How Search and Filters Work

Where, Who, and Dates

• Where: Matches a place's city, its region or country, or the listing's own name.
• Who: Counts adults and children, up to 16 of each, and shows only places that sleep that many. Infants do not count, and pets can be added there too.
• Dates: Every night is checked through the same engine the booking form uses, so search never offers a night that checkout would refuse.

The Filter Pills

The row of pills holds Filters, Instant Book, Self check-in, Rooms, Type, Amenities and Pets allowed. Every one narrows the results. Filters opens the whole set at once, including beds and bathrooms.

• Price: Inside Filters, it compares each place's cheapest open night in the next 90 days. It does not use the trip total, or your exact dates' rate. A weekend price or a seasonal rate can put your stay above the limit you set, and the place still appears.
• Rooms: At least this many bedrooms, so four matches a search for three.
• Type: House, Apartment, Guesthouse or Unique stays. Each covers several kinds of place.
• Amenities: Every amenity you select must be present, so selecting two narrows the results rather than widening them.
• Pets allowed: At least this many pets. Hosts who have not stated a number are excluded, because silence is not a yes.

Picking 3 under Pets allowed shows only places whose host has said they accept three or more. Few hosts have stated a number yet, so a high count can return very few places. The places it does return are those that can accept the pets.

Clearing Filters

Clear all is a text link rather than a pill, and it appears only once two or more filters are on. It clears price, bedrooms, beds, bathrooms, type, amenities and pets, and nothing else. Instant Book, Self check-in, your destination, dates, guests, sort and any searched area remain as they were.

Sorting

There are five orders, under Sort by inside Filters: Recommended (the default), Lowest price, Highest price, Top rated and Newest.

Recommended weighs the rating, how complete the listing is and how quickly the host replies. Price decides between close results. A new place sits in the middle, not at the bottom.

When your search carries dates, both price sorts use the stay total, with fees and tax included, not the nightly rate. A low rate with a large cleaning fee is not the cheaper stay.

Pages of Results and Sharing a Search

Results appear 24 to a page. The heading counts every match, not only the two dozen on screen. Every filter is stored in the address bar. A search therefore survives a refresh, signing out and back in, and being pasted to a friend.