The Blue Lion

[Zon0]

Back round 

Super host for 6 years in a row 

1780 reviews 

Most reviewed in my city and in my state

92 percent occupancy for  5 years

The Blue Lion

A lot has changed on Airbnb since I started. Airbnb has been wonderful but i believe its coming to a end.

Two things have happened 

1. Airbnb had introduced the opinion factor into its review terms and conditions contracts. 

Guest can now write  reviews based on service we do not provide or advertise in our listing. Airbnb get out  clause is that it is the guest opinion there for its not in breach of the review term and condition. I spoke to a high level supervisor, I asked if him a a direct question. If a guest stated in a review that i did not provide a blue lion and a pool would Airbnb allow that review to stand. He Saied yes as it was the guest opinion.  

Funny thing is i then asked him to put that in writing and he refused. This is very common now. Airbnb case mangers say what ever they want and when asked writing to repeat what they Saied on the phone in writing they do not . 

There is no formal written complaint process so Airbnb Superiors can not see the abuse which is happening by lower level agents

I have asked for the address to send a complaint in and I'm told by various agent that that information is confidential.

I have had at least 8 reviews in the last year and around 20 more in the previous year were we have provided clear written evidence showing the guest attempting to manipulate the system. These range from damage claims, services we do not provide and extra services we provide outside of check in and check out

A review Is no longer  about what you in your listing that counts .It how the guest feel that matters.

I asked Airbnb supervisors case mangers  for advise and how to prevent these things from happening . None is provided because whether you offer a service or not a guest can make a comment stating they were not happy. You can be clear and precise it no longer matters

Why is this happening 

1. Airbnb are allowing call takers to work from home. No management to answer to 
2. Airbnb are subcontracting call takers from different part of the world to lower costs. The call takers are working together with supervisors to stop any legitimate  complaint from going thought.
3. No formal written complaint procedure
4. Airbnb would like to see less 5 star reviews to bring more confidence in there review system as this has been a issue with customers purchasing  rooms.
5.  Airbnb call takers are not obligated to put in writing what Saied phone. 
6. Poorly trained staff who are not able to look at issues on a case by case basis as stipulated in the contract. 

The Solution

1.  Better training . 
2. Bring back call centers
3. stop out sourcing call takers
4. Spend more money and time educating new Airbnb customers on the use of the platform. 
5. Guest with 0 reviews should have the review check when a issue a brought up. Most bad reviews come from guest who do not know how to use the platform. 
6. Only allow guest to comment in reviews on the services advertised in the listing.
7. Create a formal written complaint procedure so call takers can not abuse the system
8. If a call is asked to looked in by the host or guest there should be a mandatory check to  insure the call takers are consistent with what they say and what they write .No point recording calls unless they are acutely checked
9.  90 percent of guest do not know Airbnb send them a email with directions on how to get to the property. Fix that
10. Remove the google maps link placed on the app as it does not work in every country. Since this has been put on guest are getting lost more frequently as the information now always correct

While i understand that nothing is perfect i believe we are heading down a rocky road were hosts will stop hosting. We are a community of normal people renting our homes. with customer expectation going up there needs to be more support for hosts.  Quality hosting is the key to Airbnb business. 

I truly hope Airbnb who has done me well over the years can fix these issue. Its very difficult to see our rating that we worked hard for for so many years  go down for issues outside of our control.

I still recommend Airbnb to who ever read this. I wanted to bring this up in a forum were hopefully we can come together to make a change to better our community

[Annie1372]

@Zon0 

you are right, AirBNB do not seams to care anymore about their Host 😞

What do you mean by Blue Lion ?

[Zon0]

I asked the supervisor .

If a guest left a bad reviews because i did not provide a blue lion at my homes, would airbnb consider it to be a legitimate review. .

They Saied yes because it was a opinionen. Basically a guest say what ever they want regardless of how ridiculous it may be . airbnb will up hold the review