Trouble Ahead: Airbnb Strictly Prohibits Relisting to Escape Low Ratings!

Airbnb has long become a preferred source for people seeking authentic experiences and good-value vacations.

When operating an Airbnb, receiving a 1–2-star rating is one of the most frustrating problems. Several consecutive 5-star reviews are needed to recover; otherwise the effect on traffic is substantial.

Some supposedly clever hosts respond: “The rating is too low? I can delist, change the title and description, then relist the former Airbnb property—right?”

Yes, this did work in the past and could also preserve your Superhost status.

But Airbnb has already thought of this trick.

Airbnb uses AI to detect these cases, and the consequences are permanent listing removal or even an account ban. On March 30 this year, Airbnb issued a new rule called the Circumvention Policy specifically to restrict this kind of relisting.

Airbnb Circumvention Policy

At the end of 2023, Airbnb introduced new winter rules: greatly reducing traffic to Superhosts, launching the Guest Favorite badge and directing traffic to listings rated above 4.9 without guest complaints.

At the beginning of 2024, Airbnb removed many low-rated listings and prohibited relisting.

Then came this recent prohibition on relisting low-rated properties. This series of measures has been unfavorable for hosts.

Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky has also repeatedly said in the annual report and internal communications that traditional hotels are Airbnb’s greatest obstacle to growth. Guests choose hotels because they worry about occasionally having a bad experience on Airbnb.

Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky

These successive Airbnb policies send a consistent message: Airbnb intends to eliminate low-rated listings and homes in poor condition!

This makes 2024 a dividing line. The era in which amateur hosts could take phone photos, upload them to Airbnb and earn money is over. From now on, an Airbnb with poor conditions, no professional interior design and furnishing, or no dedicated operations will struggle to perform well.

The era of Airbnb for everyone is coming to an end. Only carefully selected listings, thoughtful furnishings and attentive operations can continue generating above-normal profits.

But even excellent listings can have bad luck, especially if they encounter deliberately negative reviews early on. What can be done? Can they still be relisted without punishment?

We participate in many forums for professional Airbnb hosts in North America and want to finish by sharing this good news:

If you improve the listing—for example, add a bed, replace a sofa bed, repaint or take new photographs—and are not simply copying and pasting, Airbnb allows you to relist.

Hosts, share this information with other Airbnb hosts quickly so they do not violate the rules and have their accounts banned! As a homeowner, you may now be wondering: my home is quite good, but how much could it earn on Airbnb? Would it earn more than a long-term rental? Would it involve a lot of trouble?

Contact us right away! We will evaluate it for you free of charge.

If you:

Hope to increase rental income through short-term rentals;

Cannot spare a great deal of time to handle the small details;

Occasionally need to use the home yourself, making it unsuitable to empty out the furniture for a long-term rental;

Then:

Snowball Rentals’ management team is your best choice.

From pre-launch vacation-rental styling, big-data analysis and online marketing to tenant screening, dynamic pricing, customer service and sales, cleaning and repairs, Snowball Rentals provides everything as one complete service for your home.

This Week’s Booking Results

Through long-standing relationships with insurers, assignment companies and technology companies, Snowball Rentals rents homes for medium- and long-term durations at short-term rates, then gives owners a rebate of 5% in management fees to maximize their income.

Winter is the low season for Seattle’s short-term rental market, especially in 2023. Some recent large bookings, however, have been like a ray of sunshine, giving us high hopes for Airbnb’s performance this summer!

For the following detached home on Mercer Island, Zillow shows an estimated long-term monthly rent of about US$6,531, or about US$19,000 for 3 months, 90 days.

The owner placed considerable trust in the Snowball Rentals team and entrusted us with short-term rental operations, with good results arriving repeatedly.

Rental income surged from US$19,000 to more than US$40,000!

As shown in the booking screenshot below, the guest booked 86 nights through Airbnb. This booking’s rent plus cleaning fees totaled US$40,024.72!

In summary, after Snowball Rentals operated this property, rental income for 86 nights rose from US$19,000 to US$40,024.72—more than double.

The owner also avoids worries about guests falling behind on rent or the home needing regular maintenance and cleaning.

Let us admire this excellent luxury home with a lake view together.

After Airbnb’s downturn in 2023, we at Snowball Rentals hope to help owners regain ground in summer 2024!

Once again, heartfelt thanks to our homeowners for their trust and support. Whether the market is strong or weak, Snowball Rentals will stand with you and look for ways to increase your income!

Some homeowners will surely ask the hard question: was a large booking like this just a stroke of luck? What if the home does not rent? A long-term rental is more stable—even earning less is better than earning nothing!

Our answer is: the outcome depends on what we do.

Vacation-Rental Styling

Competition on Airbnb is becoming increasingly intense. The days of piecing together secondhand furniture, taking phone photos and earning easy money on Airbnb are over. Airbnb hosts have moved toward professional operations.

Careful design and furnishing before launch, followed by professional short-term rental operations, will be the only choice for a rental that continues to generate high income.

Here is another of Snowball Rentals’ core services: vacation-rental styling!

If you would also like to make your home more attractive and earn more rent, please contact us at any time!

We also share practical vacation-rental styling plans and creative ideas to help you achieve more with less spending!

Keep rental income growing!

Referral Rewards

If you are already a Snowball Rentals homeowner, you receive a US$500 referral fee for each referral.

If you are not yet a Snowball Rentals homeowner, you receive a US$250 shopping voucher for each referral.

Snowball Rentals Management

1. Full service — We provide pre-launch rental design, furniture procurement, furnishing, professional photography, online marketing, copywriting, tenant service and sales, cleaning, supply purchasing and property repairs. You only need to be a hands-off owner; we handle the rest.

2. Multi-platform promotion — We promote the home on Airbnb, VRBO, HomeAway and other mainstream platforms for maximum exposure.

3. Dynamic pricing — Using big data, we adjust prices every day according to seasonal demand, holidays, last-minute vacancy offers, weekends and local activities, maximizing the owner’s income.

4. Income-improvement SOP — We follow 44 secrets for maximizing short-term rental income, optimizing each property’s online marketing, on-site operations and other aspects to work toward maximum income.

5. Flexible owner stays — Owners can flexibly choose when to stay themselves. This is especially suitable for owners with multiple residences around the world.

6. Terminate at any time — Management does not require an annual commitment. The owner can end the agreement with one month’s advance notice.

7. Corporate housing — In addition to nightly rentals, we work with insurers and assignment companies to provide executives with hotel-style managed accommodation for stays 30 days or more.

8. Transparent fees — For rentals 30 days or more, we charge 15% of accommodation revenue. For nightly rentals 30 days or less, we charge 20% of accommodation revenue.