Why is the Airbnb Website so difficult to use and so poorly organized?

[K53]

Why is Airbnb spending money on all of this, when its website is so poorly organized and the community has so many issues using it?

[Emiel1]

Hello @K53 ,

I think the website can be improved in some ways,  but i do not experience it as "poorly organized". I can find my way on it. There are allways issues on such a complex platform, the community is also a perfect  medium to bring them on the table and discuss improvements or rant on not properly working features.

[Ute42]

.

Hi @K53 ,

I suggest You try working with the HomeAway platform,

then come back an rejudge airbnb.

[Matthew285]

Is there some specific tasks you are trying to do that you are having trouble with?

Perhaps the people here could offer suggestions about how to make things work better if we knew what you are trying to do that is not working so well.

[K53]

IMHO, The UX and site archtecture are not only disorganized, but I feel the coders are not hosts or guests, so they have no idea how to best organize the website.

1. The inbox/messaging system is arcane and poorly executed. The next guest for every host should pop to the top of the inbox, since, logic dictates, that's the next person we will be messaging with after the initial booking.

2. The calendar should be ever present in the menu, I shouldn't have to make 3-6 clicks every single time I want to check on my calendar, especially considering the fact that every. single. click. I. make. on. the. website. means. that. the. website. will. completely. refresh. with. every. single. click, which is obviously irrational design, since we as hosts, need to consult the calendar constantly.

3. The menu options change depending on what page you are on, with no actual visual indication of this. So you have to just keep clicking on random tabs until the website flips over into the particular version you need in order to access the particular menu options, which as I said, change depending on what page you are on, without any indication of why they felt the need to make so many different menus, rather than one menu.

4. The menus flip flop flip flop to the left top corner, to the right top corner, to the left to the right to the left to the right. Why? Makes no sense.

5. Why are there so many different tabs settings? None of the tab setting names make any sense or relate to the features I want. EG: restricting the number of days you can reserve. Quick off the top of your head, what's the name of  the tab that's under? EG: changing the number of guests that can rent? What tab is that under? Please remember that every.single.time.you.hit.a.new.tab.you.have.to.wait.for.the.website.to.refresh.only.to.find.out.you.didn't.guess.the.right.tab.since.they.have.arbitray.names.like.booking.settings.which.don't.contain.ALL.of.the.booking.settings.So.there.you.go.and.there.you.are.

6. Where is the "quick link" for hosts, to jump to their current/next reservation, so we don't have to shuffle through the beluga whale of a website, clicking on hundreds of tabs, changinng menus and useless features we don't need to click through, when all we need is the quickest route to our guests, their information and our calendar?

7. I'm a HOST. I have only used Airbnb as a GUEST 4 times in about 5 years. I have hosted hundreds of people over the 5 years. Again, I have used airbnb as a Guest only 4 times. SO THEN WHY IS MY INBOX SET TO "TRAVEL" RATHER THAN "HOST"? Every single time I log into Airbnb to get my messages, I first have to change the settings in the inbox from "travel" to "host". Why? Literally why? DO you have any rational explanation? Please remember: Every. Single. Click. means. more. Time. Just. Sitting. there. not. getting. to. the. information. you need. Every. Single. Click. It makes me feel like the system has no comprehension of who uses the site or why. As stated, I'm a HOST. Why is everything in my account set up as if I am a traveler? I'm a SUPERHOST. I want "HOST" to be my priority on my website, that I use as a HOST to become a SUPERHOST. Why are my "travel" messages from 4 years ago coming up when I log in every time, instead of my extremely more imporant messages from my guests?

7. Why does the website need to completely refresh with every single click? Simply put everything into a drop down menu architecture and have only 3 pages. Why are there dozens and dozens of pages. It's useless. It doesn't actually need to be set up that way.

8. I have done survey after suggestion, after email, after review. No one has ever cared or made even the slightest response to any of my concerns or objections about the website, and yet 100% of the customer service agents at Airbnb I speak with all complain about the website with me. Waiting endlessly for pages to load, wrong tabs clicked, click again, wait another eternity, wrong tab again, click again, no, it's not there, woops again, click 500 more times, now we found it. If the website isn't an issue at all, then why is it the standing joke amongst the telephone customer service agents I speak with?

[Matthew285]

@K53 thanks for the details! 

I think we all would like the web site to work better. Regarding your list, here are thoughts:

1. The inbox is sorted by most recent message (the people you communicated with last are at the top. While it does make sense to also have your upcoming reservation at the top, it certainly makes sense that your current conversations should be also at the top. (For example: I was messaging with a guest who won't arrive until January 2019. It the list were strictly in order of reservation, my chat with her would be several pages deep every time.) I prefer the most recent conversations at the top because my upcoming reservations will end up there anyway, as my automated message to upcoming guests happens the day before arrival.
2. I agree. It takes a lot of slow clicks to get to the calendar of any specific listing. It is one click to the Multi-Calendar though.
3. I'm not sure I agree with this. You might be flipping between Traveling and Host mode inadvertantly.
4. I agree with this also. Not sure why it changes sides. Maybe traveling is on the right, hosting on the left?
5. To avoid having to go back when I get the wrong link, I always command-click any links, which just opens the page in a new browser tab. If I have the wrong page, I just close the new browser tab and am still right where I left off, no reloading necessary.
6. This problem is also solved by using command-click and opening new browser tabs with each reservation window. Your list never needs refreshing and is always available.
7. I always visit Airbnb via the URL which goes directly to the host dashboard: https://www.airbnb.com/hosting
   That way you always start out in the right place.
8. (Which is numbered 7 again) I am okay with it refreshing the whole page, since I command-click links. If it did not create whole pages, that "open in new tab" thing would not work as well. But yes, it is extremely annoying if you don't work in multiple tabs.
9. (Which is numbered 😎 They certainly could improve their feedback mechanism. Perhaps they could create a bug-tracking system that is at least visible to hosts so that we could know what has been reported, how many people are affected, and if any solutions are in the works. Right now it is all opaque.

Of course, it would be best if hosts did not have to find helpful workarounds. But it is possible to make some of the issues more tolerable with minor adjustments to your workflow.

[K53]

1. the most recent message for me has nothing whatsoever to do with my current reservations or who I need to speak with next. I frequently spend 15 minutes scrolling through hundreds of messages to find the one golden one from the one guest who booked 8 months ago, even though they are the people who are arriving the next day. It's not rocket surgery to pop the next guests chat with their host to the top of the pile or offer a way to do that since, as stated my most recent conversations have nothing to do with my next reservation. Glad you have an easier time with it.

2. What multi-calender? If it's so easy to get to, why have I never heard of it?

3. No, I'm not.

4. Perhaps, but why wouldn't they let us know that? Why come up with an invention for a website, that you don't bother to tell the users of that website about? What's the point of that?

5. No thanks, who has that kind of time? I live in NY, not Sanoma.
6. Huh? Words? Special Sauce? Hold one leg up, twirl around, do a performance piece about birds. Yeah, why not just streamline the website?
7. Thank you!

8. More words

9. Brilliant Idea. I hope they are 'listening'.

[Jiajia2]

I find that it is difficult to use airbnb website from time to time. I am a host as well as a traveler. I know how to  edit film. But every time when I needed to get things done on airbnb website, I need to spend hours to accomplish my taskes. 

[Carrington5]

I'm trying to get started as a host and I hate it already LOL

[Stephen129]

AirBnb has the worst website.  All your points are valid.  I have hosted hundreds of guests, and every time I use the website I cringe.  Their serve is snail pace slow, as though one of the owners is hosting the platform out of his mom's basement.  And yes, what is the deal with having to switch from travel to hosting... if you're logged in why not just have everything there, and if they insist on separate travel & hosting options, then let us set the default that WE most use.  Very annoying website, clearly designed without any focus groups or users viability testing by actual HOSTS.  

[Merve29]

Dear God. Thank you for writing this. This backend is the worst and nobody seems to improve it so many years. It's incomprehensible how it was organized. I can not change my most basic criterias (my nightly price, my availability, snoozing etc) without making at least 10 clicks  and having 2 tabs open at the same time

[Elspeth17]

Hi

I have just given up in frustration.

When I open a site - have a look - want to return to search, am blocked and have to restart all over again.

Now failing to show prices next to properties...

Oh dear.

[Chuck81]

User835's comments throughout the above thread are spot on:

1. AirBnB web navigation is unnecessarily cumbersome in ways that impede host productivity and increase phone support volume hence cost.  Having every click serve a new page is especially time consuming given the slow response time of the AirBnB web servers, literally can take minutes to perform a simple function, and I bet most of us have more going on in our daily lives than interacting with AirBnB.

2. AirBnB platform team seems completely non-responsive to user feedback, further souring perception of the organization.

At a minimum, hosts (and guests) should have a place to register enhancement requests, that includes a way to see that AirBnB is acknowledging, prioritizing and (if accepted) incorporating them into its roadmap.  Even without that, there's no defensible reason that rudimentary features and capabilities haven't been adopted - a couple of really basic examples include:

+ Ability to set preferences regarding what notices/"suggestions" clutter landing pages - I don't need to be urged to lower my rate to get more bookings every time I log in.

+ Update "new message" notifications at the user level - If i read my messages on my phone, I shouldn't see the same messages as unread on my laptop, and every other device from which I log in.

+ On guest review entry, put all the star rating items (plus comments) on a single page - fill them in and one click to submit.

+ "Remember" that a user has declined (or otherwise closed) informational pop-ups - I don't need to be asked if I've noticed the "new look" every time I open the hosting home page or dashboard.

+ Retain the inbox list of messages while opening a pane (or popup) to read a selected message - every free email client has had this feature for a decade; how could AirBnB not have started with it?

Given how relatively recently AirBnB launched, every single one of the above was a widely implemented feature of commercial websites, and available in open source libraries, when this web site was developed.  It's past time for a refresh, especially since the current user experience actually degrades the AirBnB experience, and unquestionably raises the cost of community support overall.

[Mary88]

I agree. I find the Airbnb website a nightmare. Every time I think I’ve figured it out, it “upgrades” into a new mess. It seems like it was designed by somebody’s incompetent brother in law.

[Luana130]

It is not perfect, but of all the platforms I use, is the best one. Maybe if you mention the problem your having someone here could help you.