A new way for guests to show you appreciation and encouragement

[Airbnb]

Hello everyone,

During this challenging time, we want to rekindle connections within our community and evoke memories of travel. Many guests have also asked for ways to support their favorite hosts. We’re delighted to share a new way for eligible guests to show appreciation or encouragement by sending personalized cards to past hosts who provided excellent hospitality during a stay or an Airbnb Experience. There is also an option to add a financial contribution that goes entirely to the host; Airbnb will not charge any fees.

How does this work?

There will be two parts to this program. 

The main part will be giving past guests the ability to send a virtual card with a personal message to prior hosts from stays or Airbnb Experiences they've rated 4 or 5 stars. In the coming weeks, eligible guests will receive an email from Airbnb informing them the feature is available. We hope these cards will make hosts smile, and bring a little joy to the guests, too. Here’s an example of a few cards hosts may receive.

The second part is that guests can attach an optional financial contribution to their card. 100% of the guests’ contribution goes directly to the host. Please note that the guests will not see any personal or financial information about the host other than their name, location, and dates of the past stay or experience. 

We heard from some hosts that they were concerned about the financial contribution element, so we've updated the program so hosts can opt-out of future contributions by going to their payments settings and turning the ‘allow contributions’ toggle to ‘off’. If a host receives a contribution they do not wish to keep, they have the option to donate an equal value to nonprofits, including those that are supporting COVID-19 responders. If hosts choose to decline future contributions, they may still receive cards if guests choose to send them. 

For more information - including how to automatically opt-out of future contributions, refer to our Help page. 

- Airbnb

*Have you received a card from a past guest? Share your story below!*

[Gordon0]

I'm afraid I said as much (in a non-smug way, @Ian-And-Anne-Marie0) in that listening sessions are before something happens, not after.  I'll be mortified to receive one of these 'cards', monstrously so.

The anonymity of the posting, above, speaks volumes.  

[Lawrene0]

Thanks for the tag, @Ian-And-Anne-Marie0 .

Yes, please, @Airbnb , allow us to opt out of this thing altogether. Completely.

Please.

Surely the people being solicited have lost as much and more. They will open that email and be furious. Rightly so.

Many of my guests are first-timers. Mine will be the only name on the list. That adds another layer of awfulness. 

There is no playbook for a global pandemic, so let's create one. First thing is to realize that "we're all in this together" is not an empty tagline. Hosts are no more affected than anyone else. 

Hosts are good at communicating. You've seen our stars. Leave us to it. Guests who wanted to talk to us about the pandemic have already been in touch. 

We've been through a lot. Please don't heap humiliation on top of it.

[Helen350]

Monster HUGS???? - I know it's an e-hug, but the climate has changed! 🙂

Still don't want any part of it.... My reaction to the above, now it's spelled out, & illustrated, is 2% 'How nice' & 98% CRINGE!

In the unlikely event that any past guest is thinking about me & wondering how I'm bearing up, they have permanent access to me via the message archives (I assume), just as I do them?

[Sarah977]

@Airbnb  Thanks for posting what guests will see. It does not make this host "smile". It makes me furious that you arrogantly and entirely ignored pages full of posts from hosts saying we wanted to be able to opt out of not only the contributions, but the cards as well.

We don't have to respond to getting a card? No, you know what I'm going to have to do now? I'm going to have to now waste my time sending out a mass email to all of my past guests telling them if they get this email, I would like them to ignore it as far sending one to me, that I loved hosting them and that as far as I'm concerned they were suitably appreciative at the time and that I find this initiative crass and cringe-worthy. And, they will also be informed that Airbnb did this over the objection of their hosts. 

@Airbnb, I resent having to apologize and explain on your behalf for a feature I wanted nothing to do with.

We want an option to opt out of all of it. I do not want my name to be sent to guests urging them to send me some useless, ugly card that you think is cute and means absolutely zero to me. My guests have already expressed their appreciation when they stayed with me.

Listen to your hosts, instead of pretending to listen!

[Louise0]

Why doesn't anyone at Airbnb have the guts to front up to senior management and tell them that THIS IS A BAD IDEA, A REALLY, REALLY BAD IDEA.  It makes Airbnb look bad, it makes hosts look bad.  Nothing good will come of this initiative and it will further harm the company's image.  Why can't Airbnb see that?  Why aren't they listening to us?  What's their real agenda?

[Ian-And-Anne-Marie0]

@Louise0 

What's their real agenda?

Right now, that's what I'm wondering.

[Sarah977]

@Louise0  I think the agenda was partly the touchy-feely sweetness and light image they love to promote, and the contribution part was to somehow take the heat off them for treating hosts so poorly around the COVID cancellations. 

None of which is working.

I imagine this initiative being brainstormed by 20 year olds who still sleep in ruffley pink canopy beds covered with stuffed animals.

[Ian-And-Anne-Marie0]

@Sarah977  @Louise0 

For instance, apart from the insensitivity of sending out a request to guests to send happy-clappy cards to hosts where there’s a distinct possibility of a death in the family, or a funeral in progress or the bailiff’s are being fought off, or the guest has just been made redundant from their work, the data capture possibilities of this could be quite sinister based on who gets chosen and who does not as recipients for cards:

It would after all be an easy option to include all previous hosts listed, but no, thats not done. Each and every host needs to be chosen individually, a note written and then onto the next... 

Airbnb might as well just ask "who was the best host you had over the last 5 years?"

[Sarah977]

@Ian-And-Anne-Marie0 Well, that goes right along with their Superhost grant doesn't it? They will choose who is worthy of receiving and who is not.

[Ian-And-Anne-Marie0]

Why @Sarah977 , shame on you, that would be measure of discrimination (again). They have shown they are capable of that already. It could well be a token of evaluation for almost anything if so wished.

OPT-OUT REQUIRED AND NECESSARY.

[Kris105]

I actually love this idea, Times are hard and my past guests return very often. They tip my cleaning crew and now can tip me. I am going through hard times and struggling to make ends meet. To all who look down at the money given by the fund or any donations please send it back to the fund maybe we can get it extended thento june 15. I would gladly accept any crumbs 

[Sarah977]

@Kris105  Those of us who are appalled by this idea do not want our guests to send us cards or donations. We are horrified by our guests being asked for donations. If you think it's a good idea, that's fine, but others want to opt out completely, not have guests send funds on our behalf or to receive funds from guests and then turn around and donate it to some fund. Which, it is likely you would never see a penny of, anyway.

I have a friend whose place, which she ran as a retreat center, where yoga and other instructors would book for them and their clients, was wiped out in a hurricane about 15 years ago- all her buildings were hugely damaged. As she is a super independent person, it was painfully difficult for her, but she sent out emails to all her past clients, telling them what had happened, along with photos, and asking for any financial assistance they were able to provide to get her back on her feet.

If a host wants to solicit their past guests for tips, or donations, or contributions, or whatever you want to call it, they are perfectly free to do that. And if you would feel shy about doing so, then saying you think its a great idea just means you'd prefer to have Airbnb hold out the begging bowl for you. 

But we shouldn't all be forced into this-it has zero to do with hosting, with safety, or anything that is their purview. Our relationship with our past guests is our business, not theirs to meddle in.

[Ian-And-Anne-Marie0]

The only voice of a guest on this thread @Trace386 who was expressing disgust at receiving an email from a host with a request for a redeemable financial contribution is deleted:

https://community.withairbnb.com/t5/Hosting/A-new-way-for-guests-to-show-you-appreciation-and-encour...

Her concerns about being able to feed her family trumps any sort of 'hint' at sending any donation or contribution to a host - for her, her visit in the past to an accommodation was a commercial transaction she barely remembered, and not a life event she thought impacted her.

Like @Lawrene0 we accommodate groups of newbies here who we 'train' in a nice way. To think a tentative relationship like that may subject the guest to the same distress expressed by Trace or other guests is worrying and unthinkable!  

This 'kindness card' promotion is just a crude way to 'poke' guests using and risking Hosts' reputations. Heck, We've had guests related to royalty here too who have stayed for family weddings. I don't think poking them will be particularly welcome, even less for Airbnb's reputation.

[Ian-And-Anne-Marie0]

Well, despite listening that an opt-out button was required, they plainly ignored hosts and just went and did it anyway. Welcome to the unwanted kindness cards being rolled out in your names.

@Stephanie @Lizzie  What is the point of you wasting our time with Listening Sessions if you don't listen ?

A deletion button was requested and is required for this crazy stunt rolling out since Tuesday..

@Lawrene0 @Eileen0 @Joan23 @Robbie54 @Sarah977 @Mike-And-Helen0 @Robin4 @Susan17 @Louise0 @Donald28 @Katrina79 @Juan63 @Colleen253 @Ute42 @Helen3 @Andrew0 @Jennifer1421 @Helen350 @Jean-François73 @Yadira22 @Jessica-and-Henry0 @Melodie-And-John0 @Sandra126 @Trace386 @Brisas-Kukulcan0 @Ian-And-Anne-Marie0 @Alba160 @Gordon0 @Paul60 @Alex1425 

[Margaret928]

You are absolutely joking!! Air b&b robbed us of our deposit for our holidays this year. €600 in total. The host kept our money and Air b&b kept changing their rules so they wouldn't have to pay out......Company has no customer service morals and are a disgrace. We will never deal with them again!!