Good news: there's nothing to "hack"
If you've hosted on the big booking platforms, you've probably spent more time than you'd like trying to figure out what the algorithm wants. Is it response time this month? Review count? Pricing? Did they change it again?
It can feel like playing a game where nobody will show you the rulebook.
Stays works differently, and we'll just hand you the rulebook. Where your property shows up in the Directory, in collections, and in search comes down to one thing: listing strength. And you can see exactly what goes into it, right in your Stay Dashboard.
Here's how it works and how to move it.
What Listing Strength Is
Every property on Stays has a listing strength score from 0 to 100%. It measures two things: how complete your listing is, and how much value it offers a traveler who lands on it.
Stronger listings get placed higher. That's the whole system.
You'll find your score in two places:
- The Listing strength meter at the bottom of the side menu in your Stay Dashboard
- The Strength Checklist on your Overview page, which shows every item and whether you've completed it
Think of it less like an algorithm and more like a punch list on a house. You can see every item that's left. Nothing's hidden behind the drywall.
Why we do it this way
Because what's good for a traveler should be what's good for your ranking. A listing with a direct booking link, a live Offer, and clear details is more useful to someone planning a trip than a bare-bones one. So that's what gets rewarded. No mystery, no moving goalposts.
The Strength Checklist, Item by Item
Here's everything on the list and how to knock each one out.
1. Add your booking links
Link every platform where travelers can book your property: Airbnb, Vrbo, Hipcamp, Outdoorsy, wherever you're listed. You'll find this in the Links tab of Edit Listing.
The whole idea of Stays is that travelers get to choose how they book. A listing with no booking links is a storefront with no door.
2. Add a direct booking link
This one gets its own checklist item for a reason. If you have your own booking site, add it. It's the first thing a lot of travelers look for, and it earns your property a Direct booking badge on its card in the Directory.
While you're in there, drag your booking links into the order you want travelers to see them, and use the star to mark one as Best Value.
Don't have a direct booking site yet? Tools like Lodgify, Hostfully, and OwnerRez make it easier than it used to be. Our direct booking guide has a section written for hosts.
3. Tag your Special Interests
Pick at least three tags that fit your stay across Setting (lakefront, mountain, desert), Vibe (cozy, modern, romantic), and Best For (families, remote work, pet owners). You can choose up to five.
This is how travelers browse. When someone filters for "romantic" or asks Stays AI for a secluded cabin, these tags are what put you in the results. Skip them and you're invisible to exactly the people who'd love your place.
One tip: be honest, not aspirational. If your cabin sleeps twelve and sits next to a highway, "secluded" and "romantic" aren't doing you any favors. The right traveler finding you beats the wrong traveler clicking away.
4. Set your shortlink
Claim your custom stays.co link, something short and memorable like stays.co/yourstay. It takes ten seconds in the Links tab, and it's the link you'll use everywhere else.
5. Create an Offer
Post a deal on your Listing Page. It doesn't have to be dramatic. "10% off direct bookings" or "Free early check-in on weekday stays" both count, and both give a traveler a reason to book with you instead of scrolling on.
Offers also show up in the feeds of travelers who favorite your stay or follow your region, so this item pulls double duty.
Need ideas? Offer Ideas That Actually Fill Your Calendar has ten you can copy.
6. Create a Promotion
Set up your first social Promotion through one of our partnered Instagram outlets. Promotions put your property in front of people who haven't found Stays yet and send them to your Listing Page.
Not sure where to start? Should You Run a Giveaway or a Promotion with Stays? breaks down the options.
7. Share your stay page
Send your listing link to your own audience and past guests. Put it in your Instagram bio, your email signature, your next newsletter. You check this one off yourself (copying your shortlink from the Overview also does it).
8. Complete your Org Page
If your Organization has more than one property, you'll also see an item for your Org Page. That's the public page for your business as a whole on Stays, showing every property you list in one place. Add your intro, your imagery, and your contact info.
Booking links, a direct link, Special Interests, your shortlink, an Offer, and sharing your page can all be done in one sitting. Pour a coffee, open your Stay Dashboard, and work down the list.
Beyond the Checklist: Fill In the Details
The checklist covers the big items, but complete listings rank higher across the board. While you're in Edit Listing, make sure you've filled in the practical details travelers check before they book:
- Nightly rate range, minimum stay, and guest capacity
- Bedrooms, bathrooms, and bed types
- Parking, pets, and any logistical notes (no cell service, 4WD access, and so on)
- Amenities
- Nearby attractions, up to five, with travel times
- Your "most unique aspect" and the highlight photo that goes with it
And then there are your photos. They aren't a checklist item, but they might matter more than anything on it. Placement gets a traveler to your card. Your cover photo is what gets them to click. Lead with your strongest exterior or your most distinctive shot.
Where Host Premium Fits
Host Premium affects placement too, but probably not the way you'd guess.
Strength comes first. Always. Premium moves your property ahead of other listings at the same strength. It never pushes you past a stronger one. When several Premium properties share the same strength, the order among them is shuffled daily so everyone gets a fair turn up front.
So if you're wondering whether to work on your checklist or upgrade to Premium, the answer is the checklist. Every time. Premium on a half-finished listing is like putting a spoiler on a car that needs an oil change.
For the full picture on what Premium does and doesn't do, see Is Host Premium Worth It?.
What Doesn't Affect Your Ranking
A few things hosts assume matter, because they matter elsewhere:
- Your availability. Stays doesn't hide your property when it's booked. Travelers can discover and favorite it any time.
- Your review count. Stays doesn't run its own review system, so a newer property isn't buried under ones with 400 reviews.
- How much you've spent with us. Buying Promotions doesn't buy placement. (Creating one is a checklist item. After that, spending more doesn't move you up.)
- Your nightly rate. A $150 cabin and a $900 villa are judged on the same checklist.
That last point is a big deal for independent hosts. You're not competing against a management company's ad budget. You're competing on how good and how complete your listing is.
The Short Version
- Open your Stay Dashboard and look at your Strength Checklist.
- Do everything on it. Start with booking links, your direct link, and Special Interests.
- Fill in every practical detail and lead with your best photo.
- Keep it fresh. Rotate your Offer with the seasons.
- Then, and only then, think about Host Premium.
No tricks. No guessing. Just a list, and a better spot in the Directory waiting at the end of it.
