ABB are you showing home shares the door?

[Robin129]

I'm just really frustrated with ABB's focus on absentee host facilities. 

I am a home share host. I share my home with guests. I don't live off site. I am not an absentee host. I welcome my guests into my home. I feel that ABB has regulated me, and hosts like me, to the dust bin. 

I get reminders to tell guests I have a refrigerator, iron, and all kinds of things that they might need if staying in a hotel. My guests don't wash their laundry or cook their meals. 

I'm sorry. I know I am venting/ranting. I've been with ABB a long time and see them moving more and more away from the home share experience to a more corporate hotel hybrid type stay. I joined up to share a room in my home. At first it was nice. Now, not so much.

[Catherine-Powell]

Hi @Robin129,

Nice to hear from you again and your home sounds so lovely! I understand and see why you want to see different categories that are more tailored. During our launch earlier this month, we announced nearly 60 Airbnb categories, and we will continue adding to this growing list as we can. The good news is that these categories are also grouped into themes, like the home's location and nearby activities in proximity (such as snowboarding or swimming).

That said, I am also going to take your feedback about what you note as a far too generic "homes" category name. This is great feedback. Thank you for sharing it.

Warmly,

Catherine

[Erich15]

At the beginning it was an partnership where ABB offered the means to communicate with guests.

Now it is more like you are an employee to ABB and they tell you how and when to do stuff.

But without the advantage of an regular income.

I am not sure if i still want to use ABB because the poking to lower rental prices (ours are laready more below minimal wage so to say) the poking to add more features, the demands on the rooms (it IS an 100 year old log house and there will be dust, sood (wood heating).

The demands for four star professionalism ABB has by now while offering for an "sleep on my couch price" is not funny anymore.

[Christine615]

@Erich15 

if Airbnb continues to control the identities of guests, the credit card transactions, etc…and continues to demand hosts follow an ever changing set of arbitrary rules, they may find themselves considered and “employer” in some states like Uber and Lyft. Either hosts are in charge and Airbnb is a pass through agency or we’re not.

I long for the day when Airbnb was about getting to know guests versus and anonymous transaction involving strangers and available bed space. 

[Gillian166]

this reminds me of the "publisher Vs platform" argument in regard to FB, twitter and youtube. So far, the silicon valley companies are getting it all their way.... 

[Sarah977]

@Catherine-Powell 

"Oh I love that you shared this comment. Venting is good! I assure you, our core Hosts remain the very center of our business."

If the reality of how Airbnb deals with hosts reflected the rhetoric of what you claim to be the case, your "core hosts" would have no need to vent here. 

[Kitty-and-Creek0]

@Catherine-Powell  @Sarah977 

The latest as of February 10th, 2022 and basically unchanged: Mendocino County Health Officer Dr. Andy Coren continues to order masking in most indoor settings due to current COVID-19 cases and hospitalization numbers.

“We will continue to assess the COVID-19 situation as it evolves and will reevaluate the need for continued universal masking orders on March 15, 2022, based on community transmission and burden to the local hospital system. For now, continued masking will protect our residents as we are still at the highest CDC risk level.” -Dr. Andy Coren

[Suzanne302]

There is 100% a market for those who CHOOSE to spend their dollars locally. When I travel, I avoid chains (as much as possible) and prefer to give my money to local businesses. Oh how I wish someone would set up a booking platform that only accepts homeshare hosts and individuals hosting entire homes. I understand that a "worldwide" platform would be necessary (so obviously the platform isn't "local"), but I would rather seek out something like that than to book an Airbnb listing that actually belongs to a company with hundreds of properties.

[Gillian166]

there used to be a bnb site, for actual bnb's. you know, where you stayed in a home and you were given breakfast. This was before ABB but i remember using it once when travelling in the UK. 

[Robin129]

@Suzanne302 I agree 100 percent!

[Robin129]

Thank you, everyone, for your comments and the conversation. I mentioned to most of you I don't visit the community center much. I do appreciate your input. Now I'm going to hop over to the posts regarding this "new and improved" search and category nonsense. 

[Anonymous]

@Robin129   Just revisiting this topic since the new re-design has added a category for Shared Homes. It grazes up against what @Sarah977  was talking about  - so in that sense, well done Airbnb for implementing a CC member's suggestion after banning her for life.

Unfortunately, this is yet another totally botched execution of a good idea. For one thing, both times I tested out the "shared home" category filter, the first search results were actually not homes at all but hotel and hostel rooms. WTF Airbnb? This is why it was really dumb to have categories decided by bots rather than hosts.

Also, the results are displayed without the hosts' listing titles. As a result, every one of them defaults to the same title:  "Private Room in [district]." In the small print it shows the name of the host, but no thumbnail image of the profile. So the results screen is just a generic block of photos of beds and sofas, with none of the character and individuality that make homestays appealing to guests. I was also rather surprised that, without price filters activated, several of the first-page results had absurd prices - like €685 per night for a single bedroom in a shared apartment. Has the algorithm identified a special market of guests who want a homestay so badly that they're spending more than a suite at the Ritz?

The crazy thing is that this is Airbnb's original product, and yet they don't seem to have any idea how to sell it anymore. 

[Mark116]

@Anonymous  I find that all the searches I've done recently tend to show either extremely expensive spaces, at more than $400 a night or cheap shared spaces.  The vast middle area where most travelers would fall into has to be sussed out by trying a variety of ingenious search filters.  Exactly the opposite of how it should be.  What a strange company, I'd love to see some footage of their board meetings, I expect it would be hilarious is a tragic way.

[Robin129]

@Anonymous I did not initially find the "shared home" category. In fact, if I search West Virginia, USA, "I'm flexible" and "2 adults" I don't get "shared home" as an option. I DO get it on a blank page.  My listing will show up if I zoom in to my general area (but I know where I am) under "house"  but not under "bed and breakfast." 

And yes, the first things are the ultra high dollar (euro) options. 

[Suzanne302]

@Anonymous 

100% everything you said.

I found it odd, too, in my area there are homeshares for $200+/night! Granted some of these are on/close to the beach, but I'd never seen them before in list results, and also, you can get a hotel room and even a condo, for the same price or a bit more than the homeshares listed. It was bizarre.