What does Airbnb do for hosts?

[Brian2036]

I’m seeing a whole lot of unhappiness among people who are clearly confused about what Airbnb promises to do for us, what they actually do for us, what we wish they would do for us, etc.

 I soon realized that I haven’t really thought it out. The advertising tends to create unreasonable expectations, leading people to believe that they can just list with Airbnb, sit back, forget about it, and wait for the money to roll in.

So what do I actually get from Airbnb?

1.) ADVERTISING. Excellent first class advertising, professionally disseminated globally. This is valuable and expensive.

2.) REPUTATION. Public perception is quite positive. If guests start to distrust Airbnb we all are going to lose. We can have another discussion about what we, as hosts, could do to boost the ratings while quietly demanding attention to serious problems.

3.) THEY  COLLECT THE MONEY. I haven’t seen any complaints about payments getting lost, fraudulent credit cards, bad checks or any of that. When I was doing it on my own I had all these problems, regularly, Plus, I’m always trying to find a reason to believe (anybody remember Lobo?) whatever lie they are offering.

Guest: Could you give me another two weeks to pay? My child support check is late.

Host (thinking‘How is this my problem’): OK, you almost paid on time last month. But then you had to pay your bar tab, which is understandably your top priority.

Guest: Thanks for understanding. I hate to ask, but I don’t even have money for groceries. Do you think you could spot two hundred?

Host: Why not, I always admired the local loanshark.

Guest: Maybe there’s something I could do for you…:

Host (hurriedly): NO! PLEASE just have the money ready on the fifteenth. Better yet, mail it to me.

 I haven’t had to deal with solicitations of any kind even once through Airbnb.

[Brian2036]

4.)  They collect and pay local TAXES.  At least I hope they do. A court decision ordered them to do it. This is a a difficult task and if they can keep the Infernal Revenoors off our backs it’s worth a lot to me.

5.) They provide a rating and vetting service.  Although there are some complaints about retaliatory guest reviews, unreasonable account suspensions, etc. I would rather have it than have nothing. It’s a valuable tool and it needs some fine tuning.

Any derogatory review against an established 5-star host should be suspended pending investigation, rather than the other way around.

 I think that the host should enjoy a strong presumption of innocence in every instance. The host has no interest in discouraging future bookings. The guest has no interest in anything other than extorting a refund, punishing a host who has required them to abide by the rules, sulking because they were too lazy to read the description and found out that the property was not what they imagined it to be, or indulging in some sort of sadistic impulse to destroy that which they cannot steal.

6.) They provide a useful calendar.  This is another valuable tool that I really appreciate. There are a few glitches but basically it’s excellent. 

If you can think of other things please add them.

[Sarah977]

@Brian2036  The problem with them collecting the money is that they can also claw it back. Like refunding guests for some bogus complaint, or refunding a guest in contravention of the host's cancellation policy because the guest comes up with some sob story about why they need to cancel. 

If all they did was collect the money and pay it out to hosts, without sticking their noses in and letting some know-nothing CS rep decide a guest should be refunded, it would be fine.

[Colleen253]

#3. “I haven’t seen any complaints about payments getting lost…”

hahaha, have you done a key word search for ‘missing payout”? 

https://community.withairbnb.com/t5/Help/Payout-issues/td-p/1323318

This is my greatest fear.

[Brian2036]

@Colleen253 :

No, I hadn’t done a search. Yikes. This is really bad.

 I guess I can add “prompt payment” to my list of things that Airbnb is supposed to be doing but is not doing well.

 I hope they are taking this very seriously and making it a top priority. This threatens the continuing viability of the company.

[Sarah977]

@Brian2036  "This threatens the continuing viability of the company."

No, it doesn't. The longer they hang on to the money,  giving hosts excuses like "it's a tech glitch", "talk to your bank, we released the payment", "a special team is looking into it", the better their bottom line looks to investors and the more interest they earn on the unreleased funds.

I read a post a couple years ago on another hosting forum- the host hadn't been paid for 6 completed bookings dating back months. After getting the usual deflecting excuses from Airbnb ad nauseum, she finally contacted the guests she'd hosted, saying Airbnb had never paid her for their bookings and would they mind contacting Airbnb about it.

5 of the 6 called Airbnb, asking why the money they had been charged had never been paid to the host.

The next morning, lo and behold, all the payments miraculously appeared in her account.

Airbnb outright lies to hosts.

[Elaine701]

@Sarah977 

We, fortunately, haven't had any payment problems, and in fact, it's been extremely reliable. Like clockwork. So far. 

I'm under no illusions that it can't happen though. It certainly happens to others. It's can expected that glitches may occur from time to time. But my greatest fear is that should it ever happen, the exercise of getting Airbnb to actually do anything about it could be hellishly aggravating, if not futile. 

Considering the obtuse and disconnected behaviours of Airbnb host support, functional issues like payments, inexplicable suspensions, guest refunds for no apparent reason, even delisting... could be a real hell to resolve. If ever. With little recourse other than a lawsuit; my lawyer vs. their team of 100 highly paid professional "fixers". Right, then. 

So, I'm always on guard.  Luckily, we're finally starting to ramp up credibility on other platforms, which at least reduces our dependence on Airbnb, just in case they go completely off the rails. 

[Brian2036]

Most hosts are doing this in large part to earn money. Few of us could afford to do it for free.

If hosts don’t get paid they will quit or find a different OTA.

 I have to assume that the management of Airbnb knows this. . . Don’t I?

Really, they can get by with a lot of defects and a crappy CS system, but I really hope that someone somewhere has a big sign in their office that says: IF THE HOSTS DON’T GET PAID YOU DON’T GET PAID.

[Elaine701]

@Brian2036 

IF HOSTS DON'T GET PAID YOU DON'T GET PAID

not true. Airbnb takes their commissions anyway. Especially when it's a cancellation. Or if they neglect to pay for whatever reason. They still get their money. 

And as far as "other OTA", there's consequences for that, too. Airbnb generates bookings. Other platforms are several notches down from Airbnb in terms of market reach and overall booking volume. You can quit Airbnb, but at the risk of having swatches of unbooked calendar dates. Especially if you have no history or reviews on other platforms. 

The best strategy in my opinion, is not to quit Airbnb, but certainly list on other platforms (yet remain equally vigilant and preventative of bad guests), develop a following on the others, simply to reduce or eliminate total dependence on Airbnb. It takes years to develop useful credibility on any platform, so get started now.

The challenge is that Airbnb is likely to book up your calendar before any other platform has a chance.

So, I've begun blocking Airbnb for certain dates, to give other platforms a chance to get the bookings. And the more bookings you receive from other platforms, the more reviews, which gives you credibility, which raises your search placement on those platforms. 

It's tricky. But IMO, in the long term view, it's important to avoid total dependence on Airbnb. It's their most fundamental leverage over hosts. And perhaps helps explain why they get away with the things they do. 

[Branka-and-Silvia0]

Any derogatory review against an established 5-star host should be suspended pending investigation, rather than the other way around.

I think that the host should enjoy a strong presumption of innocence in every instance. The host has no interest in discouraging future bookings. The guest has no interest in anything other than extorting a refund, punishing a host who has required them to abide by the rules, sulking because they were too lazy to read the description and found out that the property was not what they imagined it to be, or indulging in some sort of sadistic impulse to destroy that which they cannot steal.

I totally agree with this @Brian2036 , and  I am sure all other hosts do.

And, if you ask me, the real security deposit would solve 80% of all host's and Airbnb's problems. Guests and tenants think and act differently if they know they can be charged for the damage they cause. It would be worth more than their 1 mil host guarantee.

[Brian2036]

@Branka-and-Silvia0 :

Thanks for that recommendation.

So we can add to the list of things We Wish They Would Do:  Actually require a security deposit.

As far as I know most high quality hotels do this. I’m not sure of the technical details, but apparently they somehow put a hold on funds from the guest’s credit card until after checkout but don’t actually collect anything. (Unless-)

So is there some reason Airbnb can’t or won’t do it?

 I imagine one reason is that it might discourage bookings.

 The current “fake” security deposit doesn’t seem to be a problem, though, and I doubt that most guests know how it really works.

 I didn’t until I started reading this forum.

 I must admit, however, that I once saw a cabin I would have rented but when I saw that they were demanding a $5000 security deposit I chose another one.

[Colleen253]

@Brian2036 "I imagine one reason is that it might discourage bookings."

Everything Airbnb does is designed to just bring in the bookings, any bookings, at any cost, host be darned. Hosts can take their pesky rules and their need for a certain nightly rate, plus their obsession with red flags, and go play alone in the corner. 🙄

[Brian2036]

@Colleen253 :

If that is indeed the de facto unofficial policy due to the extreme incompetence of some upper level managers I fear for the long-term future of this company.

 I have seen this sort of thing destroy other reputable companies such as General Electric, Sears Roebuck, Kodak…the list is endless.

 I guess I have to look into listing with other OTAs as a backup but I’ll tell you, when I tried to list with VRBO and Booking.com I got so frustrated I finally just canceled my listing and told them to stuff it.

Admittedly Airbnb’s new and improved website has some problems but it’s far superior to the competition.

[Colleen253]

@Brian2036 Airbnb will be fine. Their market reach is huge, and they do bring the bookings for us all. Despite the many downsides to hosting on Airbnb, there are still upsides. We all just need to be savvy and learn how to operate within the confines set. Smart hosts spend time here in this forum, learning/sharing just how to do that. 

[Elaine701]

@Brian2036 

We're listed on VRBO, and we were at one point, listed on booking.com.

So far, VRBO has been lackluster at best in terms of bookings, more hassle to use, limited communication, higher fees, more downward price pressure, and zero support. 

Booking.com is just a machine... all instant book, zero guest vetting, no guest interaction, and you're obliged to accept all bookings no matter what. 

Nature of the beast. Set your expectations appropriately.