Top 10 Airbnb Tips for higher rankings
Our top 10 tips for a higher ranking in Airbnb rankings
Airbnb is one of the top three channels for listing your STR. Some hosts exclusively use Airbnb as their only channel. In this article, we will examine our top 10 tips for a higher ranking on Airbnb.
The Algorithm
Airbnb’s ranking algorithm is a little bit of a black box as they do not publish how their algorithm works, but many individuals have analyzed how properties are ranked. There is a fair amount of knowledge on the ingredients that affect your placement. In addition, we can have an educated guess that the algorithm goal is two fold: higher guest satisfaction & higher profit.
Higher potential guest satisfaction means properties that better match the guest requirements have good reviews and good feedback, and are placed higher where it thinks the guest will like your property.
Higher profit means that two houses, all being equal, the one with the higher nightly rate will be placed higher.
Airbnb Statistics in 2024
Every second, there are 6 guests check-in in
As of February 2024, there are 7.7 active listings
Europe has twice as many listings as North America (stats from 2021)
In 2023 Airbnb had a revenue of 9.7 Billion!
Yet Airbnb only has 20sh% of the vacation rental business
Airbnb listings are growing, but revenue per host or per listing is dropping
The last statistic is one to always keep in mind. There is more competition on a daily basis, especially in markets with little to no regulation.
Our top 10 tips
These tips are from various sources - YouTube videos, books, online postings, and most importantly, our own experiences with 8 properties.
Tip 1 - Your first 30 days
Your first 30 days are critical. The Airbnb algorithm will prioritize your listing and will place it in high rankings. It will compare how your listing does with other highly rated properties. If your property does well, with happy guests and more revenue for Airbnb, your property will stay there. This means absolutely not launching your property if the listing is NOT fully complete with professional photos, good description, and is connected to a pricing engine, etc. Do not make your property live until every single little thing is setup. Also, do not start with a low pricing. Part of the algorithm is to maximize profits…..9 billion does NOT come from placing lower-priced properties on top :-)
Tip 2 - Your photos
Your photos, and especially your main photos, are critical. Unless your are a very good photographer, hire someone professional. Professional-looking photos can dramatically improve your short-term rental business. Make sure these photos are:
High res—Yes, in this day and age, some photographers still use equipment that is now considered subpar in terms of resolution.
Horizontal photos - All photos should be taken horizontally
Exposure - These photos should almost be overexposed…..you want your place to glow!
Angle - The good & eye-catching photos are often taken in an angle.
Decor - Make sure the decor is well placed, or perhaps even move them around for that great shot.
Surrounding areas - If you property is in a neat area include some of those photos. If it is near a neat walking path, include the photo of the walking path.
Collage - We are trying collage photos as our main photo in a couple properties. It is still too early to tell if they help. Some people claim it helps.
Tip 3 - Your Listing Description
Your description is also very, very important. You do not need to be an English major to write a good description. Use a tool such as Grammarly to write in proper sentences. Your description should NOT be short. Describe each room and what it has. Look at your competitors' writing and improve on it.
In addition to describing everything, create a narrative about your property and its location. This is also key. The narrative should draw the reader into your Airbnb and its location.
It is ok to make a longer than usual description, but do NOT make a short description.
One of the ingredients in the Airbnb algorithm is time on page. They measure how long potential guests look at your listing. If you have a long and engaging description, the potential guest will spend more time in your listing.
If English is not your strong suit, go on Fiverr and hire someone to help you write a good description.
Tip 4 - Your Title
An often overlooked ingredient of a good listing is the title. Spend a lot of time brainstorming your title. Does your property have a good name? Are there features that make it stand out?
For example, in one of our properties, we have a wood-burning sauna. The word sauna is part of the title. In our property in Kissimmee/Orlando, we have many themed rooms with Disney characters, so the word Disney is part of the title.
If you are in a very competitive market, think creatively. If your market is NOT very competitive, then ‘My Airbnb’ will do :-)
Tip 5 - Key Words
Incorporating relevant keywords in your title and description can enhance your listing’s visibility. These keywords enhance the search engine optimization (SEO) of your listing, making it more discoverable to potential guests. Imagine yourself as a guest searching for an experience similar to what you offer. Think about what your target audience might search for—terms like “cozy,” “ocean view,” “pet-friendly,” or “nearby attractions.” These keywords not only attract the right guests but also improve your search ranking.
Each area will have a different set of relevant keywords.
If you are stuck, Fiver offers cheap deals to get help with Keywords. Services like RankBreeze can also help.
Tip 6 - Your Response time
Another key metric is your response time. Once your property has been live for a while, it won’t matter if you take 6 hours or 12 hours to reply to one question as long as your average is good. However, in the first few months after listing, you want to make sure you reply to questions and messages as soon as possible.
Potential guests will see “Host usually replies within xx hours.” If you are very high, a potential guest may pass you on.
With today’s smartphones, this should not be very difficult unless you live in a faraway time zone from your property.
Tip 7 - Self-check-in
Self-check-in allows guests to arrive at their accommodation anytime. Delays can occur for various reasons, including flights, traffic, etc.
A percentage of guests filter and exclude properties that do not support self-check-in. This is often the case when travelers arrive from International flights.
The self-check-in does NOT need to be a smart lock; it could be an old-fashioned lockbox with a physical key inside. Most of the properties we have stayed in Europe have a lockbox with a physical key inside. But the smart lock has many advantages:
More secure as each guest gets their code, which expires when their stay ends.
There is no physical key to lose
You have a log of each and every time the door is opened and by whom
A recent statistic mentioned that on the top 3 pages, 75 percent of the properties support self-check-in.
Having a listing in a competitive area almost requires having self-check-in.
Tip 8 - The ‘extras’
There are many travelers who keep coming back to the same destinations over and over again. We are one of those people. If you can get amenities and little extras to delight your guests, there is a good chance that next time, they will book your place again and not take a chance on a new place.
For example, one of our places is a small rehabbed studio apartment. It is small, great for two people, and in a good location. It is very cozy, very well decorated, and has a sauna inside the unit. We provide towels, sauna towels, and eucalyptus drops for the sauna. This is the unit where we see guests coming back over and over again. We have guests that must have returned at least four times already. We plan on writing an article on this remodel.
Another example was a small place we stayed in Washington DC. The place was small but in a great location, near everything and well decorated, and we really liked the free water and little snacks. When we are back in DC, we probably will just book with them again instead of taking a chance in a new Airbnb.
Tip 9 - Allow Pets
Properties that allow pets have higher occupancy and higher ADR. If you are trying to decide whether to allow pets or not, decide before you go live with your listing. Remember, those first 30 days are supercritical.
Not all properties are suitable for pets. But if your property has good hardwood floors and resistant furniture, it may be a good idea to allow pets.
We don’t allow pets in some of our properties due to carpet, pool, and close-by neighbors. But for others where that is a good fit, we do so. In fact, in one of our properties that is very season, while thinking about how to increase bookings in the low season, we changed the main photo to include our dog. This definitely increased our bookings in the low season. Our dog is helping advertise our condo.
Tip 10 - Don’t have Crazy Rules
Don’t have crazy rules or crazy fines, as this can be a real turnoff for potential guests. It is okay to state no smoking and a $250 fine for smoking. But don’t have items such as a $1000 fine for touching the pool heater, $500 per extra guest not approved, or $500 for bringing in pets.
These are all real examples of items we have seen in listings.
One more recent example was a post in the newsgroups asking for help as their house had very few bookings and had been a total loss to date. The house was in the same community as our house in Kissimmee/Orlando so we decided to help. There were many items wrong with the listing, but the major one was having a list of 3-4 fines for things that perhaps a bad guest would do once in a blue moon. This includes the $1000 fine for messing with the pool heater. In a competitive market such as Orlando, anyone who read that would pass on the property.
We hope you enjoyed our top 10 tips. With a suitable property priced right in an area with decent demand and following these tips, you should be able to make it to the top page of Airbnb.
Thanks for reading!!
P.S. Wondering if cohosting is right for your property? Let’s talk it through — reach us at info@AdventuresInAirbnbs.com