$12,000 airbnb request, could it be a scam?

I think since their algorithm is a closely guarded secret, we"ll never know
for certain and can only speculate!

I’ve actually had several of these “high dollar” requests lately, both from Airbnb and from the other site my listing is on, Homestay, though mine range in price from about $4500 to $6000.

The people all seem to be genuinely interested in staying here, for various reasons. Travel nurses here on assignment, med students doing a summer rotation, and most recently, the hired help that comes for the summer in our beach resort town. The thing they all seem to have in common is they see the listing, like it and want to stay here for several months, but assume the price is not “real”. They inquire if the space is available and ask what the actual price, or the monthly price would be.

@AquaticQuests, I’ve had the exact opposite experience in terms of search ranking. I have 2 rooms in my house that offer identical amenities. One of them had a long term travel nurse in residence until the 3rd week in April. The other one has frequent short term guests. The second room is consistently higher in search results. The first one was several pages lower once it was back on the market. It was just starting to show signs of recovery after it got a booking or two, but then I rented it out long term again.

@Chloe what I have noticed is this!
When a long term booking like that is accepted, the listing immediately
jumps in search, very significantly.
However, what then happens is because it is a long term listing, over time
since the calendar is unavailable, the listing gradually fades out dropping
lower and lower in search depending on the length of the long stay!

The worse possible result actually comes when I get a long stay guest from
another site and block of the air calendar for a significant length of
time. Recovering from that is not easy at all, but once you get one or two
in, you can jump right back up!

The thing is that makes no sense. Why would Airbnb push a listing to the top of the list when they know it’s fully booked? To frustrate people trying to use the site? Look what you could have got!! Oh well it’s gone now but we’re going to put it at the top of the list and run your nose in it.

Sorry @AquaticQuests I don’t buy it. I think once your dates are no longer available you no longer show in searches. Because why should you?

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