Identify 3rd party administered homes

[Alice-and-Jeff0]

If a host is not acting on their own behalf, this should be noted on the listing profile somewhere.  If their property is being administered by a 3rd party property management company, it should be absolutely transparent to the guest that the person in the picture is not really their "host".  

I would not want to stay at a property where I had to go pick up keys at a kiosk or that the host is not even aware that I am staying in their home.  That is way too much like a hotel (pick your keys up at the desk, we don't care who you are just pay us).  

[Stephan2]

Agree, see also this discussion: https://community.airbnb.com/t5/Host-Voice/AirBnB-for-individuals-not-for-companies/idi-p/161302

[Ken34]

Agree!   Air needs to create two Divisions:

Homestay --  the original concept of actually staying with a host home or close-but-detached cabin/garage/etc.

Commercial -- for all those "slum landlords" who want to be in the business of property ownership and management rather than actually dealing with guests directly.  The ones who hire property managers and cleaning companies etc. who do not live on the property.

After having had a couple of "third party" type experiences as guests, we will no longer book wih such "commercial" AirBnB hosts.

[Alice-and-Jeff0]

Looks like the homeshare option is already under consideration.  Perhaps that means Airbnb will be splitting this up some time in the near future as I doubt they will be eliminating it altogether.  I'm absolutely in!! 

[Charlene13]

Highly agree!  I want to be known as owner/operator/Host and as well I want to stay with the same.  I am tired of Property Manger's coming in and taking over "by owner" sites!  

[Carl---Danielle0]

Like ebay with the professionals taking over ...  😞

Ebay started asking private or professional when creating an account (plus the existing accounts were asked too). Could work with Airbnb too?

[Cormac0]

@Alice-and-Jeff0

I agree with this, they should be identified many properties are being Airbnb’d without the prior consent of their landlords.

I was recently looking at an apartment in Dublin (Ireland) posted on the Airbnb site being hosted by a young Brazilian, I know that the apartment in question cost in the region of Euro 500,000 and I’m thinking, were did that young man get that sort of money.

There is plenty of anecdotal evidence of people renting apartments with the sole purpose of Airbnb which is distorting the housing market as the landlords in question are quite happy to rent the apartment to young couples looking for a home and don’t want the hassle of short term lets.

What would be the outcome if something serious happened like a death or a life changing accident in these hosting’s would the aforementioned person hop on a plane and never be seen again?

I reminded of the case in America where a balcony collapsed and five young people lost their lives and one other is permanently in a wheel chair what then, fortunately this was not an Airbnb.

[Debby-And-Kevin0]

Agreed that there should be a differentiation between "on site hosts" and "absentee hosts" or "property manager hosts".  When I see the same "host" pic on several different listings, it gets my dander up a bit. Having a title of "On-site host" should be highlighted in some way. But of course, people would soon take advantage of that. 

[Gina32]

There is another take on this. I have a rural property with 7 different apartments/rooms/places to stay. I live on site too. I am a host, I am here to welcome the guests and ensure a comfortable stay. I am an "onsite host"

I also have another property in the same village, I'm still here to welcome the guests and ensure a comfortable stay.

I also have another property, one hour away. I'm still availalbe (or one of us is) to welcome the guests most of the time.

But I agree the large company, professional property managers who never see a guest, probably does not really belong in Airbnb, and cannot be called "hosts"

We stayed at one of these properties in LA for the Open. The management was not professional, (non existant) and neither was the cleaning, and the surly doorman certainly was not welcoming.

I listened at the Open, with interest to host who successfully "remote control" their Airbnb's around the world, and have been awarded "superhost" status. This seem to me to be a misnomer - no host = not super to me.

Maybe the property housekeeper is "super", maybe the property owner is a "super" communicator but a host surely has to be present to be a superhost. 

Think about it!

[Debby-And-Kevin0]

@Gina32. Very thoughtful answer, and yes, you are a superhost in my eyes. On-site, meet your guests, you're there as first contact for problems, plus you can keep an eye on stuff (I find that important to my peace of mind). This type of hosting was the basis of the airbnb paradigm, and seems to be fading fast. Off-site hosts and property managers appear to be the new norm. We identify ourselves as "on-site" in our propaganda these days, and have been blessed with our guests 99% of the time. Happy hosting! 

[Keith1]

I believe the co-host feature addresses these issues.

The guest can see if responses are from the host or their co-host.

https://www.airbnb.com/co-hosting

[Alice-and-Jeff0]

This week alone I came across 3 profiles that were CLEARLY management companies but only 1 said so directly.  One profile had 226 listings.  226!!!!  Many on resort properties across the country. One had 33 listings but they clearly said they were a management and rental company for luxury condos.  What happened to the boutique and unique property arrangement that Airbnb says is important to be a qualified listing on their site?  There should be an identifier on each and every property and on the host's profile.  

[Debby-And-Kevin0]

@Alice-and-Jeff0  Couldn't agree more! It was hoped that airbnb IT might make us a special tag, but hope was dashed. I simply make note of it (on-site host) in our initial blurb. We're pretty full all the time, and we have had great luck with our guests. 

[Keith1]

The listing denotes the co host.. here's my listing:

https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/551851?preview

scroll way down to "About the Home"  you'll see "hostwell helps host"