My turn to bid farewell

[Colleen253]

Our last booking is in two weeks. Time to take the next step with the property. STR was a stop gap and never a long term plan. Grateful to Airbnb for providing the opportunity we needed at the time. Happy to have been a part of this fabulous community of smart, savvy and giving hosts (and caring, capable mods). Always a small chance I may be back hosting at some point, so I’ll not say goodbye, just so long for now! Wishing the best to all.

[Stephanie]

@Laura2592 - the OCM team 100% are feeling it and relying it back, with sadness.

[Michelle53]

@Colleen253   Good luck with whatever your future will bring !   I browse the forum, too, every day, although I don't really post any more. 

[Colleen253]

@Michelle53 Best to you, as well! 

[Lawrene0]

My last booking is in September, and I feel the same as you. @Colleen253 . Grateful for the opportunity and the community. All the best! 

[Laura2592]

@Lawrene0 not you too! What a shame. Maybe we should start our own little community-- former ABB hosts 😉

[Colleen253]

@Lawrene0 I wish you the best! 

[Stephanie]

@Lawrene0 Say it ain't so :frowning_face::frowning_face::frowning_face::frowning_face:

[Lawrene0]

It has mostly to do with my neighbours, my own schedule limitations, and climate change (more frequent floods), @Stephanie .

It's that, the pandemic, and the new sort of guest or maybe just my attitude toward the new sort of guest.  

I'll never say never -- what if I need to come crawling back? -- but as I work through my final bookings, it feels like the right decision.

[Mark116]

@Colleen253  Sorry to see you go.  I wonder if the exodus of a number of long time hosts who have been big participants on this forum is any indication of wider dissatisfaction with Airbnb, or just a coincidence?

[Colleen253]

@Mark116 I believe it likely does play a factor, to differing degrees. 

[Michelle53]

@Mark116  @Colleen253

When I started back in 2015,  I had my share of issues while I was finding my host feet, and before I discovered the forum.  Parties, thefts, bogus complaints, sneaking in extra people, the gamut, really.

Back then, though, although I received a stern talking-to from a case manager, one time, who left me in limbo while she took 3 days off, you could still get someone on the phone who knew the polices, could help with things like reaching out to non-responsive guests,  and who could actually help solve problems. 

It was not the MO to shut one down completely, on a whim. 

The tone of it all has changed.  It just all became so  impersonal and punitive.    I think I turned the corner the day they blocked Wifi speed from manual input (after I spent a substantial amount to upgrade it for complainers).  I could even rationalize the Covid cancellations.

It's become too big, and too standardized. Like a franchise, almost.   "You can list anything you want as long as you comply with menus, signage, advertising, cleaning, furnishing, entry access, etc etc etc".

For anyone joining in the last year or two, it may not be all that apparent. But everything has gone from the small and personal to the corporate impersonal really quickly. 

[M199]

@Colleen253 

You will be missed🥺

We're done after the end of this season as well. It has been an interesting adventure, but with the lack of support and policies, enough is enough.  We don't need the guest headaches and  hassles, as well as the lack of support from Airbnb.

@Laura2592, @Lawrene0 , @Michelle53 , @Mark116

[Laura2592]

@M199 WOW! its like an exodus of really great people. 

I think my reasons for leaving are:

1. No vetting of guests whatsoever/penalties for saying no to poor fits/huge risk
2. No support when you have a terrible guest unless you publicly post here or tweet/embarrass ABB
3. Payout delays and issues/poor service to get resolution
4. Neighbors selling their place-- we like them, and they were a huge help. Don't know what we will get with new people and not everyone loves living next door to guests
5. The market is fantastic and the ROI to sell now is great
6. Increased issues with guest entitlement since late 2020-- the personality landscape has become more difficult to navigate
7. Taxes/fees/costs increasing but ABB still encourages very low pricing and more guests are asking for discounts
8. Set up and extra cleaning between guests is a heavy lift after work 2x a week
9. Bookings slowed down this year
10. The rating system continues to be absurd with no improvements in sight. 

That is just us. Everyone else has their own reasons. I would be lying if I said that the poor management of ABB didn't contribute to mine. The risk is just too high and we really would never recover if someone got seriously injured because of one of our guests. 

Will I ever be back? I don't know. But if I was, it would be a TOTALLY different business model. I would hire a property manager to deal with all the headache and be very hands off. 

[Colleen253]

@M199 Sorry to hear that. 🙁 Best of luck going forward, and for your last season of hosting. 

[M199]

I totally agree with @Laura2592 's reasoning, those are a lot of the same views we hold.

It is truly a shame that the Airbnb CC will be losing so many experienced and knowledgeable hosts.  I think this is just the tip of the iceberg.

Best wishes to all the departing hosts whatever your futures hold.

@Colleen253 , @Lawrene0