Can you have Instabook for some bookings but review reservations for longer ones?

[JJD]

@lisanddavid

when I tick “I’m flexible” and seek a 1 month stay, I don’t show up in search results

I did a flexible month search and zoomed in all the way to the street name level of your listing and it didn’t come up for me at all. I also went through the booking process (up to clicking “pay”) as well as the inquiry process (“contact host”) and was not able to increase the days beyond your max. So, it doesn’t seem to be working. Anecdotally, I notice I haven’t received a beyond my max in at least a year.

*As a side note, I noticed that I didn’t have the option to put in a RTB. I could either IB or send you an Inquiry. No option to Request, presumably because I qualify to IB. I booked something a couple of weeks ago and noticed it then too.

@lisanddavid

I think I might have to do a separate listing to encourage this to show up

I think so too. Besides, your search rank for the monthly stays will be better if it’s actually set for monthly stays. It will be highlighted for that.

@lisanddavid

That way I can have more control over pricing too (ABB only allows discounts for stays in 4 week intervals but in Sydney where stays longer than 3 weeks don’t count toward STR limits, I can offer pretty sharp incentives for 3+ week stays!).

Are you sure? Is it an Australian thing? Here I can set a discount for 1-6 days, 1 week, 2 weeks, 3 weeks, 1 month, 5 weeks, 6 weeks, 8 weeks or 12 weeks. It’s worth checking because it’s preferable to show a discounted price even if it’s the same price you would put without a discount.

@lisanddavid

That’s awesome if acceptance rate doesn’t threaten superhost status.

It doesn’t at all. Superhost criteria is only 4 things: Rating, Response rate, Number of stays and Cancelation rate.

edit: I’m not sure if they’re still doing the Plus program or not (I haven’t seen one in a long time) but an Acceptance rate of 95% is a qualification for being a Plus property (just in case you were hoping to do it).

[Spark]

I was planning to make the same suggestion, but JJD has saved me the keystrokes. We have two separate listings for the same guest suite – a cheaper one with the second bedroom locked off and left empty. Airbnb doesn’t redact a link in the description from one listing to the other… which would allow you to write : “This suite/guesthouse/cabin is also available for longer stays of more than X days in a separate Airbnb listing at www.airbnb.etc” .

In your new listing if prospective guests click on your profile, they can see all the good reviews you have earned on the original listing. I’m not sure, but it might even say “Lisa is a SuperHost” on both from day one (if you are already SuperHost)

P.S. You could choose to make the NEW listing the “longer term/no IB” listing, or you could re-write your current listing to be the longer term, and set up the new one to be “shorter term/IB” offering

[lisanddavid]

@JJD

I did a flexible month search and zoomed in all the way to the street name level of your listing and it didn’t come up for me at all. I also went through the booking process (up to clicking “pay”) as well as the inquiry process (“contact host”) and was not able to increase the days beyond your max. So, it doesn’t seem to be working. Anecdotally, I notice I haven’t received a beyond my max in at least a year.

*As a side note, I noticed that I didn’t have the option to put in a RTB. I could either IB or send you an Inquiry. No option to Request, presumably because I qualify to IB. I booked something a couple of weeks ago and noticed it then too.

Thank you so much for doing that research, @JJD ! You convinced me that it would be best to set up a separate listing for longer stays. I have done that (airbnb.com.au/h/seaglassmanly-longstays) so we’ll see how it goes!

@Spark

Airbnb doesn’t redact a link in the description from one listing to the other… which would allow you to write : “This suite/guesthouse/cabin is also available for longer stays of more than X days in a separate Airbnb listing at www.airbnb.etc

Thanks for your great suggestions, @Spark – frustratingly enough, it appears that ABB now redacts links even to other ABB listings. So I’ve phrased it this way, and hopefully guests will be able to figure out how to find the other listing:

This is a special listing for those wanting to reserve our existing Airbnb flat (/h/seaglassmanly) for discounted longer stays. It’s ideal for a work-cation, only steps from the beach and with a dedicated office space…

The long-stay option (21-35 days) is only available by booking request to guests with truly exceptional Airbnb track records. If you don’t have 5 or more 5-star reviews, please feel free to book a shorter stay via Instabook through our other listing! To read reviews from our happy guests, click on my host profile…

[muddy]

Although you can’t put a link to your other listing, add to your wording that guests can find the long term listing by clicking on your profile photo where both your listings are shown.

“Clicking on my profile photo will take you to my profile page, where you can see the link to the short term listing, as well as all my reviews.”

Then on the short term listing, say the same thing, but in reverse.

[Spark]

@lisanddavid

Thanks for your great suggestions, @Spark – frustratingly enough, it appears that ABB now redacts links even to other ABB listings. So I’ve phrased it this way, and hopefully guests will be able to figure out how to find the other listing:

I had forgotten that they clamped down that little loophole, and that we got around that clampdown by referencing the listing number… not quite as effective as a URL, but better than nothing. We have reciprocal references between our two related listings:

Looking for a larger space? We can enlarge this suite to a two-bedroom configuration by adding an adjacent spare bedroom that otherwise remains locked and unused. The two-bedroom configuration is suitable for three or four guests (depending on age and sleeping arrangements) and can also accommodate an extra child on the single daybed.

The two-bedroom configuration includes the same private kitchen and private bathroom as the one-bedroom suite described above. The full Airbnb listing (and reservations link) for the Two-Bedroom Fireside Suite is located at Airbnb listing 5230957

[lisanddavid]

@Spark

he full Airbnb listing (and reservations link) for the Two-Bedroom Fireside Suite is located at Airbnb listing 5230957

So I just tried to do that for my listing and I got this warning message from Airbnb: “Phone and other personal numbers aren’t allowed in listing descriptions. Remove ’ 687061339727999248) ’ to continue publishing your listing—always communicate directly through Airbnb.”

!! GRR

[JJD]

@lisanddavid

it appears that ABB now redacts links even to other ABB listings. So I’ve phrased it this way, and hopefully guests will be able to figure out how to find the other listing:

As I mentioned previously, you don’t need to worry about it. The Airbnb system automatically links your two listings and mentions on the new one that you have an old one with other reviews.

This is a screenshot from your new listing:

[Spark]

Your listing number is 687061339727999248? Maybe they allowed mine to go public unchallenged because it’s only seven digits and yours – at 18 digits – looks more like a phone number to the Airbnb Artificial Unintelligence (AAU) routine monitoring our listings. Have you tried the SuperHost help desk – they may have a way of seeking override (but that would first require connecting with Stateside CS with the intelligence and the self-confidence to understand that this particular redaction works against the self interest of Airbnb Inc., and want to try to get you a fix [Okay everyone… stop laughing…])

Veering off-topic a bit:
I had no idea that the numerical value of listing numbers had grown by 11 orders of magnitude since we got ours seven or eight years ago. Maybe subsequent generations of assigned numbers incorporated extra digits coding for location or type of property.

[muddy]

Anyone have any guesses as to why Airbnb wouldn’t allow links to other Airbnb listings? It seems so pointless to me. What can they possibly be trying to prevent? Surely their AI can tell the difference between an Airbnb listing and some other link.

[Spark]

That would assume their code is rigorously tested for faulty logic and for algorithms that undermine the business model of the company before going live, and we all know that doesn’t happen.

[Spark]

We found this feature did not connect the dots for guests nearly as well as a bit of narrative (and a link) embedded in the listing… narrative that takes the prospective guest by the hand and says – “If this listing isn’t quite right for your needs, we have another one that [you make your case with surgical targeting].” This sells the alternate property and lays out a specific call to action, the linking info put in by the system barely provides breadcrumbs.

In our case, we appeal directly to the prospective by saying " like what you see but want more space/beds… we can help with that" or “Like what you see but looking for something a bit less expensive (smaller = lower price-point)?.. we can help with that.”

[muddy]

@JJD

The Airbnb system automatically links your two listings and mentions on the new one that you have an old one with other reviews.

I think you are giving guests too much credit for being able to figure this out. Nothing wrong with giving them more direction. Some need it.

[JJD]

@Spark

like what you see but want more space/beds… we can help with that" or “Like what you see but looking for something a bit less expensive (smaller = lower price-point)?.. we can help with that.”

And we also have a 93 Honda Accord that purrs like a baby with new subwoofers and an extra cupholder for a special price.

@muddy

I think you are giving guests too much credit for being able to figure this out

I think a lot of hosts don’t give guests enough credit which is why they end up with bad guests.

@muddy

Some need it.

I’m more than happy to let them fools pass me by without any hassle. That’s the vetting that so many claim to want. And it’s all without having to write a bunch of messages back and forth

[muddy]

@Spark

That would assume their code is rigorously tested for faulty logic and for algorithms that undermine the business model of the company before going live, and we all know that doesn’t happen.

Yes, but they used to allow Airbnb links, so I would assume there was some human decision, for some reason, to reprogram the software.
Of course, the human-made decisions at Airbnb often don’t follow what most people would consider to be logical or wise.

[Spark]

I’ve worked on corporate “transformations” where the coders update the rules to achieve “A” and – with inadequate testing – don’t even realize they’ve created unintended consequence “B”. When “B” is brought to their attention, they put it on the list of fixes that will be included in the NEXT big update in 12 months. Don’t assume “human decisions,” especially with a company like Airbnb which is famous for going live with “not-quite-ready-for-primetime” software updates.