Suspended Experiences

[Snehal4]

I am an Airbnb host, and my Experiences have been suspended. I have 850+ reviews on my 61 Airbnb experiences, with an average rating of 4.8+. I am not sure what to do. @Catherine-Powell 

[David9605]

My experiences are also suspended. My experiences received 325+ reviews, with an average rating of 4.7+. @Catherine-Powell 

[Megan1064]

I love the self guided tours.  I am glad Airbnb showed them to me as an option.  We learned a lot about Ek Balam and could listen to the recording later to revisit parts we couldn't quite remember.  Please tell me why you cancelled these Airbnb 

[Zack165]

Hi - I did one of David's self-guided tours and found it a delightful experience. His audio guide for the tour was informative and the tour itself, being self-guided, was stress-free for both me and my friend (who also had a great time). I'm not sure why his experiences have been suspended, but as I would gladly do another one, I hope this decision will be reversed.

[Kanika9]

Hello! 
David’s self-guided tour for the boston freedom trail single-handedly reduced the anxiety surrounding my trip. This tour allowed for me to complete an activity in the city on my own time and pace, something I will always prioritize over “host led” tours or activities where you HAVE to go at someone else’s pace. I find it incredibly ridiculous that his experiences are being shut down as they have offered so many people options for tourism (something they would NOT have without people like David, and others in this thread). 

Without people like David and the experiences he provides Airbnb would be lackluster and filled with experiences catered to a specific group of people. As a UX designer working in tech I find this extremely disappointing and worrisome. Airbnb should do better about understanding their audiences and what they actually want to see on this platform. 

I am hoping that this message will be received well as I want to see David succeed and continue to provide for himself doing something he has put A LOT of time and effort into. The guide is perfect and the reviews are there to support that! 

[Anita1139]

Hi!

I had a great experience following 2 of David’s tours.

As a lone traveller the cost / risk of finding a quality local guide (if not through a recognised resource such as Airbnb) felt high in Mexico. On both occasions I used David’s guide, I had not been able to find an appropriate in person option. I was a heavy user of Airbnb experiences during a sustained period of travel in Mexico and valued David’s service as highly (or higher than) several of the in person offers.

I first used David’s service for Coba. I fully understood at the time of booking that he wouldn’t be there in person (maybe this is the issue Airbnb are trying to address?). The interactive guide was far superior to taking a book, and more reliable & intuitive than hoping for web access (& time to navigate it) on site.

I would encourage Airbnb to shift attention to the less scrupulous hosts, eg

- those acting as agents for other businesses (incl. where costs are higher if booked through Airbnb). This should be excluded or signalled as a separate type of offer. 
- ‘chancers’ - I have provided feedback on 1 provider who provided a very poor service (& remains active, despite minimal bookings / a mix of ‘disappointed’ feedback) - no safety measures, no alternatives in poor / unsafe conditions, misinformation.

[Beverly230]

I'm not familiar with "David's" but i am a super host because I'm very hands on and have remained a super host since 2016 because guest feel taken care of. As for fee's most guest are highly unhappy with the absorbing it these Airbnb charges out great service from. They have outsourced much of their support to countries in a different time zone. This makes getting anything done in a timely manner extremely Challenging. If not impossible 

[Beverly230]

I want to make sure I understand, are you saying that you are not receiving bookings or standard views either? 

[David9605]

Hello, @Beverly230 .

I'm not getting any bookings because they suspended my Airbnb experiences.

[Helen3]

Have they told you why @David9605 ? 

[Bhumika]

Hello @Snehal4 and @David9605 ,

Welcome to the Community Center, I appreciate you sharing your concerns here with us! 

Regarding the suspension, can you please confirm if you have received an email from Airbnb about it? If so, my understanding is that – if you believe your Experience meets all Experiences standards and requirements – you can submit an appeal through a link provided in the message.

I assume you’re aware of these already, but I’m sharing here the Airbnb Standards and Requirements for everyone’s reference. 

I hope everything gets clarified for you. Experiences is such an important part of Airbnb!

PS: Please bear in mind we’re not a support or escalation channel, so we’re unable to look into specific issues ourselves. 

Bhumika

Can’t find what you’re searching for? start a conversation

[Stephanie2476]

@Bhumika , you're joking, right?

It is common knowledge there is NO transparency when listings are suspended.
It is common knowledge AirBNB does not provide ANY information as to what the issue is.

Social media is FULL of host despair wondering what happened, why is it happening and why they can't reach someone, ANYONE to explain the problem because the CS reps hide behind their anonymous computer screens and say, "Sorry, we can't discuss this with you."

Honestly, I see a huge class-action lawsuit if AirBNB continues to screw with host's livelihoods without due process because these behaviors are grade-A 100% *bleep*. 

AirBNB allows guests to run rampant breaking rules and laws and they *might* get suspended. MIGHT.  A host who is a proven, long term asset receives one made up complaint from a guest and AirBNB torpedoes them.  That's called being a hypocrite.

There is a reason that AirBNB is receiving constant negative press. And it's not all from the hotel industry. AirBNB alienating their own hosts is a huge factor. Please be sure to "pass that along to the relevant team".

[Helen3]

Hello @Stephanie2476 

Interesting you talk about CS hiding behind anonymous screens. Yet you are doing the same. You have a blank profile appearing to be neither a host nor a guest and have a photo of a bird as your profile photo. 

Having said that,  there are many issues with Airbnb suspending hosts on the say so of guests with no evidence when it's clear the guests are making retaliatory accusations because they have been caught out damaging a listing, partying or bringing more guest than are on the booking.

It always surprises me that hosts who rely on their STR business income for their livelihoods use Airbnb as their sole marketing channel. The only way Airbnb will change their policy of suspending hosts on the say so of guests is for hosts to vote with their feet and use other platforms.

[Bhumika]

Hello @Stephanie2476 ,

We appreciate you being vocal about concerns from fellow hosts -  we are aware that listing suspensions have been subject to broader discontent and I can assure you that this is being looked at.

Regarding this particular issue, which concerns Experiences as opposed to Listings, I have updated my response to add more context to their situation.

I spoke to the team behind Experiences, and they have mentioned that, in the above cases,a specific email has been sent out explaining the reasons for suspension and further steps which can be taken if the Host feels otherwise.

Hope this sheds some light into the specific concerns shared by David and Snehal. 

Bhumika
Can’t find what you’re searching for? start a conversation

[Fred13]

@Stephanie2476  "I see a huge class-action lawsuit if AirBNB continues to screw with host's livelihoods.."

Making a successful living renting out your personal property and choosing Airbnb to achieve that goal (in part or exclusively) does not then constitutes a legal right that it is now their responsibility to make sure you succeed and not cause you economic harm by their decisions.

Having said that, communication is indeed important for people to understand each other. The suspension of an account does merit at the very least an honest explanation why. It is only fair.