In Case You Missed It: Review update, Host Guarantee & more

[Airbnb]

We’re excited to share what we’ve been working on over the past few months, from expanding our efforts to tackle inconsistent reviews (we heard your feedback!) to offering new promotional tools that can help your listing stand out. Read on to learn more.

A review update inspired by your feedback

Late last year, we announced a new tool to help address inconsistent reviews. Here’s how it worked: If a guest gave you a 5-star rating in each category (cleanliness, value, etc.) but 1, 2, or 3 stars overall, they’d get a prompt asking them if they wanted to correct that inconsistency.

We got lots of great feedback from hosts on the new tool, and some of you asked why we set the threshold at 3 stars or less—in other words, why wouldn’t a 4-star overall rating trigger the prompt if the guest gave 5 stars everywhere else? We heard you, and we’ve changed the system so that now, even a 4-star overall rating will trigger a prompt if the guest has given 5 stars in each of the specific categories.

With this update, we’re continuing our work to make reviews more relevant and useful for hosts and guests, and we look forward to sharing more changes later in the year.

New custom promotions to get your listing noticed

We recently rolled out our new custom promotions feature, which lets hosts choose their own date range and discount amount. Hosts who set custom promotions can get access to special perks, including:

• An eye-catching strikethrough price in search pages and on their listing (e.g. $100 $85/night)
• Special callouts on their listing page, and the discount clearly detailed in the price breakdown
• A spot in the emails that go out to guests who browsed their listing

If your dashboard doesn't currently show custom promotions as an option, it may be because you're in a location that isn't supported or because you've had fewer than three bookings in the past year. In the meantime, you can still offer deals to guests by setting a lower price for specific dates, or setting up weekly and monthly discounts.

Host Guarantee will soon cover damage by assistance animals

We know that assistance animals (which include service and emotional support animals) play a crucial role in the lives of many of our guests, and we appreciate your willingness to accommodate them. We also know that there are rare cases where an assistance animal causes damage to a host’s property, so in the coming months, we’ll be expanding our $1,000,000 USD Host Guarantee to cover those incidents. (Keep in mind that the Airbnb Host Guarantee is subject to certain terms, conditions, and exclusions—you can learn more about it here.) We hope this update helps bring peace of mind as you continue to welcome guests with different needs into your spaces.

As always, we’d love to hear your feedback on these changes in the comments below. We’ll continue to work on updates that help make hosting easier and more enjoyable for you, so stay tuned for more to come!

[Bijou3]

We are not pet friendly either but have made exceptions in the past for well trained dogs and always being really up front on no scratches,  sheeding, and being careful with furniture. So far never had an issue gladly. 

Hope this booking works for you  

[Leandra14]

Our house rules say no pets. We have made exceptions in the past once the guest is vetted and I know more about their pet. But I inform the guest that there will be an increase for the cleaning fee and the damage deposit in these instances.

[Dratch0]

hi ，Do you have any pets?

[Dawn43]

I learned this lesson when I was working as a flight attendant.  People would occasionally bring onboard their not always well behaved “comfort animals”. These pets are not as well trained as a seeing eye dog which is genuinely needed for the mobility of their human. I’d like to see Airbnb define the definition of what a service animal is vs a comfort animal. Guests should not have to pay pet fees for service animals but I personally think they should if they want to bring a comfort animal and pet policies should apply to those animals as well. 

[Katie---Sean0]

@Dawn43 – I totally agree with you, but I'm pretty sure that hosts are not allowed to ask if it's a Service Animal, or Emotional Support (Comfort) Animal. I think this is not just Airbnb policy but also federal and state law. 

[Dawn186]

The law is that you are allowed to ask 2 questions....1. Is it a service animal.  2. What tasks is it trained for? 

Of course people can lie, but that is the law.

[Kari72]

Just out of curiousity, I am allergic to dogs.  I have gotten allergy shots and take medication so I don't get sick around  non hypoallergenic dogs.  Do we have to allow a service dog?

[Victoria471]

depends if you live in the space you are renting out or a stand alone rental

[Rosh100]

A service animal should have a certificate of completion of specialized training.

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@Dawn186 wrote:

The law is that you are allowed to ask 2 questions....1. Is it a service animal.  2. What tasks is it trained for? 

Of course people can lie, but that is the law.

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[Diane34]

not 8n c9lorado they draw the line only service animals are allowed in restaurants venues etc. people drag their emotional support dogs around and expect equal treatment. We do not allow emotional support animals in any public events here in colorado nor are we expected to do so. Service dogs Have to be let in by law. Now I am curious which states have similar law.

if I get an emotional support dog or cat I am going to insist they stay in the garage. My guest can stay out there with them if they want...just saying people and their pets...

[Betty345]

Agreed

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[Kit11]

I agree that getting recompensed from the HG for damage caused by two-legged guests is like getting blood from a stone.  They seem dedicated to guests, but not much loyalty to hosts. That's too bad and one of the reasons I may take a long break from hosting...I only asked once recently and I had to pay for the damages myself.  Not right...

[Sandy568]

Yes, it’s unfortunate that many claim to have a service animal but they don’t have one that has  be properly trained and licensed. In Canada, a valid service animal license is issue which then allows them to ride planes, enter stores etc. From first hand experience I know that these licensed dogs would not cause damaged. Maybe people should be required to provided a valid service animal license just like guests need to provide proof of identity. 

[Tracy595]

I too am glad about this!  I entailed several damaged items in my home from a 4 night stay from a service dog/owners. I had (my bad) already returned most of the pet deposit before the cleaning service notified me that there was a lot more damage than originally thought 

[Dawn186]

They were not 'real' service dogs then.  So many people are lying and scamming,  making it harder on the true SD owners!