Host Advisory Board members

[Mike-And-Jane0]

Interesting to see that some board members who haven't posted here since 2017 are suddenly posting multiple times. The cynic in me suggests that Airbnb have asked them to do so to find out what is going on in Airbnb land.

Perhaps they should have just invited some of the more prolific posters on the community centre to be on the advisory board!

[Mike-And-Jane0]

Hi @Till-and-Jutta0 Great to hear your thoughts. I would recommend that the Host Advisory Board on work on a very limited number of issues at any one time. My ideal would be that once it is determined what would help the host community the most these few issues would be worked until they were either realised OR Airbnb management give an honest reason why they cannot be implemented. It may well be that Airbnb think implementing certain ideas would lose customers or not be legal but at least an honest answer would allow us all to move on.

[Till-and-Jutta0]

@Sarah977 , @Helen3 , please find the first language independent page about HAB members’ introduction. Susan Bailey is the January spotlight, to be followed by 1 or 2 others each month.

I understand that this page opens in the hosts’ local language, or you can just replace the .com by just any other TLD, such as e.g. .jp:

Japanese Version

I guess, that this will the way we can synchronize the nine different CC language parts, but we are still waiting for the finals.

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Till-and-Jutta0 Let's hope it is 2 per month not 1 otherwise we won't meet everyone before their year is up!

[Mary996]

@Mike-And-Jane0 

That has my agreement. Focussing issue by issue.

[Helen3]

Thanks for taking the time to introduce yourself. Would you ask your fellow members of the advisory board to do the same? @Till-and-Jutta0 

It would be great to see members of the advisory board become active in their relevant Airbnb Communities.

@Liv  Could you organise for a stickie at the top of the  various hosting boarding where all advisory board members can introduce themselves and tell us a bit more about why they joined the board.

Just one rather important point. Airbnb are not offering travel insurance to guests all they are doing is mentioning to guests they should consider it...which is no different from what they said before.

Airbnb did say that Covid cancellations and travel cancellations would no longer be considered under EC;  but I'm highly doubtful that's the case. I have had 20 guests cancel because of Covid since they said this new policy would be introduced and got a full refund under Covid.

I don't have an issue with guests getting this as we are in lockdown, but it's disingenuous of Airbnb to say they won't be eligible to cancel penalty free because of Covid and then turn around and refund them in full.

Be great to have the advisory board look into this @Till-and-Jutta0 

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Helen3 Airbnb can write whatever they like in their policy with respect to covid BUT if it is illegal to refuse a refund (as it is during lockdown in the UK) the the have no choice but to refund (as they should).

A review of the EC policy to make it legal and sensible would be worthwhile. It wouldn't make my top 3 (as per other thread) as it is easy to deal with Airbnb if they break the law.

[Helen3]

I know that @Mike-And-Jane0  - clearly that was not my point. 

My point was that Airbnb should not be stating as a fact that they will not allow guests to cancel penalty free under Covid under their new EC policy, while blatantly doing so.  They could easily have included a clause that says something like  'except where government Covid legislation means there are no travel rules within or to an area'. 

I bet they also refund guests due to issues with travel arrangements/bad weather etc. 

You simply can't trust what they say anymore. 

For example, I had an email from Airbnb yesterday saying that my cancellation policy allows guests to cancel penalty free  and they had given guest who were cancelling  a full refund when I have a moderate cancellation policy 😞

[Sarah977]

@Helen3 While the updated EC policy states that it doesn't cover a guest cancelling for personal reasons, i.e. they tested positive for COVID or are scared to travel, it still covers govt. travel restrictions. So if the guest isn't allowed to leave their home jurisdiction, or the host is restricted from accepting guests, the cancellations would still be covered under EC.

[Helen3]

Hi @Sarah977 

Actually they do offer free cancellations for those with positive Covid tests and as I already mentioned above, I know they offer penalty free cancellations due to government restrictions and have no issue with that.

What I have an issue with is that last time I looked at their Covid EC policy they didn't actually list exceptions such as government lockdowns. In fact worse still they actually say that government restrictions are not covered by their EC policy for Covid as an exception.

What it says is the following;

Reservations made after 14 March 2020

Reservations for stays and Airbnb Experiences made after 14 March 2020 will not be covered under our extenuating circumstances policy, except where the guest or host is currently sick with COVID-19.

COVID-19-related circumstances not covered include: transport disruptions and cancellations; travel advisories and restrictions; health advisories and quarantines; changes to applicable law; and other government mandates such as evacuation orders, border closures, prohibitions on short-term rentals, and lockdown requirements. The host’s cancellation policy will apply as usual.

Our extenuating circumstances policy is intended to protect guests and hosts from unforeseen circumstances that arise after booking. After the declaration of COVID-19 as a global pandemic by the World Health Organization, the extenuating circumstances policy no longer applies because COVID-19 and its consequences are no longer unforeseen or unexpected. Please remember to carefully review the host's cancellation policy when booking and consider choosing an option that provides flexibility.

[Mary996]

@Helen3 This is a great point. Some sort of obligation to take out travel insurance so we are refunded as Hosts in the event of a cancellation. Is that your proposal? Sounds brill. Something along those lines... prob with refinement. Or just straight out an obligation?

[Helen3]

Actually no because most travel insurance companies don't cover existing pandemics so are as much use as a chocolate teapot.

I would suggest if there are government restrictions then hosts and guests can cancel penalty free.

If not host cancellation policies stand @Mary996

[Mike-And-Jane0]

So now we know what the Host Advisory Board is planning (see below).

Thankfully I wasn't holding my breath waiting for useful output.....

I do find it faintly amusing that the first thing a board does is create committees!!!!!!

Here’s what the board has planned in the coming year:

• Creating committees focused on key areas such as sustainability, diversity and belonging, and host empowerment with new tools and education
• Updating hosts every month on plans and activities
• Fostering interactive communication with the host community
• Sharing an active role in representing a diverse set of hosts voices and helping to shape the future of the Airbnb community

Stay tuned for more from the Host Advisory Board. We’ll be sharing updates from the board’s monthly meeting, along with tips from board members.

@Sarah977 @Helen3 @Anonymous Am I wrong to be disappointed?

[Anonymous]

🤦🏾‍

Well, this reads exactly like a press release straight out of corporate. I'd be quite surprised if an actual board member wrote it, considering how comfortably it slid in terms that nobody on earth other than Brian are actually using. A "committee focused on belonging," really? Never in a decade of commentary from hosts have I ever heard one using this "belonging" buzzword unironically, and committees dedicated to vague constructs of branding gobbledygook is most definitely not something that any hosts have ever asked for.

What's coming into focus here:

1. No matter what the intentions of the participants, the HAB is just the latest of many examples of Airbnb trying to communicate its own corporate agenda through what it disguises as the voices of hosts. Just like the astroturf activism - I've lost count of how many times I've been called directly by Airbnb staffers asking me to volunteer my time to lobby Berlin government on their behalf, with a readymade script advancing the narrative that we're all just ordinary people helping the community and trying to make ends meet, bla bla bla. I even sat through the whole charade at the Host Awards, where they made every nominee audition an acceptance speech just to make sure they gave the prizes to the ones who would hew most closely to a really narrow narrative. It's shameless.

2. The HAB has been assigned some functions that were previously filled by salaried employees who were presumably among the 25% that were fired last year. That's some evil genius - why compensate your shills with a living wage, when you can always find people who are willing to do the same work in exchange for flattery and Status? (Not much unlike the way we CC contributors often find ourselves plugging the gaping holes in Customer Service with more qualified advice). 

I doubt the veterans around here ever bought for a minute that hosts were actually getting "a seat at the table," but how humiliating it must be right now for all these people who have put genuine time and effort in, to find that they're actually just doing the bidding of a young fellow with a net worth of $14.7 billion to promote a demonstrably false narrative of what Airbnb actually is as a business.

@Mike-And-Jane0 @Sarah977 @Helen3 

I wonder if I'll be wrist-slapped for going off-topic now...

[Helen3]

I think it's a shame that one of the key roles for the advisory board is not working with the host community to identify key issues that are impacting on the ability of hosts to list through Airbnb and asking Airbnb to review their processes. @Mike-And-Jane0  @Sarah977  @Till-and-Jutta0  @Mike-And-Jane0  @Anonymous 

Issues such as guests being able to leave retaliatory negative reviews when asked to leave accommodation because of house rule infringements or damage to a listing.  Or Airbnb automatically closing a host's listing when a guest complains about safety issues without reviewing on a case by case basis to see if there is a basis for a guest's complaint.

[Anonymous]

@Helen3  It could have been so much simpler. Instead of creating new hierarchies and committees and structures and meetings, they could have just engage directly with the host community to assess the impact of current policies and new features under consideration.

But they seem genuinely terrified of any communication structure that might expose them to embarrassment (which is to say, any communication that is actually effective).  I hate sports analogies, but this is like a team that doesn't want to improve its game, it just wants more cheerleaders.