Airbnb launched Categories in May 2022 as the biggest change to the platform in a decade. Fifty-six visual tiles. Treehouses. Castles. OMG Homes. It was discontinued in September 2025. The problem wasn’t the execution — it was the paradigm. You cannot solve an intent problem with an aesthetics solution.
Discoverability means a guest’s ability to find a listing that fits the trip they are planning, including trips they have not fully articulated yet.
Two sides of the marketplace face discovery problems. Host side: new listings with no review history struggle to surface; the ranking algorithm rewards past bookings, creating a cold-start trap. Guest side: guests planning occasion-based trips can’t express what they need before they know where they’re going. Focus: guests.
Three scope options within guest discovery:
Search/ranking: 800+ signals, personalization exists. Improvements here are incremental.
Browse/explore: most underserved. Airbnb’s biggest browse bet, Categories, was discontinued September 2025 after three years.
Personalization/taste memory: requires usage history most guests don’t have.
Focus: browse/explore.
Clarifying questions:
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