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📲 How AI is Changing Airbnb’s Search Algorithm in 2025

📲 How AI is Changing Airbnb’s Search Algorithm in 2025

Artificial intelligence is changing the way guests search for properties on Airbnb 📲🤖. Keep reading for tailored recommendations to stay up with the ever-changing tech landscape 🌍💫.

March 20, 2025

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March 20th, 2025

Good afternoon STR Report Community! Today’s newsletter is sponsored by Boostly, a complete direct booking marketing plan for your vacation rental.

In today’s issue, you will find:

📱Today’s Article: 📲 How AI is Changing Airbnb’s Search Algorithm in 2025, presented by Boostly

📈 Trending Market Highlight: Columbus, Ohio & Flagstaff, Arizona

✉️ STR News: Short-Term Rentals: Airbnb's Dominance and Booking's Gains in 1 Chart & more

💸 Mortgage Rate Watch

🪵 Unique Airbnb of the Week

🏫 Subscriber Perks: Beginner’s Guide E-Book, Guest Communication Messaging Templates, Airbnb Welcome Guide Template, STR Buy Box Template, & Tax Savings E-Book

✅ Community Perks: Personal Airbnb Investment Finder & STR Loans & More

📬 See our collection of newsletters here: Prior Newsletters

AI is the future 🤖

📲 How AI is Changing Airbnb’s Search Algorithm in 2025

Brought to you by Boostly

Airbnb’s search algorithm has evolved again—if you are not keeping up, you are falling behind.

In 2025, artificial intelligence (AI) is driving search rankings, guest experiences, and booking behavior. No two guests see the same results anymore.

Personalization is more advanced than ever, and for hosts, optimizing listings with AI in mind is no longer an option—it’s essential.

AI Now Determines Search Rankings

Airbnb’s search algorithm no longer relies on basic ranking factors such as reviews or pricing. Instead, it leverages AI to tailor results in real time based on each guest’s behavior, travel history, and browsing habits.

How Airbnb Uses AI to Rank Listings

User and Listing Categorization: AI clusters properties into “interest groups” and matches them with guests based on previous interactions.
Journey Ranker Model: A predictive system that refines results based on clicks, wishlist saves, and past bookings.
Adaptive Learning: The algorithm adjusts in real time—if a guest often views beachfront properties but ignores city apartments, it prioritizes waterfront listings.
Flexible Search Boundaries: If inventory is low, the system expands the search radius instead of showing no availability.

A guest who regularly books properties with a hot tub but avoids shared accommodation will see fewer shared listings—even without applying that filter manually.

Personalized Search Results Are Now Standard

Search results vary from person to person, even when searching the same location. Airbnb prioritizes:

Behavioral Cues: Past searches, click-through rates, and time spent on listings.
Contextual Data: Travel dates, group size, and even device type—mobile users tend to prefer shorter descriptions.
Guest Sentiment Analysis: Airbnb scans reviews and ranks listings based on positive language, such as “spacious” or “quiet neighborhood.”

For example, if a traveller often books pet-friendly homes and interacts with listings mentioning nearby parks, Airbnb will prioritize properties that match these preferences. If your listing doesn’t align with these behavioral signals, it will rank lower.

How Airbnb’s AI Compares to Competitors

Unlike other platforms that use static ranking models, Airbnb’s search system is dynamic and highly personalized.

Airbnb: Adapts search results in real time, tailoring them to individual user behavior.
Booking.com: Uses a medium-level personalization approach, grouping guests into broader segments based on past stays.

How Hosts Can Stay Competitive in 2025

With AI reshaping the guest experience, hosts need to rethink their strategy to remain visible.

1. Optimize Your Listing with Relevant Keywords

Use terms that align with common guest searches, such as “cosy retreat” or “city-centre apartment.”
Clearly list amenities—Airbnb prioritizes listings highlighting guest needs, such as “fast Wi-Fi for remote work.”

2. Use Smart Pricing to Stay Competitive

Listings that use AI-driven pricing tools like PriceLabs and Beyond Pricing perform better than those with manual pricing. (Never use Airbnb’s Smart Pricing tool!)
Airbnb prioritizes competitively priced listings based on real-time demand.

A Boostly customer in Spain saw a 32% revenue increase after following pricing strategies during a major conference.

3. Improve Guest Engagement and Response Times

A response rate above 90% significantly improves rankings—Airbnb prioritizes hosts who engage quickly.
Instant booking provides a 15% visibility boost.

4. Upgrade Your Listing Photos

Airbnb ranks listings higher if they have professional, high-resolution images.
The system analyses photos and detects amenities, such as a workspace or kitchen appliances.

Hosts who add high-quality, tagged photos see up to a 40% boost in visibility.

The Future of AI in Airbnb Search

Beyond 2025, Airbnb is expected to further refine its AI-powered features:

AI Travel Assistants: Future updates may include personalized trip-planning tools that recommend stays based on full itinerary planning.
Cross-Platform Data Integration: Airbnb may combine guest data from restaurant bookings, experiences, and previous travel patterns to enhance recommendations.
Fairer Search Rankings: Airbnb is working on bias mitigation techniques to ensure listings from diverse hosts receive fair visibility.

Final Thoughts: Adapt or Lose Bookings

AI-driven search isn’t a passing trend—it’s the future of hospitality. Hosts who fail to optimize for AI-driven search will lose bookings to those who do.

What Should You Do Now?

Fine-tune your descriptions with AI-friendly keywords.
Use dynamic pricing tools to stay competitive.
Improve guest engagement and response times.
Invest in professional photography—Airbnb prioritizes high-quality visuals.

Hosts who embrace AI-driven changes will outperform the competition, attract more bookings, and increase revenue.

Want to stay ahead of the latest booking trends?

Head to Boostly.co.uk for expert insights. And if you haven’t already, grab a copy of The Book Direct Playbook—the best-selling book with over 200,000 copies sold—at boostly.co.uk/books.

Columbus, Ohio 🏢

Downloadable Columbus, Ohio Short-Term Rental Market Report

	Columbus STR Market Report.pdf2.91 MB • PDF File

Average Daily Rate (ADR): $223.41 per night
Occupancy Rate: 53%
Annual Revenue Potential: Around $43,218 per year

Read our full Columbus, Ohio Short-Term Rental Market Report attached above.

Flagstaff, Arizona 🏜️

Downloadable Flagstaff, Arizona Short-Term Rental Market Report

	Flagstaff STR Market Report.pdf837.54 KB • PDF File

Average Daily Rate (ADR): $356.97 per night
Occupancy Rate: 54%
Annual Revenue Potential: Around $70,323 per year

Read our full Flagstaff, Arizona Short-Term Rental Market Report attached above.

🏝️ Miami Beach plan to water down spring break partying seems to be working
Miami Beach's stricter measures to limit spring break partying, including curfews, increased police presence, and higher fees, appear to be successful, resulting in a decrease in arrests and many party-goers shifting to Fort Lauderdale instead.

🧑🏽‍💻 VTrips' Steve Milo Is Out as CEO
Steve Milo has stepped down as CEO of VTrips, with COO Scott Seay taking over, while Milo remains on the board and the company explores recapitalization amid challenges in the vacation rental market.

⛰️ U.S. travel agency market: A resilient and thriving segment
The U.S. travel agency market is experiencing strong growth, with a 28% increase in gross bookings in 2023, driven by high demand, rising prices, and a shifting advisor landscape, with leisure travel leading the way and agencies projected to represent a quarter of all U.S. travel sales by 2027.

🚕 Virgin Atlantic partners with Joby for U.K. electric air taxi service
Joby Aviation is partnering with Virgin Atlantic to launch a zero-emission air taxi service in the U.K., offering short-range flights from airports like Heathrow and Manchester, with plans to expand its network and provide convenient, premium travel options.

📈 Short-Term Rentals: Airbnb's Dominance and Booking's Gains in 1 Chart
Airbnb, Booking.com, and Expedia/Vrbo now control 71% of the global short-term rental market, up from 53% in 2019, with Airbnb leading the growth, while smaller agencies' market share has dropped significantly.

💸Mortgage Rate Watch – March 19, 2025

Current Mortgage Rates (as of March 19, 2025):

30-Year Fixed: 6.99% (-0.08%)
15-Year Fixed: 6.44% (-0.06%)
30-Year Jumbo: 7.31% (-0.04%)
30-Year FHA: 6.18% (-0.03%)
30-Year VA: 6.45% (-0.06%)
7/6 SOFR ARM: 6.72% (+0.02%)

Source: Mortgage News Daily

Market Overview:

Mortgage rates have shown a moderate decline across most loan types, reflecting a weaker performance in mortgage-backed securities (MBS) and lower Treasury yields. This movement suggests investor confidence in slowing inflation and the potential for Federal Reserve rate cuts later in the year. The 30-year fixed mortgage rate has fluctuated between 6.11% and 7.52% over the past year, and recent downward trends indicate some relief for homebuyers after months of high borrowing costs.

Rate Trends & Forecast:

Short-Term: Mortgage rates are likely to remain range-bound, with minor fluctuations based on economic data and Federal Reserve signals.
Long-Term: The Federal Reserve's stance on interest rates will be the primary driver of future mortgage rate movements. If inflation continues to ease, we may see further gradual declines in rates throughout 2025.

For real-time mortgage rate updates, visit Mortgage News Daily.

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