Airbnb's new direction.

[Robin4]

I took part in one of the hosting workshop meetings this morning, and I don't envy the job of the moderators in setting up this Host Advisory Board which is being so vigorously touted.

I would say, the reaction from the group was.....cool. We would love to see it happen, it sounds good but, we have been down this path before.

Each year since I have been associated with Airbnb the CEO comes out with one of these 'hosting path to glory' statements which seems to be designed to quell unrest amongst the ranks. We take the company at his word and wait for the promised assistance, support and benefits......and we wait.....and we wait! But each year we see our job as hosts become more difficult, less transparent, more of our hosting tools disappear and meaningful support being harder to get.

* Once upon a time I used to see a picture of every guest before they booked, even if it was simply an enquiry. To use the Airbnb platform guests had to supply an image identifiable with a current drivers licence or passport. A guest can get away with a dog on the beach, or a favourite pot plant, or even a generic grey alphabet letter in a circle these days.

* I used to be able to log-on and from the drop down menu go straight to my inbox to respond to a message. I now have to access 'Manage Listings' and from there in the toolbar, go to my inbox!

* All the information relating to a booking used to be on the message page. Payment details top left, then guest photo, address and contact details, then a calendar to see how the booking related to others in that month bottom left with the message stream on the right......no scrolling between different pages........

Oh to have the simplicity and downright user friendliness of that page again. Nobody that I am aware of asked for that format to be changed, it worked well.....that was probably its problem! 

* My statistics used to give me an accurate way of tracking my hosting progress. My 'Views' page showed me not just how many views I had in the past 30 days but, also how many bookings and on what days those bookings were  made.....

I used to be able to accurately track my star ratings. I could see how many stars I had in each category at a glance just by clicking an arrow in that category.....

These tools which were valuable to me as a host have been taken away and I am now bombarded with promotional tips on every aspect of my listing that are designed to send me bankrupt in order to satisfy Airbnb's algorithm.......

 I can see a Host Advisory Board as a good thing if it can be a place where hosts feedback can be gathered, correlated and suggestions put to the company that will be acted on instead of simply being ignored as they have been in the past. Surely management must see why we are not leaping out of our skins with enthusiasm.......This is a path well traveled!

We have had lots of words, now lets see if Mr Chesky is going to be true to his word this time!

As the Jeep ad says....'I'm in'..... but I wish the moderators luck, turning the ship around and getting hosts on board is going to be a tall order! We are going to want to see some action this time!

Cheers........Rob

[Cathie19]

Oh my @Melodie-And-John0 , that was an incredibly lucky escape! Some positive thoughts and blessings coming your way. You two take care and don’t forget to breathe with that busy lifestyle.... 😊🦋

[Melodie-And-John0]

Thanks @Cathie19 , 12 cat lives used, not sure how many I have left!   

[Fred13]

My God, what a picture.

   I would spend entire college summers fishing in Idaho, in my trailer among some massive trees, wind starts howling, my dog wants out, I am cursing for him waking me up, no sooner I walk out of the trailer two massive trees fall & flattened the 24-foot trailer like a pretzel. Perhaps because of quite a few events like that is the reason why I am grateful about being alive.

[Melodie-And-John0]

Abolutely @Fred13 ,  I have also had many memory makers to remind me how fragile humans are compared to most of the things around us!  I thank God often!

[Debra300]

Wow, @Melodie-And-John0, I am so happy to hear that you all are safe, and that the CC team personally acknowledged you.  That tree really looks painful for your Chevvy truck though.  Trees are wonderful to live among, but can pose a danger. Tropical Storm Zeta passed through Atlanta last week, and we had a big tree fall.  Thankfully, it fell away from our house this time.

I would actually like to participate on the Advisory Board, because I know that I would give my fellow hosts a voice for their concerns and complements.  In addition to having the Airbnb decision makers stay at some of the regular listings, I think it would be enlightening if they had to host for at least one year.  This would include getting required licenses, inspections and insurance, purchasing all of the furnishings, stocking supplies, paying for utilities,  coordinating cleaning (and committing to the enhanced cleaning protocol), taking photos, and setting up their Airbnb listing.  Plus, in order to have the full hosting experience, they shouldn't be allowed to disclose their Airbnb position and the listing cannot have any kind of identifier that it belongs to an Airbnb management team member.  So, when they call into CS or need to submit a claim to the resolution center they get the same level of service as everyone else.

[Melodie-And-John0]

@Debra300 , its soul is in Chevy heaven now, its body is soon to be 3 fiats and a Harley Davidson.  I do think your "Host experience" idea is interesting, even if they had to shadow a successful Superhost  for a few weeks, they might have a renewed sense of urgency and apathy for hosts trying to navigate the  helpline at the same time they have an Irate guest wondering if they will have a place to stay that night.  

[Debra300]

@Melodie-And-John0,

I'd add some sort of incentive for the Airbnb managers to make their hosting experience a profitable venture instead of sluffing off, and giving refunds with little thought, because they don't need the income.  I would propose that their annual bonus, and repayment of the corporate credit card used to furnish the listing is tied to the profit earned.  They have all of the market data to give them a good idea of how much a new listing should make in just about every global region, and can set the goals.  If they don't make XX per month, they must personally pay XX on the credit card, and if they don't meet a certain threshold by the end of the hosting experience, they won't achieve a certain tier of the bonus scale.

[Robin4]

@Melodie-And-John0 

Oh John, rotten luck, so pleased you were elsewhere when it happened.

Hey, mate, there is always a silver lining to every story.....you could be the only one in the US driving around in a Silverado cabrio!!!

Cheers.........Rob

[Melodie-And-John0]

Thanks @Robin4 , love the 3500 Silverado Cabrio idea,   I think its a little too far gone for that but that would have been a hoot, rednecks for miles around would be jealous for sure! 

[Ian-And-Anne-Marie0]

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**[Inappropriate content removed in line with Community Center Guidelines]

[Helen427]

Gosh @Melodie-And-John0 & @Fred13 they were lucky escapes, alas ANIMALS always know when danger looms, they are more intelligent than Human beings.

Trees falling over is a part of the natural world who remind us "Who's in charge little boy/ girl?"

What did you lads do with the fallen trees?

Craft furniture or other items from them? 

Leave them there @Fred0 ?

@Melodie-And-John0perhaps you could make a table & chairs or garden sculpture out of your Maple Tree & share your story in safety.

May we all remember when trees were left to fall naturally & left were they were as part of our ecological system and decomposed for centipedes, millipedes, slater's, bees, birds, lizards & geckos...and regenerated into a new tree ....before man & his chainsaw came along & screwed up the earth...

 Let's know if & when you plant another tree.

[Melodie-And-John0]

@Helen427 , unfortunately I neither burn wood (we burn pellets) nor do I have equipment to move a giant Maple so the Tree Guys (thats the tree service we use) made it all go away.  It wont go to waste for sure.   Be well, JR

[Robin4]

@Melodie-And-John0 @Fred13 @Michelle53 @Ian-And-Anne Marie0 @Emilia42  @Sarah977  @Rebecca181 @Super47 @Ute42  @Lizzie 

Can I give you an instance in just this past week where Airbnb has let me down.

I had an IB reservation for a next day booking from a traveler from Perth, Western Australia.

Now when I look back on it, there was a red flag with the booking message which I maybe should have picked up on....."We're travelling down from Perth to do a job"! .........'Perth' is a long way away!!!

**

There are two Mt Barkers in Australia......one where I live in South Australia, and another 1,800 Kms away in another state, in Western Australia.

When the guest had not arrived within 2 hours of the nominated arrival time I sent him a phone message asking for an arrival update. I quickly got a return phone call from him saying he could not find the address in Mt Barker and had just realized the listing he had booked was not in the state he required!

The guest obviously needed to cancel and wanted a refund....which I was quite prepared to give! I don't want to be paid for a stay that did not take place but, the system would not allow me to refund what I would have been paid.....$227.24! The system would only let me refund a payment in full of $235.00 (which was more than I would have been paid) and would not allow me to make a partial refund!

Well this is a right proper **bleep**-up, and there are certain things here that I would like answers too!

*  This guest was searching for listings in Mt Barker, Western Australia, why did my listing which is 2,000 Kms from his desired search area show up in his search results?

My listing's location is clearly shown on the listing page and is correctly shown in the Google locator map at the bottom of the listing page. 

I had something of a battle with CX who said they would help me 'locate my listing, properly'.....really!!!

**

This listing location issue was all my problem, the fact that the guest is searching properties in another state does not seem to ring any bells with Airbnb. Obviously the guest is annoyed and so am I!

It took me maybe another 6 posts to convince the support person that it was not my listings location that was in error here, it was Airbnb's program .....we both use Google Maps coordinates as the  property locator!

My questions are......

A.......Why is a guest search of a specific geographic location being compounded with listings that are located 1,000's Kms away?

CX tells me that displayed properties are shown by property coordinates! That is obviously not the case, it appears properties from locations of a similar name are showing up in search results.....no matter where they might be located. Airbnb need to fix this, this has happened to me before and I am sure must happen to others as well.

B/......Why was I not permitted to process a refund for the amount I would have received or a partial refund? When I pressed the partial refund tab it would not let me insert an amount I was prepared to refund. I know it was only $8 but that's not the point! I had already lost the booking and the ability to accept another booking for those nights....I had already been penalised enough for no wrongdoing on my part. 

These issues always work in Airbnb's or the guests favour, never the hosts!

C/......In situations like this where the guest or Airbnb cancels  a reservation, the host should be automatically entitled to an administration fee of say $25 to cover the stuffing around the host has to go too. 

I have brought that up before and been promptly ignored, it's a strong bet I will be promptly ignored again....and this is where a Host Assist Group could be of real help to the hosting community and why I am prepared to support it. 

I don't want to change the world, I just want to make my job a bit easier, I just want to represent Airbnb to the best of my ability because, as @Fred13  says, it's how the balance sheet looks at the end of the month that is important.       

@Catherine-Powell , Individually issues like this are not your concern but we hosts do need a pathway to get them resolved and over the past few years we have not had a lot of luck in having that happen but, I do believe in miracles and I hope this time it will......

Cheers.........Rob

**[Private conversation with CS removed in line with Community Center Guidelines]

[Fred13]

@Robin4 Is this auto-pandering to guests that really gets my/our goat. We hold a time spot for a guest for weeks, months, years and *click* cancel/full refund. Had we had someone else, it could have changed the course of history. This is indeed their Achilles Heel.

[Ian-And-Anne-Marie0]

@Robin4 

@Melodie-And-John0 @Fred13 @Michelle53 @Ian-And-Anne Marie0 @Emilia42  @Sarah977  @Rebecca181 @Super47 @Ute42  @Lizzie 

Can I give you an instance in just this past week where Airbnb has let me down.

Enough said...

I've had over 15,000 'let downs' by Airbnb in the last 8 months. A recent guest on booking had another 1,000 'let downs' because a travel credit wasn't in his account when it should have been.

The sooner the hosting community realise they're being used as individual 'cash cows' and ACTUALLY do something about it rather than whining about how 'it's all happened again' the better every members' life will be.

The facts of the matter,  proven by past history, events and recycled ideas are that every member is being strung along and exploited for cash. There is NO objective in any cosy chats with Airbnb other than distracting members from action. That's all being sucked up nicely.

If there was a time to celebrate a community it would be after the work has been done in building it and the community operates for the benefit of all with the rules applied equitably and as written. THIS is not a community. This is a holding cell, all neatly boxed in with any dissenting voices banned.