Officially introducing the members of Airbnb’s Host Advisory Board

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Officially introducing the members of Airbnb’s Host Advisory Board

*Posted live: December 16th

 

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Today, we’re excited to share a video officially introducing the members of Airbnb’s Host Advisory Board.

 

As we recently announced, Airbnb is launching a formal program to give hosts a seat at the table. The Host Advisory Board is a group of selected hosts that will not only keep the community informed, but share your feedback directly with Airbnb leadership.  The board will also help inform how  the Airbnb Host Endowment is invested in the community, and influence policies, programs, and new products.

 

These 17 selected hosts were chosen for their passion, their contributions to the hosting community, and their desire to create a better future for all hosts—among other criteria. Together, they’ve hosted more than 15,000 guests with a combined total of 86 years of hosting experience and an average star rating of 4.9!

 

*To add or change subtitles to the video, hover over the video and click on the little 'Settings' wheel in the bottom right corner. Then click 'Subtitle/CC' and select your language. 

 

Watch the video above to meet the community members serving on the board and learn about their individual passions and experience. To find out more about how the board will work together to advocate for the community, check out the latest Host Update article featuring our Head of Hosting, Catherine Powell.

 

Do keep your eyes peeled here in the Community Center as we will be introducing the board members in the new year. There will be regular opportunities for our new board members to respond to your questions and address important topics.

166 Replies 166

Thanks for the info, @Katie

@Sharon1014 , you are an awesome member of our board Sharon, I vote to elect you Treasurer, Investment manager and HMFIC of the non elected CC board (Formally known as "The Peanut Gallery").  We actually don't have any money or influence anywhere in the world except our own Castles but if we did, you would be a perfect choice!   

 

Its so true, there is a reason the military COC is structured as it is, to allow the constant and consistent flow of information from the top to the bottom and visa versa of the chain without disruption of the duties the majority of players are involved in to begin with.  Too many opinions at the table only go to lessen the positive effects of whole.   Be well, JR

Totally agree with you. Rentals in South Africa has nothing to do with US or Portugal.

in order to be effective it has to be well represented with people of each area and may be a couple from another area in order to share ideas. Quarter meetings to interact with another countries will be enough.

 

location or city impression shouldn’t be part of reviews.

Revenge reviews from upset guests who lost bikes, broke, stole or party in the apartment and got upset with the host, for charging penalty or claiming money, shouldn’t be included and agents from Airbnb should read the messages.

 

Cheers,

Gabriela

Hopefully the Host Advisory Board will listen & action our concerns of which I have many. ❤ Airbnb but hate, beyond hate.....loathe calling the help centre. I am yet to actually get any actual HELP from the team in the Phillipines despite numerous calls over time. Happy to elaborate with any or all Host Advisory Board members.  Very frustrated Superhost here.

I am with you here.

Anuj11
Level 2
Old Bridge, NJ

Hello this Anuj Jain, I am glad this board has been constituted. My concern lies around guests that create trouble in our apartment, I feel very exposed with Airbnb. Here is what happened recently, I had guest that came in for 3 nights, he books for one person, but his girl friend checks in (remote checkin) early, before house keeping was done. We had some trouble explaining to her that the apartment is not yet ready, please wait till check in time as published in our house check in rules. Anyway's that issue was resolved as our cleaning lady was very nice and able to have her wait in the lobby. Then that night I get calls from neighbors at 10:00PM that loud music and party is going in the apartment. Folks living on the same floor and below sent complains to me. I reach out the telephone number for the guest, found out it is not working, I reached out to Airbnb help desk, they were of no help. I reached out thru the portal text, he then responded and lowered his volume. 

 

My biggest concern is that,

 

1. Airbnb does not want to share any information about the guest, where as we are opening our hearts and houses to these folks we have no idea on. What is a guest overstays or does not want to vacate, how is that handled?  

 

2. If we have a long term guest and in the middle their their second charge, the credit does not work. Airbnb is quick to inform us that Guest's card has not worked and they will not be responsible for payment and that we need to get the guest to pay?

 

3. The Commission of 20% is too high for Airbnb, causing us to reduce our price to be competitive.

 

Please advise,

 

Anuj Jain

Super Host

Gross Revenue 180K USD

Sharon1014
Level 10
Sellicks Beach, Australia

A few questions @Brian  and @Catherine-Powell and @Airbnb 

 

Given that ABNB's share price closed at $157 on Friday, that now means the 9.2 million shares in the Host Endowment Fund are now worth $1.4 billion (give or take a few pennies), which puts the fund over the threshold of the magic $1b to begin investing in Endowment Fund Projects -

 

  1. Is ABNB going to put spending in this area on hold pending ABNB's share price stabilising?
  2. What happens to the spending in this area if ABNB's share price drops below the $1b threshold?
  3. How will the company manage share price fluctuations attached to the Endowment Fund into the future?
  4. What are the terms and conditions of the Host Endowment Fund?  Will you publish these anywhere in the interests of transparency and host engagement?
  5. When exactly do you expect spending from this Endowment Fund to commence and under what conditions would it cease?
  6. What would happen to any projects funded from this source if ABNB's share price drops below the $1b threshold - do they have funding pulled mid-stream?

ABNB close Friday.JPG

Hi @Sharon1014 these are very good and very important questions. We will confirm details on this in the New Year. 

I wish you the best for the holidays, Catherine 

Thanks for the reply @Catherine-Powell 

 

If this fund is going to do anything at all in the first instance, then please let it be a minimum of $2,500 - $5,000 USD grants to those hosts who do truly share spaces in their own homes and who are utterly reliant on Airbnb income to put food on the table and pay essential bills like rent, internet, electricity, gas.  It is just heart-breaking to know that many hosts in the northern hemisphere who are in these circumstances will be having anything but a happy Christmas or happy holidays (unlike some who of course, have just reaped multi-million dollar paydays thanks to shedding 15% of their share holdings).  I'm sure that you, the founders and other senior execs will be partying hard over the holiday season.  Which is not to take anything away from Brian, Nate, Joe or yourself.  Just remember who put you all there.  Please.

 

Forget the touchy-feely stuff, let's just take care of our own as the absolute first priority. 

Laurie516
Level 1
St Paul, MN

I'm responding because I feel the Midwest community of the United States is underrepresented.  We are hearty souls!. Listen to our voice, please. 

 

 

@Laurie516 , I agree, most of the USA is very different than the population centers in California and New York.  I could literally lose NYC in my back yard but we get little or no representation in our own state government.  Its more about quantity of votes than equality in representation.  

Mark116
Level 10
Jersey City, NJ

Interesting that I don't believe one single host has any kind of record of posting here in the community forum, that is disappointing, since I know that I find this forum invaluable for advice.

Katie
Community Manager
Community Manager
London, United Kingdom

Hey @Mark116, thanks for your comment. Actually, quite a few of them do contribute to the Community already, but you might not recognise them just yet. It's also worth bearing in mind that many of them contribute in the other language CC's.

 

As @Lizzie explained, we'll be doing a proper intro for them here on the Community Center in January 🙂

Marc7726
Level 1
Serrekunda, The Gambia

@Catherine-Powell. Greetings from The Gambia. Great that this board and platform has been created. Would say however that it's a pity that the African continent is 'forgotten' as I can't seem to spot any of the 17 members to be hosting in Africa.  The African continent is a special place and it is not always easy to follow all that is required in the developed world, so an African perspective can be useful.  have a great day!

Hi @Marc7726,

Thank you for your comment, and it's great to see you here in the Community Center.

You're right that we don't currently have any board members who are based in Africa. However, this is something that we would love to change. The board is already thinking about how to elect the next set of members, so I hope you'll be keen to get involved. I also hope you will continue coming to the Community Center and sharing your feedback.

Best,
Catherine