Should Airbnb leadership have a standing weekly video update? Y/N

[Jason1350]

Would you find value in Brian or other @Airbnb leadership having a standing day / time for a weekly video update to our host community relating to Covid-19 and the business moving forward? Yes or No 

Clearly there are a lot of intelligent people as part of this community. I value all the time, efforts, perspectives, opinions and insights that are being shared across several feeds by hosts and admins.

However, as it relates to Covid-19, I’m finding very often that the community is providing well intended perspectives, assumptions and opinions vs. validated facts. 

Searching  through this discussion room for answers is often exhausting and demotivating for me. Whether I’m trying to find specific answers to a grant question, updates on extenuating circumstances policy’s or just looking for the next leadership video update to build my confidence and commitment in these trying times—it’s difficult, discouraging and ineffective and I don’t believe I’m alone here in this perspective.

Understandably to my knowledge this CC wasn’t set up for a lot of the topics / questions / concerns being  presented. So I’d like to propose an alternative that has proven successful for many corporate and gov’t leaders in these times. One that aligns better to the demands of today, creates a more personal Airbnb / Host Experience and most importantly positions us to best move forward with confidence as we continue to learn and implement based on new plans and opportunities.  

Would you find value in Brian or other   leadership having a standing day / time for a weekly video update to our host community relating to Covid-19 and the business moving forward? Yes or No 

Thanks for taking the time to share your response. If Yes please share with your hosting peers as numbers seem to always help in achieving action. All the best, J 

[Sarah977]

No.

[Jason1350]

Hi @Sarah977  I really value a lot of your feedback and efforts in these forums—would you mind elaborating on why your response was a No? 

[Sarah977]

@Jason1350  Thanks- I actually wanted to elaborate, but since you said you were just after yes or no answers, I didn't.

Basically, it's because I haven't found the other videos at all valuable. I watched the first one all te way through, skimmed through the second, and had better things to do with my time for the 3rd. Things are said, often in ways that are open to interpretation, and then when the initiative mentioned actually is instituted, it's quite different from what we were led to believe by the rhetoric. The parameters for determining who would be eligible for the Superhost grants is a glaring example.

And there is far too much PR blah blah for me. Apologizing for not keeping hosts in the loop as far as Airbnb's intention to override all hosts cancellation policies for COVID are empty words to me, when the non-transparency and changing things around without notice continues unabated. Saying you're sorry is just words- it means nothing if the reason you felt you needed to apologize doesn't come into play in the future to change the way you do business.

And it appears that the "Listening sessions" that some hosts have been invited to participate in before these videos have happened are just a way for Airbnb to assess what hosts are concerned about, yet that information seems to be used to come up with an explanation, AKA PR spin, for why they are going to proceed with doing whatever they've already decided to do, rather than saying to themselves "Well, we obviously should take this back to the drawing board because hosts aren't okay with it as it stands." Take a look at the thread on "Kindness cards" if you want to see how roundly host input gets ignored.

Sorry to be so cynical, but 3 and half years as a host on Airbnb has left me with little respect for how they deal with hosts. I've loved being a host and get wonderful guests- I've never had any of the guest horror shows that hosts report here, never had to make a damage claim or ask a guest to leave. Hosting guests from around the world in my home-share has been an enriching experience and I definitely appreciate the platform for providing a venue for those guests to find me. But as far as how the company does business and deals with its users, I'm far from impressed.

[Jason1350]

Thank you for the clarification and Yes the intent was a simple Yes / No because as you know these threads can go on for days. I agree with your sentiment and really just want to see things improve, because clearly it’s needed and I think it can with the proper levels of accountability and communication. 

all the best your way! 

[Gordon0]

No.

[Stephanie]

Hiya @Jason1350 ,

What a great topic, thanks for creating it! I wonder what your thoughts are on the Resource Center we have that is updated with latest policy changes and initiatives regularly. What do you think we're missing to satisfy your weekly update ask from Brian, and do you have some ideas on what we can do both here on the CC and on the RC?

Looking forward to your reply,

Stephanie

[Jason1350]

Hi @Stephanie  thanks for your reply.

I think the Resource Center is a great outlet and I’m impressed with the quality of information being provided there. The latest policy changes is a go to for me and I imagine other hosts. Additionally, I believe the initiatives that are highlighted are appropriate, well defined and accessible which is certainly helpful. 

The challenges that result from balancing a two sided platform are what makes Airbnb unique and valuable and the learnings from Covid-19 are going to be instrumental to a strong home sharing future. Thriving through these times and a sincere appreciation for Airbnb is what encourages me to take my time to share my thoughts and some suggestions. 

During these recent times, I find my hosting peers rarely share a community center resource link but always share when there will be a live update from Brian. This has offered us value and assurance and that’s what has encouraged me to post this topic. 

To satisfy that weekly update ask from Brian, what I think we’re missing is that human connection, bridging the gap between a wealth of effort and information that can be found in the Resource Center with hosts. I believe there’s an opportunity to strengthen the content that’s being developed and reach a broader hosting community that may not all frequent these resources with more timely, relevant and clear intent via a weekly update.

Some quick thoughts on areas that could be leveraged—how are the initiatives identified in the resource center performing, new key resource updates, new initiative learnings, answers to common questions being discussed in the CC. I.e topics such as—promising travel trends, Superhost Relief Fund performance, Extenuating Circumstances Policy, first responder success stories. 

Some ideas for the resource center that I think could be worth some further thought would come from really honing in on those learnings and challenges I mentioned earlier. I appreciate the ask and I’ll give this some more thought but in the interim an area that I’m thinking about...

In addition to the uniqueness, comfort and cleanliness guests have come to expect from our Airbnb’s—we know people are going to start traveling again. Cleanliness and safety are tablestakes of the new normal and the resource center has done a fantastic job of prioritizing these efforts. But what’s next? I strongly agree with a comment Brian made, “it’s going to feel more special to travel again”— I would encourage you and the CC to think about how can we ensure when travel does come back, they choose Airbnb and that the experience is at or beyond what we’ve delivered in the past. I.e with lots of businesses closed, our travel guides are likely out of date and irrelevant. My guests rely and value these recommendations from a locals perspective and it differentiates Airbnb from staying at a hotel. How can we help ensure these resources are updated and offer guests an optimal experience? Are there partnerships that can be made—maybe with companies like Yelp to help ensure accuracy. Is the new normal going to involve more meal prep at home for vacations? Can we support that by leveraging meal delivery companies like Blue Apron and can that experience be integrated flawlessly within our platform. 

Thanks again for your response. I appreciate your time and consideration. 

Best, J

[Mark116]

@Jason1350  No, not really, airbnb already has enough trouble dealing with its core functions and putting its existing 'updates' into actual practice. 

[Jason1350]

@Mark116 trust I hear you, it’s tough to get past circumstances that have come to fruition, but wouldn’t a shared accountability via a weekly update offer you and your business some level of assurance—even if it’s not what you want to hear?

My thought here was that to keep my business moving forward effectively I’d rather be well informed to create my own opinion than left in the dark guessing and assuming. A weekly update from the CEO really isn’t any skin off our back and it can’t hurt anymore than possibly help, wouldn’t you agree? 

[Sheila22]

No.