Our experience sounds different than those presented here, so I guess I wanted to share a different perspective in a detailed- read long - response.
We were invited to Plus in mid-December (so we did not pay the fee). Our photo shoot and inspection was scheduled for early January. Over that time I did a ton of research about the pros and cons of the program. I called CS, read chat room posts all over and thought about the between the lines messages of what the program required. Most of what I heard about the program was not encouraging. I also searched for the opposite perspective of those who had Plus come to their market and they opted out. Most of the results in that case were not good because they moved down in ranking. Like people here, we didn’t want to get in and hate the program and we didn’t want to get left behind either.
We are in a rural area, 50 minutes above Asheville, not one of their selected markets. As a matter of fact we are the only property that is Plus in our tiny market. Because of this I had several concerns in particular because of the limited space available to describe what we have to offer. After all, everyone knows why they’d go to Paris or New York, but almost no one would know why they’d want to go to our area of western NC.
When the day of the shoot came I had managed expectations. I found the photographer experienced and easy to work with. The shoot went smoothly. Having done several photo shoots in the past I tried to be ready, but I knew that no matter what I did, when the photos were delivered some would miss the mark. I also knew from customer service I would not be able to choose which I wanted. And, I would wish there were photos that just were never taken. That all turned out to be true. It took me 3 years of constantly taking pictures to get the ones I felt best captured our place. No way was that going to happen with a professional shoot.
We had a list of things to fix that took about a week and $200. Not too bad. We were actually hoping for more feedback than we got so we could really hit it right from the start. We wanted to see our place through someone elses’ eyes. Oh well.
We went into this thinking we probably wouldn’t sign on but would be open minded and wait to see the listing. One month to the day we got our new listing. While we didn’t love all the pictures, you can delete them just not add to, from a guest perspective they looked good though. Couple of things I learned:
1. Editing in the app was frustrating. It’s glitchy and doesn’t show all your options. The character count is also wrong in the app, so you’d get to the end of writing your copy only to have it save some of it or stop typing midway through. This was corrected when I finally moved to the website.
2. Similarly, you cannot edit check box features in the app, so again went back to the website.
3. I did call customer service for help getting started. They never told me to use the website instead of the app, which knowing what I know now is surprising. The Plus associate started out making all of the changes for me, which was fine but then that person ghosted (maybe she took some time off, don’t know) but by then I had figured out the website, so I made the changes myself.
4. One thing I heartily disagree with is that they sell the space and not important features like our “million dollar view.” The view can be seen, thanks to a technique called bracketing, through most of the shots looking out through our windows, but I felt they were missing the mark by not having a straight on photo of the view. After all, it is like a pool to me. People book specifically because we have a good one. That said, I think it would pose problems for them and they new it. You have to get up at sunrise at our place to get the best picture of the view. No way would that work for an affordable photo shoot like they supply.
All our reviews talk about the amazing view, we talk about it, so I guess right now I view it as one of the stunning bonuses guests will get that’s even better than they saw on the listing. So It is an under promise over deliver thing. However, I do think they are missing the mark by not letting the owner add at least one picture, or a section of pictures from their catalog. They could be presented differently, like as snap shots or something. That would go a long way toward making hosts feel they have more control while also preserving their brand for the Plus program.
4. I thought I would find the copy writing process frustrating, but actually found that, from a guest perspective (because they don’t read), the new format could work really well. I tried hard to write with concision and found I was able to get all the important, descriptive information in. The way the process works with Plus also afforded me the opportunity to rethink how I communicate things to do in the area to guests, so I am working more on my booklet which is currently about 25 pages with photos. I have also added a lot more to the Airbnb book about the area. I also make sure all of the emails, my hosting page and everything we use to promote the property leads with a picture of the view.
6. In the end we tried to focus on what works about the program. We are getting more views. We stay pretty booked except in off season. So far we have gotten bookings in off season and for higher than I ever would have thought.
Time will tell, but I do think Plus is a good concept. I know hosts who haven’t been accepted yet are frustrated and so are the people who are in process. It could be viewed as a slap to Super Hosts, but equally it could be viewed as another way to grow. Frankly, we got Super Host early on and I felt that there was no where to go. I was glad for another challenge.
Not to mention from a guest perspective Airbnb wasn’t addressing the needs of all types of travelers. Those who want a more vetted experience or those who feel burned by a bad experience with one Airbnb’s properties needed a different approach. For instance, I spoke to guests recently who said they had a horrible experience with a Super Host property. They wanted a high end experience and the property just didn’t deliver on several points even though the host was nice. They said next time they’d book with VRBO because they have more elite properties and hosts with a lot more experience. Whether VRBO is better could be debated, but I am sure Plus was designed specifically for this type of traveler.
Plus just one that has to be fleshed out a bit. We are willing to hang with it. If it doesn’t work out we can also go right back to our old listing. We are usually early adopters though, so I think you have to know yourself. If you don’t like being a part of the evolution of something, getting in this early might not be for you. We feel it is worth the risk, because of the increased exposure so we are going for it.
Hopefully this helps someone who is on the fence. I wish you all the best.