As a result of Airbnb’s 2022 Summer Release, holidaymakers will be able to more easily find and book vacation rentals in the summer months of 2022.

Despite Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky’s claim that May 11th’s updates to the site were “the largest in a decade,” host forums erupted in displeasure with the new search tool.

As a vacation rental host, you’ll want to know what each new feature means to you and how you can take advantage of it to develop your company.

Categories on Airbnb: a new approach to finding what you want

Travelers will now be able to look at a broader range of properties, some of which may have never occurred to them as a possibility previously, thanks to this adjustment.

There are 56 different property categories to choose from, covering a wide range of dwelling styles, geographical regions, and recreational pursuits.

The Design Category now appears as the default option on the new Airbnb home page, showcasing some of the site’s most visually stunning homes. Similar to an online storefront, visitors may customize their experience on Airbnb’s home page or Airbnb Category-only landing page.

Exactly what does this mean?

Guests may use the categories on Airbnb to discover the vacation of their dreams by letting their imaginations run wild. Airbnb categorizes homes based on their individuality.

In the new OMG! Category, you’ll find some of the most bizarre homes on the web, like a yellow submarine in Australia and a highland-viewing blimp in Scotland.

It’s easy to locate a castle or treehouse for those who want to stay in one. Searching for a holiday house featured in a design magazine may be done under the Design Category of the website.

There is a wide range of settings to choose from under the Location Category. These include national parks, wineries, and lakes.

Activity-based vacations are available in the category, including surfing, camping, and golf.

How will this change to Airbnb’s Categories affect the hosts that use it?

This seems to be the most contentious aspect of the changes for hosts, at least according to some feedback on Airbnb host forums. Each kind of house undergoes a selection procedure. Machine learning is used to assess titles, descriptions, picture captions, and guest reviews for millions of active listings on Airbnb. Therefore, you must ensure that your listing information is current and correct.

Vacation properties that weren’t previously featured are now showing up in more searches, despite some hosts complaining that their listing names have been changed and are no longer visible.

For hosts, another issue is that the main page, which features some of the most beautiful but also most costly properties, might deter visitors with less lavish spending plans. For instance, a Ken Kellogg and John Vugrin-designed residence in Joshua Tree, California, US, shown on the main page costs 16,443 Euros per night in May.

How to get the most out of the new Airbnb search feature?

Change might be frightening, yet it is necessary for progress. Your property listing’s title and description may now include keywords associated with a certain category, such as “beach house,” “activities,” and “features of the beach,” all of which can help you influence which categories your home appears in.

As the most important criterion, focus on what makes your property stand out and alter your listing appropriately.

Make a list of the categories in which you want your property to be highlighted and then create your listing appropriately.

It’s also important to keep in mind that guest reviews are taken into consideration when deciding when your property is exposed to prospective visitors.

With Split Stays, there are more possibilities for people to view your rental.

If you’re planning a trip lasting more than seven days, you’ll be able to book two separate rooms using Split Stays. When a visitor searches for a longer stay on Airbnb, the site will automatically show them available properties. Search results for 14 categories, such as national parks and skiing, will automatically advise visitors that they may stay in two locations for a longer vacation if they search for split stays.

In what ways does this alteration impact my life?

A split stay is now possible for guests who want to schedule longer stays, a popular travel trend in 2022, but are unable to secure their preferred property for the entirety of their trip. It’s the first time this has been accomplished on Airbnb, and it opens the door to future OTA bookings that include several properties.

Hosts will be affected by this change.

Hosts will benefit greatly from this new policy since it increases the exposure of their properties even if they are unavailable for the whole time of a guest’s intended stay. Airbnb is now able to automatically match your rental to another one to cover the duration of your trip.

Guests may use the AirCover.

As anticipated in the industry, Airbnb revealed a slew of additional free guest safeguards but did not include a paid-for guest travel insurance product.

The four complementary protection features supplied by Airbnb have been renamed AirCover. [Hosts] had previously been covered by AirCover in the event of damage or liability.

Booking Protection, Check-in Protection, Get-What-You-Booked Protection, and a 24-Hour Safety Line are all included as part of AirCover for Guests.

If a host cancels a visitor’s booking within 30 days of check-in, Airbnb will locate a guest a comparable or better house at their cost.

As long as the host can’t help, the Check-In Guarantee will apply if a visitor is unable to check in for whatever reason. If Airbnb cannot locate a suitable replacement for the duration of the guest’s initial stay, they will reimburse them.

A promise made by the company is known as the “Get-What-You-Booked Guarantee.”

For example, if your refrigerator stops functioning and you can’t simply replace it, or if your property has fewer bedrooms than posted, a visitor has three days to report it, and we’ll either locate them a comparable or better house at Airbnb’s cost, or we’ll reimburse them.

Priority access to qualified safety agents is provided to visitors who feel uncomfortable at all times via the 24 Hour Safety Line.

What are the ramifications for the hosts?

The Get-What-You-Booked-Guarantee noted above has caused some hosts to worry that visitors may misuse it. Hosts are concerned that visitors may take advantage of the three-day window to report a complaint to get a free weekend stay.

Guest demands might increase as a result of the new guarantee, which hosts are concerned about. When it comes to challenging guests, some hosts feel that this will give them an unfair advantage. You may learn more about how to deal with unwelcome visitors in our earlier piece.

It is up to the hosts to ensure that there are no unforeseen consequences.

The simplest approach to prevent disagreements is to make sure your ads are correct and up to date. Choosing photographs that accurately portray your rental property will ensure that visitors come with no unreasonable expectations.

Communicating with your guests is another important part. For example, if a guest’s check-in time is pushed back, let them know about it as soon as possible. The greatest method to keep your visitors happy and avoid complaints or arguments is to communicate with them in a kind and open manner. Also, be sure to check out our piece on how to improve guest communications using email templates.

Vacation rental providers should be aware of further recent changes to Airbnb.

After April 29, 2022, Airbnb announced a change in its refund policy for reservations made after that date. Per the new policy, Airbnb will be entitled to ask the host to compensate the company for any fees it incurs in helping a visitor discover or book equal or better lodgings. This is in addition to whatever money you could get back.

As of May 31, guests will no longer be able to use Airbnb’s “extenuating circumstances” cancellation policy that has been in place since the coronavirus outbreak. However, the stringent cleanliness requirements put in place during the COVID-19 outbreak will remain in effect.

As a precautionary move, the corporation has also issued severe anti-party policies for Memorial Day and the Fourth of July.

Never fear! Your company’s future seems bright.

Even if the changes to the Airbnb Summer Release 2022 seem to be negative at first look, if your listings are updated to take advantage of the new features, they will certainly be advantageous in the long run. With the support of Lodgable’s property management system and channel manager, your company will continue to flourish.