Have you noticed big changes to the way you do business on Airbnb? The hospitality industry is ever-evolving and in order for you to stay ahead of the curve, we’ve gathered these Airbnb tips that could help your short-term rental business.
By now we’ve all heard about Airbnb’s 2022 Summer Release and 2022 Winter Release, and hosts need to stay on top of these modifications as they could impact their revenue and should adjust their strategies accordingly.
Below, we have listed some of the biggest changes from these updates for hosts. Taking action on these updates will ensure that you stay competitive and on top of your business. While this list is not exhaustive of every change, they are some of the major ones to watch out for, and we will continue to update this list with new changes.
Airbnb Winter Release 2022 Updates for Hosts
1. Airbnb Debuts All-in Pricing Display, Plans to Make it the Default View for Guests
Airbnb rolled out a more transparent pricing display that shows “all-in” prices in search results. Before, Airbnb’s search results displayed the nightly price, and only showed the total cost of the stay with the fees (cleaning, taxes, etc.) when a guest went to check out. This new change provides guests with a clear ending price earlier in their booking journey. Currently, this is available to potential guests as an early access, toggle-on feature, meaning that they will need to opt-in to view all-in pricing. However, Airbnb said that this will be the default view for next year.
This change is now available in most locations around the world, except the European Economic Area, Canada, and South Korea, where Airbnb was already required to show up-front the total price.
👉Airbnb listing tip: It is vital to re-evaluate your fee structure. With the new all-in pricing display, properties that have a lower nightly rate but high fees are in danger of not showing up at the top of the search rankings. Is your cleaning fee similar to top listings in your area? Can you lower your cleaning fee, but roll that cost into your nightly price?
2. Increased Protections for Hosts with AirCover Improvements
Airbnb introduced AirCover last year in November, aiming to provide hosts with unmatched, top-to-bottom protection. In their 2022 Winter Release, they made upgrades to AirCover for hosts, including guest identity verification, reservation screening technology, and $3M damage protection.
👉Airbnb listing tip: Familiarize yourself with AirCover coverage to determine if you need to purchase extra protection from another insurance provider.
3. Airbnb Setup: Easier Than Ever to Airbnb Your Home
Airbnb Setup is the company’s answer to people who are interested in becoming hosts, but are struggling to get started. Planning to utilize its base of thousands of Super Hosts, Airbnb promises new hosts an experienced host to mentor and teach them one-one how to set up their listings, ready their homes for guests, and more. This new program will be launched in 80 countries worldwide with 1,500 Superhosts.
Airbnb has even introduced Airbnb-friendly apartments. In this program, Airbnb has partnered with different apartment complexes across the U.S. that are “Airbnb friendly”. Airbnb does not own these apartment complexes, rather Airbnb has partnered with them to help renters find apartments that let them host part-time. Potential hosts can search Airbnb’s list here – and even find out how much they can potentially earn.
👉Airbnb listing tip: If you are a new Airbnb host, take advantage of these new offerings. The company also promises new hosts an experienced guest with a good track record for their first booking and specialized support from Airbnb from a specially-trained team of Community Support agents.
Airbnb Summer Release 2022 Updates for Hosts
4. Airbnb Simplified Pricing
Airbnb requires that hosts who are connected to third-party software adapt their listings to a fee structure called Airbnb Simplified Pricing. Introduced in 2020, this structure means that software-connected hosts will roll the service fee into their nightly price, instead of adding it as a service fee on a guest’s booking (otherwise known as split-fee pricing). Airbnb claims that hosts who switched to this new pricing model while keeping their pricing competitive saw their bookings increase by 17%.
If you are a host listing in the markets below, you can still choose split fee pricing by updating your payments in account settings.
- United States
- Mexico
- Argentina
- Uruguay
- Canada
- Bahamas
- Taiwan
👉Airbnb listing tip: Increase your Base Price to ensure that every booking absorbs the service fee and is still profitable.
5. Airbnb Search Results
After the Summer Release, the listing title and the number of reviews is no longer visible when viewing the search results. Instead, the title appears to be the type of stay and the location (such as “Cabin in Big Bear”). It is preset by Airbnb and not changeable by hosts. And when it comes to reviews, only the review score (and not the number of reviews) shows in the search results. So, a listing with one review or 300 reviews is not differentiated at first glance. With these changes, some hosts feel that they have little control over how they can make their properties stand out in the search results.
👉 Airbnb listing tip: To stand out in search results now, it’s more important than ever to feature professional, stunning photos of your property. Photos are the first major thing that potential new guests see when searching for a new stay, so ensure that your Airbnb photos are eye-catching and show off your property. Keep up with good host practices as well, like keeping your calendar and availability up-to-date, improving your response time on guest inquiries, only declining requests to book when absolutely necessary, and keeping cancellations down. And, as always, focus on creating a great stay for your guests so they leave more 5-star reviews and improve your review score and popularity.
6. Airbnb Categories are Automatically Assigned
Airbnb Categories such as national parks, tiny homes, etc. are now automatically assigned to listings. While this is a great feature for guests who would like to search for a specific stay, it has frustrated some hosts because they have little control over how Airbnb categorizes their listings. Currently, there is still no way for hosts to see which categories your listings fall under, decide which Airbnb categories your listing belongs to, remove a listing from an Airbnb category, and ensure that your similar listings fall under the same category.
👉Airbnb listing tip: First of all, make sure that your listings are complete and representative of your property, and check to make sure that your host profile is filled out. It might be time to refresh your profile and listings so that they are unique, descriptive, and enticing. Listing titles & descriptions, photo captions, and highlighting unique amenities help influence how Airbnb’s algorithm categorizes your listings so provide as much information in your description as possible.
7. Avoidable Host Cancellations
Starting August 22, 2022, Airbnb will increase the amount it charges hosts for avoidable host cancellations from $100 to a range starting at $50 all the way up to $1,000.
👉 Airbnb listing tip: Keep in mind that Airbnb’s host cancellation policy won’t affect you if there were valid reasons for your cancellation. For most hosts, this update shouldn’t become too big of an issue. Doing things you normally do to stay on top of your business, like ensuring your calendar is up to date and synced, providing accurate listing descriptions, keeping your property updated, and providing accurate check-in instructions, is enough to ensure that you do not have to cancel on your guests.
This policy also allows guests to cancel up to 72 hours after a guest checks in if the property is substantially different from the listing description or poses a health risk.
8. Adding a Pet Fee
The pet fee on Airbnb is an additional payment that hosts can charge to guests who bring pets along for their stay. With the pet fee, hosts will now have the option to add a pet fee into their nightly price spread out equally over the duration of a guest’s stay to cover the cost of deep cleaning after a pet’s stay. Previously, hosts would have to request a pet fee through Airbnb’s Resolution Center after accepting a booking.
👉 Airbnb listing tip: If you allow pets in your Airbnb, make sure that your listing House Rules are updated with guidelines around what you expect from your guests regarding their pets (i.e. whether it’s okay to leave a pet unattended, where a pet isn’t allowed on the property, etc.). Then, go to the “Additional Charges” section under “Pricing and Availability” to add a pet fee. Keep in mind that you cannot charge a pet fee for service animals.
Beyond is Here to Help
With all of these changes, we know it’s difficult to keep up with the latest trends so we hope you found these Airbnb tips insightful and actionable.. At Beyond, we aim to be your best partner in revenue management strategy, helping you make the best decisions for your business. Our team and our platform work together to help you take the right action.
Not using Beyond or new to dynamic pricing? With Beyond, Airbnb hosts can access dynamic, historical, and demand-driven pricing tools coupled with actionable market data and insights to grow their businesses. Take a look at how Beyond can help you get more revenue, and sign up to try Beyond today and claim your free credit.
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