Am I alone? Fix Smart Pricing, Reviews, Restore Photos

Chase9
Level 7
Costa Mesa, CA

Am I alone? Fix Smart Pricing, Reviews, Restore Photos

Smart pricing is still a big failure.

Your system fails to take into consideration that some AirBnB listings are much nicer than others and therefore should be priced higher.

 

Your Reviews system still leaves a lot too be desired even after your recent change. AirBnB Feedback requires two modifications in order to improve for everyone’s benefit:

 

1. Allow us to highlight and pin to the top pf Review section extraordinary, most detailed feedback from user, e.g.: our “Top 2” reviews where a guest really made an effort to be thorough to help other guests understand what it felt like. Some guests go above and beyond to write an exquisitely useful review but these get immediately lost and buried beneath guests in a rush who just say, “great stay!” which really helps nobody.

 

2. Allow us to delete maximum of 1 feedback per year. This will accomplish a filter system of occasional outlier really nasty, negative reviews from someone with a psychiatric issues and those who retaliate because they violated house rules or caused damage and intend to preemptively counter negative review they expect.

I had someone mentally ill violate my boundaries, upset that she wasn’t invited to my dinner and movie so she wrote a nasty review, texted me many pages of text messages on my cell and that’s just unfair even though I’m forced to write an explanation.

 

Finally, my biggest complaint is what I believe a mistake AirBnB has made by removing the user’s photo prior to booking. The reason for the change is admirable in its intention: to prevent racial discrimination by racist hosts. Great goal! Unfortunately, this has a very serious and undesirable problem it causes.

 

It makes it impossible to catch users who are mean, hateful, unhygienic, immature, or unsavory... all of which are often apparent when we’re able to see someone’s photo! People who think it appropriate to post an unhappy looking, mean faced photo of themselves are almost always mean, anti-social or disturbed.

 

The photo is such an easy deterrent of that. Further, of someone is racist and would just me by my color, I wouldn’t feel safe to stay with that person in the first place. Let them see my face and race so that if they’re racist, I don’t wind up there.

 

Unfortunately, racist people never admit this on their page so the photo is an excellent protection against this.

 

As hosts, we are inviting a complete stranger into our own home, sleeping in the next room, so we want to know as much about them as possible and that means at least we can see that their photo doesn’t reveal an angry, disturbed or alcoholic or drug addict. We’re Hosts not Guinness pigs, 😉.

29 Replies 29
Carol-and-Jay0
Level 2
Los Angeles, CA

Excellent points!  I would add that the Airbnb Plus removes any personalization and creativity from the host by insisting we use “their” photos.  The photos they took look about as inviting as the photos showing a Best Western motel.  Again, in an attempt (I assume) to level the playing field and have some kind of standard, they overreached and made something we certainly qualified for something we have no interest in.

My photos look fantastic from the AirBnB referred Pro photog I was designated.

 

I believe AirBnB partners with pro photographers in each geographic region so the quality of your photos depend upon the ability of the photographer you get.

 

I’m not AirBnB Plus (yet?) but would be alarmed if I were deprived the freedom to choose which photos represent my listing. So good point.

 

AirBnB: please don’t play dictator with our photos. We must have the final say. 

Patrik25
Level 1
McKinney, TX

Agreed with all of Chase's statement. However, one of the key reasons why we NEED photos is to verify whether the person booking our place is really the one showing up. It happened twice to me that someone booked on their friend's behalf and I would not have found out w/o a photo on their profile.  
Also, Wheelhouse.com is a good addition to smart pricing from Airbnb, go check it out, very sophisticated and has helped me greatly in the past!

Ava30
Level 10
Eureka, CA

@Chase9  "Let them see my face and race so that if they’re racist, I don’t wind up there."  Yes! So much this! and for so many other reasons as well. If for whatever reason a host is going to dislike me based on my appearance, I would really rather not be in their listing. 

 

Another thought - Guests can see OUR pictures before booking. Why don't we get the same consideration regarding discrimination as guests? My listing is a stand alone so some of the concerns regarding personality, etc are less. But, as so many hosts have said time and time again since the No Guest Picture before booking policy came into fruition, we can often tell a great deal from a picture. Especially those that put up their party animal pics. 

I totally agree that we should be allowed to see who will be coming into our home. That way if something were to happen, at least someone would know who was here. 

Once someone books and it’s approved, only then is the photo displayed to the host. But the guest can always see the host’s photo even before booking. 

Yes, or when I get picture of more cleavage than face. I can tell a lot more by someone's eyes and smile than their boobs.

Helen Harrison-Markow
Meredith-And-Lou0
Level 2
Walla Walla, WA

No- you're not alone.  

 

Agreed. Need to see the photo of guest. 

Need to advertise locally in South Africa. 

How do I show my contact no?

Warmest 

Vivienne

I think it is safer to give your contact to confirmed guets as preferably link with airbnb during the process of responding to the queries by guests prior to booking confirmation. I am sure, airbnb has all safety measures to scrutinise bad guests and anyone who was racist towards hosts or guests should be notified to airbnb for the safety of hosts and guests and our properties 

Cathie19
Level 10
Darwin, Australia

 

Hi @Chase9. I agree with you on all these issues. The rental platform is not perfect, and often leaves the Airbnb “home” host no barrier for matching up guests to the personalities and property, as it use to be.

 

but the beauty of the CC, forums and host get togethers is that constant consultation and feedback can often lead to change. So the more we continue to debate and question poor business decisions, for a section of their partners, the better we will all be. Progress often takes time and autocratic leadership and management requires a consultative approach and a shared vision for all its organisation. 

 

I just think the powers that be have currently lost that core vision - as they have grown and expanded so quickly.

 

The problem with that loss of basic information, is that if noone navigating the boat, remembers where they were paddling to upstream, and the method they were using to get there, then they, and everyone else get very frustrated and lost on the way via dead ends, creeks, billabongs and inlets. Hopefully not lost at se..... or too many more rapids and waterfalls to escape from. For this boat isn’t designed for that kind of journey......

 

So Airbnb shoul maintain the mothership and experiment along side it with other vessels...

Sorry, talk about typos and non-capital letters!

* Lost at sea

* So Airbnb should

Smart Pricing is easy to fix: set the minimum to your smallest acceptable nightly fee, taking into account the possibility of longer-stay discounts being applied. Set the maximum to 3x that. Set holiday and special event period prices manually. Change the minimum amount regularly as needed.

 

Or don't use it and set the prices manually.

It doesn't work. Smart Pricing has never changed pricing to anything above the minimum even when guests tell me nothing comparable was available in my area.


My post is about the need to improve the smart pricing option that fails to function nor fulfill its own "smart pricing" name — so your advice to "don't use it" is neither helpful nor useful to anyone.