Why am I not receiving any queries on my listing anymore? I can't find my listing

Your Homestay.com listing may have been paused due the automatic system setting that triggers when one or more of the following happens:

• Multiple declines of requests
• Regular cancellations of bookings
• Ignoring guest messages
• Not responding to guest messages in a timely manner

We want to make sure that our guests have a great experience when searching for accommodation on Homestay.com and by setting the rules above to pause an account, we attempt to ensure that guests receive timely responses to their queries.

We also want our guests to feel safe when booking a homestay, and although we know that sometimes things happen that are outside of your control, we want guests to feel assured that their booking won’t be cancelled by their host.

Without getting too technical, we have what we call a ‘ranking algorithm’ set up in the background to correlate all the results of these factors on a daily basis. This is to make sure we have a fair and equal listing page opportunity for every host we work with and display on the site. We continually work on this to improve your exposure and make sure you are visible to more guests searching for your location.

Your ranking is calculated based on a number of factors, such as:

The quality of your profile

Good descriptions of your home and location, directions, photos of yourself, your house and in particular, photos of the guest bedrooms.

The quality of your listing

This is the first time a guest sees anything about you. To entice them to click into your full profile, make sure you have a good catchphrase and intro text, along with a good photo of yourself.

The rate at which you respond to requests from guests

You should respond to every request and do so as soon as possible (guests are more likely to book if they receive a timely response from you). We automatically close requests after 36 hours.

The rate at which you ‘action’ each request

Use the I’m Available or Not Available buttons to action requests. Don’t ignore a request, even if you're not available, click on the Not Available button along with replying to the guest. This way the guest has a response and we can suggest alternative hosts to them.

Number of accepted requests and bookings

You're listed for a reason, start accepting those booking requests and this will improve your ranking.

The number and quality of reviews you have

In most cases our guests always leave a review after their stay. The greater number of high quality reviews you have, the better you'll do in the rankings.

Your availability

Keep your calendar up to date and block out dates if you know you're away or can't host. Once you have a booking this is automatically updated for you so only block out dates when you can't host.

How many cancellations you initiate

This can be avoided by managing your calendar regularly, but multiple cancellations can affect your ranking.