Has anyone noticed that AirBNB's phone support is TERRIBLE!

[Tiff0]

Why does it take 30 minutes or more to get through to AirBNB phone's line? Super Hosts are supposed to get faster treatment. 30 minutes for anyone by the phone is ridiculous!! WHY IS AIRBNB MAKING IT SO DIFFICULT FOR HOSTS ON EVERY LEVEL!!!!! ARE YOU TRYING TO MAKE US WALK AWAY?

I have a trust and safety issue and I need to talk to someone. I do not have 30 minutes to sit on the phone and wait for you.

THIS IS MY FINAL STRAW. ALL OF MY LISTINGS ARE SNOOZED AND I AM ABOUT TO DELETE THEM ALL.

THIS RELATIONSHIP IS NOT COMMERCIALLY VIABLE ANY MORE IF YOU ARE GOING TO CHARGE ME  A SERVICE FEE AND OFFER NO SERVICES.

[Sarah977]

@Tiff0  Airbnb just laid off a large number of their employees. Plus they are dealing with lots of cancellations re COVID. Not the best time to be trying to call them. I never call, it would irritate me too, to be put on hold for 30 minutes- I message them. I've always gotten a fairly quick reply.

[Tiff0]

Sarah977  Sarah, Thanks for taking the time to respond. I appreciate your thoughts.

In this case, I emailed them May 4 and heard back May 12!  Not exactly a commercially helpful response.

I understand they are still dealing with some COVID cancellations but to pin their lack of response on COVID after two months of COVID when no one really wants to travel and so many bookings are last minute makes me feel like tagging the problem with COVID is giving AirBNB a pass on something that may not deserve?

They have enough internal drama they cannot respond faster than 8 days? Hmmmm......This is exactly why I am choosing to snooze my listings. I do not have the time to carefully word my emails in super basic language when my emails are pretty simple---"Guest has a COVID Party, please help?", "Guests booked my place for five weeks but never showed up but want to keep extending reservation......". Yes, those two things and more happened back to back.

If I have to dumb down my communications already than I have been doing--it is definitely time for my hiatus from AirBNB. Thanks so much for confirming my decision!

[Sarah977]

@Tiff0  Yes, they are still dealing with COVID cancellations and I imagine they will be for some time to come, as various places end lockdowns, and others maybe institute them, depending on infection rates or new outbreaks in any given area. And as others have pointed out, they just laid off 25% of their staff.  But CS has always had the reputation for being less than suitably responsive, it's nothing new.

I have no idea how you worded your message to them, and indeed that may have zero to do with the week-long response time, but one tip I can give you for sending them messages is the simpler you state your issue, it seems the quicker you get a response. If it's a few lines in bullet point form, with a clear ask for what you're wanting them to do for you, they are much more likely to get back to you quickly than if it's two long pararaphs with multifaceted issues addressed. Some of the CS reps aren't all that fluent in English, so I imagine they shuffle the complicated or hard to read messages to the bottom of the pile, answering the easy ones first.

[Gordon0]

>>Why does it take 30 minutes or more to get through to AirBNB phone's line?<<

Because 1,200 of the people who'd normally take you calls have been made redundant and are now facing months without work. Oh, and this pesky pandemic isn't helping. That's why, @Tiff0.

[Tiff0]

Gordon0  So you are suggesting that AirBNB continually, under COVID or beyond, take my full service fee and provide limited services? How is that a viable business prospect for a host? 

This is more support for my decision to snooze my listings. 

[Adriano78]

@Tiff0the biggest Airbnb call center in Europe in Barcelona laid off 1000 employees + 100 employees in the Irish call center

[Tiff0]

Adriano78 Thanks! This is exactly what I assumed. But what I do not understand is that AirBNB lays off a bunch of people so the hosts who are still making money for AirBNB get even less customer service? Do I get charged less of a service fee?'

It is more of a rhetorical question! I snoozed my listings over the lack of AirBNB's customer support. No need to respond but I think the equation does not make sense--AirBNB lays of the people who are going to help make AirBNB money? How does that work? Even more reason to take my hiatus from AirBNB. 

[Jessica-and-Henry0]

@Tiff0 

Even before Covid-19, I'd always send a message thru the platform about whatever issue/problem I'm having and I'd *usually* get a message or call back within a couple hours. Sometimes the next day. Of course for time sensitive matters this approach won't work..... but it beats waiting to talk to someone for 30+ mins, only to be transferred to another person/department or end up with a clueless CS rep who makes a bigger mess of things. 

[Fred13]

As a general rule, customers usually love to call, many businesses hate it. A quick to-the-point message usually gets a quick answer, normally.

[Tiff0]

Fred13 Thanks for writing. My messages are pretty quick to point. I emailed May 4 and did not hear back until May 12.  .

[Luke279]

@Tiff0  You seem very entitled that Airbnb owe you something when you first chose to use the platform on the back of the companies own success  to allow you to operate and make a potential lucrative income.

Yet when a global event happens that nobody foreseed, your automatic reaction is to blame the service YOU chose to use. 

It's not Airbnb's fault that this disease appeared on society, they as a company have been brutal hit heavy more than any of us combined.  A company built less than 12 years ago that was worth 31 Billion in 2018 has been decimated by the global pandemic, too drop to a 26 Billion valuation. 

The valuation means nothing as it all is down to 'cash reserves' which valued last year was at 3 Billion, increasing with the new funding investment. 

Yet this dosn't mean Airbnb owe us anything as hosts. Even after the 25% (12.5%) payout for cancelled bookings, most Host's are going to crumble and fold. Why? A general rule of thumb in business is that you should be operating with a minimum of 3 months cash reserves for unexpected situations, I.e Covid-19. 

If you can't do that then your business isn't viable at all, you cannot expect to shift the blame for your own failure to forecast. 

As a business if you rely on Airbnb as your sole revenue income for short term lets, then it's your own fault for not diversifying. 

In life you cannot piggy back of someones else's success and then blame them for it all going wrong. 

[Tiff0]

@Luke279  Regarding your comments, thanks for responding, and here is my response to your comments:

Luke/You: "Your business isn't viable at all, you cannot expect to shift the blame for your own failure to forecast".... "A general rule of thumb in business is that you should be operating with a minimum of 3 months cash reserves for unexpected situations, I.e Covid-19"

ME: Instead of you spending time lecturing me unnecessarily, perhaps spend a little more time reading the post first? There is nothing in my my post that suggests my AirBNB is not successful.  There is nothing in my post that suggests, I do not have the resources to ride out COVID.   In fact, if you are insinuating my business is not viable, you are very misinformed.  In fact, I have been completely booked, back to back, before and after COVID started.  In fact, I am declining bookings. What my post states is that the amount of time I spend getting in contact with AirBNB is not viable. I contacted AirBNB about safety issues  that seem semi-not legal by guests (e.g. guests throwing COVID parties, guests booking and not showing up,  and other random issues I feel I should bring to AirBNB's attention).  That was the purpose of my post to inform that the quality of services provided by AirBNB has fallen to an all-time low.  If I write to AirBNB by email May 4 and do not hear back until May 13, the customer service received  has gotten to the point that it is not useful.  If I pay a $70 service fee on a reservation (which is a $2000 reservation btw an indication by AirBNB is doing OK in this environment), yes, I expect a modicum of customer services.  Asking if other hosts are experiencing this problem with a lack of customer services on the Community Forum, which is what the Community Forum was built for, is not entitled.  Instead, it makes for good communication. Someone at AirBNB must be reading this and someone at AirBNB may not know the customer service lately is terrible--so much so it causing such an impact that hosts are considering leaving over it.  This lack of customer service is the reason, I just snoozed my last listing. Why pay for something if one is not receiving it? This feeling that I am not earning a return on my service is fee--is a basic business problem and the truth--it is a feeling that is far from anything related to entitlement. 

Luke/You: "As a business if you rely on Airbnb as your sole revenue income for short term lets, then it's your own fault for not diversifying". 

ME: I snoozed my listings because AirBNB's customer service is not commercially viable for me--did you read that? Luke, please, a person cannot snooze their listings if they are not totally diversified. 

Luke/YOU: "In life you cannot piggy back of someones else's success and then blame them for it all going wrong".

ME: If you think my work 1) as an AirBNB  host since 2012 kissing the ground that guests walk on in five separate AirBNB listings--most of the time with Super Host Status, WHILE 2) referring back to AirBNB at least 10 high quality host referrals that produced thousands of dollars of service and guests fees for AirBNB PLUS 3) Volunteering for AIRBNB's community efforts--is remotely close to me "piggy backing" of AirBNB--you are surely mistaken. I have worked my tush off with AirBNB and I made AirBNB a ton of money in service fees with this partnership with AirBNB.  Remember, Luke, this is partnership?   Yes, I believe AirBNB is making mistakes in this partnership by making unilateral decisions during COVID that are not in line with the partnership agreement with hosts.  At this point,  I am not asking for handouts from AirBNB.  In fact, when AirBNB sent me $8.12 for their "COVID Relief Fund", I wrote them and asked them to take it back. Why? Taking staff time to send me $8.12 is not commercially viable for AirBNB.  AirBNB should not pay a staff worker $20 an hour to send me an $8 payment. It is a waste of everyone's resources.  All I ask to be paid is what is owed to me based on the arrangements we agreed upon.  VRBO honored all of my cancellation policies, why not AirBNB? The difference? VRBO is not seeking an IPO and they are not driving to gobble up market share.  Am I suing AirBNB over their contract violations no? Do I think a lawsuit against, AirBNB will work, No? But will I continue to partner with AirBNB? It boils down to a basic business equation.  If AirBNB cannot honor my cancellation policies and/or offer a modicum of customer service for what I am paying for with my service fees--I am perfectly happy to take a long break--if not a permanent break from AirBNB.  All of listings are snoozed right now because I did not get the customer service I needed after this last guest did not show but booked my place for five weeks--and wanted to keep booking it even though he was not staying. That is weird, it feels nefarious, and I do not know what to do about it.   That problem, of AirBNB not responding, coupled with how AirBNB is managing COVID, does not make the business partnership viable.  After 8 years of hosting, I thought I would be sad at this realization but I oddly feel relieved. 

AirBNB's latest customer service decisions creates a hosting environment that currently, I will not  financially tolerate.  Am I asking for AirBNB to do anything about? Well, I posted my feelings about it in the forum. Am I doing anything more about it with AirBNB? No.  Am I moving on right now without AirBNB? Yes. Should not be belittled for it? No. Should I be shunned for sharing my feelings, no?

If AirBNB is clearly going to ignore my role in our partnership, which all hosts have with AirBNB, then hosts will decide the consequence of that. If you think that me, as a host, asking AirBNB to honor our role in our partnership is entitled--than clearly the time to move on may never be better suited. You make my point exactly.  You and AirBNB have forgotten that hosts and AirBNB are in a equal partnership. It is that simple.  COVID seems to be a distraction to this discussion as I see it. Whatever AirBNB is doing to gobble up market share is hurting hosts.