Airbnb Plus. Just venting

[Neaw-and-Stephen0]

I like ABNB and i do a lot of bookings through them and overall have positive experience . I do however find myself asking more and more do they know their own product? Rather do they recognise the value of individual properties.

So  after being invited to place a couple of my villas on ABNB PLUS i decided to give it a try , this was despite what i had read on the chat boards..

Now I am so frustrated I have withdrawn one villa and about to withdraw the other.Not because of their comments(its good to get constructive critiszm) but because it seems they dont actually study the properties they review. My market differs per villa. My biggest one tends to lend itself to large middle market extended families. Or friends taking joint family holidays. So my bedding arrangements and ability to make each bedroom good for a small family is important. My bedrooms are not small so this is not an issue.And the living room alone is 130 square metres. SO i very often have 8-12 guests per time.

I was patient with ABNB comments and initially some of them were right. I got a little mad when they asked me to replace 2x 15,000 usd paintings and a hand made hand painted blind(also in the thousands) as they felt  not right, a position they have now withdrawn from. I argued my case and their final position was to remove my game displays off table. When guests check in i have mah jong, chess backgammon and jingo on display. Not an issue I will do this

I was told to replace  pictures in 2 bedrooms. And i am actually in agreement and actioning, i wasn't 100 percent happy with them. All other points were addressed. Accept 2

Their latest requests as far as i can tell show complete lack of product awareness.

Note this is a 330 square metre four bedroom house 

This property is a large family house the bedrooms are about 30-35 metres square. We usually get multi families staying so in one bedroom theres a king size bed and then in the corner a full-size(adult size) wooden bunk bed.This is a big solid thing. The bedroom is big enough and theres still place for a few chairs and table by the windows and if we wished we could place a fold away bed without effort. So ABNB  have said remove the bunk bed then take two pictures off the wall above the big bed and put on wall where the bunkbed was. Thus showing more of wall above main bed. Hmm what do i do with the bunk bed and the books/bookcase thats a part of it?

Hmm so i reduce capacity by two beds. Or a family with two kids. Note this is not a portable bunk bed but solid furniture. No comment by ABNBas to where to put.

Another bedroom (bigger) has a solid wood full size crib 1.4 metres long(mother care). Again we get lots of positive comments as its better than a portable one. We keep portable ones as well and quite often when have families place one in the living room for those impromptu naps babies and toddlers take. Now ABNB want me to remove it to increase the aesthetic of the room. Again where to put. It would have to be disassembled to get out the door.

So if i understand correctly ABNB want me to get rid of my large family bookings that actually equal 90% of bookings. Create a situation that if i do get larger bookings they get foldaways so possibly screw my top ratings on ABNB . Its almost as if saying "hmm lets change your profile to suit our brand not yours." "we know your customers better than you."

I really dont get it.By removing my beds i remove 30-40% of my market. What is ABNB doing i just can not fathom it out. Anyone else having issues like this?

[Anonymous · Accepted solution]

@Neaw-and-Stephen0  Were you satisfied with your occupancy rate and clientele prior to becoming a Plus host?

If so, it's hard to imagine what the benefit would be of letting Airbnb micromanage your property as if it were their own.

[Neaw-and-Stephen0]

HI

Good point and I've considered this.

It comes down to whether I have faith in which way ABNB are going. They seem to have a plan to create Deluxe and Plus i guess then it will be budget etc down the line. And i worry about losing visibility i the future. I worked with Booking.com right from the the first month it opened. I remember the promises and the claims of cut out the middle man pay less commissions. A few years down the line it was all big corporations with large allotments getting prime spots and commissions were as high as the old high street agents were and in some case higher. In some ways ABNB could go same way

I have been happy with ABNB and how it works and i can not complain about occupancy.Though  I have noticed that whilst my overall occupancy my villas  have slightly increased on  last year bookings through other portals have increased and ABNB decreased. I put a lot of that down to negative and incorrect publicity about ABNB status in Thailand. And some of their changes dont seem to have a clear direction. Its hard to see the future path clearly. Well for me at least.

The fact is  that this is my preferred platform for guest interaction. I love being able to communicate upfront in realtime .The ability to chat direct and then be able to offer better service is satisfying.

So i naturally have a tendency to listen to ABNB when they say "Hey will be better for you". Though now I have serious doubts. Im always looking for other perspectives from  members of the community so im shouting out i guess.

It would help if ABNB made it clearer how they plan on developing in the future. A road plan always helps.

Your comment is very good and bears thinking about thank you Andrew

[Sandra707]

I have the same issue. I was invited to the Plus program, but ultimately decided not to join due to Airbnb's refusal to acknowledge that our uniqueness makes us successful.  Plus seems to be a cookie cutter mold everybody has to abide to while refusing to understand our different target markets, design choices and philosophies. 

My beach cottage is a historical building and features a nature play and art garden, lots of toys and boardgames - the idea is to relax and reconnect. I offer high speed internet but - on purpose - no TV, which has been a huge success - especially with young families. 

The verdict was in and I made some changes as AirBnB wished (e.g putting sheets on daybed for picture)   One change though I  was not willing to accept was, that  I needed a TV. I explained the philosophy a la beach retreat etc. and even suggested to provide i-pads with streaming services,  so they can be put away if guests don't want to use them. Airbnb insisted that a TV must be on the wall. Hugh?! Whatever. This program isn't for me. 

P.S.: The photographer and I had a nice chat and turns out he was totally underpaid for the 5 hours of work at my house and 2 hours drive- so much for the living wage pledge. Disappointing.  

[Neaw-and-Stephen0]

Thanks for comments, Love the tablet suggestion great idea.Reminds me of another issue i had with them. When i guest books I send a pdf in their language(most of time) with house guide and guide to local restaurants and paces to go with weblinks etc. When guests arrive the get a smart phone with 100 minutes of local calls, 4g internet, direct links to local taxis, doctors etc and my wife and my phone numbers.Not acceptable I had to print it for PLUS. I made a binder and it looked messy as hell after two weeks(kids and crayons etc) so im back to the smart phone. 

As a retired hotelier the way they heading is not just cookie cutter sold, Its corporate hotel model mold.Fingers crossed it doesnt head to far in that direction.

Thanks for your comments

Stephen

[Mark-and-Gabriela0]

I’ve been a successful Superhost with 95% occupancy most months, when I saw the Airbnb Plus program , I felt as a reward to my hard work.

My pictures were great but Airbnb plus decided to sent me a photographer, that supposed to be great but unfortunately it was awful, I complained, sent new pictures to Airbnb Plus and were never accepted them and I can’t edit them.

it suppose to have our place most expose, more rentals but my rental went from 95% occupancy to 3 %, I feel I don’t exist anymore. This month ONLY THREE days rental. I can’t cover my basic apartment expenses anymore.

I was blaming the sargassum instead of Brexit, but the sargassum is far gone.

I’m desperate 

After reading your posts I think Airbnb Plus is a flog. I see a lot says resolved, what have you done.

This is the 4th time I even try to post ... and nothing happens.