The Airbnb redesign is screwing hosts. This is what you need to do right now.
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- Опубликовано: 9 сен 2024
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Finally, Rob. I appreciate your measured response here.
This platform change has so many people shook. Honestly -- curate your properly carefully, take great pictures, crush your listings and communicate with your clientele base. People who do THAT will actually benefit from this paradigm switch. Poor hosts with sub par listings will cannibalize themselves on their way out the door.
I'm a superhost with 85%+ occupancy, a 4.98 rating, and 100% response rating and my bookings tanked after these changes.
@@nikinik0106 any theories on what specifically caused this drop in your case? What AirBnB wants that your current listing isn't doing?
@@nikinik0106 I was in the same boat….although I do think there are other factors at play for the decline in bookings, not just this new platform. However as I already said in my comment, I am not a fan of this new platform. But I did take Rob’s advice and changed my title and added key words to the descriptions of my pictures and literally within hours someone booked my place for 28 days! So thank you Rob! There is def an A.I. component to how they are choosing who to feature and display in these categories. Also worth noting I do have a Superhost status and 4.96 rating and professional photos that were taken wayyyyyy before this redesign. If you havn’t already done so, get professional photography as mentioned in the video. I don’t see how anyone will survive without it now.
@@danielashman1753 Not sure what they could "want" considering the above stats. Clearly, my guests have been thrilled with my place.
Hi Rob, again thank you very much for an excellent informative video, I would like to ask you what situations you have had in which Airbnb ended up favoring the guest that you considered should have been the other way around and why
I just started the airbnb listing a week ago and already booked almost every day till July. Thank you, your channel has been my most helpful resources throughout the process. Sending my gratitude to your way.
Any suggestions you can give to someone looking for a property/starting out😁
Airbnb’s focus is still the same as it always has been: providing the best experience for guests.
A lot of the hosts have been riding the gravy train in my opinion by providing sub par accommodations and raking in the cash.
Airbnb has made it easier to find unique accommodations that wouldn’t have necessarily been have found
Those who double down on providing unique experiences will make bank 💰
This should be an option, not something that seems to force you into specific types of property. I just wanted a basic stay in Southern Oregon and I couldn’t find what I needed. I had to call the support line.
Absolutely, there should still be the option to just regular search because I know where I wanna go but it's so annoying trying to navigate through the new interface.
All I can say, as a seasoned professional STR host and Airbnb super host, is that the algorithm is not actually working the way it should. We have a tiny home that states tiny home in the marketing headline and listing description and shows photos of the the home, but it doesn’t show up in the tiny home category for Park City, UT. We also have one with amazing views, as shown in the photos and mentioned in the headline and description. Doesn’t show up in the category. We maintain a 4.8 star rating across our entire portfolio and have for years. Our photos are professional, and I am a professional content writer. We still aren’t making it into the categories. It’s not the end of the world, and we would really prefer direct bookings anyway, but I’m just sharing our experience.
What are direct bookings?
This is interesting, thanks for sharing. Looking closely through the listings in my area and some are clearly not categorized as they should be. This seems really unfair!
Yes, we have the same problem. We're a super host with a 5.0 rating and had great bookings last year. This year if any category is selected we are screened out even though we meet multiple criteria for the categories. I have contacted Airbnb, but it appears that even they don't know what is going on. I'm really worried about the coming season since anyone who selects any category will never see us. This has way more impact on bookings than pretty pictures or eloquent descriptions. I wish Robert would do a video on how to get the algorithm to recognize characteristics of a property.
@@danielashman1753 a direct booking is one that comes through our website, rather than through an OTA like Airbnb or Vrbo.
So I hate the redesign and I don’t even own a Airbnb. I refuse to use the new app layout as it’s a pain in the a** to book and don’t want to deal with it. I’ll book a hotel.
When I vaca and get an Airbnb. I just need a decently comfortable, clean place to sleep at an affordable price… not all the fancy fluff that Airbnb is pushing. Not one to waste my time in a room I travel to explore!
Yup well said. This is exactly what I was thinking.
Well, that's clearly not the way airbnb is doing. Same people still prefere affordable, private, clean space and not spent fortune. But unfortunatelly for hosts like me when I'm doing affordable simple A frame, off-the-grid cabins, I realise I cannot even find my place in these categories now, despite being superhost 🧐😒
@@martini426 maybe the purpose these changes from AirBnB was to force us peasants off the site, and really make it a site for the wealth?
We went from 85% booked last summer to 35% this year it's killing us. We take pride in providing a great experience and 5 star reviews and it sucks having this kill us
As a UX designer (in the travel space) I loved this user review of their site! Airbnb, if we like it or not, is a site everyone always references whenever we try to do anything.
The average income is 60K a year. With Gas prices can people afford to spend 500 for 2 days?
Maybe not every body got the MONEY 💰 to updated there place LIKE You!!!!
Rob, I have been dealing with Airbnb since day 1 of the ‘update’ that dropped my listing from my preferred category. I am a treehouse with only 5* reviews and clearly meet their treehouse definition, but by their algorithm, they would prefer to categorize me as a ‘rare find’ , ‘OMG’, and ‘Container home’. So now my views have dropped by 70%. Why the hell would they not want to include in every category possible to maximize exposure and opportunity to catch a booking? All they tell me is the machine learning determines where to include my listing based on views and searches where the booking occur. Ok, but that does not explain why views and bookings have dramatically been impacted. Views = Exposure that leads to marketing interest and ultimately bookings. They can not override the magical algorithm even though I am a treehouse that can not be found in treehouse category.
Can’t you contact them?
@@Starfish2145oh dud daily. I was told over and over the system does it and it can’t be over ruled. But, after 9 weeks it finally changed and my views doubled. I missed so many bookings during that peak season.
Saw this on Twitter: "Hotels are FUN. Room service, bars, poolside drinks, a concierge, and no chores. Airbnb is just housesitting for someone you don't know and you have to pay them."
😂
I just ran across your video and I am so pleased to hear you promote hiring a Professional Photographer for AirBnB listings! It simply astounds me that anyone in this digital age, with beautiful advertising pictures everywhere, would even contemplate trying to make money with a rental property by using their phone camera! I can make any property look fantastic -- light, bright, clean, and inviting! I really appreciate your intelligent advice to your viewers to use PROFESSIONAL PHOTOS!
Great insight! I have a cabin in the mountains that is literally called "little log cabin", mentions cabin multiple times in the description, photos, and reviews, and I still don't show up in the cabin category. I actually think they're using AI to look at photos and categorize them. I show up in the "amazing view" because of a photo, which appears as the primary photo when you select that category. Very interested to see how this shakes out... always appreciate your take!
Great video Robert. Great analysis. I just want to highlight another point of view, maybe this redesign aims to fight against the laws and regulations that prohibit Airbnb in big cities. I think the move is to promote small destinations whose local authorities might be more Airbnb-friendly and thus win "hearts and minds" in small towns. What do you think about this possibility?
Along the same lines, I believe it's to spread out from oversaturated areas that are now too overrun by tourists to be as enjoyable as they once were. In my case, this is Sedona v. Cottonwood on the outskirts. But few people know to search on Cottonwood.
@@Gourmetwineaux 100% agree
Seems they are trying to attract both hosts and guest with more money and kicking to the the side the simple joes hosts and nasty guests.
👏🏽
Screwed big time. We were booked 90 percent and now nothing. So crazy 🤬🤬🤬
My bookings have fallen off a cliff. 97% occupancy before. It’s really frustrating.
@@virginiarattlesnake why do you think that is? Is it not themed ? Or.....? 🤔🤔 please and thank you!
Also, it’s a reach to say what they “want” you to do. They didn’t get rid of the old way, they just added a new way to use the same platform. It’s really ingenious and will help expose some less traditional vacation markets to new eyeballs globally. This is good for everyone who runs an awesome unit
I agree! This is great for the host who build and design awesome units
I run an awesome unit. I got a comfy bed with a lamp on a ikea table. It’s simplistic, but that’s not a category they push now. SMH
@@jcorona5457 the economy sector will always be profitable.
@@jcorona5457 capitalism is about competition; adapt or go extinct. Sad to see so many investors who don’t share this mindset
Yea it sucks 😆. I’m speaking as a customer not a host.
If I look up our cabin to rent on my desktop PC it does not come up. If I look it up on my iPad, it comes up. That is putting in the same dates, city and dates. Explain that! Plus, if you put in Asheville, NC, you will get a few per page in Asheville and many others in areas close by and even other states. They are all sprinkled together. I cannot get just Asheville Airbnb cabins to come up. I have to go through like 15 pages to see them all, along with those I do not even want to see at all. Very frustrating.
I do not like the new site and I’m neither a host or guest but I do enjoy looking at homes near me lol 😆
So write your tiny house listing like Rob says so you can also not show up in the tiny house category like Rob's tiny house listing. Got it.
Rob -- totally agree with keeping your listing fresh and up to date! With hosts now all catching on to what's going to make the front page, I wonder how that's going to impact the demand for lake-front homes, A-frames, Ski-in houses, etc... Seems like it's going to drive up demand for existing homes that fit one of those criteria, or, some builders out there are going to make bookoo bucks building tree houses for hosts. 😂
As a guest, I LOVE the new flexibility features, and the options that aren’t location based. It saves me time from what I did before. I don’t love AirCover because it jacked up the rates. As someone who wants to be a future host, I can see how this became harder for hosts and more work, and that it also makes it more difficult to enter the hosting world.
This would be like if Tinder said, “Hey are you trying to find reasonable people in your area date? Yeah, well screw that we’re gonna deluge you with dozens of successful and wealthy people with supermodel good looks from all over the world! There’s almost no chance you’re going to date any of them, but by contrast it will now make you feel extremely unsatisfied with the reasonable options that you were actually looking for.
The redesign is terrible even for travelers. Most people just want a good place to stay for a good price
Maybe the sharp decrease in bookings is related to the stock market/bitcoin/housing market crash, and inflation, and rise in gas prices? Despite what the Pravda Press may say, things are pretty bad and will get worse. Could be people just are starting to realize it and running out of money.
Hi Rob, you mentioned that you are planning on investing with Here, have you alread done so?
NO NO NO I used to use ABB and to book up a hol/property I wanted but it's ALMOST impossible to get what you want... ALSO they now want MY DNA to book a holiday? Why do they need all my DL/Passport info? They took my payment THEN sent me to a confirm YOUR ID PAGE! (YOU CANT SKIP THIS!) Then when you input the info they then tell you this will take 24/48 hrs ummm.. I want that cottage this weekend, called them and they say OH sorry it takes that long.. BUT YOU TOOK THE PAYMENT! ok we will cancel that, THE PAYMENT will be back into your account in 4 to 10 days.. WHAT! NO I DONT THINK SO! I rang my bank and had it cancelled by them as a FRAUD. WONT USE THEM AGAIN! The person who had the cottage for rent LOST $400 for a SAT TO SUN weekend stay because of this.
Woah.
I get it but if it wasn’t a problem no one would be complaining search is different on mobile device vs pc I can’t even find the listings near me. Maybe they are trying to please the younger generation with visuals. So yea a stand out property is needed with seo and curb appeal photos. At the end of the day host just have to find the best solution.
A video on the breakdown of your gross income: what percentage is Airbnb, youtube, BiggerPockets, etc.
11:51 I disagree. with the right interior design, a town home in the middle of the city can go viral. My current Airbnb project is designed to make the first page of the OMG category. I'm shooting for the stars
I didn't really hear anything new here. I still don't know why our property which has an on site vineyard and tasting room with pictures and descriptions of same is not categorized as being near a vineyard. I tried getting help from Airbnb but all they will tell me is that it's the algorithm, but they will not specifically tell me what the algorithm looks for. We also mention the view and we have pictures of mountains in the distance behind a nearby river, but apparently the algorithm doesn't consider that enough to categorize it for amazing views. I could go on, but the bottom line is that if anyone selects ANY category, our property is completely screened out and Airbnb will not tell me why.
Rob… I watch Every. Single. Video, just waiting for your “It’s Been Awhile…” Keep the streak 🙏🏼
It's not as user friendly as before. U need to click more to get to your destination. It's kinda frustrating
Rob please, how to fix that when I cannot find my place in these categories? Have A-frame off-the-grid cabins but when I select A frame, off-the-grid or camping airbnb won't show the place at all! Despite it's mention in description for several times. 😒 It's just showing under cabin. But many places can fall in more categories.
I’m so glad I did my Airbnb the way I did. Themed, nice and designed with the customer in mind, not my bank account. We’re killing it and can’t wait for all the places in my area to hit the market at a discount bc they thought this game was gonna be easy 😈
May I ask where your Airbnb is? I’m looking to buy a str property as well and doing some searches on good locations
@@olfactoryodyssey5359 Galveston TX
@@olfactoryodyssey5359 im looking as well. Lmk if you wanna chat
Thank you Rob for making me chuckle with this video, having a rough day (not ABNB related) and this was a great escape. Oh and fantastic information too!
New host here as of last week. Speaking of listing description, I could not figure out how to give my listing a thorough description like you recommend because of the character limits. After several days of navigating the host side of the platform, I finally stumbled upon the area where I can add detail to my listing 😅…I’ll be updating it soon
Nice job Rob. Agree w your analysis. Stick to the fundamentals and learn to pivot when needed and success will continue. Keep that great content coming. Also, nice use of graphics to highlight your points!
Rob, regardless of content, you have the best channel I’ve seen on RUclips.
This is why airbnb is so overpriced 😑 sometimes people need a janky but affordable place to stay in a larger group like of course we all want to stay in a beautiful place but really what we need as guests is the all in price!!
Go multi platform loyalty means nothing.
Really great tips and good to start paying attention. Thanks, Rob!
I see your point on this. But, and I'm not sure if most are like me, when I visited the home page to check this out the first thing my eyes gravitated to was the top center part of the page where I could search any location manually. I then went on the map for the location I picked and found many homes and automatically culled the choices that I knew were too expensive which left me from a decent amount of homes to choose from.
Again, if most folks are like me they are super anal about what they want in a vacation home. When I'm looking I want to make sure I'm not near a bunch of condos, that I'm waterfront if I can be, that the price isn't inflated for amenities that I'll never take advantage of etc etc etc. In fact, when people in my family want to go on vacation they'll ask me to find places for them because I'm so particular about them. It's very true that consistent bad ratings will keep me from staying somewhere but more often than not I'm not booking or settling on anything just because it's featured or if I haven't had a good look at what's available. If anything, I think it will help good, solid hosts rise to the top and the lackluster ones fall out of the picture. At least that's what I hope.
It’s just the one picture that needs to be square. The rest of the images are still normal.
Not to be critical but worse video you've posted... clearly just a content filler. This does t address that most people book an airbnb for a city they've already planned to visit. We are going "place x" this weekend for a wedding. We need a pce here not options for 8 hours away.
I have an air bnb in Albuquerque and although it’s in a safe neighborhood it is still the car theft capital of the US. Question: do I convert the garage to better utilize the space for a game room or something or do I keep it as a garage so ppl can park their cars and feel safer about it? This specifically pertains to Albuquerque bc of the high car theft rates otherwise I wouldn’t even ask the question…
Keep the garage if your guest use it
Sorry but I think this redesign sucks both from a host and guest p.o.v. I understood everything you said in your video and I'm not sure how as a host I'm suppose to benefit from this redesign. For one, there's too many categories. Too many options and choices is not always a good thing...I am a superhost and do have professional photography and a beautiful little cabin up in the Catskill Mountains here in NY which I designed with a theme in mind and fully renovated. It also has amazing views. I don't show up in the view category....I barely show up in the cabin category. My bookings have really dried up since this damn redesign and I'm not sure who the hell Airbnb had in mind when they launched this.....I may have to change the name of my title, which sucks, because I really liked it but changing it and using some keywords may help with their algorithm, so thank you for that tip. Good luck to everyone.
Airbnb hates hosts. They treat them like shi.
Also, how did ‘grand piano’ get to be a catagory, I’m interested in the data behind that.
When I heard this all I wanted see was “fenced in backyard” as a catagory or something searchable (that’s the pet owner in me - I want to travel with my pup but ‘pet friendly’ as a filter isn’t enough. He needs room to run!
Great advice
And don’t forget to diversify by listing with VRBO….GoLightly….Homads…
Seems to me both Airbnb AND hosts have been getting a bit greedy lately.
I think the update is amazing and I’m looking forward to doubling down on unique
✅ I haven’t noticed any changes in my bookings…. Thank for the information.
Let’s all gooooo direct 🤣
CEOs should ask *consumers what they like about the platform
I absolutely hate this new interface. I know where I wanna go and I should still have that option to search that, instead of all these stupid options. I'm a guest and think this is horrible
You have a good listing when looking for tiny houses in east us on the map. Saw your house first page. From Europe.
Excelente video informativo Rob, totalmente de acuerdo contigo, saludos Roger Erosa
Airbnb has screwed affordable housing for me. Investors are the worst.
I have not received ANY bookings since then
Are you still doing your regular SEO strategies ?
@@christinarinvests yes I am.. it decorated nicely and I watch the market and try to price competitively. I have no bookings for June or July onward yet?
Same, and we have been well booked Jan-May but now nothing. And we went from 400 views a day to 220
Me too. And I have a beautiful tiny house in the center of a city.
Same. My monthly views went from 5000 to just under 2000. And my listing is niceeeeeeeee. I have done everything. Tweaked, changed pricing, changed pictures,.changed description. No bookings in over 3 weeks. It's crazy. Nothing at all.
The clear majority of hosts have a single listing, without a niche theme. These people are all hosed. It’s like the ABB execs wanted to purge the entire platform. I’m dumbfounded that a publicly traded company would pivot like this, and to do so with no warning.
Differentiation, more upside, more guest satisfaction. Good riddance to all the bad airbnbs
Didn't they say that the change is based on how the data shows more people are booking in this way since pandemic? As opposed to "Airbnb wants people to travel this way"?
great content! lots of valuable information
to be fair, the 'junky airbnb' with the rattan furniture and grass peel and stick splashback is pretty F'ing spectacular! That's a yes, and from me! They just need a resident Zebra to pull it all together. Those parquet floors ... 😘👌
Theres still old bar available
can you show up based on multiple categories?
Do you think it matters who the host is as well for the algorithm? Like Evolve vs. a private host?
Bro why are you not this animated on BP? It would go over super well. You’re like a different person on your own YT channel. Please do it.
We are doing fine so far but it sure seems like the host with the most money get the advantage...
Airbnb customer service has completely fallen off. They no longer protect the customer like they once did.
Our entire family will never use them again. 👎🏼
brilliant. thanks
Is Airbnb turning into the new Uber ?
I think you’ve got one thing wrong about this. It isn’t AirBnb that is forcing this change, travel has changed and AirBnb is adapting. Experiential travel has been talked about for a few years now, this shouldn’t be surprising.
Airbnb has not changed much. They've changed the layout of their website and the search results. Outside of that.. unique listings have always outperformed everything else. My listings are unique and I'm consistently booked in the "saturated" San Francisco Bay Area
How are they unique
@@jasonhare9434 tiny houses with cool decor
Rob, great stuff here. Your video editing is great, could you please share or DM me your editor/agency so I can hire them??
I made 4200 for my first 12 days on air bnb
How do I get my listing into the omg category?
Ur hysterical!! 😆😂😂
Of course it will be fine for established, super rich like you, but the new hosts will be pushed to the very bottom. We'll just give more of our business to other sites. NP.
Rob says it’s been a while since I’ve recorded at night pretty much every video. Lol
Hello from Houston. Do you have some photographers in the Houston area that you like to work with?
Do you use price labs?
went from 95% YonY booked to 65% - don't like it:P
I wish you would just do your videos without all the silly antics it’s very annoying important information that people want is getting lost in the clownery.
Not watching my channel would fix your frustrations lol.
@@Robuilt sassy lol
Need a house in Houston, I’m your SuperHost. Need a ski resort, or unique cave dwelling with a pool and a view of the city. Sorry, I ain’t got that, move me to the last page.
To see you complain that Airbnb hosts are “hurting” really feels like a slap in the face to people like myself and my dogs being kicked out of housing so that the owners can turn a profit. Really sickens me. The rental market is awful for the same reason. I hope Airbnb fails. I hope the housing market tanks and all the “iNvEsToRs” are out on their ass.
I think your analysis is a little off in one respect. First, you're right that their redesign is renter-centric, for the reasons you mentioned, as it should be. The renters are Airbnb customers and host customers - the money ultimately comes from them! But the redesign isn't aimed at pushing people toward a less location-centric search (Airbnb isn't trying to suggest where people should stay!). The Airbnb redesign is now using the same logic that most customer-centric shopping sites use - one that allows the customer to decide HOW they want to search. Yes the categories are listed at the top, but a) you can still search by location, and b) if the site recognizes your location, category rentals in your area are the ones first displayed, without you even having to select a location. The categories were put in because 1) there were just too many options, categorization is necessary now, and 2) it allows the customer (renter) to decide how they want to search - by location, by location and category, or just by category. I helped build the Nike.com site, which serves as a good analogy. At Nike you can search by shoes (think category), or by basketball (think location), or for basketball shoes (category and location).