Since sending feedback forms and communicating with the "ambassadors" is definitely going nowhere I wanted to post this here. @Catherine-Powell please take note that I am using Airbnb directly as in all my reservations are handled through this site without going through professional software on a third party. That means I try to take advantage of all the cool things, I usually intimately am familiar with the features cool or uncool so that I can run my business. Here are some frustrations
1. The alteration "tool" malfunctions almost every time for shortening stays. It allows the host to send the invitation to accept a shortened stay but when the guest goes to accept it, it shows a length of stay requirement is not being met, saying it is the host's requirement. I have a high enough volume to test these things to see they are not random flukes. Sometimes it initially shows me the length of stay requirement when I am trying to propose the change, and I go into settings and change my length of stay requirement, then it allows me to send the alteration request to the guest. But the guest tries to click accept and they are shown the length of stay error. Over years, this was not a big issue until this summer. It has been a problem since approximately June for me. This is extra annoying since Airbnb now collects and remits my state sales tax 7% for Georgia. This means that only an alteration going through that way can refund the sales tax along with whatever rent refund I am authorizing. The "Ambassadors" insist that I just use the resolution center to shoot cash to these people. And they could care less that my calendar will not reflect the change. But that means Airbnb keeps the service fee and sales tax that were associated with those refunded nights. I never had that part of the reservation money. I cannot refund it via resolution center if I never received it. The alteration tool refunded the appropriate amount automatically for years back when it worked. Maybe Airbnb does not want to reduce their service fee for shortened stays and that is why they made it stop working? I cannot give people their courtesy refunds for leaving early if my calendar does not change to show they left! it takes many hours or even days for a customer service agent to respond to help force it through and even when they do respond they argue and seem to miss the point. The fact this business is time sensitive seems lost on Airbnb right now... I had a guest leave 3 days early from a 14 day stay. He was leaving on a thursday and the weekend would have booked. I sent him an alteration giving him a small refund even though he did not ask. But he could not accept my alteration request as it told him Mary Requires 30 Days. Hosts need to be able to handle this again, so any exceptions or courtesy refunds can occur and the calendar can instantly show the dates are now available to book.
2. The new timed messages are a god send and were needed for years. I am so happy to see that added. But... right now some glitches are associated with them. Primarily it is showing 3-4 different House Manual messages per listing. Only one is the House Manual that goes with that listing. The other extra 2-3 saved/offered House Manuals are for a certain other listing with totally specific metered parking, street names etc that do not go with other listings.
3. The "Check in Guide" with photos is one of the smartest features Airbnb ever created. It is a slide show the host can create showing step by step (like this is your gate, this is your parking spot, this is your door, this is your lock box). But they have it buried deep in the guest info so not more than half of guests find it on their own. I send many messages repeating myself when guests say they never got that... I say 'LOG IN first, then go to My Trips, Then scan the page of info for the words Check IN" and they say they cannot find it, do not see it, they were not sent it etc. Guests expect to be spoon fed it. At one point there was ONE way to spoon feed it only from the mobile app never the desktop but they deleted that one way! The app version from 2019 updated and removed the little Key icon which allowed the host to send a shortcut link straight to the check in guide. Since then there is NO way for hosts to spoon feed that slide show check in guide. Even the new scheduled message feature, when you choose to include the check in guide, it only sends the typed word portion of check in details. Not a link to the slide show.
Catherine, trying to get service right now is really testing the patience of a saint. And I am not a saint. The agents are really snippy and telling me they are going to explain things to me, I had one yesterday telling me several times "I disagree". This was about the alteration tool. These are people who probably have not hosted very many reservations and likely not used these features hundreds or thousands of times like I have. I get no respect at all on top of also not getting any hope that the tech is getting fixed. These are productivity issues. Please address them.
