Where do I start?
50 Homes Listed at the top of the Screen-
So 50 types of homes at the top of a screen to choose from?! I DO NOT believe this reflects the way that most people search and book stays! Someone, (hint Brian Chesky), has lost touch. Location and dates btw are still at the very top of the screen when you search. Why is that? Because that is how regular people decide their trip. Yes, in that particular order. One decides what is the desired location, i.e. city, town, etc and what are the dates. Not rocket science! The several different kind of stays near the top of the screen looks visually overwhelming, very messy. Aren't most of Airbnb stays basement rentals, apartments/condos and single family homes no matter what materials the homes are fabricated of and no matter the exterior design? I find it odd that if there are going to be 50 different kinds of properties that the most basic, most widely sought after and hosted are not included in that list. Is this making too much sense?! As a traveler using the Airbnb I do not like the new search design. It is superficial and unnecessarily distracting.
Why is Airbnb placing so much money on design and marketing focused on uniqueness of rentals? I don't believe the base of Airbnb users are concerned with unique stays, particularly not at those expensive prices! Maybe it's because Airbnb is fearful that hotels, like Marriot. are catching up and may bypass Airbnb all together: https://mashable.com/article/marriott-airbnb-competitor-homes-and-villas .
A big problem that Airbnb has to tackle is there is no uniformity in host standards. That especially includes CLEANLINESS & HYGIENE. This issue resulted in my cancelling my recent booking, as a guest, after one night's stay. The rental was unsanitary and filthy. I booked a stay recently in a cottage that was overrun with mice and bugs! Pots and lids had mice feces, alive and dead bugs. One of the two mice I saw came within inches of my feet. Despite my mentioning to the Airbnb rep initially, the amount I paid, the rep miscalculated the refund. It took nearly a week for me to get the error addressed and refunded. As with any refund Airbnb makes you fight for every last penny you deserve. Shameful. I am glad at least that Airbnb eventually refunded me 100% of my money. The Airbnb first tried to discount my refund minus one night stay. I reminded him that I did not agree to book a cottage that had mice, feces and bugs nor will I be charged for that experience! !That cottage was booking at $135/night. My refund didn't include my time and gas expense to drive to that rental. It was over 2.5 hours away. (Gas is not cheap these days!) As a care-giver needing to take a much needed break I was exhausted by not sleeping well, in that mice infested cottage, and then having to defend my refund with Airbnb AND afterwards drive home an additional 2.5 hours - it was very upsetting. Not one of the rentals that I have stayed in as a guest was at least "hotel standards of clean. " A majority of Airbnb's where I stayed were dusty, dirty and sometimes down right filthy! Regardless of listings I have found this to be true. Yet, a number of these hosts' listings state that they follow and meet Airbnb's Covid cleaning standards. That has not been my overall experience.
Although I was given a 10% discount for my inconvenience with the booking I am considering Marriot for a guest stay in one of their homeowner rentals because of my most recent Airbnb guest experience. It seems Marriott may have better cleanliness and quality assurance standards with their hosts. We shall see...
Split Stays-
My thoughts on the split stay rollout? This practice could screw hosts financially who accept and benefit from long stay bookings. It would require more frequent cleanings, too. Hosts who offer long stays may not want to do that as frequently with each new booking. Cleanings cost hosts money.
Split stays would benefit some hosts who don't have exact dates available or who don't accept longer stays.
I have a hunch on why Airbnb may be pushing split stays. They want to engage as many hosts as possible in bookings. They may fear hosts leaving their platform because they are not making enough money/not getting enough bookings through Airbnb and/or because hosts may feel, as many have shared in this forum, that they are not respected/included in decisions that affect their earnings. Perhaps this split stay idea is a way for Airbnb to bump up the numbers of bookings, literally doubling them so that it sounds impressive to a board and investors. Airbnb is still not at preCovid booking numbers and revenue. This may be a way to manipulate numbers to appear the company is doing better than it is.
Side note- wondering does Airbnb get more money per booking by splitting stays when/if each stay is shorter, under a month. Whereas if the entire booking was made solely with one host and the timeframe is long enough for a the hosts's offering a weekly or monthly discount? In this scenario does the host and Airbnb make less money on extended stay, single bookings as opposed to splits? If the total amount of days are two months or longer how are two hosts' different monthly discounts calculated? If each host have monthly discounts on their listings? Split stays seem like they have the potential of screwing hosts and being logistically and mathematically problematic. I will see how this plays out. I would have concern as a guest being offered split stays. Each booking is risky. A guest doesn't know what to expect when he/she books or checks in. One rental experience could be fantastic and the other a dud but the need for consistent, quality accommodations, for work, is essential for most. When a guest is searching for a rental for work they are looking at essential criteria. Corporate guests do not book on a whim. They are concerned with distance to office or place of employment if they have to check in or meet in person some of the days. Also, there may be concerns over WiFi speeds. for Zoom and conferencing, access to kitchen/restaurant close by, potential for noise- work/sleep disturbances, possibly access to public transportation and costs. When corporate guests eventually identify a place that has what they are seeking why would they up and move to another location especially if it's a long stay? This split stay seems to be more focused on vacationers and not rooted in good ole common sense for workers.
This leads to my final words. Appeal to your base, Brian C. or you will lose them. Hosts and guests.
