Windows app for AirBnB... Now?

[Geoff1]

Having changed to a windows phone the apps available are no longer suitable for efficient use. In the past week I have lost two multiple bookings to a total value of $250 because the AirBnB app does not notify me of an enquiry. Both the enquiries were made a couple of hours before I checked my emails. One at 5.30pm and the other at 6.15pm. Yes I could have hosted them, with some effort on my part which is part of the service and not an issue. Instead of the income it was a matter of my potential guests replying that they had already got other accomodation even though AirBnB was their first choice.

I can accept that the fault was with the potential customer making a short notice enquiry in part. The failure was with AirBnB not having set up the suitable application to make the prompt respose possible which would have sealed the deal.

In general AirBnB is superb in my experience as a host. Yet as a 100% internet/online/digital operation having current apps and efficient site service are vital.   

[Marcus0]

If Airbnb is a growing business concern for you then you may need to consider buying a second phone running Android/ios. 

Given Windows phones have a market share of under 2% globally (and shrinking) i doubt whether Airbnb could see the investment return on this.

Unfortunately this forum is not a place where you get direct answers from Airbnb.

[Andrew125]

Market share is actually around 3% globally, and I have not heard any reports that it is shrinking.  Most reports seem to be focused on device sales, which has no corrleation to market share of users (i.e. potential customers of your service).  If airbnb chooses to ignore 50 million potential customers, they need to re-assess their business plan.

[Ed-and-Hugh0]

@Andrew125 Market share is under 1% for Windows mobile. MS is shifting focus to Android (and iOS) as it winds down their Window mobile strategy.

http://www.cnet.com/news/windows-phone-market-share-falls-below-one-percent/

[Andrew125]

They certainly shouldn't base their decisions on flawed information.  The article you referenced doesn't provide any information on market share (i.e. the percentage of devices in active use), as it only presents information based on device sales, which has no correlation to market share.  As an example, assume there are 3 people who purchase phones with different OS'es.  Over a period of time, person A replaces his device 2 times, person B replaces his device once, and person C keeps his original device.  According the sales estimates, OS A has 50% "market share" (3/6 total devices sold), OS B has 33% (2/6) and OS C has 17% (1/6), when the actual market share never varied from 33% each (1/3).

This information has been widely mis-represented in the online media by writers who do not perform their research, only reposting somebody elses's misrepresentation.  The vast majority of market share articles today only reflect device sales, with another sizable chunk basing their market share estimates on web statistics, but this method also has flaws, as it assumes that all users use their smartphones in the same manner, and I have seen on many occations where my Windows phones have been mis-identified as iOS or Android by websites.  I have been tracking the data from ComScore MobiLens for quite a while, and they base their market share estimates on carrier subscriber accounts information.

[Ana7]

I'm also using Windows phone. The airbnb application is horrible, I cannot trust it a bit. When I get a sms, I ran for the nearest computer.