Get guests you can trust— every time

[Lizzie]

Hello everyone,

I hope you are having a good day.

I wanted to let you know that we have updated the booking process to make sure you don’t have to host repeat guests if you don’t want to. Now, anytime you give a guest 3 stars or less, that guest will not be able to instantly book any of your spaces, even if you have Instant Book turned on.

Find out more in our Help Center.

What do you think about these changes? We’d love to hear your thoughts.

Thanks,

Lizzie

[Ann10]

I'm concerned about the new guests and being able to turn down guests that I don't feel right about. I even had a guest I knew was going to be big trouble and she was. I couldn't cancel her because every time I went to cancel, it said I would lose my SH status. By not canceling, I lost a lot more than my SH status. It's a pretty unbelievable story. I should have called, but due to my past experience w CS, I felt it would be useless. 

I have been reading a lot about people getting chided for declining. I had to decline someone because I was already booked w an ABB guest, but I didn't bother calling because I know they would give me the run around like they did today when I called to ask 2 simple questions. No answers, no one knows anything, and they have no compuction about saying I don't know. When I was working w the public I was told never say, "I don't know". Say, "let me ask someone for you". After being on hold for 15 minutes. I got a bunch of "I don't know" and "I don't know if anyone knows". So, I urged this person to ask someone anyway, she agreed, but hung up on me. Then I called back. Another 15 minutes after the "hello super host", more "I don't know". Finally, I got a message that they were checking into it. Then more I don't know and call the SH phone number which was the number I called in the 1st place. 

I also read something today in the help center about not declining, so I guess we really are going to be penalized for declining. My listings used to be at the top, on the front page. Now, I can't find them. I guess it's cause I refused moderate cancellation when it was mysteriously changed for me, I've been refusing SP, IB, and everything else they are pushing on me. Maybe it's also because I declined one booking because I was already booked w an ABB booking. In the past I was told if you decline you don't move, if you accept you move up, if you do nothing you move down. Has that changed??

I have 2 listings snoozed or unlisted. The other one, I have all dates blocked except 4 days this month that are not already booked. 2 are today and tomorrow. The other 2 are more than 5 days away but I will live if someone cancels a 2 day booking. For these, I turned on SP w a minimum, moderate cancellation, IB, everything they have been pushing on me. It's an experiment. I want to see if it moves back to where it used to be or if it will still be drowning in the back somewhere. 

BTW, the only time I have given a guest a bad review is if they have done something criminal or lied. Each time ABB took the review down for one bogus reason or another. I have the emails. The guests are still free to use the site and do the same to other guests. ABB knows these guest have done the same or similar things to other hosts yet their profiles remain on the site. One changed her name, but that's about it.

Follow up-My experiment worked. I'm literally number 1 again. It's all about control. I will see what happens if I take IB away. I had 1 IB guest and she was a complete lunatic who abused me from the moment I picked up the phone. One of our company ideals is to never cancel so the idea didn't occur to me. She gave me 1 star and committed libel against me. When I told her libel is expensive and I hoped she could find a cheap place next to the Bullhead City Court House, boy did that review come down lighting fast. In the past when I had another libelist, I called ABB w proof that she was lying. Would they take it down, h*ll no. When she found out libel is expensive, boom it came down. Anything for the creepy guest, forget about helping the loyal, honest SH.

[Ann10]

 So, I took of Instant Book and I was no where to be found in spite of being a SH. What happened to SH making 22% more? However, when I filtered for my place without putting in SH, I think I was #2 or #4, on the 1st page anyway. Now, it seems IB is really important, but no one bothered to be honest and say hey, if you don't turn it on you are going to be swimming in the back. Not that I'm going to be turning on IB permanently or be doing anything they have been pushing on me. If the 48 hours thing happens, which I'm sure it will, I'll be on strike until I stop being treated like a commodity. I had a really bad experience w a extortionist and then CS manipulated me not to cave or give her any money. They said they had my back. In reality, they did not. ABB let me down to many times, but the extortionist was the beginning of the end. 

The illusion I had surrounding ABB was completely broken. I paid $1000 to get on HA and started listing on other sites too. Even after, I was phasing them out I was still getting $$$ bookings from ABB. One time, a CS agent was like wow, you are a great host, and again that was after I started phasing them out. There was a point when HA switched to this best match thing, and at 1st it was awful for me, but now it's working great. During that time, I guess I fell back on ABB. Now, I've almost completely phased them out. I'm sure they don't care. Hosts are a dime a dozen to them. Anyway, there is no way I'm putting up w the 48 hour cancellation thing, no way. Maybe I will put my listings up for last minute bookings (and block the rest of the calendar) so people can't cancel, but that is gonna be it. 

[Barbara943]

Hello

i am so happy about this I stopped renting from you last year because of a bad guest my cleaning service called me said make a note do not rent to this family again

they didn’t respect your place and left the place in a mess took twice as long to clean it 

bath cloths with poop under bed trash all over and other things 

I called you and reported it cleaning services charged me an extra 50.00 for cleaning 

your reply to me was they paid a cleaning fee

so we all thank you  for helping protect our beautiful place

[Dorinda1]

Being new to having an airbnb rental I notice people give me all 5 stars and overall 4 stars asked a guest why and reply was bunkbeds are squeaky I gave up on trying to be a superhost..but did just have someone that did not want to checkout and started picking out everything they wanted to take with them..they brought back a big garbage bag with my stuff in it but still finding missing items wine cockscrew gone usb cords gone.ugh dont wish it on any airbnb host..

[Peter893]

The elephant in the room is the “bad” host and what Airbnb’s plans are for them.  Over the past year, I have stayed at 3 Airbnb’s in different parts of the country and found that one was mildly hyperbolic in description, one had material and known amenity defects and one was grossly inconsistent in numerous ways.  Airbnb Plus is nice but there should be sanctions on “bad” hosts as well.

[Stephanie365]

@Lizzie I think it should go both ways. if either party is the recipient of 3* or less by the other, there should be no option for an Instant Book for that guest/host combination. It should have to be negotiated via direct messaging.

If a guest is dissatisfied with a host and scores them as such, they should not be allowed to rebook that space without host prior approval. You would have to ask, why would they want to, but people are strange.

If a host is dissatisfied with a guest and scores them as such, they should not have to worry about the guest trying to rebook and then the host having to cancel that reservation and be penalized.

[Ann10]

@Stephanie0-The only way ABB is going to put restrictions on guests is if something goes wrong w their payments. That is the only way they will be kicked off the site or sanctioned in anyway. They are going to let criminals who have commited crimes against hosts stay on the site. They will even remove truthful reveiws w one bogus reason or another. As long as they get paid, that is all that matters.

Stephanie

[Christine615]

I think guests who get three stars should not be able to Instant book any host. The process for rating hosts is pretty stringent. So why not guests as well. Hosts need more "heads up" on problematic guests. It's rare, but one disaster guest is one too many and I would like to know host concerns before someone books me.

[Catherine827]

Great news and very proactive of Airbnb. Thanks. 🙂

[Johnny38]

 Airbnb refuses to pay for damages done by Guest 

 The reason was that I’d let the next guest check in before filing the claim it’s not that black-and-white and I’m pretty upset about it. 

I understand the reasoning behind the issue of not letting the next guest check-in but quite frankly I was doing everything I could to clean and replace stuff after j I understand the reasoning behind the issue of not letting the next guest check-in that quite frankly I was doing everything I could to clean and replace stuff after  this guest overstayed his booking by nine days and also couldn’t collect the fee so that’s in collections. What I would really want to know  his wife I could’ve actually done differently and I’m not getting that answer from Airbnb. The guest overstayed his reservation and that led to not getting the money it’s now in collections and furiously trying to get the place cleaned up after the trash and replace and to clean and I had a guest coming in in four hours. Airbnb insists that I should have made this a complaint to the resolution center before the next yes checked in

 I thought what I was doing was admirable by spending my time getting ready for the next guest and not canceling them are four hours away but it appears that I screwed myself by not doing that and I clearly should have canceled the next guest but again Airbnb is not giving me specific directions for any similar future situation and I am just left with what to do but her mind is I’m out $300 for the non-payment, and now $200 for cleaning dies out of a sci-fi something that had to be scraped off down to the wood from an island in the kitchen a game at rugby   Damage read that had to be thrown away etc. etc. etc. so I filed a claim for $200 and the response I got back was that they were pretty much close Annette because I let a gas station before I made the change. Any advice I’m really really really frustrated with this and for the first time I don’t feel comfortable to wear for host I travel and I Rea be a lot and I’m comfortable doing that but as far as recommended Airbnb‘s poster them after this lack of support and non-communication seems really one-sided any ideas 

[David126]

@Johnny38

Not sure if I fully understand everything but:

If you need more time before the next guest comes in then you can cal AirBnB to cancel the next booking citing extenuating circumstance. Reairing damage, filing a claim is a pretty good example of extenuating circumstances.

Effectively you are only likely to get paid if the Guest agrees so nothing to stop you getting the money direct if the Guest is willing to pay.

[David2358]

What about first time guests?  These being ones without ratings.  Do these guests know that poor guest reviews are detrimental to them?   

My house is of unique construction and very difficult to child proof.  Yet, I find it difficult to criticize mom's and dad's who wish to bring their "very well behaved x year old child" by denying their requests.  This is even more frustrating when they have no rating or no Idea if previous ratings included their child or children.

What advise here? 

[Zole0]

"What you permit, you promote".

[Zole0]

It is difficuly to please everyone!   The rules that apply to hosts is quite stringent. Too much credence is given to the guests and  too much responsibility is given to the  hosts.  A more balanced approach wou;d be appreciated.

Zole

[Evelyn194]

What about guest that don’t give you a review because they know they weren’t a good guest?