Airbnb Plus
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22-02-2018
07:10 PM

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22-02-2018
07:10 PM
Airbnb Plus
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?
Top Answer
24-02-2018
05:18 AM

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24-02-2018
05:18 AM
@Angela608 Airbnb plus is probably design for the big hotels and real estate agents who have been on the network for quite a long time appearing like casual hosts so i guess this will now make them standout.I totally agree with you it is unfair for the genuine home owners.Good luck!!!
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23-02-2018
08:28 PM

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23-02-2018
08:28 PM
I for one would like to be a Plus listing if it helps my bookings and allows me to charge slightly higher prices. However, it's not going to happen because, although I meet amost every criteria, I do not have private bathrooms for my guest rooms (I have three bathrooms + an additional cloakroom/powder room between four bedrooms and no way to add a fourth bathroom).
My worry is that plus properties will be at the top of the search results, like IB, and the rest of us will disappear. I already had to switch to IB against my will because my listings all but vanished from the searches and my bookings plummeted. As soon as I switched on IB, I was busier than ever, but I can't 'switch on' Plus - not without that extra bathroom anyway...
I hope that what others have suggested above is true, i.e. that Plus properties will be targeted at the higher end of the market and probably cost more, so the regular Airbnb guests will still be booking with the rest of us.
Is there a market for Plus? Yes, I think so. Perhaps they are trying to compete with sites like onefinestay. Incidentally, one of the directors of that company was my housemate when he was still a 23-year-old launching it as a start up with a handful of other youngsters. It's incredible how well that has done, so there is obviously a market for high end home rentals.
23-02-2018
08:51 PM

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23-02-2018
08:51 PM
@Huma0, well said, and a very thoughtful message.
Here in San Francisco we have some Plus listings. There seem to be about 58 right now.
That isn't a lot, given how many people travel here.
They do take up a lot of space at the top of the first search page, but after that things are normal.
I think the Plus listings will do very well, but they shouldn't have much of an effect on the regular hosts.
Personally, I don't think I would enjoy being a Plus host. Too much pressure. The guests will arrive expecting the best of the best. Heaven forbid your listing appear just normal. What if the poor Plus listings get down-rated because they aren't as superlative as people will expect a "Plus" listing to be?
I hope the Plus listings do well, and that the Plus hosts ratings don't suffer because of the Plus program.
The rest of us will just have to continue to do our own thing.
23-02-2018
09:24 PM

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23-02-2018
09:24 PM
That's a good point. Maybe I wouldn't want to be a Plus host! We work hard enough to get Superhost rating, but I honestly don't think many guests have a clue what that is. It's really pressure we put on ourselves rather than pressure from the guests. Plus would be quite a different story. Yes, I think you are right. Guests will expect the exceptional and Plus hosts might end up worried sick in case one tiny little discrepency or imperfection disappoints a guest.
24-02-2018
01:37 AM

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24-02-2018
01:37 AM
Valid point.
24-02-2018
01:37 AM
23-02-2018
09:29 PM

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23-02-2018
09:29 PM
You certainly have a point there. I won a national award for my last accommodation (not the one I have now) and I used to mention it on my website. The result was a string of disappointed guests. I had never had any before so it was a surprise. But they now expected to be bowled over in ways they could only imagine. I stopped mentioning the award, and went back to happy guests.
23-02-2018
09:46 PM

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23-02-2018
09:46 PM
@Sandra126, your experience with the national award is right on point.
It will be difficult to follow the customer satisfaction formula of "Under-Promise and Over-Deliver" when AirBnB is out there constantly promoting the Plus listings, essentially saying over and over "ZOMG these listings are so perfect you won't believe it."
I know the hosts are up to the task of creating the promised amazing experiences, but the Plus program would seem to take away the host's ability to surprise and delight.
23-02-2018
10:13 PM

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23-02-2018
10:13 PM
@Matthew285, if they are only introducing the Plus in major cities I don't have to think about it, but the minute it rolls out in my area I will see if I fit since I just read that Plus gives a priority ranking which is gold. With 500 listings in my area (which is a very small place indeed) visibility is high on my list. What if 200 of them become pluses? I hope it stays in major cities...
Sorry about San Fran.
23-02-2018
10:13 PM
23-02-2018
10:20 PM

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23-02-2018
10:20 PM
@Sandra126 thank you for your kind words.
They usually try new things here very early; AirBnB is based here after all.
But the still-active San Francisco AirBnB hosts should be okay. Just last month the local government forced AirBnB to de-list all the hosts who had not registered with the city, so the overall number of listings fell by about 4,000 (nearly half).
The surviving hosts should have better bookings overall.
Besides, there are only about 58 Plus listings so far in San Francisco that I could find. That's not going to make much of a dent in the overall market.
23-02-2018
10:20 PM
24-02-2018
06:15 AM

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24-02-2018
06:15 AM
@Matthew0 - I noticed guest expections increased the more 5 star reviews I racked up. And I do my best to live up to the 5 star reviews our Airbnb has received from our wonderful guests. I agree that the added pressure to 'perform' as a 'Plus' listing might not be worth it for me. I do wish that the Super Host section were featured higher up on the home page. Super Hosts have been a tremendous asset for Airbnb, including in regard to helping to enhance their reputation; and, I would argue that the typical guest is seeking a more typical Airbnb. So why is the Super Host option listed so far down on the home page?
24-02-2018
06:15 AM
27-02-2018
06:16 PM

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27-02-2018
06:16 PM
yes, well, maybe you will continue to do your own thing ... but from the b serie ... from a lower step ... until the Plus listings will be double or triple and then maybe you have to open a circus at home to attract people ...
27-02-2018
06:16 PM
27-02-2018
11:02 PM

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27-02-2018
11:02 PM
@Ernesto82, yes, we will be on a lower step (the b series). But my listing really isn't on the same level with the Plus listings anyway, so I don't mind.
The kind of person that demands a "Plus" to his AirBnB so far hasn't been our customer anyway.
I think we will observe to see how the Plus program goes. If we have trouble filling our calendar going forward, then I will consider adding the things needed to be a Plus listing. Until then, I do not mind being on a lower step. It is quite comfortable here.
27-02-2018
11:02 PM
28-02-2018
01:08 AM

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28-02-2018
01:08 AM
@Matthew285 thanks for your answer.
On booking.com there are 5-star hotels, 1-star hotels, houses, b&b. Completely different structures. They are together in the same system, they have the same opportunities. There are map, filters and photos to differentiate the listings. If you want to focus on one side and "abandon" the others, you do programs like Airbnb Plus where the Plus listings are verified and advertise as the best just because they have more luxury features ... It's a very bad thing for the community and there are no doubts.
Various competitors of Airbnb have other sites only for villas or luxury homes ... they have not programs like Airbnb Plus because they would devalue the others ... Airbnb does not care to devalue 80% of the listings, knows that we are inexperienced and that we will not rebel going away ...
28-02-2018
01:08 AM
24-02-2018
07:37 AM

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24-02-2018
07:37 AM
Unless Airbnb sends in a crew to clean, brings in top end linens, and espresso machines, they have no chance of competing with onefinestay. I had a friend in LA who allowed them to use her home and she raved about them. Her home always looked better when she came home than when she left. I'm not certain about espresso machines, she said they brought in some nice appliances for guests to use. i like their business model.
24-02-2018
07:37 AM
24-02-2018
05:23 PM

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24-02-2018
05:23 PM
Yes, I think the onefinestay standard is pretty high (I believe they supply iPhones for guests preloaded with local info, hotel style toiletries and daily housekeeping, 24 hour phone concierge, even bring art work to dress the places).
However, guests pay a lot for these perks. The Airbnb plus homes listed so far in London are, for the time being, competively priced on the whole. Maybe they will fill a gap between the onefinestay customer and the regular budget Airbnb one. I imagine Airbnb didn’t launch this initiative without some extensive market research.
24-02-2018
05:23 PM
24-02-2018
01:03 PM

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24-02-2018
01:03 PM
@Huma0 I was really surprised that you're not a part of the Plus program: your place is the first one I thought of when I heard about it. I did look through all of the listigs in London, because it's a city I'm super familiar with, and one thing that struck me was how homogeneous a lot of the listings are. I was expecting more interesting/spectacular places, like yours, and I just kept seeing the same generic places again and again. A lot of them are even styled similarly, probably because they had the same design team. They're perfectly nice, but not really what I was expecting.

