Airbnb is testing a new promotion that lets hosts offer a discount to highly rated guests, and in exchange, get better placement in search results.
Hosts can choose to give 10%, 15%, or 20% off. In return, their listing receives a visibility boost and a special badge. The host pays for the full discount.
The promotion applies to guests with a 4.8 rating or higher and at least three reviews. It’s only available to some hosts, and it’s limited to reservations booked between February 12 and March 12. Hosts can turn it off at any time, and it can stack with other active discounts.
This is different from Airbnb’s 20% discount for new listings, which is designed to solve the cold-start problem for listings without reviews. This new test targets established listings and directly links pricing decisions to search ranking.
What This Means for Hosts
The idea’s simple. Lower your price for a set period and Airbnb shows your listing to more potential guests.
Trading discounts for better visibility has been common in the travel industry for decades. Airlines, for example, drop prices during slow periods to fill seats. And other vacation rental OTA’s have similar systems in place. Booking.com’s Genius program gives properties more visibility if they offer discounts, and Vrbo recently expanded its promotion tools in a similar way.
What's new here is that Airbnb is doing it. For years, the platform relied on performance-based search ranking tied to metrics like reviews, response time, conversion rate, and pricing compared to the market. There was no explicit pay-for-placement option.
This test adds a clear financial lever to search results. Visibility in the future may now depend, in part, on how much margin a host is willing to give up.
The Bigger Picture
The broader context matters too. During Airbnb’s Q4 earnings call, CEO Brian Chesky said the company is testing new loyalty programs and called them a potential “massive accelerant” for growth. And earlier in 2025, the HotelTonight rewards program marked Airbnb's first real step into loyalty territory.
This discount test fits that broader strategy.
Bottom Line
For sophisticated operators, more tools to drive eyeballs to a listing can be valuable. There are established yield management playbooks to measure results, so the ability to run different discount strategies during slower booking windows is a nice tool to have in the toolbox.
Whether this discount test stays a limited campaign or evolves into something more permanent is worth watching. As with any new promotion, it should be tested carefully. Treat the discount like any other cost. Measure whether the visibility boost actually drives real growth. Make sure the visibility boost isn't just reducing revenue on existing demand. Then decide, based on data, if it makes sense for your listings.
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