Customer service updates, payments, and more in the latest Host Update with Catherine Powell

[Airbnb]

The past few months have been a tough time for all of us, especially hosts and guests. We’ve been listening closely to your feedback in all its forms and working tirelessly to create solutions because we know that encountering delays—especially when it comes to customer service or payments—is incredibly frustrating. 

In the latest Host Update, Catherine Powell sits down with Tara Bunch, our new Global Head of Operations, to offer transparency about how we’re strengthening our customer service team and to explain more about our payment process for hosts. Once you’ve watched the video, we’d really love to hear from you. Please let us know what you’d like covered in future Host Updates with Catherine. As always, thank you for sharing the topics that matter to you.

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[Albert11]

@Airbnb @Catherine-Powell 

So glad to hear you will tackle the CS issues with a very aggressive plan.  Hope the hiccup can be got over with pretty soon.

One critical issue I wanted to bring to your attention is the case manager (CS) power of cancelling on behalf of host, without host's input or awareness.  This is power is at solo discretionary of a CS and can be easily abused and no check-balance or an appeal process in place, if it is abused. This clearly ruins the trust between hosts and AirBnb and materially increase uncertainty and risks of hosts' income, super host status/eligibility, as well as time/effort to keep an eye on such events.

First of all,  not sure the legality basis for such power to exit in the first place.  This is like a CS can revoke a transaction, take money from host weeks/months after the payout was made.  I didn't read through all the fine lines of the hosting agreement but it just feels contra common sense.

It really feels vulnerable as a host that a CS and cancel a completed booking on host's behalf, without host's awareness at time, or input at other times, and going back to weeks/months.  Host will live with all the damage from such CS act, including loss of full booking revenue for the reservation, loss of super host eligibility, loss of revenue from the blocked dates of the reservation, and extra $100 penalty.  All the CS needs to make such decision is a black box and no transparency at all.

If such decision was made incorrectly, there is no process to appeal or even communicate with the CS or any of his/her supervisors.  So the host has no voice in the entire process and really is at the mercy of an unknown CS.

I understand AirBnb has been dealing with the COVID interruption and indeed is a great platform to work with.  I do hope you take the CS making decision on behalf of host issue seriously.  It can easily ruin the trust and increase cost of doing business as a host.  I feel confident this can be properly improved with the new leadership.  Many thanks for you consideration.

[Catherine-Powell]

Thanks for sharing your perspective here @Albert11, and I understand your concern.

Our Case Managers are trained to manage and resolve issues with the information they are provided, however we are all human and this may mean that occasionally they get things wrong. You can always dispute the resolution reached, by replying to the message to request this, and another Case Manager will then review the decision.

We will continue to invest in better tools and training to enable our support staff to handle the complex cases our community faces, and as mentioned in my previous update, we are in the process of taking on more staff in order to increase our capacity and coverage.

Thanks, Catherine

[Albert11]

@Catherine-Powell , Thanks for your reply.  I do appreciate your consideration of the CS power issue.

Totally agree with you that human error is unavoidable, especially when short staffed.  I'm glad you are taking actions to aggressively bring the CS resources up to match the growing workload.  This will definitely improve the service levels in the near term.

However, my fundamental concerns remain the same:

1. CS is over powered with the capability of "cancelling on behalf of host, without host input".  This has devastating impact on host and is a black box process for host.  I would suggest that CS should not be given such power without giving host sufficient time to respond and hear host's side of it.

2. Appeal process non exists.  As of now, there is no way to appeal a CS decision once it is made.  I cannot reply to the message to the CS who made the decision, as the message is closed by the CS.  Nor can I appeal to another CS or supervisor as there is no message thread to start with. 

A case at hand is my case with a CS named Mhel.  Mhel sent a message to me at 11:17 pm CST and demanded a response from me in 15-30 minutes.  I was asleep like most people do at such hour and could not respond.  Mhel cancelled the reservation on my behalf at 2:44 am CST, without my knowledge or my input or a chance to respond.  I lost full rental income, 5 "cancelled" nights blocked on calendar, loss of Superhost eligibility, and $100 penalty.  Regardless of the legitimacy of the decision, the flaw was in the process.  It was a clear overstep on Mhel's side, by not giving host a chance to be aware of the issue, to have a chance to respond, to be heard of.

The process of appeal was non-exist.  I tried to call, message for 31 days and NO response from her or her supervisor.  Then someone closed the message thread on their behalf so I could not reply to the initial message.  I had to open another message thread to repeat the story and wish someone will take a look at it.

Yesterday, another CS finally reached out to me.  I saw this as an improvement in your process.  Hopefully, my voice will be heard this time.  I provided all the details and anxiously waiting for a response.  I'll keep you all posted on the outcome.

Thanks again for your time and I'm hopeful things will get better soon for the community!

[Ann72]

@Airbnb @Catherine-Powell  This is wonderful for many reasons.  First, the fact that Catherine has now made her third monthly video addressing us is impressive.  There's a real wish to make positive change here.  This message is strong and it's underscored in this video by some very direct questions lobbed at Tara.  

It seems to me that these two strong women are cleaning up a mess handed to them by a company that lost its way for a few months.  Airbnb disrupted the travel industry, but when the travel industry worldwide was disrupted, it wasn't able to stay the course with its usual vision.  In a pandemic, many affected companies reacted similarly.  But I admit to feeling disappointed that Airbnb couldn't see past the two months of reduced travel and massive cancellations and into the near future a little better.  🙂  I hope that they can now move forward with confidence that their disruptive model is really coming into its own in a post-pandemic world.

Tara's actions for rebuilding customer service are extremely solid.  Let's all hope she's given the appropriate time, staff, and budget to complete her plans.

Catherine, keep up the good work and keep pushing people to excellence.  And that includes hosts!

[Super47]

@Ann72

"But I admit to feeling disappointed that Airbnb couldn't see past the two months of reduced travel and massive cancellations.."

Two months?? That may have been the case for a small minority of the more fortunate hosts in some regions (and from your posts sharing how you personally really lost nothing because all your cancelled dates were rebooked and you've had a bonanza summer, it would appear that fortunate minority does include you), but hundreds of thousands of hosts around the world are now in month 7/8 of reduced/no travel in their cities/countries, and are still suffering massive cancellations and decimated income.

The Extenuating Circumstances policy has now been extended to Oct 15th, and is being further extended every two weeks, with no end in sight. And despite @Catherine-Powell's insistence on another thread to @Huma0 and @Ian-and-Anne-Marie0 that guests cancelling bookings made after March 14th must show documentation - in practice, that is absolutely not the case, and guests are still able to cancel on a whim by simply "attesting" (claiming) to be sick with Covid - no evidence necessary, as long as they are willing to accept a voucher and Airbnb gets to retain those funds (ie the host's payout) to pad out their pre-IPO financials.

This video is as much a PR exercise as Airbnb's "miraculous rebound" fairytale, or their skewed, manipulated data, or their laughable "pivoting to long-tern rentals" path-to-profitability narrative (when every host knows that accepting long-term rentals on Airbnb is a very risky prospect, for a number of reasons - no contract, no proper background checks, no back up from Airbnb if things go wrong, chance of not being paid, risk of squatters etc - and Airbnb's excessive service charges are a huge deterrent for guests)

And if the (long-term, ongoing, widespread) payments issue really was only affecting "a small number of hosts", then CNBC and the New York Times certainly wouldn't be reporting on it.

They can fool some of the people, some of the time but they can't fool all of the people, all of the time. 

[Ann72]

@Super47  Of course it's a PR exercise - every company's every public-facing expression is a PR exercise.  But the fact remains that these two women have been handed a giant pile of sh*t, and I doubt they've been handed big enough shovels.  The only way they'll be able to make a dent in that pile is with time, money, and staff.  If the impulsive 12-year-old who runs the company can be prevented from torpedoing their plans, they and we have a hope in hell.  I don't see any harm in being supportive to people who are making an effort.

The very nature of hosting on Airbnb means there are countless types of accommodation.  There is no point attacking a host for having one kind or another.  I mean, you can if you want, of course, but it might become like a game of Whack-A-Mole, with yet another type of lucky host popping up as soon as you've shot one down.

My approach to Airbnb hasn't changed since I began hosting:  use the platform as a tool to do things I don't have the marketing reach to achieve.  Smack down their constant attempts to control the way I run my own property.  Regard with a healthy side eye the "tools" they roll out (some useful, many thinly disguised ploys to manipulate hosts to kowtow to King Data).  Stay on the lookout for more effective platforms (I know many hosts who get more bookings from other platforms, but I haven't experienced that). 

Having run a successful small business in New York for 30 years - where believe me, darling, the throwing of shade is far from unheard of 🙂 - this kind of vigilance is just the norm for any business owner in a competitive and at times chaotic marketplace.

[Ian-And-Anne-Marie0]

@Ann72 

Of course it's a PR exercise - every company's every public-facing expression is a PR exercise.  But the fact remains that these two women have been handed a giant pile of sh*t, and I doubt they've been handed big enough shovels.

For 30 years in business, if you still swallow that waffle then you're still as gullible as year 1.

Blah, blah, blah... nobody takes a blind bit of notice of hosts - it doesn't matter what you say, how long it's said for, how many hosts say it or how many go bankrupt whilst saying it. If you think Airbnb took their eye off the ball for a couple of months, then you've been very lucky, sheltered, and missed out on the constant fallout worldwide that other hosts have been experiencing and primarily it has been Airbnb who caused it. Not only for those hosts they betrayed, but for themselves too. You most surely cannot be ignorant to all that?

Looking after number one is a typical New York trait, but don't berate hard working hosts by saying Airbnb lost its way for a couple of months... they spent up all the deposits they were supposed to be keeping - in trust - for hosts, they couldn't afford to pay them to hosts, they couldn't afford to pay them to guests and whilst still taking full service charges - they axed their service.! THAT two months was a long time ago now. Meanwhile - they continue to build new Experiences whilst continuing to let down their traditional 'roots' Home hosts they promised to support. Cast your gaze around THIS forum for the more placid messaging, then step out into the real world on the worldwide forums to see the havoc that they've caused.

Less waffle and more action is needed and they don't need smoke blowing up their asses and pretending they're doing something wonderful. Save that until at some point they do improve matters for their hosts as promised. No shovel is big enough to fix the long suffered existing problems, without digging through 'host workshops' to find more they'll never fix.

They need to stop the waffle, and start the action.

[Ann72]

@Ian-And-Anne-Marie0 

I don't expect any company to take care of me or my business.  For 30 years my business has been at the mercy of corporations that spit out the same kind of PR stuff as seen above.  I've learned to say Oh how nice, well done you, what clever ideas you have, and carry on doing what I do.  Those people come and go.  If they make a positive impact, fantastic.  

I think I know how I offended you.  I expressed admiration for strong women.

[Super47]

@Ann72

Strong women - real strong women, that is - stand for truth, integrity and fair, ethical treatment for all. Not for peddling puerile, self-serving propaganda for their paymasters, darling. 

[Ann72]

@Super47   Oh come on now, let's not fight.  It's not a zero-sum game here.  I like to learn from other points of view and I've learned from yours already.

[Ian-And-Anne-Marie0]

I liked your comment @Ann72 , primarily for your first paragraph but you couldn’t have got your deduction for your second paragraph much further wrong.

To save you speculating further, you offended me by your self serving  “I’m alright Jack” attitude.

After reading your last reply I’ve added ‘two-faced’ which I now consider more offensive. Not proven in the original post, but thanks for the direct confirmation.

I've learned to say Oh how nice, well done you, what clever ideas you have, and carry on doing what I do. 

[Katie]

@Ian-And-Anne-Marie0 @Ann72 @Super47 

Thanks for your comments here, and whilst you're more than welcome to discuss Airbnb, I can see this becoming a little personal, so please try to stick to the CC guidelines and keep it respectful.

[Ann72]

@Ian-And-Anne-Marie0  Thank you for the clarification.  I should have just asked you straight out instead of speculating in that somewhat clumsy fashion.

I'm sorry I offended you.

That bit you quote, I do actually feel that way and want them to succeed.  Like Professor Harold Hill from the most quintessentially American of all musicals, "I always think there's a band, kid."

[Catherine-Powell]

Hi @Ann72,

Thanks so much for your positive attitude; your faith in myself and @Tara-Bunch is really encouraging. We certainly are working very hard to make improvements based upon the feedback we are getting, and I look forward to continuing to share the progress we have made with you. It takes time and I appreciate your willingness to give us time! It was a pleasure meeting you at our workshop and I hope you and your business continue to thrive,

best wishes,

Catherine

[Ann72]

Thank you @Catherine-Powell.  It was a pleasure to meet you, too!  I very much enjoyed that workshop and hope there will be more. 

I believe in you and @Tara-Bunch.  Go get 'em.