AirCover for guests

[Laura2592]

Have you all watched the latest video on the new categories and  AirCover for guests? 

"If the AC doesn't work....guests get a refund. If the host cancels a month before the stay...guests get a refund."

Basically its making it even more flexible for guests to scam. 

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Jenny So Airbnb is responsible for any issues with respect to mis-categorisation of a property?

I am wondering how the algorithm picks up the countryside category.....

[Suzanne302]

OMG so the hosts are at the mercy of the algorithm picking through photos? My listing doesn't qualify for any of those special categories but, yikes.

[Laura2592]

@Suzanne302 when humans are at the mercy of a bot to make their money it never ends well.....

[Suzanne302]

@Laura2592  Scary. It not only takes more control of the listing away from the host, it takes more control of the search away from the guest. I'd hate to miss out on @Loretta126 's amazing views simply because her listing didn't pop up under that category. The system is flawed.

I don't qualify for any of those categories except "Shared Home" but my listing doesn't even show up under that!

I guess none of my pictures are worthy because according to Airbnb my listing doesn't exist unless you put in specific travel dates. It doesn't come up otherwise.

[Huma0]

@Suzanne302 

Yep exactly the same for me. When I search for shared home, my listings do not come up. When I put in specific dates, one appears, but not the other two. 

The listings are rooms in the same house. All amenities are listed and up-to-date and the same across all three. So, it can't be that.

The descriptions and titles are almost identical. So, it can't be that.

My most popular room is not showing up, so it's not that either.

The photos on all my listings are taken by professional Airbnb photographers. Meanwhile, the listings that are showing up have really terrible photos. So, it's clearly not to do with that.

I work in the magazine industry and assessing imagery is part of my job. You cannot rely on an algorithm to do this. It's literally one of the most stupid things I've heard. It's clearly incredibly glitchy.

[Helen56]

@Suzanne302  @Huma0  I've got the same issue as you, but in California. I have a private room in my house that I've rented out on airbnb for several years.  When I do a regular search in San Diego it shows up.  However, the listing's name is changed from 'Bright room in tranquil setting' to 'Private room in Linda Vista' which is not what I want it to be called.

If I click the 'shared homes'  button then my listing does not appear at all, even though it is a shared home.

@Jenny Please get airbnb to:

1. restore our listings' names.

2. let hosts choose our preferred categories - we know our areas best.

3. Even better: Ditch the new categories and go back to how it was before.

[Suzanne302]

@Helen56 

If it was Airbnb's intent to highlight unique and expensive properties off the beaten path accessible only to those with money (ie, those who on a whim think nothing of spending $500+ per night), they have succeeded.

It's unfortunate that those of us (guests and hosts) who used Airbnb as a booking platform for personalized stays can no longer do so.

My first photo, my listing title, and my listing description are all tailored to the guest I want to attract. My most recent guests have confirmed that is the reason they booked with me. Airbnb has taken that away from hosts.

Airbnb can be whatever it wants to be, and I'll use it in whatever way I can. My only hope is that a company comes along that realizes what Airbnb is missing out on (leaving behind?) and snatches up that audience so those of us who aren't hotels and corporations and hosts with hundreds of faceless properties can jump ship and thrive in ways Airbnb could never imagine.

[Jenny]

Hi @Suzanne302 

I know you've said your listing doesn't qualify, but just in case that changes or anyone else is concerned, I wanted to clarify that the algorithm isn't based solely on photographs.  

It's also based on things like titles, descriptions, amenities and features and so on. 

In Loretta126's case I'd looked at the listing and noted that the featured photographs included the pool, so my suggestion was specific to that listing.

Hope this clears things up!

Jenny

[Suzanne302]

@Jenny  Thanks! But since this new rollout, my listing does not show up at all if a guest doesn't put in search dates. It's like it doesn't exist.

[Jenny]

I noticed you'd made a new post about that, @Suzanne302, sorry to hear that.  I'm going to check up on that for you and I'll get in touch if I can get an understanding of why that might be.  

[Loretta126]

main photo@Jenny  This is our main photo.  Just how little of the pool am I supposed to show?

I suggest you have an option for hosts to call a CS agent to review the categories.

[Laura2592]

@Loretta126 that is both a nice pool and lovely view 🙂 I would say those categories would fit. 

[Loretta126]

Yes, but we are NOT in the view category. Neither are a number of our neighbors who also have pools.

[Laura2592]

@Loretta126 this should definitely be in the host's control. 

I detailed in older threads how the bot kept asking me about my pool at my listing. I never had a pool. I believe it was because I had guests who asked if I did despite it being nowhere in the pics or descriptions. I think there were enough conversations mentioning the word "pool" where I suddenly started getting messages asking me if my pool was shared or private from ABB AI. 

Seems like a great way to get an Air Cover claim-- your listing appears in a category the bot picks, guests say its not as described....

[Huma0]

---

@Laura2592 wrote:

Seems like a great way to get an Air Cover claim-- your listing appears in a category the bot picks, guests say its not as described....

---

Very good point.