6 tips to improve your Airbnb ranking
Want to climb the Airbnb rankings but not sure how? Here are our tips!
With so many listings on Airbnb, it can be tricky to stand out from the crowd. When a guest is looking for a place to rent, they won't spend hours on every single page. What if the rental of their dreams was yours, and they scrolled straight past it? To avoid that, here are our 6 tips!
Catch the eye
How? By taking high-quality photos that make people want to book with you right away. We've written a whole article on the subject.
The key is to have photos that show your property at its very best, covering every room and the real highlights of your rental.
Get your main photo right
It's the first thing guests will see of your property. So think carefully about what you want to put front and centre: the sea view? The countryside? The huge living room?
Be responsive
The easiest option? Turn on instant booking, especially right now, when holidays are booked on impulse.
Reply quickly to reviews and messages: all you need to do is switch on your Airbnb notifications. Always keep one thing in mind: you're competing with other hosts, and if they reply faster than you, the booking is gone.
The six levers for improving your Airbnb ranking rest on concrete, measurable actions. Here's what each one delivers and what it requires.
| Lever | Action | Main benefit | Effort required |
|---|---|---|---|
| Quality photos | Photograph every room and your property's strengths | Capture attention before the traveller moves to the next listing | Medium (photography effort) |
| Main image polished | Choose a cover photo that showcases your main asset | Decisive first impression with the traveller | Low (thoughtful selection) |
| Instant Booking | Enable immediate reservation without prior approval | Captures impulse bookings; competitive edge during search peaks | Very low (one click) |
| Message responsiveness | Enable Airbnb notifications and reply quickly to enquiries | Outpace competitors in the race for the traveller's choice | Medium (daily discipline) |
| Competitive pricing | Research market rates and adjust by season | Stay attractive without cutting margins; capture price-sensitive bookings | Medium (regular monitoring) |
| Social media | Create an Instagram or Facebook page and share photos and property moments | Expand visibility beyond Airbnb; drive external traffic to your listing | Medium (setup + regular posting) |
Stay competitive
We're not asking you to slash your prices, just to keep pace with the competition. A dream rental that's too expensive can quickly lose out to second choice if the price gap is significant.
Keep an eye on market rates and on your competitors, and adjust for the seasons and quieter periods too.
Use social media
To boost your visibility and your bookings, set up a page on social media. We'd particularly recommend Instagram and Facebook.
The aim here is to share photos and "slices of life" from your rental. You can add your Airbnb link to the page and reach far more potential guests.
Final tip: don't overdo it
Lastly, there's no need to oversell your rental. Say as much as you can about the things that really matter, but keep a few surprises in store for your guests. Better to be pleasantly surprised than the other way round! Follow all these tips and your listing should stand out from the rest, with your efforts duly rewarded! And if you've just created your listing, this article may be of interest.
Frequently asked questions
Should you enable instant booking to improve your ranking? Yes, it’s one of the simplest levers to activate. Travellers often book on impulse, and a listing available for instant booking captures that impulse before they move on to the next option.
How quickly must you reply to a message so it doesn’t hurt your ranking? The article doesn’t give a precise deadline, but it stresses speed: you’re competing with other hosts, and whoever replies first often wins the booking. Turning on Airbnb notifications means you never miss a request.
Which photo should you choose as your listing’s main image? Whichever one shows what you want to highlight first, a sea view, the surrounding nature, or a spacious living room, for example. It’s the very first thing travellers will see of your home, so it deserves as much thought as the rest of the gallery.
Should you lower your prices to stay competitive? No, the article is clear on this point: it’s not about slashing your prices. It’s about staying aware of what similar listings charge and adjusting yours according to seasons and quieter periods, without necessarily going lower.
Which social networks should you use to promote your Airbnb listing? The article mainly recommends Instagram and Facebook. The idea is to share photos and everyday moments from your rental there, then add the link to your Airbnb listing to reach more potential guests.
Should you show and say everything in your Airbnb listing? No, the article specifically advises against overselling your home. It’s better to clearly present the essentials and keep a few surprises for guests upon arrival, rather than revealing everything and risking disappointment.
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