Save the date: Tune in April 9 for a Host Update with CEO Brian Chesky

[Airbnb]

Last week, CEO Brian Chesky spoke to our global host community in a live video message from his home in San Francisco. He talked about the impact the coronavirus (COVID-19) is having on hosts, answered some of your top questions, and announced new initiatives to help you get through this challenging time.

He also committed to staying in closer contact with our community of hosts. We know how important it is for you to hear from—and be heard by—Airbnb leadership right now. We’ve continued to hold global listening sessions where you’ve shared your own personal stories, offered up suggestions, and asked questions, and we’ll be bringing you more Host Updates with Brian over the coming weeks, too.

So tune in for another update from Brian at 3:00 p.m PT Thursday, April 9. You can catch it live at Airbnb.com/live, or watch a recording after the event.

Thank you for all of your feedback over the past few weeks. Please continue to share any questions you have in the comments below, and we’ll do our best to answer some of them in future Airbnb.com/live events.

[Donald28]

@Administrator-Berghaus0 why is airbnb waiting until "late april" to invite superhosts to apply for a $5k grant? We're bleeding NOW and have been for almost a month.

Also why is airbnb directing guests to ask the host to cancel a reservation instead of the guest just cancelling it themselves? 

[Dassi0]

Really wish I could hear what Brian has to say -- unfortunately the date chosen is a Yom Tov, a Jewish Holy Day. While we are minority, 9 April is also a Christian Holy Day this year, thus there will be others who cannot join in.

In addition to what others have said in this thread, I will add that the Grants for those Hosts that reside under the same roof as their Listings should NOT be limited to those with 2 Listings. Perhaps that was meant to prevent Hosts with multiple properties from applying... we have 3 rooms that are listed in our home, and (since one room may also be booked as a Share) one of these rooms actually counts as 3 Listings -- therefore we have 5 Listings in our 4 bedroom home/ Bed & Breakfast.

AirBnb started as this sort of 'Small, but Mighty' group -- we should be able to apply for this small grant.

PS -- we should not need an "Invitation to Apply".

[Flavia191]

My understanding is that we will not have an option to apply but will be invited instead? Did I not read this correctly folks?

If we are not "selected" we are not going to be able to I guess...

[Susan17]

Yes, invitation only, at this point anyway @Flavia191 

[Dee33]

i agree with this: Grants for those Hosts that reside under the same roof as their Listings should NOT be limited to those with 2 Listings. 

I have 3 rooms in my own home, and am disqualified solely because of this rule.

[Sharon1014]

@Airbnb  Morning Brian. 

Questions: 

What is the actual story re offering guests credit vouchers against future travel?  

Is Airbnb offering guests future travel at other Airbnb's or is this a credit towards a future stay at the same Airbnb?

Is Airbnb keeping those funds themselves or paying it out to hosts immediately (which is what the purpose should be if offering travel credit vouchers, i.e. to prevent hosts hemorrhaging cash flow).

Is Airbnb going to keep hosts properly informed as changes roll out (i.e. 24 hours before the event), as it seems we are the last to find out about changes at present?

What progress has been made on CFAR (Cancel For Any Reason) travel insurance being made available to guests when they book (or get back to booking)?

What is Airbnb corporate currently considering re marketing post C-19 and when do you anticipate that these strategies might be implemented?

[Ute42]

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@Sharon1014  

I have the exact same questions You have, but I can answer one of them beforehand

• Is Airbnb going to keep hosts properly informed as changes roll out?

No they don't. Airbnb is changing it's policies around all the time without ever notifying host ahead of time. They are doing this now for I don't know how long. Very often that makes us look real stupid to our guests.

The only way we find out what's going on is when guests send us screenshots. This is annoying.

[Fred13]

Good post @Sharon1014; Question #3 is most crucial to many present hosts whose income came to an abrupt end overnight, one could only imagine the real-life consequences.

[Sharon1014]

@Fred13  I noticed that the survey they recently sent out to hosts had the question about what do you believe is the best response around cancellations... a list of thing at the top of which was issuing credit vouchers against future bookings (and which of course I ticked). 

It simply never occurred to me that Airbnb would use this approach to keep the money for themselves so guests could use it at any other Airbnb listed property in the future.  The whole point with other platforms upholding cancellation policies or issuing credit vouchers in lieu is that those hosts actually receive payment at the time the guest books, not 24 hours after check in with Airbnb holding the cash until then.  And because those hosts receive immediate payment, they also control their own cancellation policy and make individual decisions based on both their and the guests needs.

Airbnb could do much to lower the CX (Customer eXperience) traffic if only hosts had more control.  It's called delegating.  And in many instances, it should more appropriately, and cost effectively, be the within the gift of hosts to manage their own business.  But Airbnb has put itself in the middle by being the "bag man", holding the money, hence their CX ppl are flat out running interference in something that could so easily be handled one-on-one host to guest directly.

So yes, I'm curious as to exactly what they are doing with credit vouchers against future bookings.  And a little horrified that it appears (?) Airbnb have viewed doing this as a means to increase their own cash flow instead of passing on the dollar value of credit vouchers directly to hosts against future bookings at the same bnb.  Especially given the world of pain many northern hemisphere hosts are in at present, coming into their peak seasons.

[Susan17]

@Sharon1014

Airbnb are notorious for crafting and skewing their "surveys" in their own interests, and to shape their own narrative. Honesty, accuracy and transparency don't even come into it.

Just one example.. the latest rigged effort they produced to convince potential investors of consumer (ie guest) trust and satisfaction in their brand. Note the dates that they cynically and strategically chose to conduct this farce, with its blatantly-loaded questions - 13-16 March - the very same weekend they were running a global media campaign, blasting out to the entire world that the company would be magnanimously gifting all guests, everywhere, super-generous 100% refunds.

Here's What Airbnb Is Confidentially Telling Potential Investors About A New Survey

https://skift.com/2020/03/24/heres-what-airbnb-is-confidentially-telling-potential-investors-about-a...

[Susan17]

The vouchers aren't host-specific btw, and can be used at any Airbnb, anywhere.

The only surprise there, is that anyone is surprised at all. This is what Airbnb do, and always have done. Turning a crisis into a cash-grab (and using it as a convenient excuse to up the ante and turn the screws ever-tighter on their host community whilst doing so) is in their DNA.

And sickeningly, they always somehow manage to make themselves look like righteous, benevolent heroes in the process. Using the #AirbnbWhileBlack crisis to ramp up the pressure on hosts to accept all comers via Instant Book, for example - regardless of suitability or potential repercussions for the host - under the guise of diversity and anti-discrimination measures. Or more recently, using the Orinda tragedies as a compelling reason to require hosts to pay a substantial amount to "fast-track" their verifications under their planned new "verify all 7 million listing" initiative. And those sneaky little strategies are mild in comparison with many other examples I'd dearly love to post here, but can't. 

These guys don't miss a trick when it comes to turning a buck from the misfortunes of others. Never have done. They may yet find they've over-stepped the mark and taken things just a little too far beyond the pale this time though. 

[Fred13]

Interesting. Is this what we have thus far?

1. 'Take back' the reservations from the host by allowing/encouraging guests to cancel but give them a non-host specific credit voucher.

2. Airbnb gets to keep the guest money.

3. Guests can now use those vouchers as they see fit with any host in the future, including new ones.(See #4).

4. Use the new $1 billion dollar infusion to add  new hosts where thew guest vouchers can now be used, but not necessarily with those hosts whom the vouchers originated from. 

Yuk.

[Belinda55]

Looks like Airbnb can afford to spread compensation more fairly, look forward to hearing any updates to help hosts ... https://www.smh.com.au/business/companies/airbnb-secures-us1-billion-as-it-stockpiles-cash-during-pa...

[Robin4]

@Belinda55 

Belinda I am really sorry you posted that link!

I had thought....well hoped,  with the host backlash that the management surely must be patently aware  of  by now, that they would stop all this 'smoke and mirrors' stuff and actually make some attempt to help the people who built this business for them!

I belatedly watched the last episode a couple of weeks ago, so, lets just have a look at what came out of that. 

1. We’re investing $250 million USD to share in the cost of COVID-19 cancellations.

“We’re providing updated coverage under our ECP for accommodation reservations booked on or before March 14 and with a check-in between March 14 and May 31, 2020. If a guest cancels an eligible reservation in this window, we’ll pay you 25% of what you would normally receive through your cancellation policy. For example, if you would’ve received $400 USD for a normal cancellation, we'll pay you 25% of that—or $100 USD. This cost will be covered entirely by Airbnb, with no impact to the guest. We view this as an investment in our future together.”

Sounds good doesn’t it?  But look at that line in the middle ”we’ll pay you 25% of what you would normally receive through your cancellation policy”.

Oh yeah, 80% of us hosts have a Flexible or Moderate cancellation policy as we have been told we should by Airbnb, which means, none of us are eligible! We instruct Airbnb to fully refund our guests in the even of cancellation on their part!….What a wonderful bit of marketing blurb is that!

And to add insult to injury most of the hosts who have a ‘Strict’ cancellation policy and could possibly be eligible are hosts who have a number of listing properties....their professionals, and they are also not eligible because Airbnb have set an upper limit of 2 listings per host to be able to claim.

No more than a handful of hosts will actually be able to lodge a claim on that wonderful ‘Gift’ of $250m. But, oh boy, it sounded good as Mr Chesky passionately put it across from his den, at home in San Francisco!

And the second point is equally outrageous!!!

2. We’re creating a $10 million USD relief fund for Superhosts and Airbnb Experiences hosts.

We know some of you are facing serious financial hardships, and we want to help. This fund will offer grants to Superhosts and Experiences hosts who need money to stay in the homes they live in.

Our employees started the fund by raising the first $1 million USD, and our founders contributed the additional $9 million USD. Learn more about who is eligible at Airbnb. com superfund relief!

Guess what, it's not coming around till May and you can’t apply for it…..Airbnb will invite you, we don't even have a hint on what terms and conditions will apply to it! But other past attempts to get some form of compensation out of Airbnb have been met with such a wall impediments we just give up and realise it is just not worth the effort!

I am lead to believe by many hosts, not just here, but on other sites where Airbnb is discussed, that what they are now doing is cancelling a one on one host/guest existing reservation leaving the host with nothing, but, giving the guest who has requested the cancellation a credit to use with any Airbnb host up until December 31 2021….and still hanging onto the guests payment! Can you possibly think of anything more un-ethical than that? Those reservations came to us, us hosts! Those funds were not just donated by guests to float around in some sort of Airbnb slush fund indefinitely!

This grandstanding by the CEO has only been done after considerable time with the number crunchers who have systematically gone through all the available scenarios to make sure that Airbnb limit their exposure to any host compensation.

Well here we go again, another session where we will all walk away scratching our heads and wondering what in actual fact just got said.

As I said Belinda, I wish you hadn't posted that......

What th!!!!!....... does that say what it looks like it says? They are going to use what ever they can lay their hands on to attract yet more of us to the platform, when they can't even support the masses they already have! 

I really can't see anything changing here, I have flogged my guts out for Airbnb for the last 4 years. Airbnb guests have had first pickings at my listing, ahead of every other platform. Everyone else has to submit a reservation request.....airbnb's can just instant book. 

I built up a great guest base and heaps of great reviews averaging more than 320 hosting nights for each of those years past.......for what.....to be talked down to like some child....

Smile at my face while you pi*s in my pocket! 

Nah, watched and listened to enough of these 'smoke and mirrors' sessions!

They say a leopard doesn't change its spots.

Cheers.....Rob

@Sharon1014  @Fred13  @Ute42  @Airbnb