Officially introducing the members of Airbnb’s Host Advisory Board

[Airbnb]

*Posted live: December 16th

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.

[Bonnie-And-Nilda0]

I would like to be able to require government ID, driver’s license etc even if I do not use Instant Book. I would like to know about perspective guests prior to the booking. I feel it is difficult to call and say you don’t feel comfortable with a guest after they flew to your destination and are at your door. I do not like Instant Book as I believe it is better to know who is coming than not to know. This is important in Condominiums and vertical properties with shared common elements. It is better not to become a nuisance to your neighbors and is certainly more considerate, if you know and look into who is going to reside in your apt. It also prevents legal problems and is better for the Airbnb image. Please consider. I do not do short stays and have been happy with my experience but feel I am being forced to use Instant Book which I do not wish to do. Thanks for your consideration in this matter.

[Lizzie]

Thanks so much @Bonnie-And-Nilda0  for your feedback here. It's great to hear you have ideas already and I know this has been discussed a little bit in the Community Center between hosts before. 

From January onwards when the board members start to meet, we will also share the best ways for you to share your ideas with the board. As you can imagine, we want to make sure we can make it as easy for the board members to gather all the great ideas and feedback from the community (which includes across multiple languages).

We'll keep you and other hosts updated on this from the new year. 

Thanks again for sharing this and here's to 2021. 🙂

Lizzie

[Barbara-and-Joe0]

I am thrilled with the new global advisory board and looking forward to educational communications. I agree with knowing more about prospective guests prior to booking. For safety reasons I do not do instant bookings and glad this option is available. I had a guest come in with 3 adults and one child when my rental specified  2 adults only with one queen bed. 

Thank You AIRBNB for this new advisory board.

All the best to all in the New Year2021.

[Anne1005]

Last minute bookings should have special dispensations to allow the host to cancel with NO punitive action from Airbnb on ANY account.

Free of  reviews Free of  reduction in payment  Free of all Punitive ACTIONS 

NO punitive action on any account for cancelling any time of the DURATION of the stay.

Because a dialogue has not been set up to establish just who the host is preparing the scene for.

Who the Host is preparing the home for is one of the most important parts of our Hosting business. 

 We hosts NEED to know when we prepare the scene just Who and where they come from hot or cold ,How they arrive Are they legal are they isolating do they have a disease .These things can all be sussed out by  great hosts. I have hosted for 30 years it is a great skill to glean information tactfully but amazing how much can be got is a short time but last minute bookings can hide all of these questions if they are  going to be difficult customers .

I have just had a booking I had 10 seconds from the booking until a phone call came demanding the address the heating status where she could eat. but she lied about where she was travelling from and more lies. then silence until she was on the doorstep. she asked for a refund. Broke a bed etc it was a 30-hour saga for me and a member of staff and a member of Airbnb staff. that was a big waste of time and that equates to money in any business we got nothing but a terrible 30 hours. she left at night after I threatened the police . That frightened her so what was she up to 

[Mary996]

@Anne1005

I believe it is the case that we can cancel Instant Book guests without penalty. Or is there a proposal to change this? I'm not aware of any proposal to force us to accept IB's.

[Kimberly-B0]

This is because they are trying to make hosts safe but also make sure people are not discriminating against each other.  I always require on line ID.  Not only for my safety but for the safety of other guests.

[Pauline422]

I also prefer not to use instant book and have always felt it would be far better to know who our guests are! They are staying in our home, after all. Just knowing they are from England, etc. is not good enough and the pandemic has highlighted this issue. What about track and trace as this is not possible at the moment?  Changes do need to be made by Airbnb please.

[Tamara2]

@Airbnb I have a similar problem as @Ann72 I have been writing to Airbnb via feedback for 8 years about this. Noone should be able to instant book or book at all, without first verifying their ID and having a verified clear profile picture of themselves. Moreover, same way as noone can check into a hotel without a receptionist checking their passports or other ID, noone should be allowed in any apartment without verifying themselves with a host. This would ensure a greater protection of our properties from scammers, booking on behalf 3rd parties,  illegal parties (especially now in lockdown), etc. If Airbnb listened to hosts all those years ago we wouldn’t have the hostility towards Airbnb in big cities like London and 90-day limits imposed. Many of us have been saying that the decision to hide guest picture from host before booking was unbelievably irresponsible. This is how Airbnb ruined its own reputation and put us hosts at risk.  Let’s see if you start listening to us hosts now for real or is this advisory board just for show. I am sceptical. 

[Mary996]

Agree @Tamara2  to photo and ID being visible for a guest pre instant booking. But I thought it was?

[Ben3758]

I have no idea how to contact my “community’. How do I speak to others at Airbnb other than the help chat in the app? Would be nice to know how to get in touch. 

[Ann72]

@Ben3758  I think you just did!  Welcome to the community forum 🙂

[Nick]

👏👏👏 nailed it @Ann72 

Welcome on the Community Centre @Ben3758 

[Bez8]

@Ben3758 

I'm also from Vancouver. Send me a message and we will get you connected to the official Airbnb Vancouver Facebook group. 

[Ben3758]

Sounds great - **

**[Sensitive information removed in line with - Community Center Guidelines]

[Katie]

Hey @Ben3758, I'm afraid I've had to remove the link you shared to your social profile for your own safety. We don't allow sensitive or personal information to be shared publicly in the Community Center, but you can send a DM instead (just click on someone's name and you will see the option to do this on their profile). 😊