Before you start tweaking things on your Airbnb account to boost your Airbnb ranking, be sure you're doing all the basic things well. Are you providing a clean, well-maintained and enjoyable vacation rental for every customer? This is the foundation of a successful Airbnb business so be sure to start there.

1. Earn Five-Star Reviews. The most obvious way to increase your search rank is to obtain five-star reviews as a host. Nothing boosts search rankings like great service and happy customers. Do your best to make every single customer experience a positive one, and work hard to earn those five-star ratings. Every time you earn one, Airbnb will boost your rankings to give you the opportunity to earn even more.

2. Answer Every Question. Property owners receive a myriad of questions from potential guests every day. Although some questions will seem silly and others show you that the individual hasn't read your listing, many will be serious questions. Whatever the case, the important thing for you as a host is to respond to every question and answer each one quickly. Search rankings are boosted for hosts who provide responses within 24 hours consistently. 

3. Establish Process To Reply Quickly. It's a good idea to build regular time into your daily schedule to respond to questions and comments. Perhaps you can plan to take a few minutes at the start and end of every day to review your Airbnb account. Read questions and comments and respond to every one. Even if you don't have the answer, send an acknowledgement of receiving the question and explain that you are working on a response.

4. Visit Your Calendar Every Day. Airbnb records how often hosts update and check their calendars. Hosts are rewarded with higher search rankings for simply clicking around their calendar page. Be sure to add that simple task to your daily task list for an easy boost.

5. Become a Superhost. Once you have mastered racking up those five-star reviews and have a nearly perfect response rate, the next step is to achieve Airbnb Superhost status. Airbnb established this designation specifically to recognize those hosts that are doing a consistently outstanding job. Besides having a minimum of 80 percent five-star ratings, you must maintain a minimum of a 90 percent response rate as well.

 

 

Before you panic, this tip does not mean you should allow anything and everything to be free game at your vacation rental. Everyone expects limits and boundaries, and every listing has house rules. However, if you open your home to more categories in Airbnb, you will cast a wider net for potential customers and increase your Airbnb search rank. Many listings do not allow smoking, pets or commercial usage. Instead, invite everyone through your filters, and set the limits in the fine print.

6. Allow Smoking. If you select this option in your listing, you don't have to allow smoking inside your home, only somewhere on your property. You can broaden your reach to include smokers by including this option. Then, within the listing itself, specify where smoking is permitted on your property.

7. Welcome Pets. More than half of all Americans own a pet, and many of them prefer to travel with their furry friends. However, the majority of Airbnb listings do not allow pets on their property. If you not only allow pets at your vacation rental but welcome them with pet amenities and treats, you will definitely increase your Airbnb ranking. Don't forget to charge a premium for the additional guests. After all, if they don't stay at your place, their owners would be paying a boarding fee or a pet sitter.

8. Invite Events and Commercial Usage. Vacationers are not the only ones searching through rental matching services anymore. Individuals or businesses may use the platform to find a unique space for photo shoots or to host special events. If you check off the "suitable for events" box, you will appear in more search results. It is also reasonable to request an additional charge for event or commercial usage of your home.

 

 

Although not all potential customers will check off specific amenities, nearly everyone will have a particular number of days in mind as well as a price range. Be sure you adjust your stay requirements as well as your prices to capture the greatest number of potential guests.

9. Allow One-Night Minimum Stay. Although all hosts know that the single-night guest is the most expensive to serve, lowering your minimum stay requirement will push you higher in search results. By following this tip, you automatically gain access to potential customers looking for single night accommodations.

10. Skip Maximum Stay Requirement. Airbnb allows property owners to specify a maximum stay period; however, it's best to not specify one when it comes to ranking higher in searches. The option exists to give property owners who are worried about guests gaining tenant's rights if they stay more than a month. The reality is that this problem happens infrequently, and that the benefit in obtaining higher search ranking outweighs the risk.

11. Find Your Pricing Sweet Spot. For most property owners, this means lowering your price. Many Airbnb properties are over-valued, resulting in low occupancy rates. It makes logical business sense to lower your price in order to increase your booking rates, which should drive your revenue up significantly. In the case of Airbnb, lowering your price will increase your appearances in search results as well.

12. Use A Pricing Algorithm Service. Several third-party companies now offer automated pricing algorithm services that allow property owners to fine-tune their pricing strategy every day based on market activities. You set your base rate, and your third-party partner maximizes prices based on how demand changes by the day.