Message from Chip Conley

[Lizzie]

Hello Everyone,

I know many of you have either met, spoken to or even heard him speak before, so Chip Conley, Head of Global Hospitality & Strategy, has asked me to pass on a message to you all here in the Community Center:

Nearly four years ago, the Airbnb founders asked me to come out of semi-retirement as a hotelier and help them evolve Airbnb into a world-class hospitality company. While this was supposed to be a part-time role, it quickly became immersive.

My first step was to travel around the world to more than twenty major cities and meet with you, our host community, to understand what matters to you and to learn more about how we can serve you better. Along the way, I also shared some hospitality tips as well as best practices I'd learned from many of you. And, I'm proud of creating the Airbnb Open. Based upon the variety of means we used to create a great Airbnb host community, our guest satisfaction scores are now substantially higher than the average for the global hotel industry. You truly are the best hospitality experts in the world!

It's now time for me to transition to a Strategic Advisor role serving the founders in the areas of Hospitality and Leadership. While I’m scaling back from a full-time role, I will continue to advocate for you and champion home sharing worldwide (I'm writing this from Stockholm where I'm giving a speech on home sharing). It's been an honor getting to know so many of you and be part of the movement to democratize hospitality. Keep opening homes and opening your hearts! It's good not just for your guests. It's good for you, too. 

Share with Chip and the rest of community, what motivates you to continue opening your home and your heart? Plus, if you have any kind words you would like to say to Chip, feel free to share them here, I am sure he would be really pleased to hear from you. 

We look forward to hearing from you. 🙂

Thanks,

Lizzie

[Maria-Lurdes0]

I met Chip a few times and he's a lovely, well-intentioned man.   Instead of all the bother and fuss and insane expense about seminars all over the world, Airbnb could have bought a copy of his book and sent it to every Superhost and still come out having spent less money.   Although I learned one very interesting thing from him (in your listing put three things that you love about your place and a few things that might not be so great), it's all stuff that we could have learned in a monthly update email, in a short video, in a series of webinars, etc.  The money that was spent on the "Hospitality" initiative could have secured an Email knowledge team to take all the tweaks and fixes and changes, report on the changes BEFORE they happen, so that hosts know "oh, starting Monday the 16th the calendar settings will move, and there's a new penalty for declining three reservation requests in a row.  Got it".

Anyhow, it's a new year, I'm putting my sights on moving forward and I am grateful for what Airbnb was, now we shall wait to see what Airbnb becomes. 

[Ange2]

I agree with others, Airbnb has lost sight of its professed goals.

But, thanks for saying: "You truly are the best hospitality experts in the world!" 

Did you tell the Airbnb founders how great we are? 

Would that they take a cue from it.  Good hosts are not expendable or easily replaceable.  Aside from what everyone else has mentioned, promoting all who choose IB, the good, the bad and the ugly, does little to promote hospitality or trustworthiness. Penalizing hosts with great reviews and history who refuse IB for valid reasons, including security is contrary to offering, developing the best.

This carrot and stick approach that Airbnb has come to excel at in all areas, many already mentioned, is counter-productive and detrimental to hosts.

[Louise0]

".....  to understand what matters to you and to learn more about how we can serve you better."   I think this must be a mistake.  You left out the "(not that we give a **bleep**)"

[Zacharias0]

What measurable goals has Chip Conley achieved? Besides talking about best practices and recycling tips hes learned from other hosts what has he done that has made AirBnB better than what it was 4 years ago?

[Mary-Ann0]

It's all just corporate speak meant to sound like everybody benefits from all the "go team, rah rah rah!" BS ….. but really it's just for the benefit of the corporation to make employees think the corporate talk actually means something that will help everyone including them.

Just corporate BS. 

[Dieneke0]

Hello @Lizzie

Thank you for sharing this and giving us the opportunity to give you our feedback. 

It is sad to see that instead of some friendly words for Chip that most of the comments talk about what people in general feel is not right in their eyes.

I have been hosting since 2012 and actually met Chip very early on when he was going round to hear from the hosts themselves what they wanted changed. So I attended a meeting with Chip in London which was very good. If you compare Airbnb in 2012 and now there is no comparison and it has changed beyond recognition.  What I admire in Airbnb as that they listen to the hosts and key issues are addressed.

So I learned a huge amount from Chip and others. Whether it is exceptional customer service, listening to the guests. I think it is admirable that Airbnb hosts are such a friendly community and share their experiences. That didn't exist when I started. Customer services has hugely improved and at several instances I and others in London would email Chip with questions, and he immediately would pass it on to the right person. That is really exceptional customer service! I have been to two Airbnb opens. Last year and the one in Paris. The Airbnb Open in Paris was cut short because of the bomb. And the Airbnb staff that was in Paris took it upon themselves to phone all hosts present to make sure they were okay. For quite a few people that must have made a huge difference, as being at the Open on your own, not understanding French might be pretty frightening.

I also learned from Chip's recommendation to also talk about what is not good in your home so that those that want to stay know. I rent a tiny room in my flat in Stoke newington in London. It is small, and not close to the tube. But there are guests for everyone and thanks to Chip's tips and others as well at least I managed to become a superhost now over a year ago.

This is just to give you some idea of my experience, having seen it all change over time, and for the good it is.

Dieneke

[Lizzie]

Hello everyone,

Thank you for all your feedback and replies, I would like to take this opportunity to address a few of the points raised here. 

Everyone here at Airbnb is continuously working hard to address the many challenges we face as a growing company, that now works on a global scale. As you can imagine this comes with a wide range of challenges and difficulties that we have to work out. A lot of this is on a local scale in the many different countries we now operate in. Not to mention, on top of this, the variety of components on the Airbnb platform itself, which everyone uses and have to be continually addressed. 

Chip has been diligently working for the past four years on the hospitality side of what Airbnb offers. He has been mainly working to see what we can all do to ensure for those people who do open up their homes on the platform, have a certain level of cleanliness, friendliness, reliability, that all go into creating a great all around experience. 

Airbnb has been working together with both Hosts and Guests that use the platform right from the start, to make sure it is a service that both sides are equally happy to use and have a great experience on. The aim has always been to change the way in which we travel and stay abroad or more closer to home. To change the way we travel, where we stay, make connections and enable more enjoyable experiences all around.

Here Chip nor anyone else, is trying to tell you things you already know. We know that a lot of the host here in the Community are very knowledgeable and know how to host better than anyone. Some hosts are naturally good at this and others were great straight from the start, then through talking to other hosts they have been able to create an even better experience for their guests. The challenge here was how to help those thousands of hosts, who are new to this and don't necessarily know all the tricks to making a guest feel comfortable, to all create a great experience. Once that is better than staying in a hotel. 

For Airbnb it is always a balancing act with the rules we put in place to enable hosts are able and happy to open up their homes, alongside encouraging people there is an alternative to using hotels as a place to go whenever they travel. 

Of course Airbnb is used by a wide variety of people and Chip has been trying to help those people who do want or need more of a handhold in how best to open up their home to guests in a wide variety of cultures. This is no mean feat and I hope you’ll agree with me when I say that the overall platform experience for Hosts and Guests has greatly improved over the years and it’s because of that, that the concept of people using Airbnb as an alternative has become much more accepted in only a relatively short amount of time.

10 years ago, is would have been very hard to, one; rent out your house for short periods and find people who would take you up on that offer and two; find someone that would rent out their house for you to stay at and ensure they have the confidence that the place they’ve arrived at was of a certain standard and payment was make securely, protecting both the person renting and the person staying.

This has become a huge shift change in how we perceive hospitality and has given everyone a much greater freedom and choice in how we want to live our lives and travel.

Now of course we don’t always get it right, people don’t always act the way we expect them to behave and making something like this work at scale takes time to get right.

So yes, there are threads on this community where we talk about experiences that did not go to plan and that is regrettable, but as regrettable as that is the vast majority of stays through Airbnb work out fantastically well, as evidenced by all of the 5 star ratings you all are able to achieve. Plus, the many lovely comments that have also been shared here in the Community Center, which are often overlooked.

The questions you raise and the ideas and feedback you give are certainly looked at and discussed. And with this community the volume of all these has of course also increased dramatically and we are working on creating and setting up the right processes to deal with this volume and sharing with you our thoughts and feedback as well.

Again, this is not an easy thing to do when so much is coming at us, and we are still trying to change perceptions of Guests at the same time. We all need to ensure that Airbnb is at all times a great alternative to using hotels and making sure the use of this service is as comfortable, easy, reliable as booking a room somewhere else.

We are working on getting you all the answers to the questions you have raised and we are trying to address as many of them as we can as quickly as possible, in the Airbnb Open days, as well as here on our community. But, I hope you understand that addressing some of your questions or feedback can potentially have a big impact on how the service works, and that means we have to work out internally what that impact is before we give a definitive answer to these.

Many of the great ideas and feedback that has been raised through Host Voice are being looked at and considered but we need to make sure that when we feed back to you we don’t create more fluff, but are genuinely addressing them, whether or not we agree, so that you know we have really thought about it. Rather than giving placeholder answers and platitudes.

Although the main focus for this specific thread was more around the work Chip has delivered in creating the program of work to raise the average standard of hosting of the thousands of people that use Airbnb. So although I understand what has been raised here, I hope you can join me in wishing Chip all the best in his new role and future activities and appreciate the work he has put in to help us get to a level where people in general now see Airbnb as real alternative to hotels. 🙂

Thank you,

Lizzie

More specifically, @Robin4 you mention your misplaced a thread you created, is this what you are referring to link - you will also be able to view in your Community Profile. We will never remove a post, unless it breaks the guidelines and without further discussion with the original poster first. 🙂

@David126 and@Ange2, in terms of the Q&A Founder questions, please be assured I am still activily working on getting the responses back on the thread so it is still a very high priority to me.

[Pamela138]

Wow, a lot of words about how WE can lure more guests  for you, and NONE about how Airbnb can support the hosts. THAT is the problem in a nutshell. 

YOU are making money off our HOMES and you are not protecting us or our homes. Why give a 'million' dollar protection when in the same brerath you tell us to get our own insurance? BS, it's a marketing ploy and empty promise. 

You no longer protect the host when a guest damages their belongings. The reviews are lop-sided on the side of the guests. Why can't WE give anonymous comments about the guest? We are pressured to sanitize them.

Why are otherwse stellar hosts punished for not using Instant Book? (don't anser that,  we know full well it's blackmail) BTW, I don't use IB because YOUR software does not sync perfectly with other sites and I don't want to double book. BUT you also unlist people with no warning, so I MUST list with other sites. 

Why can' t you realize that WE are the ones who take the risk of having strangers in our HOMES? They can leave if we seem creepy to them,  but we are stuck with them, and you force us to do IB and skip the vetting. That is despicable. 

You add fees on top of fees, try to sell us stuff, take away the benfits you used to give us and pressure us to do more and more. Your platform is less and less user friendly. You don't seem acountable for any actions you take. Your TOS leaves us in the dark and without recourse. 

I see nothing in your splendid "Opens" about host dissatisfaction. You cannot stop the social media from sharing these issues, you can't just placate us and hope they will go away. People will move to sites where they are treated better. 

Your letter does not do one thing towards addressing the issues, except to say in vague termes that they are bing 'discussed'. Plenty of detail about what WE can do better and ZERO ownership in your own contribution to host skepticism. 

[Robin4]

@Pamela138 @Lizzie....and you rock too Pamela.

I have had a couple of rants now about host service....and maybe it is a bit unfair of me to do that because I cannot talk from experience! I have never had a problem that required the intervention of Airbnb.

I have had a wonderful stream of guests.....and on that note I do feel the quality of ABB guests is better than the other site I use. ABB guests are more attuned to the fact they are in a hosting environment rather than a hotel one.

Communication with guests through ABB has always been seamless, apart from the odd SMS that does not arrive.

Payments always arrive in my nominated account for the exact amount, and in the correct timeframe.

On the couple of occasions I have called, the local helpdesk has always been prompt and efficient at dealing with my query!

If I was asked to rate ABB for what it has done for my life I would have no hesitation in giving it a five out of five!!

But Pamela, that's me and I think that I am possibly the architect of much of that. I don't try to extract the last dollar out of my listing. I do try to provide a comfortable well equipped, private environment. I have always subscribed to the notion that ...'the less a guest expects, the more they will be delighted with what they get' I don't court disaster!

I have now spent the best part of two years on this forum and Pamela, I am scared!!

I have totally lost count of the number of hosts who have not followed 'protocol' for one reason or other and have found that ABB has turned into their worst nightmare!

The fact that the host couldn't provide properly documented photographic evidence of damage, receipts for destroyed possessions. The fact that they did not fit the reporting guidelines means, as far as ABB are concerned.....it did not happen, it's not claimable! We are hosts, we are not the FBI with our finger on the pulse of procedural discovery and reporting at all times!!!

And most galling of all, If by some chance you do manage fit through this awfully slim opening, and get the company to accept some responsibility for this guest that they have introduced into your environment, they will say said damage is due to 'wear and tear' and not covered.....JESUS!!! We see it time and time again, and it is frightening!

Pamela, I am proud of what I do for Airbnb. There are people out there who blow ABB's trumpet because of what hosts like you and I do. The last thing I want to do is screw Airbnb, but I don't want them to screw me either when that guest from hell happens to slip under my radar and walk into my life!

I don't want to hear the Chip Conleys of ABB tell me we are a great community! I want them to prove to us that we all matter, and that there is a life vest there for me when the waters get choppy!

Thanks @Lizzie...I did find that post...It was on my own thread, for God's sake...and on a personal level, thank you for what you do! I knew when I kicked off my comments on this thread that it put you in that hot seat, but I felt I needed to say it and as usual , you have handled yourself wonderfully. You are a terrific asset to the platform!

Cheers.....Rob

[Pamela138]

Robin, I am a little taken aback that you infer that I am trying to extract the last dollar from Airbnb or that I am not a good host! I have over 170 reviews and most are 5 star. I cannot be a Super Host anymore though, because I won't accept Instant Book BECAUSE Airbnb's calendar will not sync with other sites. NOT my fault. I resent being punished for it. What have I done wrong? 170 guests through Airbnb and 95% of them 5 star and my page listing goes down because I won't instant book, I am not a Super Host because I won't instant book.

And I am talking about the CHANGE in service. When I started with Airbnb 4 years ago CS was terrific and they BELIEVED the host. Now we have to jump through hoops and if we can't prove it, it didn't happen. How many of you photograph your place between each guest? And if you notice WE have to chase the guest down BEFORE airbnb gets in evolved AND make a claim with our own insurance before they get involved (which WILL raise our rates). And we have to do all of that within hours and days of the damage. What I am saying is that the million dollar coverage is a SCAM. I'm not talking about a few broken dishes, I 'm talking about massive amounts of bodily fluids, ruined walls, floors, fires, drugs. Please give me more credit than tthat. I do not charged my guests for accidental breakage and stains.

I am on other hosting forums and heard of others decrying the changes, too. I WAS airbnb's biggest fan. Now I am afraid they will de-list me with no reason given like they have 1000's of others.

And why should hosts be pressured into booking people before vetting them, before asking questions? Why is that a bad thing? There are more and more scammers finding Airbnb than ever and I haven't seen anything that they have done to protect us, just the opposite. It's not about dollars, it's a bout respect and fairness. Robin.

[Robin4]

@Pamela138

Pamela, that comment was in no way directed at you! Some of the posts we see are about guests who have complained that what they felt they would receive in the listing is not what was offered, or posts by others who say they do not provide anything they cannot charge for. It was absolutely no reflection on you and I am sorry if you felt it was. I was just illustrating that I offer a lot for what I get!

I find your comment re: Superhost status because you don't 'instant book' puzzling. I am a Superhost, but I do not and will not use 'Instant Book'. As far as I am aware search preferences are given to those who activate instant book but I am not aware of any punative action such as you have described for hosts who don't use it.....It simply makes your listing less visible.

I would be very interested in finding out how this has come about for you!

Pamela, we are on tyhe same page....I am talking about the changes in service too. You only have to talk with some of the original Airbnb hosts to find out that host service standards have slipped enormously in recent years.

Far from criticising you, I am defending you and I am sorry that you misinterpereted my post, perhaps you should read it again. I clearly state that...."Pamela, I am proud of what I do for Airbnb. There are people out there who blow ABB's trumpet because of what hosts like you and I do.!" As I said I am defending you. not criticising you. It's the establishment that needs to change, not you!

Cheers.....Rob 

[Pamela138]

Ok, I did not understand. And by punishing, yes, placing me lower in the listing IS punishment. I am one of the first people in my area to offer Airbnb and have by FAR more reviews than any other listing in the hundreds that now opened up. And yet, I get pushed down the listing because I don't take instant book? Really? That is the gratitude I get? 

And yes, I did not mention price tips. I ignore them but they are SO insulting. The worst motel (meth labs and all) in our area charges $200 a night and Airbnb suggest I charge $33-$77 for a whole house. I don't know who came up with these ideas, but I can't figure out how they cannot see how insulting they are. 

[Pamela138]

Wow, Airbnb, a lot of words about how WE can lure more guests  for you, and NONE about how Airbnb can support the hosts. THAT is the problem in a nutshell. 

YOU are making money off our HOMES and you are not protecting us or our homes. Why give a 'million' dollar protection when in the same brerath you tell us to get our own insurance? BS, it's a marketing ploy and empty promise. 

You no longer protect the host when a guest damages their belongings. The reviews are lop-sided on the side of the guests. Why can't WE give anonymous comments about the guest? We are pressured to sanitize them.

Why are otherwse stellar hosts punished for not using Instant Book? (don't anser that,  we know full well it's blackmail) BTW, I don't use IB because YOUR software does not sync perfectly with other sites and I don't want to double book. BUT you also unlist people with no warning, so I MUST list with other sites. 

Why can' t you realize that WE are the ones who take the risk of having strangers in our HOMES? They can leave if we seem creepy to them,  but we are stuck with them, and you force us to do IB and skip the vetting. That is despicable. 

You add fees on top of fees, try to sell us stuff, take away the benfits you used to give us and pressure us to do more and more. Your platform is less and less user friendly. You don't seem acountable for any actions you take. Your TOS leaves us in the dark and without recourse. 

I see nothing in your splendid "Opens" about host dissatisfaction. You cannot stop the social media from sharing these issues, you can't just placate us and hope they will go away. People will move to sites where they are treated better. 

Your letter does not do one thing towards addressing the issues, except to say in vague termes that they are bing 'discussed'. Plenty of deatil about what WE can do better and ZERO ownership in your own contribution to host anger. 

[David126]

"sharing with you our thoughts and feedback as well"

Communication seems to be a major issue, hiding of contact details, asking for comments but no feedback, making changes to the platform often without notice. I would start there.

[Lisa367]

@LizzieI'll try to be as diplomatic as possible.  We host because we need money, period.  My husband works an unpaid internship and we are both in college.  If we didn't need the money, we wouldn't host.  It's that simple.  We have been hosting for nearly 2 years now and are superhosts, however over that time we have noticed a DRAMATIC decrease in the level of support for hosts.  What I mean is that there have been more and more changes made in the system for the GUESTS to be able to rant and complain.  For example, when a guest leaves a review, they have the opportunity to leave specifics under (for example), "cleanliness" like "smells, dirt, hair, mold."  What the H*ll??  really??  Hosts only get to leave "stars" and thats it.  How would you rate your guest,  1 -5??  Because of these higher standards that you're giving the hosts, guests think they are getting 5 star hotels, yet the price of a room in our city is still an average of 30 euros per night.  We had one guest demand that we have fresh and dried fruits, plus soy milk for his vegan girlfriend, even though our listing says in three places "we do not serve food items".   I am ALWAYS lecturing guests as to what Airbnb is... "you're staying in a room in our house and there's a reason its only 30 euros per night.  you're not going to get 5 star accomodations, but a comfortable, clean place to stay with no room service whatsoever."  Do I really need to keep explaining that to people?  So far in the last 18 months we've had to be much stricter in our own home.  We no longer offer the kitchen for cooking because guests were breaking dishes.  Does Airbnb pay for those replacements?  No.  Does Airbnb pay when a guest gets period blood on my bathroom rug and I have to buy a new one?  No.  Does airbnb pay when guest destroy sheets and towels with makeup and I have to buy new ones?  No.