To think the recent changes to Air BnB will mean fewer people will book with them?

[Movinghouseatlast]

Have you looked at Air BnB in the last 2 weeks and noticed the changes they have made to the website?

I ask because I have a glamping business and since the 'summer release' I have had no bookings at all. Absolutely there are issues with the cost of living/ energy crisis but it seems a bit of a coincidence that I was getting plenty of bookings before the changes happened.

I just wondered if from a consumer point of view if the changes are making a difference? I just think it's not user friendly any more!

I do have my own website but I have stuck with Air BnB as I have always had a lot of bookings and to me as a business they work out cheaper than other platforms like Canopy and Stars etc.

Thanks!

@Firkinhavinalaugh I booked in uk last year and left a good review. The place I stayed was lovely. But this year I can get a better deal abroad.
If air bnb does not work for you, try another site to advertise on. But surely you would be getting people rebooking who have been before if it was just about algorithms?

But share your listing and we can tell you if it seems nice and is simply air bnb

I dont necessarily say glamping is the issue as I know people like different things

But as others are saying, if particular owners on airbnb are booked out for months and months, then its not the algorithms surely otherwise no one would be particularly successful

What would change about the algorithm to make it likely that you get bookings, what would be different for me the customer if I was looking for your property?

@francesfrankenfurter we agave had repeat business through previous clients who came directly to us. Which is great and we are happy about ☺️ But no new enquiries which is frustrating.

What we aren’t is a week long glamping vacation, we are long weekend/one night stays - get out of the city etc. it’s really strange that no one has expressed any interest for the super short break (bearing in mind it’s a nightmare to use some airports for a “mini-break”) although I too would prefer to go abroad AND having attempted to book a week in the UK know how ridiculous some prices are 🤦‍♀️

I almost wonder if people think it’s going to be crap to stay with us as we aren’t expensive enough……

Well perhaps the loaded people who want to spend crazy money on something which compares quite negativity with other destinations aren’t seeing your listing as you say then. But perhaps you’d get a better range of people who’d like to stay in a little hut but don’t fancy paying through the nose for it if you priced it differently.

FWIW i’d stay in one of those huts if it wasn’t so expensive as i quite like camping. I just wouldn’t pay more than the cost of a lovely holiday abroad. Or anywhere near the cost. And since we are in a cost of living crisis I expect people who feel similar will grow as time progresses. 🤷‍♀️

@bellac11 it is likely to be because we aren’t a 52 week proposition, therefore (glamping under canvas) we don’t operate between October-April as it isn’t a viable proposition.

That is why the algorithm is screwing us (that came straight from the horses mouth) so glamping has been hit by this (from what I understand).

We worked really hard last year to set up a name for ourselves, I was furloughed and depressed and it gave me some purpose. The success we had was really helpful mentally and financially and so this totally lack of interest (after a busy last season) is demoralising :)

We clean to a much higher standard than you would typically at home - how often does the average person remove every crumb from the toaster or wash out the cutlery drawer? Clean the oven and the oven racks? These are routine changeover tasks.

But that's my point, not everyone would clean to that standard & guests are different. We never used the oven in our last stay because we ate out call the time. I would expect a cottage to take a couple of hours not a hut though.

I actually am a fan of glamping and would love a two-night break, but I wouldn't want to pay a lot for it because it just feels like poor value for money. At the end of the day it's a glorified tent in a field. I paid over £100 per night last year because I was desperate to be somewhere other than my flat and London, but that's no longer the case.

I live in the rural Highlands. The communities have been decimated by AirBnB. It's the new Highland clearances.
My valley has about 15 houses, on 7 have full time residents. The rest are Air BnB. The community has been destroyed

I've always been a fan of Booking.com, mainly because there is a fairly generous cashback offer that is connected to it, with a child savings account and scheme I use. For a week, that has occasionally put £15-£35 'back' into the account. However, one flat I booked through there this summer was a very convoluted process, that seemed to have been placed on the site by a company operating from France (but were all UK flats/cottages). It had all of the passport related uploading and cross checking, and no useful information was given until the very last minute, such as the key safe details and location. The actual number of the flat was also concealed and given last minute (they had entered a different one for the site, and even that was only findable in advance on the map page once booked). Reviews were good, and it was a nice flat, but a couple of people had commented that blankets had been moved from the beds (they were folded on top of the duvet) to the lounge, and they had been charged because of that. So all of this made me a lot more on edge and I think this could really spoil a stay,

For Airbnb, I would tend to try there first if I need somewhere on my own for work or shortish visits where I would be out most of the time, as long as I got a good feeling about the host. I'd be looking out for a double room for the price of many hotel singles, with a nice bathroom and perhaps a quieter night than a hotel.

Christ you are contrary aren't you!!! You are giving me a good laugh now actually. You seem to know so much about it all. We can all breathe a sign of relief you won't be darkening our doors eh?

What you 'expect' and the reality of a job I've been doing for 6 years are different. I wish it took less time, that would be more time on the beach for me! I have to clean a hot tub, barbecue, fire pit, 2 sets of garden furniture and a bathroom, kitchen, oven, fridge, windows inside and outside, hose down the patio, weed the garden.....

I’ve had the same experience twice now - I’ve booked, paid deposit, and the owner has then come back however long after and said ‘oh sorry, it’s not actually available at that time after all’.

Brilliant. And once the person was ‘oh could you cancel it as I can’t see how to?’ I was like ‘no, unfortunately I won’t get my money back if I cancel, you have to do it as the owner’. Absolute pain, and I am now reluctant to use it.

Probably knits jumpers for orphaned children and manages to feed a family of ten for a whole week on the legendary one roast chicken too. Some people just know everything!

What you 'expect' and the reality of a job I've been doing for 6 years are different. I wish it took less time, that would be more time on the beach for me! I have to clean a hot tub, barbecue, fire pit, 2 sets of garden furniture and a bathroom, kitchen, oven, fridge, windows inside and outside, hose down the patio, weed the garden.....

How much are you charging for cleaning?

What has that got to do with why the algorithm has changed in the last two weeks?I don't charge for cleaning, cleaning is a cost of sale.

The internet is a funny place. If I said it only takes me an hour to clean my holiday let people would moan. But as it is people moan that I clean too thoroughly. Bonkers

YANBU
i am an Airbnb host and regularly check what's around, I was shocked and pissed off last time I looked. All properties were coming up priced per week and as mine has a maximum night cap which is under a week it doesn't show at all, unless you put in specific dates. As a superhost mine used to show pretty high in the search when you just searched by area. They really have fucked it up.

@vinoandbrie I had this once. Owner was adamant I had to cancel, although she was the one telling me the house was no longer available. Eventually, she declined and I did get a refund of the holiday price, but not the booking fee. It was my much but really annoyed me

Later, I discovered that hosts are / can be penalised or removed if they cancel too many bookings, so it made sense that she had been so keen for me to cancel

Have you contacted air bnb to ask them why there might have been such a shocking decline in views

My reaction to that is " you're 'avin a laff".

It looks grim.

Yes, I have sent 'feedback' as have other hosts. I was more interested in how consumers were seeing the changes rather than wanting to start an argument about whether shepherds huts are nice or how long they take to clean!

Oh come on, it definitely doesn't look grim. Expensive and not necessarily everyone's cup of tea, but it looks clean and beautiful.

You have got a lot of feedback on that. Most haven’t even noticed!

The problem with air BnB is that it is designed for home stays with the reviews etc. Yet now it lumps single rooms in a grungy house together with professionally run guest houses and campsites, making it difficult to find what you want.
It is handy for obscure locations and can give a quiet night if you are in a work trip. But I find the website difficult to navigate and the fees annoying. Plus there's also a lack of information. Often they fail to tell you it's next to a busy road or has no parking. You have to rely on the reviews to work out those things. And it's often hard to work out what the local facilities are and whether they are within walking distance.
I do find it insane that a two bedroom house costs the same as a glamping hut

Without saying whereabouts you are so that the search can be tested, its impossible to say

I said earlier in the thread, its perfectly possible to search for a shepherds hut by the beach, a load of them came up.