How to free up customer support? Empower hosts!

[Susan1188]

I have found myself calling and texting client support way too much recently.  No wonder they are overloaded, if everyone is doing like me.

Why, I asked myself yesterday, do I need to involve CS in everything?  I concluded the reason is: current Airbnb policies remove all empowerment of hosts.

As a 52 year old multiple property owner, I've been managing short term rentals for 27 years and certainly know how to deal with 95% of the issues that can arise. 

Yet airbnb :

- does not let me help a guest cancel for valid reasons, refunding 100% (vrbo lets us do this)

- does not let me enforce my cancellation policy, when I know a guest is being dishonest

- does not let me zap a small percentage of outlier bad reviews - I am sure a huge number of CS calls are due to the unfair review system

- does not let me change dates at the guest's request for a mutually agreed price (airbnb forces the price for date changes)

- discourages me from meeting guests in person, getting ID, refusing bookings of guests who show signs of trouble from the start - all of these things would reduce problems and reduce calls to CS - pushing self check-in, no ID collection, strict statistics on accepting bookings even if they clearly violate house rules..

- hides important information from hosts such as, how many hosts gave thumbs down, how many times did the guest get a refund, how many times did the GUEST cancel last minute

If hosts were empowered and able to take control over these things, a huge number of calls to client support would be avoided.

Any host knows that earning superhost and staying on the platform for multiple years takes hard work and dedication.  You can't fake your performance, it's all there written in stone. It would be very easy for Airbnb to determine, which hosts have the experience necessary to take control of these things.  Maybe after one or two years?  Maybe after 50 reviews?  Any criteria would be fine.

People get frustrated, when they feel (1) something is unfair and (2) they have no control to change it.

To improve host morale, changes could be made to either or both!  Empowering hosts will improve morale and free up client support.  And probably make for fair treatment all around.

I hope this post gets some attention, empowering your excellent hosts will be a win-win for everyone.  Give us back some control, and you will see we will be fair to guests.

Thank you for reading this!

[Fred13]

@Alex893 You saved the day with your last line (puts away the tomatoes).

[Helen3]

I do understand your frustrations @Susan1188 . However I wouldn't agree that you need to be in contact with Airbnb about all the areas you list.

Some of them just relate to how the platform operates. With these,  as business owners, if we don't like the terms then we are free not to use Airbnb and use other platforms, market our listing directly and use third party marketing. As the owner of multiple properties/a property management company,  you are probably better placed to do this, then many individual hosts.

I have been hosting for five years with hundreds of guests. I believe i have only contacted them about 10 times in five years. Four of those were because they allowed a guest to book on dates I had blocked out in my calendar asking them to cancel the booking they had allowed.

1. It does not let me help a guest cancel for valid reasons, refunding 100% (vrbo lets us do this)

What sort of 'valid reasons' are you referring to? You can always voluntarily give the guest back more than they are entitled to under your cancellation policy if you want to return 100% of the hosting fee. Airbnb will always keep the cancellation fee UNLESS under Covid or if the guest cancel within 48 hours of booking.

2. does not let me enforce my cancellation policy, when I know a guest is being dishonest

If a guest cancels and wants back more than they are entitled to and requests additional funds you can refuse (appreciate Airbnb sometimes sides with guests and refunds without a hosts permission)

3. does not let me zap a small percentage of outlier bad reviews - I am sure a huge number of CS calls are due to the unfair review system

Again this is part of the T&Cs you signed up to. You can only ask for a review to be removed if it breaks their T&Cs for reviews. Airbnb did say they were introducing a scheme to allow outlier reviews to be deleted, but haven't heard anything about this since last year.

The big issues for hosts I believe is guests who leave retaliatory reviews when a host submits a claim for damages. I  believe hosts should be able to submit a claim within Airbnb's terms of it being done before the next guest checks in but for this not to be shared with a guest until after the review period has expired or both share reviews.

4.  does not let me change dates at the guest's request for a mutually agreed price (airbnb forces the price for date changes)

You can send the guest a special offer for the price you mutually agree. 

5. discourages me from meeting guests in person, getting ID, refusing bookings of guests who show signs of trouble from the start - all of these things would reduce problems and reduce calls to CS - pushing self check-in, no ID collection, strict statistics on accepting bookings even if they clearly violate house rules..

In what way does Airbnb discourage you from meeting guests in person or collecting ID. Many hosts meet guests in person (including me). And many hosts have in their house rules that guests need to provide ID including hosts in countries where this is mandatory.

If a guest breaks your house rules you can ask Airbnb to cancel the booking penalty free.

If you find you are getting a lot of guests who 'show trouble from the start' you could look at turning off IB if you use it, so that you can vet guests before accepting their booking.

6. hides important information from hosts such as, how many hosts gave thumbs down, howlth many times did the guest get a refund, how many times did the GUEST cancel last minute

Although I agree this would be useful, I am not sure this is standard in the STR industry and that other listing providers offer this. Do you know of any? If they were going to do this, they should do it for hosts too in terms of thumbs down from guests/

With IB I can see what previous reviews and ratings guests have - do you use this?

I do appreciate many hosts who post on this forum are frustrated with Airbnb but quite honestly (ducking for cover now ) I do believe some hosts do call Airbnb for issues which they don't need to be in contact with them for;  making it more difficult for those who need to be in contact with Airbnb to get through.

[Emilia42]

I agree, @Helen3. There are many times on this forum where the host states their problem and then ends the post with something about waiting on Customer Service. Nine out of ten times I think to myself, why on earth would you involve CS in this? Hosts also need to empower themselves to take more charge.

[Susan1188]

I don't expect CS to solve my problems, I would gladly solve them myself, as I have done for 25 years in the short term rental business without airbnb,  if I were able to without being penalized by the system or by an unfair/dishonest review.

[Fred13]

I am not going to say it, I promise I would not but it is so hard to hold back:

    ~Stop calling Airbnb as an automatic reaction to every hosting situation!~

If anything they oftentimes makes things worse.

(Ducks for cover and discovers @Helen3 in the same foxhole) 

[Emilia42]

@Fred13 

And they are oftentimes wrong!

[Fred13]

@Emilia42 Your "Nine out of ten times I think to myself, why on earth would you involve CS in this?" says it all. 

[Cormac0]

@Susan1188 

I've only have ever phoned Airbnb CS once, and within two minutes, I realized I was the Managing Director looking for advice from the tea-lady, I will never waste my time again.