Airbnb has introduced a raft of upgrades as part of its winter release – including an exclusive club for the platform’s most popular rentals.
Guest favourites
From today, prospective guests will be able to clearly identify the top listings on the world’s premier online travel agency. Airbnb has introduced a ‘Guest Favourite’ tag for the most-loved homes based on ratings, reviews, and reliability data. Guest favourites are rated above 4.9 on average and receive high marks for check-in, cleanliness, listing accuracy, location, and value. Prospective guests will be able to filter their searches to ensure they only find ‘Guest Favourite’ rentals – of which two-thirds are managed by ‘Superhosts’. In its press release, Airbnb said 2 million homes would be guest favourites out of the 7 million listed on the platform.
Revamped ratings and reviews
Airbnb has also redesigned its ratings page, with new features to help guests understand the quality of every home. Guests can now sort reviews by recency or rating, making it easy to find the reviews they care about most. They will also be able to view a new chart which shows the distribution of reviews from 1-5 stars so they can easily view the number of positive and negative reviews. In addition, reviews will include more information about the reviewer and their trip, including where they’re from, their length of stay, and whether they travelled with family, pets, or in a group.
Listings tab
Airbnb data shows listings with more details can get up to 20% more bookings – so they’re making it easier to add information. A new listing editor will make it simple to add amenities, sleeping arrangements, and more, while Airbnb is also making it easier to edit the arrival guide. In addition, hosts have the chance to instantly create a photo tour of their listing using a new AI-powered tool built specifically for Airbnb. Smart lock integration will also be rolled out soon, starting with listings in the US and Canada.
Driving down daily rates?
Airbnb has also announced a range of upgrades for hosts, including a very interesting tool which seems designed to make daily rates as competitive as possible.
Pricing visibility means the prices hosts set will include service fees, helping them better understand what guests pay.
Hosts will also be able to compare their prices to those of similar listings right in the calendar – making it easy to track local pricing trends. We wrote about Brian Chesky advising hosts to lower their rates recently – and this might be one way of nudging them to do precisely that.
Airbnb has also redesigned the earnings dashboard to give hosts a clear view of their revenue, including a detailed breakdown of past and future payments, customisable reports, filter, and search.
Hosts will also have new options for co-host pay-outs, while a new messaging service will allow co-hosts to communicate within the Airbnb app.
What do you make of the changes? Let us know in the comments or contact us here.
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