This website is terrible!

Answered!
Glenn53
Level 1
Tierra Verde, FL

This website is terrible!

This website is terrible, how do you find your dashboard or calendar.  Would it not be helpful to have a dashboard link on your first touch????

1 Best Answer
Emiel1
Level 10
Leeuwarden, The Netherlands

Hi,

 

There are two dashboards, one for "travelers" and for "hosts".

The current one shows up when clicking on the Airbnb logo in left top corner

Switch between them from your account menu (click on profile photo in right top corner)

 

Access  to calender:  choose "calender" (!) from the menu's or the buttons, depending on which section you are in the website.

 

Best regards,

Emiel

 

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8 Replies 8
Emiel1
Level 10
Leeuwarden, The Netherlands

Hi,

 

There are two dashboards, one for "travelers" and for "hosts".

The current one shows up when clicking on the Airbnb logo in left top corner

Switch between them from your account menu (click on profile photo in right top corner)

 

Access  to calender:  choose "calender" (!) from the menu's or the buttons, depending on which section you are in the website.

 

Best regards,

Emiel

 

Viv13
Level 1
Victoria, Australia

Well Emile, you seem to be in the know. Perhaps you could advise someone who can do something about my issues with this truly appalling site and company. This is the first time I've tried to use airbnb. I'm using a friend's account because of the the, to me, onerous requirements to provide personal information, including photo id (government issued only!), real birthday (identity thieves LOVE that. They only need a name, birthday and birthplace to steal your identity and take over your life.) and other extremely personal information. No other site requires this, not Paypal, not even Centrelink (Australian government welfare office). But airbnb does, and why? Their excuses are total BS! But let me get onto the site. I don't know but I'm guessing that all hosts have to intentionally set availability in their calendars, as all dates are flagged as booked by default. I'm assuming this because so many of the hosts I checked out were fully booked until 2022. Including one who had become a host only a few months ago. She's probably wondering why she's getting no bookings. Well, it's because she too is booked solid until 2022. Which brings me to my next gripe. If I want to send a message to a host, enquiring, for instance, if he/she is really booked until 2022, I can't! It isn't possible!! Why? Because I can't send a message without entering a date! And I can't enter a date because they are fully booked until 2022!!! Aaaarrrrhhhh!!!! And as for trying to find someone to complain to... not a chance. I couldn't find a single contact for Airbnb, the company, AT ALL! Emiel, maybe you can help. But I'm not holding my breath...
Gus17
Level 2
New South Wales, AU

Hi Viv,

I agree that this website is an attrocious design, and have posted to that effect a few times in the community, and thare are many others making smilar comments.  BUT, it does work, and if you take a little time you can work most things out even if it is obscure and not very intuitive. Regarding seeing availability, there are a lot of "part-time" hosts on Airbnb who only let a room or whole house/flat  out at certain times, say when they are at home, or when they are away. I think you might be misreading the information on the calendar, or the host you are looking at has blocked out the dates because they are not making it available, rather than that is booked out till 2022, for example.

As far as a contact phone number, I am not going to give you one, but it is not difficult to find the Australin number via Google. I have had to ring them to find out something, & found the phone staff quite helpful.

Regarding the process to list on the site, how would you like it if someone else (anyone) could easily impersonate you and/or the ownership of your property and list your house or room as available for rent on Airbnb and even collect a bookings fee even if fraudulently.  The first you would know is when someone turned up demanding the bed or whatever that they believe they paid for. AND, Centrelink & ATO (all linked) holds far more personal information on you than Airbnb, believe me, and anyone else you care to ask !!!!!  If you are only using the site as a guset, then the same principles apply.  Would you like someine to turn up to stay in your property who you have never met or had anything to do with before without having their identity checked out as thoroughly as reasonably possible? I think not. In most if not all Australian states, by law, a commercial rooming establishment (hotel/motel etc) is required by law to verify the identity and record it of anyone staying before they let you in, and they can refuse you entry if they have any doubts. While no doubt there are people who will try & beat the system, I for one as a host am all in favour of having the best sytems possible, and I think Airbnb does this as well as any other site if not better than most..... even if it is convoluted.

 

Barry54
Level 3
Southend-on-Sea, United Kingdom

This new website really is **bleep**e! Can we have the old one back please? It wasn't brilliant, in fact it was pretty crap, but it was a hell of a lot better than what we have now!

Gus17
Level 2
New South Wales, AU

Clearly I have gone "deeper" into the website than you, I agree that it is very poorly designed. It is the most convoluted, difficult to navigate websites I have come across in over 20 years of www professional use.

Christine218
Level 2
Solana Beach, CA

I agree. Bring the old website back!!!

 

Femi2
Level 1
Evanston, IL

I am getting super frustrated with the website as well. It is not user-friendly.  It seems almost designed to confuse and frustrate the user! 

Steve143
Level 10
Limerick, Ireland

Hello @Viv13,

 

You complain about the possibility of identity theft and you're taking someone else's identity for your activity on this site so breaking the trust hosts should have in being able to know who they're dealing with. You're intentionally using someone else's identity. If your friend has allowed this then tyey're breaking the terms and conditions of use which help to protect against identity theft.

 

Hosts on this site trust that the person whose photo and name they see is the person who will turn up at their door to stay in their house should that person make a reservation.

To help combat the identity theft issues you're rightly aware of, third party bookings are not officially supported by Airbnb. That is bookings where the person who turns up is not the owner of the account from which the booking is made.

Airbnb asks for a birth date as making a rental arrangement with a host is a legal contract and so, to have an Airbnb account, you must be old enough to legally enter into legally binding contracts.

 

To find contact information for Airbnb support you can, as another person here has suggested, google "contact airbnb". You can also use the search fucntion on these pages where you posted your question. Type "contact airbnb" in the "Search the community" box and then scroll down in the suggestions and click on the "Contact Airbnb: A Community Help Guide [UPDATED]" one.

 

Steve.