Airbnb Plus Advice

[Nina432]

I've just been through the Plus Program enrolment when I started reading about it on the Community Center.  I'm in New Zealand where the Plus Program hasn't been around very long so I am hoping to get some advice from other hosts around the world who have more experience.

On the 12 December 2018 I was offered to join the program at no cost.  I went through a very easy, quick online process of booking the inspection and photographer.  Three days later he came and spent an hour.  I showed him in, going through the check-in procedure (lockbox etc) then offered to answer any questions before he left.  The only one he had was - did I have a smoke detector - he was standing right under it which I pointed out to him.  Off he went and a few days later I was advised that I had 13 fixes to complete.  One was install a smoke detector (?!) and another a lockbox (?!)  Also to provide self-check in which again, I had been through the entire process with him from the gate access on the road, to the lockbox and key retrieval.  The other fixes were small things like please provide a few extra drinking glasses, paper towels and a carbon monoxide detector.  I was sent an 'incentive' - do your fixes by 1 January 2019 and receive a $100 bonus.  Nice, so I did all the fixes that very day, bar the carbon monoxide.  They were all approved within 2 days.  I purchased a carbon monoxide detector installed it and submitted it on the 19 December .  The very next day I was sent an email offering me a carbon monoxide detector for free... grrrr.  And then I waited, and waited.  Finally on the 8 January I am told my fixes have been approved.  And it's not until now that I realise that the terms and conditions state that the fixes needed to be done AND approved by the 1 January.  So this was my first red flag.  Air bnb approved all the other fixes almost immediately but sat on the final one until after the 1 January.  This seems like a con to me, us hosts run around getting our fixes done quickly and yet have no control over the approval speed.  In their terms and conditions it says they 'allow an extra 2 days grace period' but again, they control the whole process.  This was red flag number one.

Now comes number two.  This week I got the email telling me my Plus listing was ready to be published.  I found the photographer had extensively photographed an area that was NEVER part of my listing.  One of these photos has also been chosen as my cover photo.  The area in question is private and not for guests use.  At no point did the photographer ask me about it.  He also took photos of our entrance and photos of the house from across the road which I am not at all comfortable with.  Our listing has a private entrance and I do not feel it is necessary for people to see the entire house from across the street.  We live here so I feel this is a privacy issue.

The 'premium customer support' they advertise with this new program doesn't appear to exist.  As you cannot change the photos yourself on the Plus Program,  I have tried to get in touch every which way, to point out that my cover photo needs changing as it represents a space that is not for guests use.  It has also specifically been mentioned in the description Airbnb wrote on my behald.  And guess what, the premium customer support appears to mean premium ignoration.  So I have postponed the publishing of my listing to Plus, and still no response from them.  I also read that your Plus listing will only appear under Plus, no longer under general search.

I am very particular which has resulted in a superhost badge within 3 months of becoming a host which I was pretty chuffed with.  But the idea that I am now only going to have Plus customers seeing my listing, versus all the other people who love Airbnb for what it originally stood for, is for me, the strongest reason to opt out of it.

Are there any hosts out there that have had a good experience being on Plus?  I have only managed to find negatives.  My bookings are steady, I was not looking to join Plus to increase bookings.  It was sold to me as a good fit for the calibre of my listing.  But I don't want to lose all those lovely travellers who want the Airbnb experience rather than something that resembles a hotel.

[Cormac0]

@Nina432

Most Plus programme Hosts have figured out, that they have become indentured servants in their own homes and in many cases paid for this privilege.

Foolish is as foolish does...

[J-Renato0]

It seems that, plus was created to compete with 3.5 and 4 star hotels.

I believe that the guests that likes a hotel similar experience goes for a hotel instead of self-catering holiday accommodations. 

Maybe plus can be interesting to the hosts that let mid and long term to guests that come to some city to work and want something upscale.

I never considered joining plus.

[Gerry-And-Rashid0]

@Nina432 I agree with @Cormac0

If you want to go from being a host with great reviews and nice guests, to becoming a butler for overly-demanding guests  who are led to belive they will get 6* treatment day and night, then go for it.

Oh, and don't expect any uplift in bookings nor the price you can charge.

This is a revenue generating for AirBnB, and, you pay for it in so many ways

[Mark1420]

Im in the exact same mindset.

Just had it all approved for review and decided after some shallow research to put it in indefinite hold.

Sounds like theres very little Plus offers for hosts in terms of benefits. And like you mention, not having your listing visible to a wider searching audience.

And the photographer and photos are **bleep**

**

*[Profanity removed in accordance with Community Center Guidelines]

[Yvonne5]

Hi Nina,

I am in Cambridge, Waikato and have had exactly the same experience as you have.  After spending two days on looking at these photos, that are overedited, I responded in great depth to Airbnb  showing comparisons of what the photographer had done and what we had already up.  To be honest I would be embarrassed to put up the photos that have been suggested.  An email came back to me to say that they are going for a uniform look on this platform and that, at this stage, they will not be havoing any photos changed from what they have sent me.  Very seriously just thinking I will continue on as before.  I was also approached by Air Bnb with a free sign up to Plus if I was ready for the photographer to call in under a fortnight.  This I did and after he spent 5 1/2 hours at the property I was expecting something pretty fantastic.  We had put shutters in two of the bedrooms, to filter out the brick house next door, in the photos he has opened them back against the wall so we are looking straight at the neighbours house.

.......and this type of thing is repeated right through the property.  I was at the house and offered to help in any way I could but he said he had it all under control and just wanted to get on with it.

I also had 14 fixes which was really only one as everything else was already there, my offer was $750 for all my trouble,  and everything was done on time.  I am guessing if I do not sign up with Plus I walk away from this bonus!!

[David238]

My experience (in the USA) is a bit different from the opinions above.

I am a 3-year superhost, and have 3 properties listed.  One has been approved as a PLUS, and one other is still under review.

Our PLUS properties were chosen because the home and decor are unusual, and our attention to guests is already pretty high.  We are not "indentured servants" (as written above), but we do go for a 5* experience.  I don't think that you have to have a "hotel" decor to be Plus... but it does have to be cohesive, interesting and attractive.

Anyway, the "ON-BOARDING" process is badly broken. 

All of the above stories have happened to us.  On our second property, we are now on our TENTH round of "fixes" for a single bedroom.  We are currently trying to find "new decorative pillows with a better texture".... whatever that means.  The main problem is how hard it is to communicate with the Plus reviewers, and impossible (it seems) to speak with anyone except the guy who is giving us the run-around.  I tried the regular help channels, and they always demure, telling me that it "is not possible to speak with anyone in the Plus Onboarding department".   

But the "RENTAL" process is excellent and our bookings HAVE increased by at least 100%.  Oh, and I did increase the price by about 20% along the way. 

We can all certainly agree on one thing...  If the on-boarding process were more interactive, I think we'd all have a better experience!

Cheers,

David