Airbnb Plus

[Angela608]

Just listened to the new updates for Airbnb on their FB Live and feel discouraged as a Host.

I don't have an emaculately designed modern home with features that "WOW" guests. I have a humble space for budget seeking travelers in a very expensive city (San Francisco).

Is Airbnb weeding people out instead of including everyone?

[Fiona-and-Keith-and-Fami0]

@Sion2  Yep, I'm with you on this one!!

[Sion2]

Write in that you feel this way. I did.  It would be okay if it was an aprt or house that a family or a single female did not sleep and live in.  In SF,CA we have new laws and we have to prove we live in our homes so this Plus requirement is hard for us to achive. 

[Gordon0]

Having had a couple of days to mull on this, my only concern is that my listing is now hidden below the 'Plus' stuff that isn't even in my area. Not only is that misleading for guests it's, well, bad for me!

Teething problems, or the way it's going to be?

[David126]

I know I will not have the Plus issue where I am, but yes I expect it to cause issues to those in competitve markets short term.

I  expect the situation to reolsve itslef as Plus Hosts find the downside of never knowing who is staying and having no security deposit for when things inevitably go wrong.

[Fiona-and-Keith-and-Fami0]

@Gordon0  Make sure you send them product feedback! I'll be watching out for it too and doing the same thing as necessary. (I'm constantly sending feedback because without it, how does the tech/design team know what to do?)

[Fiona-and-Keith-and-Fami0]

Think of it as market segmentation: Their are different tiers. I don't like it, but is seems like Airbnb's creating "class" separation much like air travel (first class/economy) or hotel rankings (5-star vs. 2-star, for example). They're catering to those with "discerning" taste and deeper pockets and creating a platform where the traveler will be doing less work looking for the "right" place. Some people have it in their budgets to splurge for special occasions. So Airbnb Plus will also be a way to cater to those travelers who would normally be happy staying with someone who's got modest accommodations at reasonable prices but also are picky about staying with a SuperHost because, well, that's what we are—SUPER hosts 🙂

[Sion2]

 I think this is corporate profit driven in a new way...they keep trying to get us to lower ours too  low so they get higher turn over fees for themselves.....and seeing that might not be working.... this Plus Program way they force us to pay for a nicer rooms for the same price;) Clever. 

[Kelly149]

@Huma0, @Fred13, @Matthew285, @Linda108 @Robin4...

But I just looked at the Plus listings for our area.

Take aways: the listings are so SHORT!!! I saw ONE sentence for the listing, ONE for location and ONE about the host. Yikes!!! my verbose listing will never make it. It was all about the visual, way short on language.

Also none of the listings I looked at were licensed (or said they were) even tho this is required in our area. If you were going to verify a listing it seems to me that you'd want to not get busted by code enforcement for being unlicensed.

[Fred13]

Exceptional detective work there @Kelly-And-Dan0. Yes, much emphasis on the look, but very skimpy on details.

[Matthew285]

@Kelly, why do you think they are making the descriptions so short?

It seems to be one sentence descriptions for *all* the Plus listings.

Are the hosts not allowed to have long descriptions anywhere on the page?

[Huma0]

@Kelly149

Yes, there is definitely some sort of glitch going on with the tagging, which doesn't seem to work half the time. @Robin, who I can't seem to tag here, started a post about it!

You are right, the listing format is very different and very succint. Maybe that's a good thing given how little most guests read, but then I wonder why Airbnb normally suggests we include as much detail as possible in our listings. If you look at their guide to writing good listings, this is what they suggest for each category.

The problem with this for me is that a lot of things aren't immediately clear on the Airbnb Plus listings. @Ange (again, can't seem to tag) mentioned about some lisitngs in London seeminly not having private bathrooms, but if you look at those listings, it isn't clear at all if they do or don't. You definitely don't get any sense of the host, atmosphere, what is expected of you as a guest etc. I can see how this would be quite problematic for me as a host who lives in the listing.

[Kelly149]

@Huma0maybe that is why they’ve been hiding our rules and extra text. They want to move to an entirely visual experience?
and while its true that guests don’t read well, I can’t imagine how reducing listings down to 3 total sentences is good for anyone?!?

[Huma0]

@Kelly149

Personally, I would want a bit more detail on where I am staying. I wonder if guests booking Plus properties are sent more detail after booking or not. I assume they still have to agree to the house rules when they book, but what's the point in that when they can't see the house rules?!

I also imagine the host would get bombarded with questions if there is no information on the listings. Okay, some guests already do this anyway because they don't read, but there are those guests who do read and some who will read the sections they feel most relevant. I wouldn't want to send the guests numerous long emails explaining everything to them because I was unable to explain it on the listing. An overload of messages could be very off-putting for a guest.

[Ange2]

@Kelly  Airbnb have finally realized that guests do not read. I'm waiting for the audio to be added next.

[Fred13]

Talking about different types of clienteles.

   I talk to all the managers in other nearby resorts, and the tales they tell me. At this particular high-end resort the manager told me, 90% of their guest forever feel compelled to complain about 'something', usually bordering on silly theatrics to establish 'their station'. Example, they serve 14oz cokes, the common complain with a certain annoyed air is: "For the price we are paying, we expect at least 16oz".

   I won't last long working there for I would say in return: "For the price you are paying, we would expect a mind that is at least somewhat close to your high affordability.'