Helen3 · Accepted solution]

To understand 'what's up' what market research have you carried out. Have you looked at demand for your sort of listing? Have you looked to see if supply is increasing? @Sherrie70 

Where do you sit in the Airbnb rankings? Have you listed on other platforms and set yourself up to take direct bookings  to increase opportunities for your STR business to be booked up?.

Many areas have oversaturated markets coupled with falling demand because of the recession.

A mistake many hosts make is to assume pricing is the issue.

[Sandie70]

Sherrie this has happened to me too. A sudden lack of bookings. 

When looking for my property, I am now aware that the changes that airbnb have made to their search engine means that a much larger area is covered by any one search.

Originally if you put in my area, about 90% of properties would be from that particular area. My recent search resulted in 3 out  of the first 18.

I suggest you do the same and if this is what you find, report your concer n to Airbnb. Hopefully this will result in changes if enough people point out the negative affect it is having on their bookings. 

Airbnb pointed out that I am still getting people viewing but if someone is looking for Gloucester and is directed to Hereford then they are just going to pass it by. 

I hope this helps x