What is your Airbnb Updates board feedback?

[Lizzie]

Hello everyone,

Earlier this year, we created a designated board here in the Community Center for Airbnb Updates (blog), to make it easier to find the latest Airbnb information in one place.

One of the things we noticed pretty quickly was that, like elsewhere in the CC, we were missing the ability to reply directly to a reply. Although this isn't really seen in conventional blogs, we decided to introduce this feature to this board and we hope this has made it easier for you to discuss points further.

As several months have now passed and in-light of the update I mention above, we would love to hear your thoughts on the Airbnb Updates board; how you are finding using it and if you feel more informed around updates. Perhaps there are things you really like or would like to see more of?

Looking forward to hearing from you.

Thank you so much,

Lizzie

[Sehyun0]

Yes, I surely want to join any comments you have talked and also a new access to teach the CC can make every host join these talks. Please  keep me posted. Thanks!

[Lizzie]

Hey @Sehyun0,

Thanks for your reply here, it's great to hear you are interested in the Airbnb Updates. 

Do you regularly check this board? 

It would be great to hear from others as well on this. 🙂

Thanks,

Lizzie

[Sehyun0]

We should reduce the using of plastic to save our environment and world. We have had this wonderful environment from our descendants so they are deserved to enjoy being with a bit of better environment. I do help to do these kinds of action. Thanks!

[Lizzie]

Completely agree @Sehyun0. Have you seen this great topic, @Paul1255 created? I would love to hear what you do. 🙂

[Ann72]

@Lizzie  I wish they gave us system updates, such as information will now display like thus on certain browsers.  And I wish the posts were displayed in order.  

[Lizzie]

Hey @Ann72,

Thanks for your comments here. 

I would love to hear more about what kind of system updates you think would be helpful and how you would like to receive this information, so you are not bambarded with information that you don't think is necessary, but also something on our side we can make sure we are on top of! 🙂 

In terms of the topics, in the Airbnb Updates board, they should be seen in the order they were posted (ie. date order), is this what you are referring to or something else? If so, is this not showing this way for you? 

Thanks again, this is great stuff.

Lizzie

[Ann72]

@Lizzie I got distracted by "featured" at the top.  🙂  But as you scroll down, they're not strictly in date order.  They go April, May, April, May, April, May, March, May.  Etc.

Some of them are news items - Inside the Listening Tour, Laura's Letter, etc. - but many of them are tips and tutorials.  Very few real updates.

I guess the name of the board is confusing.  I read "Airbnb Community Updates," and I think "Airbnb Updates."  I think it should be called "Airbnb Community News."  And there should be a separate board for system and policy updates.

There have been a series of updates to the look and content of the site.  The top used to look like this:

A recent software update on my MacBook gives me a new version in Chrome, which looks like this when you go to Airbnb.com:

To get to the host dashboard, you click the Airbnb icon, scroll down, and choose "switch to hosting."  Then you get your dashboard:

If you would like to check your inbox or go to reservations, calendar, etc., you choose the three little lines in the upper right corner.

So there are extra steps involved, which reduces one's efficiency over time.

Along with this update, the inbox looks similarly clean and new, but the messaging area is so narrow that there's a lot of scrolling to be done when you're sending information to a guest.  Here's a recent shot:

See how small and narrow that text box is?  When sending the house manual and driving directions it becomes very, very long.  Much scrolling to proofread and amend.  You can only lengthen the box, not enlarge it from side to side.

The latest update here in the messaging area is in "Saved Messages."  Airbnb did a wonderful thing last year by providing the house manual, the driving directions, and other important information under "Saved Messages."  Those are now gone.  The only things in my "Saved Messages" are those I've created myself:

I understand guests are supposed to be able to access the driving directions and house manual after booking, but believe me - they don't.  Or they can't.  I don't ask, I just I routinely send every single guest both of these things, along with a link to the guidebook.  I get very few questions about anything as a result.

Now, however, with the saved messages gone, I open a separate window, choose the listing, go to the house manual and copy it, then paste it into the message to the guest.  Then I do the same thing for the driving directions.  I also open a separate window for the guidebook, choose "Edit," choose "Share," and then paste the link generated into the message to the guest.

I'm going to keep doing all of these things for every guest, but when you consider how many more steps I'm taking for each message, again you can see how efficiency will be diminished over time.

I vote to bring back the house manual, house rules, and driving directions to "Saved Messages" and to add the guidebook link to "Saved Messages" as well.

In conclusion, if there were a separate board for these kinds of updates, where each update was briefly explained and accompanied by a feedback link or even a brief survey or poll, we experienced hosts would find it more useful.

[Ann72]

@Lizzie  Since posting this, my saved messages have reappeared.  I credit you with this small miracle!

[Susan17]

@Lizzie 

As this is Airbnb's own official forum, it would be nice if the updates were posted in a timely manner - not days, or sometimes even weeks, after the information has already been widely discussed on every other Airbnb- and STR-related group/forum on the internet. 

Also, many of the updates are related to contentious issues that impact hosts hugely - as evidenced by the tsunami of responses to such posts by aggrieved hosts (up to 2000 in some instances) Rather than just dumping the update in the CC, then slithering off to hide under a rock while the inevitable furore unfolds, Airbnb has a duty and responsibility to the host community to stay on the thread and respond to each and every person who raises a question. Coming back with a further "update" (invariably clarifying nothing at all), often 4, 6 or 8 weeks later, whilst affected hosts have been clamouring for answers all that time, is unacceptable, disrespectful and an insult to everyone who has taken the time to post their queries and concerns. 

Finally, if we could have less of the condescending, ambiguous, nausea-inducing Airbnb-speak in these updates, and more straight facts in plain English, that would be really helpful too. 

[Lizzie]

Hello @Susan17,

Thanks for your feedback, this is super helpful and a lot to think about here. 

I think in some areas, we are getting better at providing updates especially to glitches spotted by the community and I hope we can speed this up as well, the tricky part can often be that it is differs depending on what the actual update is, epecially if it is glitch. The information shared by community members in the CC on what you are actually experiencing is always a great help for the product team to identify where things are quite going to plan – so it certainly shows the important role you and other hosts play here (among many other things! 🙂 )

As you say though, there is certainly more to be done and I would love to hear any of your ideas on the format, regularity, language etc. on how you think we could better show more updates, based on the different types there might be? 

Thanks again, Susan. Speak to you soon.

Lizzie 

[Beth80]

@Lizzie 

I read your article and came away with ? What updates?

So I went to "All Discussion Rooms"  Didn't find it.

Went back to your post and clicked on the highlighted word. Finally.

After looking over the page I'm still wondering, what updates?

Nice articles but nothing addressing the subjects that we here on the forum are concerned about.

Such as the case of changing private rooms to shared spaces.  That is what I would consider an update. 

Keep trying.

[Lizzie]

Hey @Beth80, 

Thanks for this. So currently, if the community has spotted a glitch or issue in the CC, like the private rooms/shared spaces one which was hot last week! You may have seen that we posted an update on the topics related to this. 

Based on this, do you think that a specific Airbnb Updates blog post would also be useful? Or do you think this might be slightly confusing to though who weren't aware of this? It would be great to have your opinion on this. 

Also, based on your comment about 'All discussion rooms' would you find it useful to have the Airbnb Updates board here instead of under the 'Discover' tab on the CC header? 

Thanks,

Lizzie

[Ruth428]

I check out the Community Center frequently and like to be kept up to date on any changes or updates to Airbnb. I noticed that under the progress on my Superhost, my trips reviewed is wrong and I was in danger of losing my Superhost status. After some research, I found that others are seeing the same thing. Is this a bug/glitch that will be corrected? If so, it would be nice if there was a place we see if there was a bug/glitch.

[Evelyn115]

Thanks for raising that issue. Am noticing similar issue here with the Superhost trips reviewed not being correct!