Ghosting is something that has been happening within all departments since 2020 and COVID.
Due to sheer volume, short stays, and number of properties I observe that I have more necessary contact with agents and all the the system than almost any host I know.
Here are signs, and suggestions
Some of this is unreasonable to expect of us, but I am just telling you what I've had to resort to, in some cases.
- Vague appearance of concern combined with the fake apology (it's definitely fake and part of a template response) and an implication that your concern is so genuinely important, it needs to go somewhere . . . (implied) higher, more important, fill in the blank.
++++ that is the ghosted step and no response
- Immediately upon the receipt of any communication either email or internal chat, skip to the end and note if it is signed with a name. If it is not, it is likely the last of any communication, they have broken the chain, and are free of you. (just try a one sentence test, assuming their name "must have been cut off, before you answer, could that give you their name?) You won't get it, or likely any response
- "The I am going on vacation two days" template, but giving you to someone who will help you. Never real, you ghosted.
- The system where the agents could be assumed to "not be allowed" to ignore hosts, and that you could imply "go to your inbox" and find unresolved issues as a sort of "to do" case list?. No, message entire threads in your internall abb in-box, can and often - fully vanish. the entire thread.
- The more serious? The more vigilant. You must create your own tracking system by incident - every situation where you require support, you must create your own "instant fingertips" system, where the the following information is instantly at your hand wherever you may work mobile (not easy) or OS -
Confirmation number lead off with H
Guest name
check in date
the elusive, and they will ignore you and fight you and lie to not disclose the actual "case number" which is given above and beyond the reservation number.
**REMEMBER, if a cancellation or conflict happens, IT REMOVES FROM YOUR INBOX important information like this forever -
Think of it as this - "if it's important, you need to rescue the data out of the Airbnb interface" using whatever business systems you use -
ASSUME you will be ghosted, you probably already have been, their system of doing it is so smooth, it is MEANT for you to fade to black and lost track of it while you fight new fires.
Genaro