The company is rolling out changes to how guests filter and search places to stay, which have implications for hosts looking to maximize guests in their rentals.
Airbnb is making major updates to its search and booking functions, plus beefing up its trip insurance policies in what the company called “the biggest change to Airbnb in a decade,” it announced on Thursday.
The short-term rental behemoth is making the changes at a time when people are booking longer stays, and the company is looking for ways to capitalize on sustained high demand for short-term rentals.
These changes are being rolled out immediately, and they have implications for hosts looking to maximize their chances of booking guests in their rentals.
Among the big changes:
Airbnb Categories: Guests can target specific amenities or attractions when finding places to stay. This appears to be an extension of changes the company made recently to guide guests toward stays they otherwise might not have thought of or knew existed.
Airbnb launched its “I’m Flexible” feature, which provides guests with recommendations on other locations or dates if they’re simply looking to get away with no specific plan in mind.
What hosts need to know
Categories operates using machine learning, pulling from written descriptions, photo captions, other data inputs from the host and reviews left by guests. To take advantage of the new feature, hosts should make sure their listings are well-written and include photos of the features that make their homes stand out.
The Airbnb team will also pick what photo is featured upon search.
Split Stays: Making it easier for guests to book two homes during a single trip. Stays of 28 days or more are the fastest-growing category for the business right now, and nearly half of all nights booked for the past three months were for longer than a week.
Split Stays is the company’s way of capitalizing on the trend. The new feature will let guests split their trips between two homes.
What hosts need to knowThe feature could help short-term rental investors with a portfolio of homes that fall within the 14 Categories that will be suggested for longer-term stays.
Here are the 14 Categories that will suggest a Split Stay:
Amazing Views
Farms
Beach
Beachfront
Countryside
Lake
Lakefront
National parks
Tropical
Vineyards
Camping
Golfing
Skiing
Surfing
AirCover: A sort of insurance policy in case a host cancels a booking or if the home isn’t as advertised, that’s provided free with every booking.
With any host cancellations, or other issues, Airbnb will find the guests a different home or refund them. Every booking will be covered for free.
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