Airbnb Plus Photos

[Mary490]

We are active Airbnb Plus hosts. The day the photographer took photos it was raining. He never took a photo of the exterior and said he could always return if Airbnb didn’t use one of our photos. Since our plus listing went live we have had numerous requests for external photos. For some inexplicable reason the plus team will not or can’t upload any extra photos!!! It’s obvious to me we are losing bookings because of this and it’s so frustrating. There is no way to talk directly to an Airbnb plus support person! We have jumped through hoops for Airbnb plus as hosts yet we have less support than before.

Support suggested I leave feedback, that has done no good, any suggestions or similar experiences ??

[Margot164]

Hi Lizzie,

We have done renovations to our listing which has improved it majorly. I am not able to upload the new photo's so am not able to increase our price.

Are you able to assist with this?

[Joris18]

Excellent point Mary... I am now just enrolling for AirBnB Plus (listing under validation) and noticed I could not add personal pictures. The ones taken by the photographer are great but he did not capture all the features of the house (missing the jacuzzi, the "Joglo" century old hand carved roof, Etc.)

I would love to be able to add at least  3 or 4 personnal pictures to the listing. An option could be for the AirBnB Plus team to validate those maybe?

Joris

[Fred13]

Speaking of phography, for kicks I just uploaded some of the photos Airbnb took for their ad campaign 'Love This, Live There' that they used my place for: 2/5 photos got one of those critical messages, one was 'Too Blurry' and another 'Too Light'. 😄

[Peter11]

I have had similar problems with 2 listings for which I paid A$200 each to join AirBnB Plus.

It all started badly with both inspections and photo shoots. The inspections were only 50% completed at both apartments (both photographers said they hated inspections) so I had to spend hours going backward & forward to AirBnB with photos to show that I had knives, detergent, the apartment was clean etc etc. Eventually the photos came back for Apartment 1 .... a total disaster .... the quality was very poor so I ask AirBnB for another shoot. I'm told NO so I suggest we use the original professional photography from a couple of years ago and again I'm told NO. I'm then told I can't add any photos showing the local area, local sights etc..... in fact I'm tod I can't add any photos.

Things get worse when I'm told I can't continue to use the existing property names ..... we have 3 very successful properties with +90% occupancy rates , get lots of referral/returning guests and have property titles which highlight the hip area and what is unique about the inner city apartments .... we'd be crazy to make a change.

Moving on, AirBnB tells me I need a second photo shoot for Apartment 2 (I didn't request it) as I'd implemented their requested changes ..... all good. Anyway, 3 weeks later the images are made available for Apartment2 .... but the are from the 1st photo shoot!!!!!

This is all very frustrating. I have repeatedly asked AirBnB to address the issues above or refund me ..... I'm sure you can guess the response. Anyway, I support the AirBnB Plus concept but from my experiences I wish I hadn't expressed interest ..... for my folly I have lost A$400 and wasted a lot of time.

[Dan95]

Hey everyone,

I've had very similar problems.

I have a home with a magnificent, recently remodeled modern pool. The Plus team sent out a photographer who took mediocre photos of the home in general (overexposed, poorly framed, etc.), and poor pool shots in particular. The photographer used a ZOOM shot of part of the pool, which made it look tiny and did not capture the whole thing. Most real estate photographers use WIDE shots, especially for large areas.

To add to the problem, they used a picture of the couch as the main shot, instead of the pool. This is pure folly. Of course a vacation home with a pool should feature a shot of the pool! I cannot alter this on my own.

I have noticed other Plus homes feature exterior or patio shots for the main photo. Why can't mine?

I also, of course, cannot use my own professional photography of the pool and other areas.

I've put a lot of effort to get help and support on this issue. NO LUCK.

VERY DISSAPOINTED WITH THE PLUS PROGRAM 😞

[Carmen613]

Hi Dan

im local as well and I my Airbnb plus just went live today and I’m soooo disappointed. I feel like I partially sold my souls to Airbnb and it’s no longer my home to have control over. 

My biggest frustration being the poorly done photo shoot. To put things in perspective when I initially had my own photo shoot done by a professional lifestyle photographer, the shoot took over 6 hours for a small 400 sq ft guest house and yard. When Airbnb sent their plus photographer she finished in about 45 minutes. I was shocked and not in a good way. 

Fast forward almost most a year because that’s how long it had been delayed, my listing finally went plus and to my horror the cover pic is of one of the walls in the minimalist bedroom. So you’re basically staring at a white wall and white bed with barely anything else visible in that pic.  Wow. Just wow. I’m thinking of already opting out even though it’s only been a few hours. I don’t like all the details that were missed and the lack of control I have over the listing and I just can’t afford to lose business. Seriously contemplating going back now.  

[Andrew757]

Did you move of the Plus program ? I had my plus closed of and reverted back to normal but my views dropped right of along with bookings .

Like you my cover picture is a crap shot of the Living room

[Cormac0]

@Mary490

the plus program looks like an experiment at Hosts expense, Airbnb have essentially taken ownership of you property and you’ve become  indentured servant.

For the love of God, wake up and start realising your been taken as fools, at what stage in this process has Airbnb explained how this is going to improve your bottom line?

The way I see it, is you’re  part of a marketing experiment which will be used to define Airbnb own forae into property management and ownership and how they can leverage this advantage at your expense.

If I were you, I read up on the Economic law of “diminishing Returns”... 

[Catherine935]

Cormac6 in Kraków, Poland
Level 10
‎09-21-2018 08:15 PM

@Mary490

the plus program looks like an experiment at Hosts expense, Airbnb have essentially taken ownership of you property and you’ve become indentured servant.

For the love of God, wake up and start realising your been taken as fools, at what stage in this process has Airbnb explained how this is going to improve your bottom line

I am sitting here reading all of the negative posts re Plus program and I have to say that I agree.  We were offered $540 AUD to have the opportunity to join the Plus program.  I bent over backwards and purchased new items etc, even though we had more than enough bookings as a Super Host.  I messaged to say I did not want to be part of Plus and then today, I did a search as our bookings have dropped right off.  There we are in the Plus search????  How can they just do that??   So yes, for the love of God, they have not done the right thing by me, Two and a half years in and Super Host, they just don;t seem to care

[David2985]

I can add to this discussion with similar experience.   I have a 1 bedroom guest home that has been booked solid for 6 months. Its new, with great views and very nice design.   Finally got the Airbnb plus credentials but the photos are just ok.   My main issue is our primary feature - 180 degree view of lake and mountains, was completely ignored.   I specifically told photographer this was our top selling item.   They did not add one photo of the view.   I have reached out to airbnb plus 3 times, with no response.  You can't add photos, so your at the mercy of someone at airbnb opinion of your best features.   

[Sara1178]

How do you even reach out to Airbnb plus?

[Shelley90]

I’m also very frustrated with our newly “plussed” listing. Our listing has been booked solidly since we listed it last December. I haven’t seen any more booking activity than before the plus designation and I’ve actually lost at least one booking because the photos don’t show enough information, and I can’t add photos or information.  

The Airbnb plus photographer/inspector hung out for 4 hours in our 450 square foot suite, but he barely photographed anything. There are 8 photos of the bedroom, and not one of the sofa bed or exterior.

Even more frustrating, the written description no longer shows up in the listing. That means there’s no way to tell people about the sleeping arrangements (3 beds) aside from photos, which only show 1 bed. I’ve lost a booking already because of this. They had to ask about the beds, and ended up booking another listing that showed the beds by the time I responded 15 minutes later. 

I’m really regretting my decision to go with Airbnb plus. If Airbnb will make it impossible for me to show what’s offered, then I’ll be going back to the regular listing. What a waste of $150 and my time. 

[Romanos1]

Hi Shelley,

My listing is in Athens, Greece, a wonderful apartment contained within a historical building in the center of the city. Our capacity is really high but they have chosen us to enter the Airbnb Plus category. After six months of waiting, they have finally sent us yesterday the pictures which are not good, totally overexposed etc.   Are you aware if and how can I return to the  normal Airbnb if I'm not satisfied with the performance of my house on AIRBNB pLUS?

Thank you!

Marietta  

[Susan17]

Interesting article... 

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/why-you-should-think-twice-before-signing-up-airbnb-plus-lansdale

[Frank566]

Hello All, 

We are very sorry to hear of all your problems.  My wife and I are considering joining AirBNB Plus as freelance photographers, but from what we're reading, it seems we'd be better off just doing what we currently do.   

We are based in Central New Jersey and cover an area roughly 60-70 square miles from our central location.  That includes NJ, parts of NY and even PA.  We've done a fair amount of work for both residential and commercial real estate, both exteriors and interiors. 

While we like the idea of steady leads and a (somewhat) guaranteed rate, we're not keen on getting involved with a haphazard service that causes more problems than it solves.  

That said, if any of you in the NJ/NY/PA tri-state area are experiencing issues, please feel free to contact us for a quote.  Our contact information is listed below.  You can view our work at both our website and our Instagram page (also listed below).  
   
We sincerely wish all of you the best and hope your problems are resolved.  

Frank & Rose, Photographers