As noted in the introduction, I’ve long been impressed with the company’s launch of new features like I’m Flexible, Categories, and Aircover. Similar Listings joins that group, but it’s distinct in one important way: while the others on the list have been a net positive for guests and hosts alike, I think Similar Listings will primarily benefit Airbnb guests at the expense of hosts (in aggregate) through lower ADR’s. By design, Similar Listings will provide the relevant information / data for hosts to develop a clearer understanding of where they stand in the market; in doing so, its adoption will likely lead to improved platform efficiency. (On that point, this comment stood out to me: “ADR remained stable YoY as increases in prices listed by Hosts were offset by guests’ willingness to pay… In North America, we saw a 2% decrease in available prices as Hosts reduced prices.” This is the first time they’ve discussed this “available prices” metric; that timing surely isn’t coincidental.)

What does this all mean? Imagine a market with three listings of comparable quality / value at $120, $140, and $160 per night. The $160 property, which is ceding bookings to the cheaper listings (and potentially to other alternatives in the market / region like hotel rooms), may only be seeing ~20% occupancy rates. Over time, you could imagine a scenario where Similar Listings could show this host how lowering their “available price” to $130 - $140 per night would likely result in a meaningful increase in their occupancy rates. In that scenario, if the volume gains for this host are not fully incremental to Airbnb (i.e. sourced from competing hotel rooms in the region or trips that would’ve otherwise not been booked), that would suggest the second host, at $140 per night, could see an impact on their volumes… which may lead to a response on their end too. This (overly simplistic) example helps to illustrate why Similar Listings could be supportive of Airbnb’s goals. (Whether that’s aligned with the goals of Airbnb’s hosts is a tricker question; nobody likes the prospect of facing more knowledgeable / tougher competitors, but that’s life.)