I agree. When looking for a rental if there are no bathroom pics then that rental is off my list.
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There’s a local realtor whose listings seem to never have a photo of the kitchen. He’s a middle-age single guy and I assume he doesn’t cook, so doesn’t consider it an important feature to show. Lots of photos of the living areas, bedrooms, baths and outdoor spaces, as well as the views. But seldom a photo of a kitchen, even though that’s where most people spend a great deal of time.
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If there is no pic of bathroom or kitchen on a realtors site, I automatically assume there is a major problem!
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How about A/C?
Does unit have A/C? Yes. Then you find out (typically in a European listing) it does have a nice modern ductless split air unit in the living room and the bedroom in the back of the unit is stifling hot unless you open a window that faces a busy street with traffic all night long. Yes, technically the host followed the rules, the unit does have A/C, it’s worthless to the guest but thanks to the silly AirBNB amenities list the host broke no rules.
But thankfully they have thought that the “indoor fireplace” amenity is valuable.
And “Free parking on premises” is about as descriptive as mush, and again in Europe is absolutely meaningless.
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@Notahost, You do know that you can send the host a message and ask about these details that are important to you, don’t you?
However, almost all of the things you mention already exist in the amenities. It sounds like you may have particularly specific needs and that is on you to contact the host prior to booking.
Both Balcony and Beach Front already exist. If they aren’t coming up in the search filters box, that means there isn’t a listing with one of those amenities in your map view.
For “with a view”, you can bet that someone with a really good view (which is subjective anyway) will not only mention it in the listing, but probably in the title of the listing. And there surely would be a photo of the view.
So, if it’s not mentioned and there’s not a photo, you can assume there’s not a view worth mentioning. It is easy enough to ask the host what the view is from the balcony. If you asked me about such a thing, I’d just go take a photo from the balcony and send it to you so that you could decide whether or not there is a “view”. But, if I didn’t already have that photo on the listing, you can bet there’s not a “view” 
This is “Free Parking on Premises”. If it lists that as an amenity, you can expect that there is always a space for you during your stay. I’m not sure what you mean by private and reserved. If you want the same exact spot everytime you park, then you would need to ask your host about that.
This is “Paid Parking Off Premises”. And yes it does mean “on the street, search & hunt required, may have to park 2-4 blocks away” unless the listing specifically notes that it’s “easy street parking in front of property” or even something like, “there’s a pay lot 1 block away”.
The lack of these doesn’t seem like it could be that common. It should be in the photos, but if it’s not, you just have to ask the host. It would never occur to me to mention either of those in the listing. I do have a photo where you can see the mirror over the sink (coincidentally, not because I thought it was important) but you can’t see the outlets in the photo. I’d be happy to confirm the outlets if you messaged me about them though!
These are covered already. 5th floor will be listed under “Health and Safety” as “Must Climb Stairs” and hosts are cued to note how many fligts, what floor, etc. This is listed right next to the House Rules and is shown to your along with them on the booking page before you book.
If “Elevator” is not listed as an amenity, then there is “no elevator” (yes, it’s that simple). You can search for properties with an elevator under “accessibility needs” in the filter box.
This is covered under “Potential for Noise”, it is listed under Health and Safety like the stairs and is also shown to you along with the house rules during the booking process.
The new amenities options do include the option to indicate what type of A/C there is: central, portable or window, so that should help a bit. If it’s not central air and the host doesn’t mention how many A/Cs there are and where they are, then there is probably only one A/C unit and you’ll need to ask the host where it is located in the unit. I’d also look at the reviews that mention the A/C to get the best feel for whether or not they’re effective.
Not really. It means that there is a parking spot on the property of the listing for you at all times and that you don’t pay a fee for it. If hosts are doing something different than that with it listed as an amenity, then you have a very legitimate complaint because it does mean what it means.
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@JJD,
There is way to much to reply to in your comments, but it’s safe to say 90% of what you replied with in incorrect.
You seem to not have a good grasp of how the public uses Airbnb’s interface to select properties. I don’t see balcony listed in the amenities, beach front is, but beach view does not and the problem is hosts use beach front as a default for beach view.
Guests use the amenities to narrow the search, if its not in the amenities it’s not a searchable, sortable, filterable option.
Again if you think the answer is to wait for a guest to ask you to send them a photo, you’re showing me a host losing a lot of business. A listing maximized to rent above its competition is a listing that never requires a guest to have to ask for further information from the host.
Show me any Airbnb host who says “you know you can message the host” and you’re showing me a host who is losing rentals because unless for some reason you have the market cornered due to some special circumstances, if you have competition, the competition is getting your rentals because guests don’t want to message the host if there is a comparable rental that doesn’t require them to message the host. The object is for the guest never to have to message the host with a question if you want the most business possible. In your theory , everyone could just be listed as “For Rent” as their total description and guests could just message the host for answers to is this one bedroom or two? How much per night? ETC…
Everything you replied to about parking is total incorrect. Everything about mirrors and outlets, totally incorrect. I take it all of your experiences are in the USA? Travel outside the USA and you’ll discover bathrooms can be very different from the typical American bathroom. Go stay in Berlin with a rental car and report back about how “Free Parking on Premises” is meaningless.
Must climb stairs can mean 3 steps, or a flight, it doesn’t mean anything in regard to what you’re replying to again, I take it all your experiences are in the USA?
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As a member of the public and also as a guest and a successful host, this is just silly.
I guess since you don’t see it, then I just made all that shit up. One of those, ok.
Here it is, Patio or Balcony, in real life:
Views are not listed as amenities. But, no, hosts don’t use beach front as a default for beach view. That makes no sense. If there is a beach view, I promise you will know it from the listing. No one has a listing with a beach view who doesn’t advertise it.
Aye! Here is the issue then. We are talking about amenities that are listed on our listings. Amenities that, we as hosts, are able to tick off a box for so that it comes up under “Amenities” on our listings. You are talking about being able to search in the filters box when you are looking for a listing. That is not what this thread is about. But I understand that you aren’t a host so you wouldn’t know the difference.
You are correct that some things are not in the filters box to be searched for; however, they are still listed as amenities on individual listing pages (you’ll have to read, gasp, but that’s the trade-off for the variety). If the particular amenity is not available in your search area, then it will not show up to be searched for (for obvious reasons 
But there are also some things that Airbnb just doesn’t include in the filters box. It’s probably just not possible because there are so so many amenities that can be listed.
Somethings are always searchable, like “elevator”.
No, I don’t think that’s the answer. But I do think you are not comprehending the very good answer(s) that I gave you.
One of the answers is that you are very particular and very specific with your preferences. You, personally, may benefit from messaging the host. I could say that you may instead benefit from staying at a hotel, but your needs are so specific, you would still need to message even a hotel.
Another answer is that no one is hiding beach views from you. If they don’t mention a beach view, then there isn’t one. Lol. True, you can’t search for beach views in the filter box as views are not amenities. You can however, narrow down your options by zooming on the map to the coast line in any location. You will have to then look at the individual listings after that, however, I’d start with the ones that mention “View” in their listing titles.
And the third answer is that sometimes crappy hosts don’t accurately describe their amenities. It’s unfortunate for all of us. You can help by telling the hosts, telling airbnb, reporting the listing and stating the discrepancy in your review.
“Must Climb Stairs” is supposed to (though again, not all hosts are as good as others) state how many stairs and/or how many flights of stairs.
It’s really not. If you rent an Airbnb that lists “free parking on premises” and then you don’t always have full access to a full parking spot that is on the same property as the unit you rented, whether in Berlin, Boston or Banjul - then that is an inaccurate listing and you should deal with it as such. There is not any wiggle room. It has a precise definition.
And then you said all of that gobbly-goop about what kind of host I am and how all hosts should be and, I think, you even dared to give some business advice, lol, that I skimmed through. It’s clear that you don’t know enough to discuss the amenities with hosts because you’re discussing the search filter feature, which is a different discussion and has nothing to do with my OP about our listing options.
There is a place for guests to blabber on about how they would do it if they were hosts or how Airbnb should be somehow different than Airbnb …it’s called reddit. If I want the a guest perspective about something, then I can also go to reddit. You’ve proved yourself not-useful with your unsolicited advice, which isn’t a surprise since this is a forum for hosts.
Too. Much. Of. My. Time.
Cheers!
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Wait until you see the Bed Linens options!
Not only can you list the brand of bed linens you provide but you can also choose between Cotton, Egytian Cotton, Flannel or Silk. It’s probably best that you can’t choose “Poly-Blend” but I think Linen would be included.
There’s a lot of silly stuff in there.
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You would spend all day for the rest of your life flagging hosts who are inaccurate if what you say is true. Like I said you must be only a USA host and only have used Airbnb for stays in the USA.
And yes, searchable amenities are all that matter to a guest who will find your rental. And while Airbnb has somehow determined that “Shampoo” should be a searchable items to narrow down a guest’s search for where to stay, they have decided that “Balcony” as well as other things I listed are unimportant.
So I guess as a host you better really concentrate on having shampoo, because apparently there are a large number of guests for example who will search for a place in Miami beach who will be searching for hosts who have shampoo, but the guests really won’t care about much else. I guess the evidence of how important shampoo is in the success of a host was further emphasized by Airbnb by now even providing a means for you to advertise the brand. That’s wonderful, perhaps I’m the silly one for not realizing the overall importance of my hair being cleaned at a host’s expense and saving 60 cents in the shampoo I will use over a week, Airbnb certainly seems to think this is extremely important to guests.
@Notahost
Are you a host or not a host? Why do you feel the need to so argumentative? I mean really, is it that important to you to get the last word in and feel you are right about everything?
If you cannot contribute constructively maybe just skip over the stuff you disagree with.
Take the best and leave the rest.
RR
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@Notahost - like RR, I’m wondering what exactly you’re doing here as you are - if you’ve chosen your user name with any care at all - not a host.
I’m sure that, like all users, you have read the TOS and the FAQ. These two quotes spring to mind:
If you are not sure your post adds to the conversation, think over what you want to say and try again later.
And:
If you’re unsure, ask yourself how you would feel if your post was featured on the front page of the New York Times.
Thank you.
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Your entire post has nothing to do with this thread. It’s a rambling personal perspective and offers nothing to the discussion for hosts. Your complaint has nothing to do with hosts.
This forum is for hosts and it is not associated with Airbnb. Airbnb will not hear your cries here. Copy and paste your post into a feedback form for Airbnb or post it in the Airbnb Community Center (in other words, tell someone who not only can actually help you, but who actually asked for your opinion).
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@Notahost If Airbnb were to create filters for every possible thing a guest could come up with that was important to them, there would be hundreds of filters and it still couldn’t anticipate everything a fusspot like you might consider to be a deal breaker.
Yes, there are different standards and interpretations of things in different countries. What is called a double bed in Mexico varies in size from what is called a double bed in the US and what is called a double bed in Europe. If guests are going to travel internationally, it behooves them to do a little research themselves so they don’t expect everything to be just like home.
Shall I list every single type of insect, of which there are thousands to be found here in the tropics, in case a guest happens to be terrified of moths? Should there be a filter for “insect-free area”? No, guests shouldn’t travel to the tropics if they are insect-phobes, because the tropics teem with insects and guests should do some research before deciding to travel somewhere.
One thing I can tell you, no host would want a booking from someone as demanding as you appear to be.
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I have the same question. Their very first post was a different tirade about what @Notahost thinks hosts should do to cater to them personally and how Airbnb should be different .for them as a guest There’s a place for this but it isn’t here.
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Satisfying some little strange compulsion or something, I don’t know. I asked him/her above but no response. Of course, this is a forum for Airbnb hosts but we’re not over-strict (being the lovely tolerant people we are )
Presumably he/she doesn’t go to Home Depot to buy a few salmon steaks or into Starbucks to buy a pair of shoes. But he/she joins a forum for Airbnb hosts despite not being a host.
Bizarre behaviour, that’s for sure.
But don’t worry, as you know moderators can zap people of they become too bothersome. 
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I don’t mind at all when guests post on hosting forums, as long as they are respectful and understanding. It’s often useful to see how guest’s think, why they think that way, what they would find valuable, etc. We may never get this from our own guests, because they aren’t sitting down and writing their views.
For instance, I read a guest post somewhere from a frequent Airbnb user. He posted about hosts using wide-angle lenses and other photographic options, which distorted the space and makes it look larger than it really is. He found it deceptive, and I agree that it is.
But harangues like Notahost’s, where they aren’t interested in listening to anything hosts have to say, or consider why hosts might do something that had never occurred to them, like not post their internet speed because that could give guests an opening to demand a refund, have no value at all to me.
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Of course and I agree, but there are plenty of places for that already. It’s nice to have just this one place that isn’t bogged down with guest issues. It isn’t generally my expectation but it has generally been that way here.
For the most part we have that here:)
RR
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That sounds pretty silly, especially if they don’t list linen which is what we have. Doh
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