I have been hosting for a year now and I am going to be honest. There has been a lot of ups and downs. I mainly use these forums to vent.
My venting is about crappy guest, vague/missing Airbnb policies and poor support. Normally, I tell my side of the situation in detail and get a number of supportive responses. Thank you community!!
However, this time, to be honest, I am tired of complaining. I really want more action and changes from Airbnb. I would love for use just to use this conversation as an area where we can request changes. If you want to post, please do! I want to know what other hosts think should be changed!
Here is my list:
#1 - The review policy - Honestly, Airbnb, if a host has a damage dispute against a guest. The guest should not be allowed to review them. These "retaliation" posts are not helpful to anyone, or add a "retaliation" clause to the current review policy.
#2 - Rental Agreements - Many of us use them to protect ourselves when all else fails. Just make it a checkbox under house rules and allow us to upload it there!
#3 - History of a Bad Guest, Protect the Host with a Refundable Deposit - If the guest has had a damage dispute in the past, just auto collect a refundable deposit from them. Deposits do deter some guests from booking because they pay so much in advance. Maybe, I do not want to apply it to every guest, but come on.... Airbnb knows if a guest has had a problem before, give us the option to make damage deposits required for people who have a bad history. We know you collect that data! Help us out.
#4 - Pay Attention to Support - I feel like every time I have a call with a support representative I have to roll my eyes!! I have been called about guest reservations in a refundable cancel window and asked, "Can they cancel?". The answer is yes (hosts don't need to be asked). I have been told "You didn't disclose this information so you need to cancel that guest reservation"... "ummm - actually support, I did disclose it and you don't have to be mean nor accusatory - here is a screenshot, but if you want it cancelled, cancel it yourself and refund them".... I have heard, "Oh we can only resolve your $180 issue with $100".... First question - Why, you know what the price should be? Second question - Are we using a barter system now for disputes with a clear cost?
Anyways - those are my suggestions to Airbnb from the "Host" perspective. I am sure other hosts have really great ideas too!! I would love to hear them, because I feel like with every suggestion there is some hard lesson a host was given from Airbnb.
