Airbnb Directed Share Program – confusing email – are we in or not?

[Katie---Sean0]

I just received a confusing email that begins “Thanks for your interest in Airbnb’s Directed Share Program” but doesn’t state anywhere whether we’re in the program or not.

We applied/signed up the day that the program was first announced and hosts were invited.

I replied to the email asking for clarification, but it comes back undeliverable.

How do I find out if we’re in… or not?

Katie

(apologies if this is posted/covered elsewhere, I couldn’t find anything on this)

@Catherine-Powell 

[Sharon1014]

Hi @Katie---Sean0 .  See this thread Airbnb IPO Launch Date and Expected Share Price - Airbnb Community (withairbnb.com) .  The thread is on the front face page of the CC but you have to scroll down past all the Xmas pic threads to get to it.  Not sure why your enquiry came back undeliverable.  It might have been a "no reply" email that you responded to.

[Katie---Sean0]

@Sharon1014 interesting thread, thanks for the link. But I'm still in the dark about whether I've been accepted to participate in the Directed Share Program that Airbnb invited hosts to sign up for. As they often do, Airbnb sent out a confusing message with the most important piece of information missing 😬

[Michelle53]

@Katie---Sean0    Here's a link to the pre-registration info posted by Airbnb.

https://www.airbnb.com/d/airbnbs-directed-share-program-pre-registration

The relevant section is this :-

"If you successfully pre-registered, program capacity permitting, you will receive an invitation email from the Administrator—the broker-dealer who is administering the Directed Share Program. Before that happens, we will send you an email identifying the Administrator and informing you that an email is headed your way."

The Administrator is Morgan Stanley. Communication regarding the program application would be coming from them, not from Airbnb. 

[Katie---Sean0]

@Michelle53 – I don't know why folks responding here are missing the point, I thought I explained it clearly – Airbnb sent out a confusing message, that was the point 😂 – but I do sincerely appreciate other folks pointing me to the information I'm looking for, thank you.

[Michelle53]

@Katie---Sean0  Well, my guess would be, without seeing the body of the email, and knowing whether or not you set up an account with Morgan Stanley, that a non-specific email that says "Thank you for your interest" would likely indicate you aren't in. 

The original sign-up in November was for the purposes of registering interest only, and to send one's contact information to the program administrator. Not everyone was invited to apply. The application process is on the program administrator's website. 

[Katie---Sean0]

@Michelle53 this is the email I'm talking about here, which arrived yesterday. This is the only communication I've received from Airbnb since originally signing up when they sent the invitations out to hosts. I didn't receive anything saying I should set up an account with Morgan Stanley otherwise I'd have done that. So my confusion is... I was invited to sign up so I did. Then the next thing I've heard is this email that isn't clear whether I'm in or not. And nothing in-between 🙂 

[Helen213]

It you did not receive an email to open an account with Morgan Stanley, than you are not in.  I was invited to submit an application last week & did it asap. By the next morning I was told the program closed due to overwhelming response.

[Michelle53]

@Katie---Sean0  If you didn't receive any communication from the program administrator, you aren't in. 

[Katie---Sean0]

@Michelle53 that's good to know, and answers my question. Thank you for taking the time to help me understand what's going on, appreciate it.

[Aubrey45]

What a big disappointment! I was soo excited when I received the first email to register which I did ASAP and even called AirBnB for more

information and was told wait for more email

informational. Finally one arrived saying Thank you for your interest. Yuk this was not what I expected as we are Super Hosts and pre

qualified to at least buy a small piece of our beloved AirBnB which we all proudly work together to make it prosper and shine. 😂

[Katie---Sean0]

@Aubrey45– I agree. As a superhost for 2 years who also signed up as fast as you did, I was expecting to be included. What I found so weird about the whole thing was hearing absolutely nothing until the odd email saying nothing more than "thank you for your interest" which I took to mean "you're not in" but it didn't actually explicitly say this. All... very... odd.

[Michelle53]

@Katie---Sean0 @Aubrey45   Superhost status was not a criterion for invitation to participate.  Tenure was a consideration, if the interest exceeded the size of the program. 

This is from the original email on November 16th (Pre-Registration, not actual registration, which came later by invitation) :-

"Here are some important details:

** The number of shares available at the IPO price is limited. Receiving this message and completing the form is only the first step in the process and does not guarantee that you will be able to participate.*

** If more Hosts express an interest in participating than the program is able to accommodate, eligible Hosts may be invited to register by the Administrator based on tenure, as determined by the year they first hosted on Airbnb. Registration will be available on a first come, first served basis, by invitation from the Administrator.*

** When the program reaches capacity, registration with the Administrator will be closed. If this occurs before you complete the registration steps you will not be able to participate.*

** Program capacity permitting, Hosts who complete the above form will receive information about the program directly from the Administrator in the coming weeks. By submitting the form, you consent to us sharing your responses with the Administrator.*"

[Sarah977]

While it doesn't say explicitly "you're not in", it doesn't sound confusing to me at all- it's a pretty clear rejection letter.

@Katie---Sean0

[Bob377]

I'm totally bummed by the way this apparently was handled. I respect the fact that participation had to have limits to the enrollment.  But I heard on NPR this morning that one host was able to purchase 2000 shares!  I, like so many others reporting here, registered immediately, we are super hosts with 100% 5-star reviews, but then heard NOT ONE WORD until the aforementioned "thanks for your interest" email.

If they had put a much lower limit on # if shares available to each host, they could have "spresd the wealth" across a [much?] wider portion of the host community. I feel like I got robbed of an opportunity that I was 100% committed to. :--(((