Airbnb Plus - poor overexposed photographs.

[Kathy-Frances0]

We applied for Airbnb Plus as our apartment is very special as is our service.    Prior to qualifying for Airbnb Plus we engaged the services of a Professional Property and interior photograher who took amazing night and day shots of the apartment, its views etc.    We attracted great guests with our Airbnb listing.  Once we qualified for Airbnb Plus we were unable to use our wonderful photographs and instead were lumbered with overexposed, inappropriate, dismal photographs that are definitely not professional even though we were charged for them.   Since these awful photographs have been on our listing we have not had a single booking which is detrimental to Airbnb and to us.    

We have spent many hours trying to change the photographs and replace them with our professional photographs but this is not permitted.   We have spent hours explaining this to Airbnb Support in an attempt to correct things but we either get no response whatsoever or, as happened last week, the Airbnb Support agent didn't understand our dilemma and instead told us that Airbnb only send one photographer and can't send another.   We don't want another photographer - we have paid an excellent photographer and simply want to put his photographs on our Airbnb Plus listing so that guests can see how amazing our property is and book it.   

I understand that with anything new, there are hitches but I have seen numerous complaints from Airbnb plus hosts bout exactly the same thing yet no-one has taken action and changed things.    As owners of properties we know what guests are attracted to and we want to show our property in th best light but with Airbnb Plus we are barred from doing so.   Can someone with influence kindly assist in changing things so that Airbnb Plus hosts can load their own photographs and attract guests.

HELP PLEASE WE ARE LOSING BUSINESS!!! 

[Carol570]

How INCREDIBLY frustrating. I do hope this matter is resolved soon. It seems like only AirBnB itself can help you, so I pray they start remedial action soon. Good luck!

[Dennis-And-Gwen0]

I have seen some amazingly bad PLUS photos. It will get newspaper coverage soon, I think, and will be a bad news story for AIrbnb. A recent example was a rooftop spa photographed on a grey winter day. Definitely not inviting but it was rainy the day the photographer came. No second chances! We were in the habit of refreshing our photos every 18 months. It was a small expense and helped manage expectations as our decor changed. With PLUS we can’t do this and it is very frustrating. We want to get a new sofa but what is the point if we can’t upadate the photo. 

[Cormac0]

@Kathy Frances

I recently saw a photo of the three founders of Airbnb, and "Fail Fast" was written in chalk on the blackboard behind them, an idea they’ve obviously embraced.

Kathy, you realise that Airbnb has taken control of your listing in all but name, without paying you a cent in rent for the privilege, this whole gig economy is getting out of control and it would appear the average host is a lamb to the slaughter.

[Hitesh3]

We are In Valencia, Spain and were 'invited' to join the Plus program ( i heard they had quotas they needed to meet by end 2018). Anyway we have a relatively new property so thought what harm can it do even if it brings more viewings that would be great. But unfortunately yes they choose the photos and you have no say in that at all and cannot change or add to them, nor will they. So since being on the plus program 3 weeks now we have had fewer viewings and one booking! So we messaged them and they were very apologetic and said we could return to our old listing. Which of course we will be doing. Hey ho... 

[Mark116]

I would consider thinking about opting out of Airbnb Plus altogether, then you will be able to go back and use your own photos and descriptions, because, otherwise, based on many similar complaints, you are stuck with their photos.

[David3063]

I have had exactly the same experience. My first property which is a garden apartment near the beach was greatly benefited by going on the Plus program, but unfortunately my seconde property which is an Ocean View apartment suffers the same fate as yours. They overexposed the photos so much that a guest looking to book cannot even tell it is Ocean View. It actually looks foggy outside although the photos were taken an a perfectly clear day. The Plus program people who wrote the description must have only seen these photos because nowhere in the description did it list the Ocean View. I called in and got luck from a support member not associated with the Plus program who was able to update the title to include "Ocean View" but other than this I'm worried that my listing has been severely negatively effected by this program. Prior to Plus this listing was booked consistently 95% or more of the month, now I am seeing bookings reduced. 

I wish AirB&B would put more resources into their Plus program because the consistent reply I hear when I contact customer support is that "the Plus team is extremely busy and understaffed and replies can take up to 3 weeks".