How search works, and what each filter really does

The three things at the top

Where matches a place's city, its region or country, or the listing's own name — so a property's name finds it as readily as a town does. Who counts adults and children — up to 16 of each — and only shows places that sleep that many; infants don't count, and pets can be added there too.

Dates do more than filter. Every night is checked through the same engine the booking form uses, so search never offers a night that checkout would then refuse.

The filter pills

A row of pills — Filters, Instant Book, Self check-in, Rooms, Type, Amenities and Pets allowed — and every one narrows. Filters opens the whole set at once, beds and bathrooms included.

• Price (inside Filters) compares each place's cheapest open night in the next 90 days — not the trip total, and not your exact dates' rate. A weekend price or a seasonal rate can put your stay above the cap you set and the place will still appear.
• Rooms means at least this many bedrooms — four answers a search for three.
• Type — House, Apartment, Guesthouse or Unique stays; each covers several kinds of place.
• Amenities — every one you tick has to be present, so ticking two narrows rather than widens.
• Pets allowed means at least this many, and hosts who have not stated a number are left out — silence is not a yes. Picking 3 shows only places whose host has said they take three or more, so the number narrowing your results is one somebody actually committed to rather than one you are hoping for. Few hosts have stated a number yet, so a high count can come back with very little; the places it does return are the ones that can genuinely take the pets.

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

Sorting

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, with price deciding between close ones; a new place sits in the middle, not the bottom. When your search carries dates, both price sorts use the stay total with fees and tax included, not the nightly rate — a cheap rate with a large cleaning fee is not the cheaper stay.

Worth knowing

Results come 24 to a page, and the heading counts every match rather than the two dozen on screen. Every filter lives in the address bar, so a search survives a refresh, a sign-out and back in, and being pasted to a friend.