Reporting "Entire Home" listings which are NOT entire homes

[Sofia107]

When searching for places to stay, we often come across listings advertising themselves as entire homes when in fact you are sharing the space with someone else.

As far as I can tell, the "Report this listing" option has no space to explain this kind of situation (no text box).

In the interest of keeping the database clean, fair and efficient, we as guests would like a way to report these listings, which are misleading and waste everybody's time.

Would anyone have thoughts about how this can be handled?

p.s.: for the archives, here is a particularly tasty example found today in the fine print of an otherwise lovely "Entire Home" listing:

"You will have access to the entire flat, less our permanent tenants room. Please respect his space and privacy as he will respect yours."

[Alice-and-Jeff0]

You are right @Sofia107, there is no "good" way to report this kind of issue besides flagging the listing as being Misleading.  I would recommend that you use Host Voice to make a suggestion for a change.  https://community.airbnb.com/t5/Host-Voice/idb-p/host-voice

[Linda108]

@Sofia107  You are very experienced travelers on Air BNB so your feedback in invaluable!  It appears that some hosts have either misinterpreted what an entire home/apartment means or are really misrepresenting their listing.  It is not your job to police the Air BNB website, but if you choose to participate, I believe you can report the profile.  See the flag under the profile name.   Identify what listing is misleading.  Thank you for your post.

[Sofia107]

@Linda0thank you for your suggestion. I'm confused about how to flag a listing as misleading. When I click a flag below a listing, there is an option for misleading pictures, but not for misleading in other ways. Am I misunderstanding you?

@Alice-and-Jeff0-- I will look at Host voice, but we are not hosts at the moment, so is that a suitable venue for us to participate in?

[Linda108]

@Sofia107  I apologize for my recommendation.  I did a bit of research and found the site has changed and apparently no longer allows a free text report.  In that case, any misleading information can be reported by a guest during the review process.  

[Alice-and-Jeff0]

If you have a suggestion on how to improve the website, I think using Host Voice is as good a place as any.  

[Wendy-and-Frank0]

My absolute favorite is the "No Pets" listing that then explains that the pets won't be there while the guest is there but the dander and hair will.

tee hee hee

[Jimmy36]

Yes, it's very frustrating whenever I come across a listing which has been listed under "Entire Home" but is actually just a room or portion of the property in question. 

Airbnb doesn't really care about these things right now so they haven't implemented any "direct" feature which can deal with this issue. Although they are aware of it. Also, what's been happening is that sometimes it's a matter of perception for a lot of people. In Europe, a lot of people think if a person has his own room and a bathroom, it's an "Entire Home" to themselves. So a lot of people list their properties under "Entire Home" by mistake and unintentionally. And then there are times when guests themselves don't understand the difference and they don't mind sharing the place. 

So that's why Airbnb hasn't looked into this proactively. As they say, they have bigger fishes to fry.

A good rule of thumb for every guest should be to ask a question to the host before making a booking. Whenever I book, regardless of the city or the country, the four standard questions I ask to EVERY SINGLE HOST are as below. 

1) Is this a stand-alone apartment in some apartment building or is it one of the rooms in someone's house/apartment?

2) What's the speed of the wireless Internet? I will be working online for few hours everyday while there so I just want to make sure that the wireless Internet is of a good speed. This is an extremely important piece of information for me to know. Also, is the router inside the apartment or somewhere else?

3) Since I will be there for (number of nights) nights, will you or someone else be available in case I need any help with regards to the apartment? Do you live nearby or far from the apartment?

4) Would it be possible to know the address of the apartment? I just want to look that up on the maps to see the location, the street, and the distance.

#1 deals with this issue and I think every guest for whom it matters should ask this question. #2 is something extremely important to me personally. #3 tells me whether I will get some help, and how promptly, if at all I need it. #4 kind of helps you figure out #1. There are many cities around the world who have Google street view and based on the address you can look at the actual property in Google maps. Although, it's Airbnb's policy for the Hosts to not provide address before the booking. But for the most part, many of the Hosts provide the address. 

Hope it helps!

Thank you!

[Kirstie]

Great post @Jimmy36, thanks for sharing these tips - it's really useful for guests and also for hosts to be aware for what questions guests might have!

[Linda2652]

This whole-house vs. shared-house issue has been particularly annoying & time wasting when searching recently for a vacation rental. Unless you stumble across a lone reviewer who reveals this or the landlord mentions it at the end of their description, you won't know unless you think to inquire beforehand or are surprised when you arrive. 

Equally frustrating is the fact that most reviewers don't see the necessity to point out listing inconsistencies or omissions that may be of concern to potential renters. Such as:

(a) Home is shared;

(b) Owner lives right next door (May be comforting to some, but unsettling and lacking in privacy to others);

(c) Alleged bed(s) in second or third bedrooms are really fold-out futons or sofa beds;

(d) Listing "tub" doesn't necessarily mean there's also a shower in it. Some of us prefer showers over baths.

Again, I don't understand why reviewers don't clarify for potential renters what actually exists at a venue where they've stayed relative to what's omitted or misleading or just plain not true in a description.

[Loisa122]

Here is what the owner responded when I asked, because they wouldn't confirm 2 bedrooms. "I apologize, in our description it says that it is a residence. the house is very large and there are 5 rooms for rent. you would be in a room with a private bathroom. I live in the residence, Rosa Amalia, who is the owner, my nephew Andres, Nicolas (soccer player) and Laura. Possibly Antonella joins these days, I still do not confirm" This in a place labeled "you'll have the entire space to yourself" Seems strange.

[Linda108]

@Loisa122  This is a very old thread.  Are you reporting a listing that is classified as entire apartment but is really a shared space?  You might want to start your own thread if you want feedback.  I saw your posting only because I had posted years ago.  Most current contributors would not. Linda

[Loisa122]

Yes, I am reporting that. Perhaps I have the wrong place.

[Linda108]

@Loisa122  You are posting on a public discussion forum for hosts and guests.  You need to report to Air BNB.  There is a little flag and "report this listing" under the booking window.  Click on that and the information goes to Air BNB.

[Huma0]

I think some hosts may be deliberately misleading guests, but a lot simply don't seem to understand what 'entire home' means, because why would you expose yourself to these kinds of misunderstandings and possibly bad reviews on purpose?

Probably, some think that if the guest has access to the 'entire home', e.g. kitchen, living spaces, shared bathrooms etc. that this constitutes an entire home. Even then, if there are other people staying there, then the guest would not have access to those people's bedrooms, so it can't be classified as 'entire home' even in that scenario.

It seems obvious to me what an entire home means. However, I wonder how clearly Airbnb explains it when someone is setting up a new listing. I host private rooms in my own house and it's been an age since I listed an entire apartment, so I have no idea if it's clarified or not.