Airbnb is often the last place guests look now

The myth that guests will only book on Airbnb is totally backwards. In 2026, Airbnb is often the last place that people go, not the first. What guests actually do is shop for certainty. They want to feel safe, they want to see proof, and they want to compare the options. And if you don't show up in these moments, they will default to the platform of their choice. So here's what most guests do before they would book with you, and more importantly, how you can show up. So the first thing that they do is they will open Google. They will probably open Google on their phone or their laptop, not Airbnb. They will search for things like places to stay in X or family friendly property in Y. So you need to exist outside of the Airbnb bubble. You need to have a simple website and you need to have a Google presence. And not only a presence, but you need a presence that links to your site. So step two, build will look for proof. So they will go and check reviews, they will go and look at your photos, they will go and look on maps, they will look on social media, basically anything that answers, is this a real place or am I going to be scammed? Now, when I was hosting, the biggest shift was making the proof easy to find. So, for example, showcasing real reviews, showing real and clear policies, and we developed a consistent brand over all of the channels on Google and on our site. Then what they're going to do is they're going to compare the friction. So if booking direct review feels confusing or risky, they're going to bounce and they're going to go straight back to Airbnb, even if they prefer your place. So make that direct path really simple. Go and check your own booking process now. Check availability. Go and check the terms. And one obvious way to contact you, whether it's phone, live chat, email, you name it. So go and do this really quick action today. Go incognito private search, search in your area on the search engines like Google and see what comes up. If you don't show up anywhere outside of Airbnb, that's the gap that you need to fix first. And once you start showing up before Airbnb, these direct bookings become more predictable. If you want a glare guide on that, go and check out this book.