Design

For the new system of searching for hosts, we want to achieve two things:

1. Make it easier to find people you will want to stay with
2. Spread hosting amongst more people to negate the super-host effect

There will be no cap on the number of requests you can send. Not needing to rely on only 2 or 3 potential hosts means you can send messages to a more varied group including people with fewer references. We will still incentivize personalized requests so this system isn't abused.

Search ranking will be based on community standing score rather than number of reviews. Hosts of very different experience levels may have similar scores, and this will allow hosting to be done by more people, expanding the community. Searches will also be ranked, to some extent, based on other, more individual factors, such as keyword matchings in your profiles and references. We don't want to encourage similarity too much because there is value in meeting a large variety of people, and some level of randomization will help spread interactions out, creating a more well-balanced community. You will also be given more flexibility in choice with more detailed filters in your searches.