Your November 2019 Host Q&A Recap

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Your November 2019 Host Q&A Recap

Guest standards, new safety features, and irrelevant reviews are just some of the hot topics we covered at Host Q&A in Austin, Texas, in November. Though the questions were asked by local hosts in Austin, they reflect questions we’ve heard from hosts around the world. Check out the conversation with Airbnb executives about the issues that matter most to you.

 

To turn on translated subtitles, click the “CC” (Closed Captioning) button underneath the video screen when viewing.

 

Question 1: What is Airbnb doing to protect hosts from bad guests?

 

 

We understand how important it is for you to feel a real sense of safety when hosting in your space. You want Airbnb to help prevent things from going wrong and to be there in the rare but unfortunate moments when they do.

 

Next year, we’ll be ramping up our commitment to guest standards on Airbnb. We recently announced our new Guest Standards Policy, which will introduce a system for tracking and removing bad guests from the platform over time. When a guest fails to meet one of the standards outlined in the policy, they'll receive a warning. If the behavior continues, it could lead to suspension or removal from the platform.

 

These guest standards build upon existing policies we already have in place to address the more serious trust and safety issues that result in immediate removal from the platform. We’re enhancing our system to better monitor guests who engage in less serious misconduct, so that we can educate these guests and take appropriate action if they don’t correct their behavior.  

 

Learn more about our new Guest Standards Policy

 

Question 2: What is Airbnb doing to support hosts when things go wrong?

 

 

We’re committed to ensuring you have the tools and support you need in those moments. We recently began testing our Urgent Support Line in the U.S. and plan to expand to more countries next year. For critical matters related to your security or safety, Airbnb app users in the U.S. with access to the pilot can tap the “Call Airbnb's Urgent Support Line" button in the Safety Center (available via the Profile tab) to quickly connect to a specialist for help. Keep in mind that the Urgent Support Line button is designed to be available only for active reservations, from the day before check-in to the day after checkout. We’re also rolling out a new local emergency button, which provides a direct line to local emergency services. For non-urgent issues, we’ve introduced a live chat feature to English and Mandarin speakers this year, with plans to roll it out in seven more languages next year. It’s currently the fastest way to get help for things like updating your calendar or adjusting your pricing.

 

Of course, these new features are only as effective as the teams that support them, which is why we’ve prioritized growing and restructuring the customer support team. Just this year, we expanded our global staff by thousands of agents, and we reorganized and refocused the team to make it more efficient. We’ve set it up so that more experienced agents handle more complex issues—this means you won’t have to go through multiple agents before you get connected to them.

 

We’ve also been training our claims specialists to show more empathy and understanding, and we’ve implemented a process that speeds up resolution and payout for hosts who are more tenured on the platform. Finally, we’re working on improving our workflows to ensure that the same issues are handled the same way every time.

 

Learn more about how we’re supporting you when things go wrong

 

Question 3: What is Airbnb doing to improve the review system?

 

 

We know how much you rely on reviews to grow your business, and we know that a review may sometimes be misleading or contain content unrelated to the stay. We hear you. And we want you to know that we’re working hard to make them better—it’s a journey, and your feedback is essential to getting there.

 

Earlier this year, we built a new tool that automatically detects an inconsistent review, then interrupts the flow to flag that inconsistency. Similarly, if a guest leaves a low rating for something like location or value—two categories that can be interpreted in different ways—they’ll get interrupted with a clarifying question. These interruptions force guests to think a little more about the rating they’re giving, and they also give guests a chance to go back and correct it. And we’re already seeing more consistency between the category scores and overall scores as a result.

 

Most importantly, we also recently updated our Review Policy. We focused these changes around some of the issues you find most frustrating: irrelevant reviews and biased reviews. Under the updated policy—effective December 11, 2019—we’ve empowered our agents to remove these types of reviews, and guests and hosts who repeatedly violate the policy may face consequences including account suspension and removal.

 

Learn more about the policy and other review updates

 

Question 4: Is Airbnb losing focus on host-to-guest interactions?

 

 

That connectedness—the special magic that happens between hosts and guests—is what hosts like you uniquely bring to the platform. It’s also what makes people choose Airbnb. And it’s core to our mission to allow anyone to belong anywhere—belonging can’t happen without human connection.

 

Listings like yours drive our business. We’re committed—and will forever be committed—to our host community. This fall, we celebrated that community with our first major ad campaign in two years. We wanted to make a statement to the world about who we are and what’s important to us, so we chose to showcase what makes our community so amazing: hosts like you.

59 Replies 59
Sharon404
Level 5
Mantorville, MN

I cannot and will not accept other pets as I have my own and they are not welcoming to other pets so service animals or not I have to refuse the booking.  I was not aware that we must accept. That is not. There are many reasons why a host may not be able to and with the proliferation of people having "emotional support" animals I think we need to have more flexibility in that. 

There's not much AirBnB can do with service animals. About all you can do is to ask that it be a certified service animal, ask for the certification on doctor letter head.  Good luck with it!!!

You think Airbnb would put some its' lawyers on this matter?...I'm leaning towards ...No.....so much for protecting the HOSTS.

I had this issue in the past as well and I was instructed to add a note in my listing, as well as my rule section, which stated that for a number of reasons (you'd just list what ever yours are), I was unable to host guests with animals of any kind, to include service animals (its important to mention this specifically, as most don't consider them in the category of "pets" or "animals". I apologized for any inconvience, and mentioned that I could recommend other area listing which allowed sich animals. After that, I never had another guest with pets attempt to book with me. Most guests are not trying to inconvience hosts, and if they see that you have legitimate reasons for not hosting pets, they will look elsewhere. The goal is to let them know that you are not discriminating against them, or their need for a service animal, but that you simply cannot accommodate animals for valid reasons other than simply "not wanting to".

We do not advertise our unit as a pet friendly environment and we use other vacation rental services like VRBO (which does allow the host to refuse pets).  The reason we are a pet free environment is due to the fact that a subsequent guest may have pet related allergies.  If we do have a guests that wants to bring a pet, we ask for a cleaning fee that will enable us to also meet the needs of the subsequent guest.  Pets require more stringent cleaning of the unit to ensure a pet allergy free environment.

Agreed! Although this none discrimination thing is something of the common trend it is going completely against the people who have pet allergies.  We do not in any way wish to have pets in our space and we’ve recently traveled to a no pets space only to find my husband in asthma attacks as the previous guest brought their dog... it’s a MAJOR  ISSUE  on both sides!

Dee51
Level 3
Jensen Beach, FL

How about fixing the VERY flawed review system. The overall rating should be an average of the stars across the board, not a separate rating the guest makes. It's confusing & not helpful to hosts knowing where improvement needs to be. Location is also not the hosts problem, it's firstly Airbnb needing to make a more accurate / tighter map and secondly the guests who need to READ the hosts description of location. Mine is all but the exact street address with 25 local distances listed so I should have nothing but 5s. Yet it's my lowest one.

I had issues with location in the past as well, luckily the categories are separate, so I still recieved all 5 star reviews. I also had as exact an address as allowed, and included the distances and times (by car or on foot) to numerous area destinations, yet some guests still rated me 4 on location. Too many guests don't understand what the category is for, or they are less concerned with the distance and more the surroundings. For that reason I added photos and descriptions of the surrounding area (neighborhood, street, parks, local shops); essentially a virtual tour, making sure they knew exactly where they would be. In the pre-book message I also instructed guests to read the entire description prior to booking, and reminding them (again) to do so in my "welcome message" after the booking is confirmed. I make sure to describe the positive and the negative aspects of my properties and the neighborhoods they are in, so there are never any surprises. After that I recieved 5 stars in every category, and guests always tell me how pleased they were with the details I provided and that it's a major part of why they booked with me. I hope that helps. 

Barbara2081
Level 1
Mt Vernon, NY

Can someone from the company please assist me. My Co Op Board

does not now allow me to use Airbnb in my home. I’m being asked by legal to “take down” my listings. How do I comply?? Is there a place to go on line or a  phone call? Barbara F 

To the people who think airbnb was wrong for hiding guests pictures until after the booking is confirmed (I'm honestly surprised by the number):

 

How would seeing the photo of a guest before their reservation is confirmed, have any effect other than racist/prejudice exclusion? How the person looks is 100% irrelevant. What matters are reviews and communicationIf you do not wish to host guests without reviews, that is understandable (albeit unfortunate), but choosing whether or not to host someone with/without reviews, based on how they look, is ridiculous. As another host has mentioned, I do require all of my guests to have a clear photo of their face (after the booking is confirmed), so that I know who to expect and that the correct person shows up, but it has nothing to do with the acceptance of the review. The same goes for communication if you will be sharing the residence; I would not feel comfortable hosting someone(s) who simply do not respond to any of my messages, as it has only led to stress in the past (especially for longer stays). This whole "my home, my rules" idea is great when you decide which of your friends and family stay with you, but that is not what airbnb is about. It's not about exclusion, racism, prejudice, etc. It allows you to turn your residence/property into an "bed and breakfast" or simply a rental property. A business which services the public, to include all those looking for a place to stay, where the only exclusotory factor should be those which pose a direct threat to comfort and safety. Last I checked, a person's skin color or general appearance poses no such threat. 

 
As someone who has experience as a guest and a host (renting entire properties, as well as rooms in my own home), I can personally vouch for how the new system helps to reduce racial exclusion. I have rented apartments all over the world thorough airbnb (as a guest and host) and have hundreds of positive reviews (and not a single negative one), yet in certain areas I was denied and told that the apartment was "already booked", "unavailable", "having repairs done", etc. There were even times when I used instant book, the hosts saw my picture (a darker skin male) and canceled for the same reasons as mentioned above. At times it would happen upwards of 10 times before I would give up and book a hotel. However, when I had my girlfriend or a travel mate at the time (a white female or a white or Asian male) message the same hosts for the same days and ask if the apartment was available; 100% of the time the answer was "yes", followed by a pre-approval and positive communication asking whether or not they had any questions or needed advice about the area. It's also worth mentioning the fact that 9 times out of 10, I book entire apartments (and only book rooms when there are simply no other options available in remote locations), so such exclusion is even more absurd.

As mentioned before, all of my reviews are positive, I have years of experience using the platform, I have every verification completed, and even a long bio which tells a little about myself. Not that it should matter, but I am also a meteorologist, commercial pilot, paramedic, first-aid/CPR instructor, teacher, and I have multiple Bachelor's degrees, as well as a Masters. I also have reviews from hosts in over 20 countries. Surely that should matter more than how I look?

 

Since the changes airbnb implemented, the number of prejudice rejections I have received has essentially dropped to essentially zero. I think verification should be mandatory (no possibility to book without a government ID on file), and Airbnb should ensure that all guests have a clear photo (for identification purposes, not for decision making), but hiding photos until after booking was definitly the right call.

David1303
Level 2
Auckland, New Zealand

so fake,  the whole thing looks staged with actors, to keep pushing thier narrative

Reuben8
Level 2
New York, US

what they, Airbnb,  are doing in 2020 are allowing new customers with as little as a phone number request information that are contrary to the conditions of their stay, that results in a Decline, ends up reflecting on the host ONLY as below percentage acceptance rate.

Kandide0
Level 2
Paia, HI

The star rating for guest went away? And now only the review is visible? Host should be able to see if someone got a low star rating just like they can see our star rating. If it is not visible, then what is the value of completing these questions? 

The star rating for guests are still there but you have to turn on Instant Booking, which I refuse to use.  Unfortunately, a lot of features for hosts are only usable when Instant Booking is turned on.  Airbnb has taken away a lot of host safety and convenience by only allowing these features for Instant Book.  

Naz275
Level 3
London, GB

On the topic of guest profile pics,  I got an Instant booking from a man with a full body naked photo! I reported him.  I wonder what happened to the screening process?? By the way he had glowing reviews.