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Hello, my list ranking use to be really good. But this few weeks i notice its has become worse and so the inquiry and booking. I use to test search for 2 people and my listing came 2nd page and if 3+ people it 100% sure came on the first. Now if i do 4 or 5 still my lists is beyond reaching and places on the 10 page.
I dont know what i did wrong, im kinda worry if i cant fix this soon then i will see it becoming a problem for me, plus im just starting out 3 months as a host its look promising too.
Can any members here help find the culprit behind this madness!
are there more listings in general for the dates you are now searching? If there are higher rated places available, then you may not show up at or near the top
have you cancelled a reservation? This does not help your host status
are you declining lots of inquiries? This probably does not help your host status either
How long has this been happening? It may just be a temporary thing.
Are you competitive in your prices for those dates?
New hosts get a bump in listing results to help you get going with reviews, etc. After your new host period ends, you drop back into the pack. There’s not much you can do expect to continually change your listing by editing and updating your listing and calendar (which supposedly helps your listing ranking) and perhaps adding as many amenities as possible so you don’t get filtered out. You sound like you’re in a big market like me (I have thousands of listings within a 5 mile radius) but places book up and eventually, someone clicks on my listing…
Please note:
Your listing position for guests searching can depend on many factors including:-
Where the guests are physically located when they search
the dates they have entered
whether or not they have specified private room/ entire place etc
Whether you’re still benefitting from newbies boost
Your response time to queries (to the second)
Whether or not you have instant book enabled
How many inquiries you are fielding and bookings you are making
how many guests (eg my position swings widely depending on if you search for 2 guests or ten, and strangely this does not always move in a linear fashion - I have a sneaking suspicion it’s also linked to how recently/ often you booked that particular configuration of guest)
etc
The list goes on.
If you want to stay active and well placed, update your listing regularly, accept as many bookings as possible as quickly as possible after the inquiries come in or activate instant book, and do as good a job hosting and rack up those reviews.
NOTE: Number of inquiries strongly linked to pricing especially for new listings that no longer have the newbies bump!
Yes, that’s what I suspect too… i can see lots of Hotel Guesthouse and Boutique are also put up their rooms on airbnb as well, Thank you for your replied which boost me the motivation.
I can see lots of new listing up and yes my availability is in 2 weeks, which sometime make perfect sense. (Note: I do the test search by not entering the check-in and check-out date)
No I have not cancelled any reservation since I’m have started.
I have not declining any inquiries since I’ve have started.
I suspected this happen this last 2 weeks.
Our price from what I can see is very competitive.
So very true. This usually helps new hosts get bookings for about three months or so. There are millions of properties listed on Airbnb and the answer is to take matters into your own hands by promoting your listing yourself. Sad but true.
[quote=“seyha, post:9, topic:12241”]
How could I improve for 2-4 people search? [/quote]
First, you are right to reduce your target capacity to 4 people. 2 guests, however, is a much more competitive space. However, there is no point in racing for the Airbnb ranking. It is important to keep in mind, but those days, there is no seemingly rational way to deconstruct the ranking. The quest for the best ranking may very well be a losing one.
In any case, the best way to improve your placement for 2-4 is to get happy guests coming in groups of 2-4. I agree: it is not helping, and it is circular. But from Airbnb’s perspective, it seems that you are more likely to generate reservations and 5* reviews from groups with 6 than with group of 2-4 guests. What you need, therefore, is more experience for those types of groups.
The best way to attract bookings for 2-4 is obviously to be on the same price level as your competitors for entire units at 2 people, then still offer a valuable price advantage with 4 with limited additional guests fees.
However, what I would do is target the 4 people market, by setting a fixed price for up to 4 guests, then charge additional guest fees for 5 and 6 guests.
By the way, what is your real max capacity? 3 king beds and 2 sofa beds means more capacity than 6 people. Your listing would also gain from adding more details (but that may be just me). The more time your guests spend reading your listing, the more they have to justify why they are still reading…
I have kept my #1 position for a few months after initially posting it. I have ten 5-star reviews and respond almost immediately to inquiries. Other things I have done to keep it ranked high are:
View and tweak the calendar/pricing slightly EVERY day
Share the link on social media (get people engaged)
Turn on instantbook
Flexible cancellation policy
1-night minimum
Make sure my displayed price is low enough that it draws views onto my listing (“low” within reason)
I am in a medium-sized market so that helps a bit, but you definitely have some control over ranking higher than the majority of hosts.