Airbnb plus

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Laura2436
Level 2
Constantine, United Kingdom

Airbnb plus

I have been hosting for two years and in January 2019 received a request from Airbnb asking me to join Airbnb plus .

I agreed as  it is stated that this scheme is likely to increase bookings and therefore income .

sadly this has not been the case .my bookings are down on last year . Not sure if it's Brexit or 

the new listing !

Anyone experienced similar after joining Plus scheme .

1 Best Answer
Sarah977
Level 10
Sayulita, Mexico

@Laura2436   It's too bad you didn't come to this forum to ask this before joining Plus. If you had, you would have found that it is/was a disaster for most hosts (at least the ones who posted here)- not only did their booking go down, they became non-existent. The program is a flop, which is evident by the the fact that they used to charge for Plus, now they don't. Many Plus hosts have opted out. 

So no, I don't think it has anything to do with Brexit. I think it has to do with guests simply skipping over all those slick Plus listings, assuming the price will be too rich for their blood.

Type "Plus" and other keywords into the search bar on these forums,and you will find multiple threads on this with other hosts' experiences.

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26 Replies 26
Sarah977
Level 10
Sayulita, Mexico

@Laura2436   It's too bad you didn't come to this forum to ask this before joining Plus. If you had, you would have found that it is/was a disaster for most hosts (at least the ones who posted here)- not only did their booking go down, they became non-existent. The program is a flop, which is evident by the the fact that they used to charge for Plus, now they don't. Many Plus hosts have opted out. 

So no, I don't think it has anything to do with Brexit. I think it has to do with guests simply skipping over all those slick Plus listings, assuming the price will be too rich for their blood.

Type "Plus" and other keywords into the search bar on these forums,and you will find multiple threads on this with other hosts' experiences.

I was tempted to apply and then I realized that if I were looking at it from a guest perspective I would assume that Airbnb Plus properties might be more high end and more expensive. I screen them out when searching.

Maybe, mostly, because my American Express card has a category in their travel section for premium properties and they're always way more than I can afford for a room.

I think Airbnb Plus would work if Airbnb then had a marketing team actively soliciting guests that were looking for premium properties and were not price sensitive.

For the most part, however, Airbnb should stop using hosts as market experiments. I think they mean well, but is ANYONE on staff experienced in customer service. That would go a long way to fixing some of what ails them.

Laura2436
Level 2
Constantine, United Kingdom

Thank you for replies .

I have gone to condsiderably lengths to comply to Airbnb plus recommendations and thus incurred costs to no avail . Will remove listing from Airbnb plus status and hope I do not have to start listing process again from Scratch.

Internal photos were great but external seriously lacking . Also not great that Airbnb control what photos are listed. Rather poor show in their part . 

There is no need to delete your listing somewhere in your back office there is a button to switch it back to your original listing, it's there somewhere

Kimberly71
Level 3
Haugesund, Norway

Thank you! I am so happy I found this thread.

 

I have been scrambling to comply after a long list of ridiculous comments from our inspection. (He didnt find our heating/cooling system, which is enormous and very hard to miss?!?) Great to hear that this is not worth spending my time on and rather focus on the guests I have and not the ones I could have. 

 

So now I am just going to kick back and wait for Airbnb to punish me in some small but significant way. 

Gillian141
Level 2
Wingfield, United Kingdom

I am in the position of having complied with all bar one of their requirements. I am holding fire on this as I think I probably don't want to be an Airbnb plus host.  Do you think they will punish me?!  I am so glad I have just found these posts as I was about to send off my last "fix"!  

 

Paula922
Level 2
Tamarindo, Costa Rica

Buen dia alguien que se pueda comunicar conmigo no esta funcionando la pagina para descargar fotos, gracias.

 

Julian352
Level 1
Nice, France

Very interesting to see negative comments about Plus. My experience -  at Airbnb's initiative - was also terrible.

In January '19 I paid €150 for a visit from an experienced apartment photographer along with a young and nervous 'inspector ' who wrote 'Needs upgrading' about my rooms, with zero input as to what exactly was the problem, just poor quality iPhone photos of my furniture (new leather), walls (freshly painted) etc. 

This is a listed building in Nice, c. 1850, murals on cathedral ceilings, tiled floors and there are restrictions on improvements but I made some changes anyway, sent off photos (I'm a photographer)....no response apart from 'we'll get back to you'.

I never received any photos from the official photographer, nor Plus listing, nor any explanation of the situation and certainly no refund from Airbnb.

Sounds like I'm the lucky one!

 

That being said, looking at other online agencies I feel Airbnb is ahead of the game and perhaps their occasional errors of judgement are the price we pay for an innovative platform.

Mary-Esther0
Level 2
Sisters, OR

So Airbnb invited to plus,  said it was a free to join, I'm not a Superhost yet  only hosting a month.  I have lots of views but not tons  of booking. well almost every weekend in busy season . just wondering from the reviews sounds like is more of a problem.  can you have a listing with VRBO at the same time? can you try it then quit? or better not to even try.

You cannot have a listing with VRBO (or anyone else for that matter) at the same time.  But they are not open or up-front about that when they invite you ... they bury it a bunch of clicks back in the fine print behind 'learn more' buttons.   If you make money from other platforms too, it looks like it would be insanity to join because I haven't seen a single post in this Community saying 'wow -- my bookings are waaay up!' or 'wow, their photos are sooo awesome' . or 'boy, their design advice transformed my home for the better.'    Look around.  No one is saying any of those things.    Yes, you can quit later.  But you can't even join if you don't delete all your listings on other platforms.  Caveat Emptor!

Laura2436
Level 2
Constantine, United Kingdom

No a positive experience for me .

went the extra mile to comply with everything that they asked . Had 100 % reviews prior to joining plus , but received two reviews that were not very positive from guests booking with plus . 

I wouldn't bother with it . 

Mark37
Level 3
St Petersburg, FL

I regret ever having accepted the Plus invite.  It has been a mess from the beginning.  I think my bookings are down. 

 

They have missed appointments, lost photos, incomplete photo shoots...the list goes on.  And they seem to not care...with is really dangerous when coupled with their overall management of your photos. 

 

For instance, I have a fantastic place on the river...there is not a single picture that shows that.  Instead, I have a cover picture of my couch.  Great if you are looking for a couch to sleep on and not a very high-end condo on the river is a ski town.

I’ve had such a terrible experience with them as well. As a Super Host for the last 18 quarters in a row, I thought I would be treated with more respect. They have asked to to fix things that were already tested by their inspector (wifi for example) have asked me to purchase a rug as they didn’t like the one I had, now weeks later they decided they liked my original rug better, and want me to change it back. It’s long gone. And on and on. This process has taken 100s of hours of my time, and money, and they are never satisfied. It has angered me to the point of considering closing down my listing and listing elsewhere.

Mary1793
Level 5
Captain Cook, HI

One thing no one seems to be mentioning (so I am wondering if you are even aware of it or if you are just ok with it) -- a condition of joining Airbnb Plus is deleting your listing from every other platform.  If you join you are agreeing to rent exclusively through Airbnb.    Did those of you who joined Airbnb Plus actually delete your listings from other platforms like they require?  They never mention this mandatory requirement in the invitation they give you to join or any of the emails they send you after you sign up for your photoshoot -- they bury it in the fine print a few clicks back behind layers of 'learn more' buttons.   

 

That is a deal-killer for me and I wish they had been much more transparent and up front about it in their invitation and subsequent emails -- it would have saved me a 2500 mile flight to my house in Hawaii to get her ready for their photoshoot and inspection, car rental costs, child care costs, etc.   I learned about it inadvertently almost  two weeks after I returned and I'm furious that I went to so much expense and hassle and time waste for nothing.   If that had been clear up front it would have been a simple 'no way' for me without a second thought.   Why?    For the last few years, I reliably make about 55% of my house's rental income from other platforms, 45% from Airbnb (it used to be more 75/25 but Airbnb has been creeping up a little year over year).   Why would anyone sane voluntarily give up 55% of their income for a chance at potentially boosting the other 45%?   Especially with all the stories out there from folks about how Airbnb didn't improve the bottom line at all?    Would love to hear the community's thoughts.   Did you know about this requirement?  If you joined, did you comply with it?