How Can I Opt Out of "Contributions to Hosts" ?

[Jennifer1421]

As part of the help and support to hosts announced by Brian Chesky yesterday, one of the initiatives announced was that Airbnb will be sending emails to previous recent guests, asking them to consider making a contribution to the host they stayed with.

I do not want/need anything sent on my "behalf" to previous guests, asking for donations/contributions.

How can I opt out? Guidance very much appreciated...

[Sarah977]

I just sent a message to support asking:

A. If hosts click "decline", will our guests not receive these solicitations? or

B. Will they be sent them with an acompanying notice that we decline contributions? or

C. If they send a contribution even though we have declined to receive them, will the contribution be retained by Airbnb?

The CS rep, surprise, surprise, had no idea what I was talking about, and even though I stated my questions clearly and simply, and answered her question about where I was seeing this feature, she then asked if this was to do with the 25% payouts (face palm). 

She was polite, though and at least didn't send me a cut-and-paste response, and has passed this on to another "team". I'll report back if and when I get a reply.

@Lizzie  Can you get an answer to these questions, which I'm sure other hosts also want the answers to?

[Sarah977]

@Susan17 Where have they buried this information you posted re the notice that is sent to guests?

[Sarah977]

Okay folks, I finally got an answer to the questions I posted above:

A. If hosts click "decline", will our guests not receive these solicitations? or

B. Will they be sent them with an accompanying notice that we decline contributions? or

C. If they send a contribution even though we have declined to receive them, will the contribution be retained by Airbnb?

I was reluctant to "opt out" until I got some answers, because I didn't want my guests sending a contribution, only for it to end up in Airbnb's coffers because I had declined to accept contributions.

Here are the answers I received from CS (unfortunately the screenshot cut off the left side, but it's all readable):

[Helen350]

@Sarah977 This does not answer the question?? - Or is it just me?

[Sarah977]

@Helen350  Yes, it answers the questions for me, assuming that the supervisor gave me the correct info. I was just wanting to make sure that the guest would be prevented from sending us contributions by seeing that we've opted out- I didn't want them to be sending contributions through Airbnb, then Airbnb seeing, oh, this host has opted out, so we get to keep the money.

[Helen350]

@Sarah977 OK, I think I was flummoxed by the bad/foreign English! And the way your questions were repeated; I thought that was an answer, not a question!

I've re-read... So I can be confident that if I opt out, no guest will even be asked if they want to send money to me? And my name will not appear in connection with any requests? And nothing goes to airbnb coffers cos I declined to accept? So those of us on this thread can breathe easy, - once we've found the opt out button?

[Sarah977]

@Helen350  Yes, that's how I read the answers. And yes, the bad English and the format she replied in made it difficult to read. 

I wouldn't say you should breathe altogether easy, though- hosts on a different forum have said they turned it off yesterday, and it was on again by default today, so I guess we'll have to keep checking it.

[Susan17]

@Jennifer1421 @Helen350 @Sarah977 @Huma0 @Jessica-and-Henry0 et al

Apologies for the slow response guys (especially to @Sarah977!), I don't receive notifications when I'm tagged, and only see these threads as they come up on my feed when I'm online on the CC, or when I go searching for them.

So to answer your questions - I received the articles I posted from a contact within Airbnb a couple of days ago, and besides the tab on the Dashboard (as per screenshot above), I'm pretty sure he mentioned that the "How It Works" articles are posted in the Help Centre, under the heading "Community" something or other, I think. He mentioned it would be going live "within days", but possibly piloted in certain markets first before full rollout. 

The information I was given was slightly different to the response Sarah received from the CX agent. To the best of my knowledge, even if the host does turn off the option to accept contributions, guests will still be contacted and asked if they wish to send the host a "kindness card", with the option of including a "donation".  There will be a notification informing them if the host has chosen not to accept contributions "for personal reasons", which will apparently prevent the guest from sending funds. Whether or not that notification will be immediately apparent and clearly visible to guests, without them having to hunt around for it, is anyone's guess. (I've asked my contact to try and get the template that the guest will see on their side for me, but he's off for the weekend now (and doesnwork in that dept either), so it may be a couple of days before I get hold of it.

The toggle for receiving funds is set to "On" by default, so no doubt there will be thousands of hosts opting in to this hare-brained scheme, who are blissfully unaware of its existence.

The general consensus in relation to the Guest Contribution programme - both inside and outside of Airbnb - appears to be an equal measure of dumbfoundedness, disgust and scepticism. Not a single person I've spoken with is supportive of it, and even with the supposed "opt-out of receiving contributions" option, suspicions of an ulterior motive remain sky-high. I guess we'll just have to wait and see it in action, before we can draw our conclusions. 

[Sarah977]

@Susan17  Thanks for the info. Yes, it's always the question, isn't it, how sneakily Airbnb will hide things, like guests seeing that the host has opted out. Will be interested if you can get a copy of what the guest will see on their end. Or maybe some hosts here who have also travelled as guests will get them and post it here.

[Jennifer1421]

@Susan17 

This whole ill-conceived notion is cringe-worthy. A "kindness card"?? WTF does that even mean? I'm so deeply embarrassed that my previous guests are going to receive this email, likely with my smiling face plastered over it (wholly without my express permission, but no doubt allowable under the highly dodgy TOS) that I'm giving some serious consideration to pre-empting it with a message to my past guests apologizing for it in advance.

Would a system generated email sent to guests thanking them for their past use of the service not have been enough to resurface the brand in user's minds? Do they really need to drag hosts, personally, by name, into their idiotic marketing ploys?

Ah well, at least we're able to opt out of the begging portion.

Anyway, I must hurry to send a "kindness card" to my municipality for picking up my rubbish in exchange for the taxes I've paid them.

[Susan17]

@Jennifer1421 

"I'm so deeply embarrassed that my previous guests are going to receive this email, likely with my smiling face plastered over it"

Perhaps they'll ask us to upload new profile pics, with our hair all mussed up, dirt all over our sad faces, barefoot and with our hand outstretched - a la Oliver Twist.. 😰

[Jennifer1421]

@Susan17Ah, yes - and with a little cartoon bubble issuing from our sad, downcast mouths asking if we can "have some more".

It would be interesting to find a way to delve into how much return-guest business hosts lose in future over this - even for hosts who are able to act on the opt-out option for requests for money. I was generally enjoying 20% of my business being returning guests. Don't like my odds on keeping that up. If there's even a market for short terms stays left after this, that is...

[Ria16]

As many of us have been guests in the past at various times  I would be keen to see the email that Air sends out.  

[Susan17]

@Ria16

I requested that the templates of exactly what the guest sees on their side be uploaded on the other thread posted by @Airbnb on this issue, in order to dispel any confusion, speculation or misunderstandings.

However - despite the Help Articles on the subject being completed and published on the site over two weeks ago, and despite  the jubilant little thread on "how guests can show their appreciation" being posted last week - the templates for the notifications that the guest will see have (allegedly) still to be finalised, and we'll have to wait to join some "listening session" or other (for which no date has yet been given), in order to view them. 

[Sandra126]

@Jessica-and-Henry0 , it's not showing as option for me, possibly because acc is snoozed? Hope I don't have to do anything else.