Airbnb IPO Launch - Host Wishlist - What do hosts want fixed?

[Sharon1014]

@Super47  @Ute42   @Cormac0  @Sarah977   @Anonymous 

Just running a flag up the pole, and thinking about writing to the US Securities and Exchange Commission about factual information in Airbnb's up-coming prospectus as well as issues hosts would like to see fixed prior to going public.

Information Integrity: 

Main concern at present is the presentation of the company to potential investors as a home-sharing platform (which if recent indications are reliable, is how the company plans to market itself to investors). 

Identifying  on the listing page authentic local hosts vs non-resident/remote property managers.

Wishlist: 

Guest review rating system overhaul, so that anything less than 5 stars stops being a fail.

Outlier guest reviews being removed.

Fairness to hosts when guests complain about non-issues and get a full refund.

Damages to property - applying the security deposit.

Host control of all refunds, regardless of reason.

Anyone have other suggestions to make?

[Cormac0]

@Sharon1014 

Identify the scope and powers that a company that purports to be a listing site only, has.

[Sharon1014]

@Cormac0   Yes, and it occurred to me today that much of the 15% Airbnb fee charge guests is very likely used to fight their legal battles with local authorities, and this courtesy of the absentee property managers who masquerade as hosts, courting rogue guests who cause all the trouble.  Perhaps some clear definition of what a "host" actually is would be useful too.

And maybe when bookings are made with local hosts are actually hosts, the Airbnb fee should be 8-10% to more accurately reflect the actual proportion of company expenditure on matters that relate only to local hosts.  The conglomerate property managers probably have already cut sweet deals of their own, meaning we small time folks and our guests are subsiding the bigger players.

 @Super47 

[Super47]

@Sharon1014 @Cormac0

The SEC has already been alerted and will undoubtedly be scrutinising Airbnb's filings for misrepresentations and omissions (a serious offence and a violation of Securities Laws), particularly in relation to the true balance of individual and professional and commercial renters on the platform. From an article by Cory Weinberg of The Information last week, 18/09.. 

Dozens of affordable housing groups and community organizations that have long accused Airbnb of exacerbating housing shortages are taking their grievances to U.S. financial regulators just as the short-term rental giant prepares to go public.

In a letter to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission viewed by The Information, the groups complain that Airbnb hasn’t complied with rules limiting short-term rentals in many cities. They contend that Airbnb should be required to disclose more information to investors about how many rentals on its site are run by professional property managers. The groups claim these managers are siphoning apartments from residential housing markets in Paris, New York and other big cities. 

THE TAKEAWAY
• Housing groups send letter to SEC about Airbnb practices
• Complaint marks new salvo in fight against rental site
• Letter seeks more disclosure related to regulatory vulnerability

While housing activists have battled with Airbnb for years over the travel site’s impact on urban rental markets, Airbnb’s upcoming initial public offering has given the groups a new avenue for protest. They argue that regulatory constraints on Airbnb pose risks to its business that should be disclosed comprehensively to prospective investors in the public markets.  

Airbnb didn’t comment for this article.

The letter’s signatories include more than 40 groups from cities in Europe, North America and Australia. The letter, which is being sent today, calls on regulators to require Airbnb to disclose how much revenue it derives from commercial operators—the hosts who are more likely to run large groups of listings. The data could show how much of Airbnb’s inventory might be affected if more cities change their rules or vigorously enforce existing ones.

The letter comes at a sensitive time for the company, serving as a reminder that the risks to Airbnb’s business go beyond the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on global tourism. Last month, Airbnb said it had filed confidentially to go public, putting it on track for an IPO this fall. 

The company is bound to lay out the regulatory risk factors in its financial filings ahead of the IPO, and could provide the information the letter’s signatories are looking for. Airbnb has managed to fend off many proposed local rules that would be onerous to its business, such as outright bans of short-term rentals or strict enforcement of limits on the number of nights people can list their homes.

[Sharon1014]

@Super47  @Cormac0   Nice  🙂

[Sarah977]

I wish to see their customer service receive a major overhaul.

Central switchboard : Press 1 for refunds 2 for cancellations, 3 for reviews, etc.

You're instantly connected with someone from the appropriate CS team who is thoroughly trained in just that one aspect of the platform and has all the policies relating to it at their fingertips.

Messaging CS to work the same- click 1 for refunds, 2 for cancellations, etc.

2nd wish: No more refusing to tell hosts why their listing has been suspended. No more vague reasons like "a safety complaint", without telling hosts what the specific safety issue was. No more suspending hosts' listings instantly based solely on a guest's report. No more "Guilty until proven innocent".

3rd wish: Clearly separate home-share hosts and hosts who live onsite, off-site "real" hosts, and property-managed listings. So 3 separate categories of listings. If a guest wants to peruse all of them and compare, that's up to them.

[Sharon1014]

@Sarah977   Yes, yes and yes!  Great suggestions. 

[Super47]

@Sharon1014 @Sarah977 @Cormac0

Airbnb will never change anything voluntarily - there are reasons why they choose to keep things as they are (for example, the reason they have refused to separate individual from professional hosts is because the true picture of the takeover of towns and cities by commercial operators would be laid bare for hosts, local residents, the authorities, the media and the general public to see, and would clearly expose the lie of their risible "live like a local" and "back to our roots" claims.

However, changes - monumental changes - are afoot that will redress the balance and put much more power back into the hands of hosts. The EU Digital Services Act is being introduced, and while it won't affect users in the US or China, as hosts in the rest of the world contract through Airbnb Ireland UC, it will - be it directly or indirectly - ensure a much fairer, more ethical operating environment for them.

Here are the changes below, and I'll include links to the very clearly written and easily understood European Commission press releases on the subject. Everyone should check them out, and inform yourselves of your rights, and of the new safeguards that are being (have been, in some instances) put in place to protect you.

Small businesses will particularly benefit immediately from:

1. A ban on certain unfair practices

• No more sudden, unexplained account suspensions. With the new rules, digital platforms can no longer suspend or terminate a seller's account without clear reasons, and possibilities to appeal. The platform will also have to reinstate sellers if a suspension was made in error.
• Plain and intelligible terms and advance notice for changes. Terms and conditions must be easily available and provided in plain and intelligible language. When changing these terms and conditions, at least 15 days prior notice needs to be given to allow companies to adapt their business to these changes. Longer notice periods apply if the changes require complex adaptions.

1. Greater transparency in online platforms

• Transparent ranking. Marketplaces and search engines need to disclose the main parameters they use to rank goods and services on their site, to help sellers understand how to optimise their presence. The rules aim to help sellers without allowing gaming of the ranking system.
• Mandatory disclosure for a range of business practices. Some online platforms not only provide the marketplace, but are also sellers on the same marketplace at the same time. According to the new transparency rules platforms must exhaustively disclose any advantage they may give to their own products over others. They must also disclose what data they collect, and how they use it – and in particular how such data is shared with other business partners they have. Where personal data is concerned, the rules of the GDPR apply.

1. New avenues for dispute resolution.

Today sellers are often left stranded with no ways to appeal or resolve complaints when problems arise. This will change with the new rules.

• All platforms must set up an internal complaint-handling system to assist business users. Only the smallest platforms in terms of head count or turnover will be exempt from this obligation.
• Platforms will have to provide businesses with more options to resolve a potential problem through mediators. This will help resolve more issues out of court, saving businesses time and money.

1. Enforcement
   • Business associations will be able to take platforms to court to stop any non-compliance with the rules. This will help overcome fear of retaliation, and lower the cost of court cases for individual businesses, when the new rules are not followed. In addition, Member States can appoint public authorities with enforcement powers, if they wish, and businesses can turn to those authorities.

[Super47]

Executive Vice-President Margrethe Vestager said: “The more than 10,000 online platforms in the EU are only one part of a broader digital services ecosystem that drives innovation. Despite their role as an essential resource during the on-going health crisis, major issues of fairness and safety have to be addressed. The new rules will ban certain unfair practices such as unexplained account suspension, unclear terms and conditions; ensure greater transparency about ranking, level the playing field among online platforms and search engine and provide new possibilities for resolving disputes and complaints.”

[Super47]

 

[Sarah977]

@Super47  So the US and China are the only 2 countries the world in which Airbnb won't be bound by these changes? Like Canada and Mexico contract through Airbnb Ireland UC?

[Super47]

@Sarah977

Yes. See below. The only other exception to US and China is Japan, who contract through Airbnb Global Services Ltd (Airbnb GSL), but that's also an Irish-registered company.

 

[Super47]

New European rules to improve fairness of online platforms' trading practices
https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/IP_19_1168

New EU rules and guidance for a fairer online economy
https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/IP_20_1301

****Note: The Platform-To-Business Regulations below already apply from July 12, 2020. 

TheEU Regulationon platform-to-business relations (P2Bregulation), is the first-ever set of rules creating a fair, transparent and predictable business environment for smaller businesses and traders on online platforms.

Platform-to-business trading practices | Shaping Europe’s digital future
https://ec.europa.eu/digital-single-market/en/business-business-trading-practices

To reiterate - this may not be the most exciting reading material but it is  very clear and easy to understand. It's of vital importance to everyone to inform yourselves of your rights and protections. These may only be EU laws, but they will ultimately have knock-on effects and advantages for all platform users. And they've been a long time coming. 

[Super47]

@Sharon1014 @Sarah977 @Cormac0

Here's the letter below that was sent to the SEC by the housing groups coalition..

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Sharon1014]

@Super47   Great info and great letter, so well researched and footnoted.  Thanks for sharing Penelope.