How to Add Manual Airbnb Listings to PriceLabs Comp Sets
How to Add Manual Airbnb Listings to PriceLabs Comp Sets
Building a strong comp set is one of the most important parts of revenue management.
Tools like PriceLabs make it easy to filter listings by location, bedrooms, occupancy, amenities, and dozens of other criteria. But even the best filtering system can't identify every property that truly competes with yours.
That's why experienced revenue managers don't rely solely on automated filters.
They also build comp sets manually.
In a Revenue Academy training session, Emile and Adam Blott explain how manually identifying Airbnb listings and importing them into PriceLabs helps create more accurate competitive benchmarks.
When used together, automated filtering and manual research provide a much clearer picture of your competitive landscape.
Why Automated Filters Aren't Always Enough
PriceLabs offers an extensive range of filters to narrow down comparable properties.
You can filter by:
Bedroom count
Occupancy
Amenities
Pool access
Beachfront status
Guest favorites
Minimum stay
Historic availability
Estimated revenue
These filters dramatically reduce the amount of manual work involved in market research.
However, every filtering system has limitations.
Some listings may:
Have incomplete amenity data
Be incorrectly categorized
Be missing important location attributes
Appeal to the same guests even though they don't match every filter
As Adam explains during the session, filters are a starting point—not the final answer.
Start With Airbnb, Not Just the Dashboard
One of the simplest ways to improve your comp set is to browse Airbnb directly.
Search the same destination and travel dates your guests would search.
As you browse, ask yourself:
Would I compare my property against this one?
Does it target the same guest?
Is it similar in quality?
Does it compete for the same bookings?
Often you'll discover listings that deserve to be in your comp set but weren't surfaced through dashboard filters.
This guest-perspective approach adds an important layer of context that automated tools can't fully replicate.
Finding the Airbnb Listing ID
Once you've identified a property you want to track, the next step is locating its listing ID.
Every Airbnb listing has a unique numerical identifier in its URL.
For example:
airbnb.com/rooms/123456789
The numbers after /rooms/ represent the listing ID.
This unique identifier allows PriceLabs to locate that exact property and add it directly to your comp set.
Adam demonstrates this workflow during the training as a quick and reliable way to build custom comp sets.
Importing Listings into PriceLabs
Adding a manual comp is straightforward.
Inside your Market Dashboard:
Open your comp set.
Locate the Listing ID field.
Paste the Airbnb listing ID.
Select the matching property.
Save it to your comp set.
Repeat for each additional listing.
PriceLabs allows you to continue adding listings one after another, making it easy to build a highly customized group of competitors.
This process works particularly well when you've already identified listings through manual Airbnb searches.
Build Comp Sets That Reflect Real Competition
The goal isn't simply to collect similar homes.
It's to identify the properties guests are genuinely comparing against yours.
That may include listings with:
Similar design
Comparable guest capacity
Matching amenities
Similar pricing
Nearby location
Comparable guest experience
Sometimes a property won't appear in your filtered dashboard because one attribute doesn't match perfectly.
From the guest's perspective, however, it's still a direct competitor.
Those are exactly the kinds of listings worth adding manually.
Combine Manual Research With PriceLabs Filters
The strongest comp sets usually combine both approaches.
Start with PriceLabs to quickly narrow the market.
Then refine your results by manually reviewing Airbnb listings and importing additional competitors.
This hybrid workflow gives you:
Better pricing benchmarks
More accurate occupancy comparisons
Stronger seasonal analysis
Better competitive awareness
Greater confidence in pricing decisions
Rather than replacing automation, manual research improves it.
Keep Your Comp Set Updated
Markets change constantly.
New listings appear.
Existing listings improve.
Some properties leave the market altogether.
For that reason, comp sets should not be considered permanent.
Review them regularly by:
Browsing Airbnb periodically
Checking for new competitors
Removing outdated listings
Adding emerging high-performing properties
Updating your benchmarks as markets evolve
A comp set should evolve alongside your market.
Think Like Your Guest
One of the recurring themes throughout Revenue Academy is viewing your market from the guest's perspective.
Guests don't know your filters.
They don't know your dashboard.
They simply browse Airbnb and compare listings that look attractive to them.
Revenue managers should do the same.
By combining dashboard analytics with manual Airbnb research, you build comp sets that better reflect how guests actually shop.
That leads to smarter pricing decisions and stronger long-term revenue performance.
Final Thoughts
Building comp sets doesn't have to rely entirely on automation.
PriceLabs provides powerful filtering tools, but manually importing Airbnb listings helps close the gaps that filters sometimes leave behind.
Using Airbnb listing IDs to create custom comp sets gives revenue managers greater flexibility and a more accurate view of their competitive landscape.
The result is a pricing strategy built on competitors that truly matter—not just the ones that happen to fit predefined filters.
Key Takeaways
PriceLabs filters are a strong starting point for comp set creation.
Manual Airbnb research helps identify competitors filters may miss.
Every Airbnb listing has a unique listing ID that can be imported into PriceLabs.
Combining automation with manual review creates more accurate comp sets.
Review and update comp sets regularly as markets change.
