an idea to be helpful to new hosts AND to make Airbn into a more host friendly organization

[Annette33]

Considering the endless complaints here in the forums on how Airbnb is just not available and how thus losts of particularly new hosts end up frustrated and discouraged: 

 Airbnb should regularly run 2 hour workshops in each bigger location, put one of us more seasoned hosts in charge to take people through their own listing, and then 5 typical scenarios that might show up, and how to solve them/deal with them.

that would save them a lot of phone calls and create much better good will towards Airbn the organization. I  just realized a while ago that some hosts here are getting paid  by Airbnb to be "experts", I imagine to be available to individual clients on the phone or per messaging.

My idea would put 20 or so of those advice seekers together and give them a methodical run down on how to handle their listing and typical problems.  seems much more effective to me.

Well now, I should even get paid for this idea

[Nancy67]

Ha! @Rachael-- I love my AA Sponsor!!-- Yes, that’s exactly what I was alluding to.

Honestly, finding people in the same business is a little like hanging out with people in the same club/hobby-- someone to bounce ideas off of, blow off steam to on the phone or a text, laugh at situations-- share amenity’s buy, boxes with.

I'm too socially akward in group situations, and probably too ADD to sit through someones seminar-- I'd probably blow that off if it were happening here.

 I'm also not interested being anyone’s "expert," to be paid, or find a newbie to remake in my image and style or give my ego a boost by convincing them to do it "my way."  More like someone to go meet for lunch to do a little "research" for restaurant recommendations, or stop by the VB to pick up brochures to leave in the guest box with. ...Call when I'm having a day because the guest is a little testy or completly awesome. Answer questions that are asked-- help when needed-- freindly mentoring-- not "on a mission" mentoring.

My regular pals don’t really relate to this business because they don’t do it—mentor/sponsor relationships, whatever you want to call them can be a great way to learn & grow with those who have things in common. Hence, "Your success, is my success."

[Annette33]

@Rachael26, I did get that far 🙂

 And your reasoning is splendid, wow, how you dissected it makes perfect sense!  You just about convinced me - I love a great argument for or against something! And I'm sure Airbnb knows all  about the fumbling and bumbling of people through stuff, then getting upset, then just forgetting about it and going on hosting... so it doesn't impede their business model enough to seriously address some issues, there are always new hosts and guests out there...

I guess I am/was just too idealistic in my thinking that people ( certainly more than 20%!) would want to be on top of things, well prepared in their hosting and  would come to a class after they don't get very far in the help section. I see that that may be me, but not many other people out there.

Well, so it was just an idea to play around with, it made for a nice discussion here, and @Nancy67 is absolutely right, if anything like this would ever happen it would have to be sanctioned by Airbnb. Agree.

But @Nancy67, it is a complete misunderstanding to take what I suggested as being anyone’s "expert," to be paid, or to find a newbie to remake in my image and style or give my ego a boost by convincing them to do it "my way."  That's not what I have in mind at all.

[Nancy67]

@Annette33 I wasn't refering to you, personally. I was suggesting how I would like to develop a mentor/sponsor relationship.

[Debi17]

I am considering airbnb but only have experience as a accidental landlord that grew and I learned, however I researched before deciding to do it.  Although I no longer have the properties I still stay up to date on all new laws, regulations and advisement columns.  These were extremely helpful as you were give good standard practices with real stories to give examples of why you want to follow the guidelines.  I would love to find people to speak with to decide if airbnb is something I might consider.

[Rachael26]

@Debi17

If you would like to chat with another host about Airbnb business - here's an idea - if you find a post or comment that you like or want to know more about - then click on the host profile and you will be able to send a private message. But make sure you log into this community center regularly because if you get a reply you won't be notified - it will just show up on your community center profile (don't ask! If only an experienced host had designed this website!).

Best Wishes 

[Cormac0]

@Annette33

We've come along way from three inflatable rubber mattresses on the floor in Brian chesky's apartment!

[Nancy67]

i would. be concerned about borrowing the name ABNB unless you have it sanctioned. 

Provided it's all Leagal Eagle there. VB's and Chamber of Commerce have space. Also, attractions, tours, galleries, high end restaurants also might want a crack at getting in front of a gathering to provide brochures for hosts to put Out for guests. 

[Annette33]

totally agree, @Nancy67 , that's why I said above: "I feel pretty strongly that it has to be co-sponsored by Airbnb, otherwise anybody could just do that kinda thing, and who knows what they would be teaching? 

[Rachael26]

@Annette33 Well! If that last post isn't just the most perfectly timed and wonderful example of my point - and always makes me think of one of my favorite work cartoons..... (of course illustrated much better in the cartoon with the colorful hands raised stick people shouting..... but I can't insert here)

Who are We?

            -  Clients!

What do we Want?

             - We don't Know!

When do we Want it?

            - NOW!

😄

[Michelle266]

Hey everyone! As a new host, I 100% agree that host experts should be paid for their time helping new hosts! Honestly, there are no better people out there that can help new hosts than experienced hosts. Airbnb should pay experienced hosts because you guys have put in so much hours, efforts, and not to mention bad experiences to finally reach where you are today. Just like trades people are paid for their experiences, experienced hosts who help new hosts should be treated the same. Experienced hosts are uniquely positioned as they understand both worlds - the guest facing front and the dealing with Airbnb management side. Some hosts even know the protocol better than Airbnb staffs, which lead to the story I want to share below.

I'm a fairly new host and I've come to Airbnb community for help some times. The first time I asked, I was contacted by @Momi0 who offers me some help with my listing. She helped me with the issue and advised me on my listing improvement which I thought were great. We became friends on Instagram and threw some friendly exchanges.

Two weeks ago I encountered a problem with my payout and reached out again to Momi to ask for help since Airbnb was not responding to my calls at that time. Momi taught me how to handle the situation as I did not know how to deal with only one case manager and was being ping-ponged around. After she mentioned that she has an Airbnb consulting business, we became her first ground floor apartment client - which turned to be a great blessing as I instantly encountered a very problematic guest the very next day!

The guest left early with all her belongings and bringing our house key with her and not responding clearly on why she left/when is she going to come back to return the key. I contacted Airbnb and they told me to 'wait for her to come back' as her check out date is tomorrow. However Momi told me that it is against Airbnb's rule and that the guest should ask for early check-out and that Airbnb should call her to confirm this. While I was confused and stressed out, Momi called me on Facetime and used her other phone to call Airbnb to speak to another case manager who confirmed to her that my case manager should have called my guest. Momi even asked the case manager to send a message to my case manager to follow Airbnb's procedures. After our guest ignored all the calls but returned the next day (in a rude, defensive and confrontational manner), I was in crisis mode again. Momi asked me to send my draft review to her before publishing it on Airbnb. She taught me to write a review that follows Airbnb's policy, is clear, detailed and fair and with no emotion involved. In return, our rude guest marked us 1*, lied on our review about finding spiders in our house, house smelling like fish etc and mentioned made up things that don't even make sense (which were all very untrue, we even checked with her couple of times during her stay and she said everything was 'PERFECT'). Obviously she was angry and used the review opportunity to destroy our business. It was very heartbreaking for me as I put so much effort into hosting. I called Momi in the middle of the night and Momi advised me to contact Airbnb right away. Airbnb reviewed her review and concluded that she did not follow Airbnb content policy (discussing things that are not related to listing etc). It was then that I realise that had I posted my draft (angry) review, I would have violated Airbnb's content policy too!

Momi then reviewed my listing description and suggests improvements that I would otherwise overlooked (and those are not basic stuffs but really clever ways to ensure that guests know what to expect). I also took up Momi's advice on 'vetting' guests and sending guests accurate questions. It turned out to be such an important part because I learnt that some of my upcoming guests have special needs, have different arrival times to their partner, etc. One of them even thanked me for asking and said that she has started to feel very positive about her first trip with Airbnb.

Sorry if it's a long post, but I just want to show how much an experienced host can help new hosts like me. I am sure there are other Momis out there helping new hosts. No matter how user friendly or how much advices Airbnb puts in their website, nothing is comparable to the experiences of those that have gone through the thicks and thins of hosting! Also, as a new host I would feel much more secure being guided by experienced hosts.

I'll end this post with lots of thank yous to the experienced hosts in Community, wherever you are, that have taken the time to always help new hosts like me 🙂

TL;DR: Agree with hosts that should be paid for their advices to new hosts; have personal experiences being helped by Momi, an experienced host, that saved me during a crisis & improved my listing.

[Annette33]

@Michelle266 , so glad all worked out well in your situation and you got the right help when you needed it. The way I understand it, you got help from one of the hosts from here in the forum who reached out to you and counseled you on how to improve your listng and how to deal with a specific situation.

you say, "she mentioned that she has an Airbnb consulting business, we became her first ground floor apartment clients". So that host has an Airbnb consulting business and you became her client? Is that an independent business and  you are paying her, or is she one of  Airbnb's experts and Airbnb is paying her? Just trying to understand the basic set up here and how that works, thanks.

[Momi0]

Aloha @Annette33  How are you?  Its Momi, we have reached out to each other in the past before through private messages.  I was surprised to see your reply that was brought to my attention by Michelle and you didn't remember who this was...hahahaha....Remember now Counselor?  🙂   Momi, JD in Hawaii. 

@Michelle266 mentioned to me that you had written her asking a few questions and thought it was best that I reply back.  Glad she did.

 I dont' want their to be any misunderstandings.   I am NOT a paid expert for Airbnb.  But for the last 15 months or more, I have been receiving messages from hundreds of hosts via Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, Skype, ABB Community Center asking me many different questions, needing urgent help of all matters about hosting, guests situations, policy, protocol, listing help, everything you can think of has been asked by hosts around the world.   Some hosts I reached out to them directly because I read their obvious frustration on the CC and wanted to help.  Once I did that, they kept coming back to me.  Many of them suggested that I start my own business helping other hosts who wanted a phone call, FACE TIME, Skype video calls, text messages, emails, and/or on WHATS APP, etc., allowing them to reach me via means they felt was best to communicate with them to help resolve their issues because they either didnt' like the long wait times on Airbnb help phone line, or didn't know how to contact Airbnb.   I care ALOT so I was helping ALOT 5-6 hours a day......but then I realized that many of them began to make my phone number their personal HELP LINE....to a point that I was getting woken up at 3:00am.  At the advice of another host friend, I even started a second Instagram account to post HELPFUL TIPS to hosts on what I am doing right as a 94% Overall Experience 5 Star Superhost, 7 quarters in a row  (private room in my home hosting over 200 people)

What Michelle meant was that she came in on the "ground floor" of my new registered business.....not ground floor apartment.  LOL.  And while I am not here to discuss pricing on the Airbnb Community Center, I am happy to help anyone who would like to become a host/client because I have proven myself hundreds times over since January 2016 that I do know what I am doing and my advice and tips have turned things around for every hosts I have helped. And those same hosts are now sending me referrals for those who want to become a new host for mentoring or just need help with their listing, or social media marketing tips.  All the things I am doing daily with my own listing.

There is a definite interest on my part to become an Airbnb Paid Expert, but in the meantime, since I do host almost daily, and LOVE AIRBNB, I work my new host consulting business in the hopes that I will make a difference in the life of that host who just needs extra help or another set of eyes on their listing to make it better.  I'm grateful to hosts like @Michelle266 and others around the world who appreciate all that I do and their trust in me to make hosting more fun and less stressful. I was the one who told Michelle that the review written by the guests was in violation of Airbnb guidelines and she continues to tell me that had she not called me, she would not have known that.  I am also the one who rewrote her review based on the experience she had by showing her that its always important to remain calm, professional and accurate.  But what I can't seem to do, is get more and more hosts to understand that writing 5 Star reviews for guests who are NOT 5 Stars guests is only hurting me and others....I'm shocked to continue reading on the CC (even last week) that MANY hosts admitting that their guests weren't clean, didn't follow rules, but they still wrote a 5 Star review.   Why Why Why?

Michelle is a fantastic host who cares as much as I do.  But she was making the same mistakes I was making as a new host.  I just love her spirit that she has to want to learn from a veteran host such as myself....I only wish I had had a mentor back in May 2015 when i signed up for Airbnb. It certainly would have been a whole lot less stressful to me when someone was caught eating my food in the fridge when my rules clearly say this is a Bed and Breakfast, with breakfast served at 8am, and it certainly doesn't say...'help yourself to my food!"  Sometimes as new hosts we allow guests to dictate their stay and their bad behavior is condone, but as months went by in 2015, I started to realize that they just thought they had rented the entire home and not a private room.  I put my foot down on that.  And much happier now that I sit down with my guests at checkin, providing Hawaiian juice, and making sure they clearly understand that this is OUR HOME, and while they did become a paid guests with Airbnb, they are A GUEST in our home nonetheless.  Its made a world of difference to my hosting experience....and a lot more fun! 

I have personally stayed in 6 Airbnbs, and ONLY ONE HOST actually wrote me and said 'Thank you Momi for choosing to stay with us. We look foward to hosting your family."

 These are just some simple things that every host should be saying in their first initial message. So, recently, I became a Co-Host for a few hosts who wanted to see how I responded to new booking inquiries so they could learn to write their own great welcoming message, vet the guests, and make sure they are the best fit for the hosts and hosts homes.   Same things I do with my listing.  I turn away about 20% of my booking inquiries because their reply messages prove they will not be the right fit.   Plus I can prove to Airbnb they had not read my House Rules, but yet they ticked off the box saying they did at the time of the Instant Bookings. Those are the folks I give a second chance to but IF they don't appreciate that second chance, they don't get a confirmed booking from me. Manners are extremely important, and the message thread is a great place for a guests to show they have good manners. 

Hope that answers your questions....and if you are curious to know....my business is known as the 6 Star Superhost....only because that's what the Airbnb executive who stayed in my home with his wife suggested it should be.  He wrote: If I could give Momi 6 Stars I would...she's a Super Duper Host. haha.  Or should I have named my business..... "I'm here to help, just not 24/7".  LOL

[Annette33]

@Momi0 , thanks for asking how I am doing, I am very well and doing just fine. 

Just because I didn't mention you by name in my post above doesn't mean I have forgotten you. Wrong conclusion on your part, I most certainly do remember you, have no worries about that!

Also, rest assured I have not "written to Michelle , asking her a few questions": No, I just posted here, and tagged her in my post above, that was all, - for sure I wasn't expecting a super long post from you in response to that. Perhaps being grateful, she just  felt like advertising for your services a bit.

Funny that you think I might have misunderstood what Michelle meant with getting in on the ground floor: no worries about that either, of course I get it  that it isn't a ground floor apartment!

I was just interested in knowing if you work through Airbnb as a paid Airbnb. expert, or if you're running your own, separate consulting business concerning Airbnb matters. Now I know, thanks for clearing it up. 

[Momi0]

@Annette33 I only mentioned that you perhaps didn't remember it was me because you kept referring to "SHE" in your reply post, and not by my name "Momi".  Especially since Michelle mentioned me by name. 

And the super long post that you refer to was not meant for just YOU...wow......I was responding to the possibility that others would add to the thread and ask even more additional questions based on Michelle's grateful post, so I was heading it off by being detailed.  Certainly didn't mean to tire you out by reading so much....Sheesh, I have to say......I read alot on the CC post and I have never felt a need to write someone back by describing their original post as a being super long.....but thanks for wishing me good luck on my new business venture.  Well perhaps you meant to. 

By the way, she DOES have a ground floor apartment....so yes, its definitely possible for anyone to misunderstand that. Even @Michelle266 realized she meant it to be written another way. 

[Wendy-and-Frank0]

There.  Not Their.

Just sayin'