'Today' tab enhancement needed

[Nicole2223]

I've had numerous frustrations with the airbnb app/web app over the last few months, possibly since the winter update though I didn't note the start date. The most frequent issues occur on the Today tab - both in the app and a browser.

I've noticed that unlike the 'Calendar' and 'Insights' tabs, the 'Today' tab does not refresh when selected.  That is, when switching from another tab to the Today tab, the content is stale.  However, when switching from Today to Insights or Calendar, a refresh is forced. I'm reserving comment right now on the Inbox tab because there are other issues there...but perhaps it could also benefit from a forced refresh.

I make this request because on a daily basis I find the Today tab to be inaccurate in both the web app and the mobile app. I have many many screenshots of this that I'm happy to share with Airbnb developers if useful. 

I am using Safari 14.1 on Mac OS 11.3.1 and Airbnb app version 22.13 on an iPhone running iOS 15.3.1

[Gillian166]

oh yes this happens all the time. there's a major lag in the info on who is checking in/out. I just thought perhaps it's because the app time is set to other time zone, so for me (Australia) it's always behind.  I never rely on the "today" tab, i have my own hand written calendar on my desk.  

[Gillian166]

and yes the Inbox is never up to date. you have to refresh and even then it's hit and miss. I assume the devs don't read the forums but if someone could pass that on, that would be great.  

[Nicole2223]

Rather frustrating to try and stay current on inquiries and bookings with this glitch in play. And it got me thinking that perhaps my guests that are less communicative are dealing with the same issue!  It paints a very different picture when you think about the fact that people may not be getting our messages (or not getting notified of them) vs choosing to not respond.

[Deborah175]

I contacted CS a number of times today about this. 

When I wake up in the morning before dawn, it's "today," obviously. I have two guests sleeping here, in different accommodations. When I click on "Today" in the app, there are several sub-headings: "Currently hosting"; "Arriving Soon"; "Checking-Out"; and "Upcoming." Under "Currently Hosting," only one of my two guests currently asleep, Kat, who checked in yesterday and will continue on for several more days appears. Austin, who arrived last night after midnight, does not. When I look at "Arriving Soon," there is a (1) beside it, indicating that something will be in that window, but it says "You don't have any guests arriving today or tomorrow." However, I do have a guest named Layla arriving at 2pm this afternoon. Next, under "Checking Out," I find Catherine and Quinn, guests whose reservations were in March (it's April). 

Now, as I write this, I decide to look again under "Checking Out," and this time I finally find Austin, who will be checking out by 11 am. And...there is Layla! It tells me under the "Checking Out" banner that she's arriving today. Nice place to hide that info! Finally, under "Upcoming," when I first checked this morning, it listed guests that have already checked out. Now, an hour later, it correctly lists the guests I'm expecting in the coming weeks.

WHAT is going on?? I constantly rely on and refresh the app, as I have guests coming most days right now.

Information isn't correctly populating. The contents of those various screens under Today have repeatedly shifted over the period of an hour. Some kind of stickiness? Why are guests from March listed under Today "Checking Out"??  The app has been disastrous lately.

[Nicole2223]

I agree.  Sometimes I think that logging into the browser will be better, but it's actually just as bad most of the time.  I've been taking screenshots of this issue for months and just couldn't collect my thoughts and observations enough to say something.  I have SO many issues with the app, it was hard to parse them out, but I finally realized that this Today Tab issue could be a rather simple refresh error. Or as someone else said, perhaps a time zone issue.  

I would prefer to go back to the way things were before the Today tab was added - it was a great concept but offers nothing more than confusion for me.

Thanks for adding your experience to this thread; hopefully someone from AirBNB will chime in or at least pass this info along to an analyst.

[Gillian166]

@Deborah175 
yes i've got almost the same glitch. 
"currently hosting" only has 1 group, but i have 2 groups in and both are checking out tomorrow. One of those groups is in "checking out".  "arriving soon" is currently correct but often it's wrong, as you described. 

I use the pro-tools calendar so i can see all properties on one screen, plus i have a back up of good old pen on paper. 

[Nicole2223]

One thing that would be helpful to know if the Today tab is accurate from the perspective of Airbnb is a definition of the sub-categories.  The only article I can find in the Help Center (from back when the Today tab was announce) does not offer any insight into what exactly is meant by "arriving soon", for example.  Same question for 'upcoming'....what future time frame is being considered for that one?  I think 'currently hosting' is pretty self explanatory (though there is the question of what time of day does this category reference - is it looking at my check-out time?). Link to article: https://www.airbnb.com/resources/hosting-homes/a/introducing-the-today-tab-your-new-hosting-home-bas...

Currently, my Today tab is the most accurate it's been in a long time, ironically.  However...my 'arriving soon' count is zero with 3 people showing just below that with arrival dates in the next 4 days.

[Deborah175]

Thanks for that link. I pretty much only use the app, so changes are really disorienting for me. But that Today concept sure isn’t making things easier for me; it makes everything not only more confusing, but by randomly showing people from the previous month under “checking out today,” it’s downright disorienting! My app has Alzheimer’s!

[Nicole2223]

AIRBNB:  PLEASE KILL THE TODAY TAB, at least until you can get it to work correctly.  Or in the meantime, rename it the ‘Some Day in the past or future” 

my most recent example of inaccuracy was on Sunday when I had 1 group leaving and 2 groups coming in.  These 2 screenshots were taken a few minutes apart - each of them after re-launching the app on my mobile and pulling down to refresh the screen.  

The first screenshot shows that the 2 guests checking in on that day would be coming in 15 days.  And the next screenshot doesn’t reference them at all. My departing guest isn’t captured in any category…and the 15 future bookings have been reduced to 1. 

YES I can ignore the tab but why leave a faulty feature in place!?  And for the record this is one of many many examples of a totally inaccurate today tab.