If I report property damages and make a claim against a guest’s security deposit or the host guarantee/insurance, will my listing be put in some sort of status that will hurt my search results placement? Another host told me they stopped getting bookings after they reported a guest damaged their place. I wonder if anyone else who reported and claimed damages has ran into a similar issue? In theory, it doesn’t make sense and it wouldn’t be fair for Airbnb to lower our search result rankings over a claim. However what if listings with damage claims are put under some temporary pending/holding status until a claim is resolved and closed or for longer than that? Or what if Airbnb considers such listings problematic and high-maintenance or high-risk of future host-guest issues and does not rank them fairly in search results the same way as other listings that have never had damages or a claim against them? Has anyone reported damages and still been able to get their listing ranked favorably etc after the damage report?
No-one truly knows what sort of algorithms Airbnb use for their searches. They are the same as Google, they hint but don’t totally reveal. This is just as well because if everyone knew, some people would be gaming the system.
But it’s safe to assume that they want guests and hosts to be well-matched. They also want trouble-free guests and hosts. I’m not saying that a claim would hold you back in the searches but frequent claims for petty items might. Just as hosts see red flags with certain aspects of guests, Airbnb more than likely have a red flag system for ‘needy’ hosts’. But I don’t think that one or two legitimate claims would count against you.
Just my opinion!
It is not a factor. Your reviews, your response time (in particular if you have not activated Instant Book), your rate (up to a point), and the guest’s own experience have an effect on your rankings.
I don’t see any correlation with damage claims, however litigated, requiring or not Airbnb’s assistance, might have an effect on placement on search results (and I run daily market reports for clients of my company).