Hi Rachael! This question is very complex and needs long and detailed explanation. But in few words - Airbnb does not rank listings by quality, price, or any other single factor but shows up listings that guest is most likely to book! So whether it's good or bad, cheap or expensive, this or that,... if guest decides to stay at your place, Airbnb will earn money. Simple.
Now, to provide guest best offers, Airbnb takes into account many factors like quality, price, amenities, photos, description and many more. These are factors that you have control over, so be sure to go through your listing and fill all details, quality photos etc.
On the other hand, to provide best experience to guests, Airbnb analyses their preferences like profile, search and travel history. This is out of your control, but this means that not all guests will see the same results. Families, business people and groups of teenagers looking for parties will get different results even if they input same searh criteria. So if you don't see your listing from your own account, others will.
To conclude: there is no single answer to your question as it depends on hundred factors. Some of many may be:
- Complete your listing with every detail, add quality photos, write detailed descriptons,...
- Create promotions rather than lower prices manually. In that case, a badge and strikethrough price will be displayed which looks more attractive.
- Some guests look for the location regardless of quality or price. Highlight everything important in your vicinity that may be the key factor to choose your place.
- ... and (really) many, many more
All of these will affect your ranking and once again - different people will see different results. Some of them will choose yours.
You can read extensive material about this topic and the good place is this one - Resource, Help and Community centers.
