Airbnb favors Instant Book listings by making "instant book" the default setting when guests search

[David631]

When you do a search for a place to stay in a city and put in the dates, by default, it only shows you the listings that are "instant book".  That means none of the other listings are showing at all, so all of my listings are not being shown to potential renters.   People who have never used airbnb, will not know how to change the filter, so won't be able to see the broader range of listings.  Thus, it seems airbnb is favoring hosts with instant booking, which I believe to be unfair. 

Also, I believe hosts that get to know their guests prior to their booking provide guests better customer service.  They also do their neighbors a favor, by more carefully vetting guests through pre-booking conversations and ensuring guests understand the rules. Please change this unfair policy of favoring instant book listings over other listings that require host contact.

[Dunny0]

Hi Maureen,

Hello from rural Japan.

Thanks for writing. Portland is indeed a lovely city. same for Medford, Ashland.

Chatting with my wife over dinner - and she from a father who was a self-made multi-millionaire

in turbulent times post-war here, with market conditions changing year on year, season on season,

rampant inflation at certain moments. Our outlook - as hosts, each of us is hoping for good guests,

no problems and fine experiences. But the financial players - investors, governments - have the morality

of a mafia, single-minded focus on exploitation. Facebook profiles for sale are just another aspect with

other similar players on another level. What to do? Play is what to do, but with a better morality, and

more control. The time is ripe for action (and zero risk, too, if a person doesn't mind investing a little time).

Please keep posting. I will contact some top designers, and get back to you. 

We're not anti- anything and not anti-aeirbnb. Brian Chesky's investors have chosen to ally themselves with

real estate agents and their friends in government, and silently shaft us, the original hosts. In various market segments worldwide, that appears to be the pattern. Fine. It's their right, their invested money, and they play how they wish to play 

for their own defence, their own gain. Nobody ought to begrudge them that. But we are us and they are them.

We are not at the same level of the accommodation game, not with the same purposes. At some point - or for a limited time -

AEIRBNB may be a best or an attractive option again; no one knows. Just watch them, and let's create and explore options.

Will be in touch shortly.

Happy New Year! Fun and games.

Cheers,

Duncan

[Mary-Ann0]

Well I listed with VRBO a couple of months ago and immediately got two long term guests for the high season here (winter snowbirds), but my place still remained empty for six weeks now which is very disappointing because it is usually filled up at this point.

But that other site is doing the same thing for I just saw an Extendedstay (major hotel line) in there next to my humble little place when I did my last search.  So you are right @Dunny it is going to have to be up to somebody with entrepreneur capabilities to do another "start up" if we are to have a site like Airbnb was before.  It's a corporate world now and Abb wants to be a big fish and swim with the sharks which is understandable but too bad for us little guys.

Craigslist or Zillow (for long term) worked for me for many years but now don't work well at all so have to look for another site that is pay-as-you-go.

Happy New Year. 

[Paul229]

It's unclear to me why a host would prefer IB over taking the 2 minutes it takes to communicate and get a feel for the person who is entering your home.  This is obviously not the agenda of a host but the agenda of airbnb for their own gains.

For those who are on IB please share your experiences both advantages and problems with the system.

[Dunny0]

Hi Paul,

There is no way in the world we would choose Instant Book - either as a host or as a guest.

As a host with two complete homes in a very large duplex in which we live, which we wholly own

and which was expensive to build, we want to know the character of any possible guest. 

You're right. It really doesn't take an aware, intelligent experienced person more than a few minutes 

to get a feel for the potential guests' nature and values. It's all there in the written word, the attitude,

the phrasing, the level of politeness. Have not guessed/judged/sensed wrong yet in 3 years, but have accepted

when I knew we had real doubts. Our choices have improved. Now this Instant Book affecting the ratings,

so much affect that one's listing is at the bottom, on page 2 or 3 and not seen at all. It means that in

the last 8 months we have had only 2 guest groups - for a weekend and for ten days. Very nice folks, really nice -

and we all had good times. But that's a tenth of last year.

Here's what we're doing:

1) Staying with a listing on AirbnB - but offering a discount to anyone who makes contact first - and a reminder

    that Instant Book will not be used.

2) At the same time, not staying on AirBnB. We have asked veteran professional developers to make website templates

   for this purpose - both  single sites and for those who wish to make local area groups, and groups allied

   to networks of their choosing. Really good designs, kept up to date, with fast page load speeds, and best security,

   multiple payment gateways - are not cheap. But with 50-100 persons to share the cost, it's easy. It's no risk,

 and insurance for the future. Looking for hosts who are interested to work together, combine our knowledge,

wisdom, goals to the best flexible design. I can be found at 'Academic Press Japan' via the contact form.

Spread the word. Maintaining the original concept and warmth of hosting is the target. And keeping a listing on AirBnB

means you're there if the venture capitalists decide to change their tune back to support those with our views.

The venture capitalist are racing to their Stock Market IPO (Intial Public Offering). After they cash in big time,

we don't know what will happen.

Dec. 31st. Let's communicate. We don't know how long these forums and these threads will be up, or be up and uncensored,

unedited.  All the best everyone.

[Mary-Ann0]

@Paul229

After no bookings for over a month in the peak season, I went on IB and Smart Pricing for the last few weeks and still no bookings - then I unclicked “Recommendation from other hosts” ….. no bookings – then I unclicked “Government-issued ID” and still no bookings until late last night at 9:40 pm (New Year’s Day eve), I got a reservation for the next day from a woman who lives only 10 miles away.  She said nothing except "Hi" and then didn't respond to my prompt question wondering about her reservation.  I didn't feel good about this and so at 11:15 pm, while I was dusting and doing the laundry freshening everything up (no guests for 2 months), I then contacted Airbnb about it asking if I could cancel telling them I was uncomfortable with this reservation and that the guest was not returning my questions.  The staff person seemed understanding, looked into it and said they were working with this person because of a cancelation and asked me if I could wait until she tried to contact the guest; I said fine and that I was going to be up preparing for another couple of hours anyway.  I was about to retire at about 2:00 am and got the call from abb staff that they could not reach her.  I said okay I am almost ready anyway so we’ll see what happens tomorrow - I was still really stressed about it but felt better because it was because of a cancelation.

Well sure enough at 10:00 am this morning there was a message from the guest apologizing for the delayed response and stating, “my fiance did this reservation and missed the part where there would be 2 of us. I hope you don't mind, because it was last minute and rushed.I'm sorry”.

I don’t host couples anymore, only single guests and my listing states that in several places other than the front page where it states “1 Guest”.  So here I am after getting no sleep and being stressed out, back on the phone waiting for Abb staff to pick up and cancel the reservation.  I'm am 70 and doing this by myself - I am too old for this!  They canceled it and unblocked my calendar but I only have 1 week left that’s open for Abb guests.  I booked on VRBO and am booked through end of March with VRBO guests that booked last October.

I joined Airbnb a year ago and have gotten only 4 bookings, 2 long term and 2 short term. It has been great but wished there were more bookings - I need the money to get by.

[Samuel40]

Couldn't agree more with you! And I really saw the difference lately, so hard to get a booking compared to before, I knew they changed something and I found what it is...this instant booking option set ON by default! This is so wrong and unfair. I am a superhost too, and this of course is NOT set on by default, plus it's kind of hidden in the filters so most people who are not that familiar with Airbnb won't go turn it on. So I really get the feeling that being a superhost is actually not that rewarding. Hosts not being superhosts but accepting instant booking are way more successful. Airbnb, you have to change this seriously, this is not good, I am not happy at all!

[Maria532]

Hi I got stuck on instant book a while ago and had to ask for help from Airbnb and no it is not acceptable and not fair as hey how much money are they making and worth and come on give us a go ok as oh you are loosing it airbnb.

[Anna468]

It is not fair !  Airbnb is making a lot of money, and they do what is good for them. The host's interests are not represented anywhere. On my "STATS" I can see, that I had 2 requests in 2 days in the new year, but I did not receive any requests at all. How can I accept it than? Where did they go?

Last year I had back to back booking most of the time, this year all of January is vacant. The only booking I have were made 3 months ago. My rating are good, I did not cancell any bookings. I would like to know, what is going on? 

[Dunny0]

Hi Anna,

Nope. Not good at all. Veteran good hosts are not being given bookings. the statistics we are being shown are also suspect

(this means one may seriously doubt their truth; they may be false). This issue has been going on since the beginning of April 2016 - that's for 9 months and counting, here and there, in many markets, not others, no uniformity, hard to track, but overall - obvious! Yet, nothing changes, no response from the Venture Capitalists behind the 'label' name of 'AirBnB'. They have a strategy to maximize the number of hosts, it seems, prior to their stock market IPO. They are also converging calenders with other players (Homeaway AKA VRBO). This means other co-operation, agreement, cross-ownership of shares - for their benefit. 'AirBnB' has morphed into something else when no one was looking. It is NOT now what it was. Time to look at multiple alternatives, while staying safe, while spending as little as possible to get back on track. I suggest dropping us a line via the form on 'Academic Press Japan'. We are co-operating to help many build independent local networks, interconnected local networks, independent listings and more via professional developers - 

with widely shared cost, very cheap per person, with independence, no agency, for your stability. We are hosts, too, and enjoy meeting nice travelling folks. This is not a sell. We are co-operating to create alternatives for all in our similar situation. Any host welcome to communicate. Don't yet know what will happen, but we're putting our heads together. Happy new year. Dunny in western Japan.

[Loretta2]

Same here- my apartment's  at Bondi, used to get enquiries all the time, now hardly anything.......but I live up near Byron, so IB is not possible for me.......besides, I don't want  my home away from home trashed by people with whom I have had no communication whatsoever.....such a shame, as Airbnb used to be so great, now just another big, impersonal business.

[Donna119]

OMG Horrible !!! So unfair.

[Kerstin-And-Michael0]

I am a super host and was wondering the other day why I don't get any views and requests anymore. I quickly discovered that it is because of the default instant booking setting. We don't want to offer instant booking as we want to get to know our guests beforehand and have a cat that we want to be sure they will look after well. Favoring instant booking is one thing but this feature cuts off all other listings. No one is aware of this feature or switches it off. With all the regulations in NYC for Airbnb it's hard enough but this will now be the end for us. We really like Airbnb but now have to list our place somewhere else.

[Dunny0]

Hi Kerstin and Michael,

We are on and off super hosts in western Japan, and have also had almost no bookings over 8 months, and none at Christmas and the New Year. It's the effect of instant booking, also the entry of real estate agents, as a swarm of extra listings, promoted by

their friends in local and regional governments. This apparently happened after some negotiations with the investors behind AirBnB

corporate, as the 'terms and conditions' changed to make hosts liable for any and all legal penalties. Like any other activity, one is wise not to 'put all the eggs in one basket' and rely on one online agency. We are developing other possibilities, and hope you and any other hosts have curiosity to make brief contact to share ideas, plans. You can find us at the contact form of 'Academic Press Japan'. I am Dunny.

I'd like to add that all online agencies are constantly morphing, changing, and that AirBnB may revert and be good for all once again.

It also may do anything, amalgamate, sell out - do a stock market IPO then not care, anything. So, stay connected here as well.

At this moment, there are these forums, and there are certainly good aspects of the entire system. But no guests is no guests,

is nothing, and nothing for many months when all is known.

[Alan107]

This morning I searched our apartment, which I was surprised to find defaulted to IB "off" - unlike what happened about one week ago, when IB "on" was the reason our listing didn't appear.

The same IB "off" happened earlier today when I searched another random destination in France. 

I wonder if Airbnb has switched course? Hope so!!

[Marit-Anne0]

@Alan107

If only we knew what they are aiming for......   It can also depend on where in the world you are searching from.  Lately with my searches from France and Norway the layout has changed and IB is not on by default any longer.  But those with IB on still come first in the search results.