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!

Fight= fridge

@Movinghouseatlast I was wrong.
Maybe because I usually hire cottages that have star ratings that are checked?

Luxury and shepherds hut are rarely used in the same sentence! At the end of the day it’s still a hut and you can usually find an en-suite room with a comfy kingsize bed for the same price.

I had an awful experience with airbnb and i turn over even when their adverts are on now. will never ever book with them again.

@Jofergo out of interest, just trying to understand your perspective, why you do think a cottage website is preferable to Air BnB?

Or, are you saying that self catering in the country is better than self catering in a city?

I have the impression that many rural areas suffer due to high volume of holiday houses. This isn't just a city issue

My main beef is people who have second homes that are empty most of the year. That's worse than a house that's rented to holiday makers who do at least spend money locally eg meals out. I accept that they don't use eg libraries, schools, so still has an impact on communities

It does sound odd that you haven’t had any views OP

An hour cleaning?! It takes me 3 hours to clean my shepherds hut, then another hour to do the garden and hot tub. The washing is 2 full loads then half an hour to iron the bedding.

If I pay a cleaner she gets £60. Then the bedding, towels and robes washed is £20.

What happens when you search for glamping in your area op? I'm just wondering whether some significantly cheaper/better accommodation is now listed above yours. Is someone nearby discounting heavily? No views seems odd.

Three hours to clean a hut seems excessive.

The star ratings are from Visit Egland/Wales etc. They visit once and give you your stars. They don't check again until you have them come again. They look at cleanliness, quality of furniture, bedding etc, not safety, insurance or anything.

They charge over £200 for the visit! I did it once and never again, it had no impact on my bookings.

I book star rated cottages. I have found from experience they tend to be higher quality.

Actually OP, I do think Air bnb should be available for the kind of business you have- where I don't think it should be allowed is for houses and flats in certain tourist locations and city's because it's reducing the amount of perfectly nice normal rental accommodation for families and singles. If they allow it I think there should be a maximum of £ allowed equivalent to the daily rate for normal standard rent- so a 2 bed flat in London for instance would be £50- 60 a night max - or allow only 'rooms' in existing owners house , rather than full places.

I like Airbnb as the ratings and listing description are very accurate. I enjoy the fact I jump through hoops one time and then am effectively trusted indefinitely unless obviously I do something wrong at a property. I did end up with a duff booking one time but most of them have been amazing.

I want to give a good, high standard service to my guests. Absolutely everything is washed- it's like a spring clean every time. Not sure why you see offering something great to paying guests is something to criticise?

How long should it take do you think?

OP have you got someone to check that you can book your dates. My friend had a issue on Airbnb the other week with lack of bookings. Turns out for some reason the dates couldn't be booked by people. It got fixed quickly and now his bookings are coming in quickly.

Why on earth would you assume that, do you think airbnb is the only agency hosting home owners? They'll be on sykes, or booking.com, tripadvisor, any number of cottage rental sites

I probably should have said many owners are experiencing the same, its not just me.

Yes, others have looked. It's there but not clicked on. It's just a generic shepherds hut now- the USP has gone.

Just looked at Airbnb and I think I know what is happening. You can filter for seaside or you can filter for properties at the beach.
The difference in price between shepherds huts and other properties is not always much. I think people are searching for beach in your location and just seeing better properties that do not cost much more.
Before they could search shepherds hut and beach and may not have checked out other options properly.
Look at your competition. You may simply be too expensive.

I’ve recently made some bookings on air B and B on the app but hadn’t realised there were changes. I was doing my search using the map though as I was looking for places in certain areas.

That does seem odd that you’ve had no views suddenly. Is it worth checking with air b and that there’s nothing odd going on with the listing-that it’s not showing in peoples filters or something? I’m not sure sure if that even possible but just a thought there might be a technical glitch.

Have you listed on booking.com OP-? It's always my first 'go to' and I've found customer service good too .

What is your website OP? It sounds great! Do you allow dogs??

I always search using a map so I know where the property is (ie near beach or restaurants etc)

I need a one night self catering later in the year, on the way up to Scotland and the way back , so 2 nights at each end of a week, I will have a look later

Ditto.

I'm not too expensive, I don't believe I've said how much I charge.Believe me there are people who are too expensive, who charge double what I do!. I just had a review in which said 'worth every penny' This issue is happening for everyone not just me.

If people want a shepherds hut, they search for shepherds hut on the whole. I used to be able to differentiate myself with my title, it's pretty unusual to have a Shepherds hut so close to restaurants etc but now I can't advertise that unless they click on my listing! Obviously that's the same for everyone.

Really OP unless you're willing to share the rough location so that people can play around with searching its difficult to say what the issue is. However what I will say is there is nothing attractive to my mind about a shepherds hut when I can have a whole property and have room to move about, space to store my clothing and get out the bed both sides for the same or even cheaper prices nearby.
Plus they never have parking near the property, its usually a trek across a field and no where to lock up bikes