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I noticed something odd when searching for accommodations on Airbnb. My initial search turned up some results I was interested in, but when I logged in and re-did the search, those results were no longer there. I know the places existed and were available, because I ended up booking one of them (by copy-pasting the URL from the initial results).

Has anyone else experienced this kind of thing? I am hard-pressed to see this as anything other than a deliberate strategic exclusion by Airbnb's search algorithm. I have heard of online retailers using variable pricing depending on the buyer's demographics. So are they just trying to wring more money out of me by hiding cheaper places? What other explanations could there for this?

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    I'm voting to close this question as off-topic because we are not the helpdesk of Airbnb.
    – user4188
    Commented Apr 15, 2015 at 18:37
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    @chx if I had wanted Airbnb's input I would have contacted them. I'm looking for independent insight, not spin. This is an issue highly relevant to travel, is it not?
    – McGarnagle
    Commented Apr 15, 2015 at 18:46
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    One possible explanation is that you first did a broad search, not taking into account dates and the second time you searched based on specific dates. In that case, if an apartment/room is taken, it does not display on the search.
    – nsn
    Commented Apr 15, 2015 at 19:39
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    @nsn yes, I realize "OP is an idiot" is a possible explanation. It's a reproducible effect, though. I guess it might just be a glitch/quirk in their code.
    – McGarnagle
    Commented Apr 15, 2015 at 20:33
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    Many of the questions here could have been answered by some company's help desk. What's so special about this one?
    – Tor-Einar Jarnbjo
    Commented Apr 15, 2015 at 22:36

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