AirBnB Plus - Why we didn't move forward

[Larissa112]

Hi Everyone, 

I just wanted to share our experience with Plus as it seems there are a lot of hosts in our situation right now. 

We were invited by AirBnB to participate in the Plus program, and it all sounds great: an elevated listing showcasing the quality and amenities of your home, increased views and bookings, premium support etc.  It is a great concept and I think it can be very successful in the future, but as of now I think it needs a lot of work. 

Here are the issues we experienced: 

1) The new "professional" photography was not good.  The photos made our home look drab and did not showcase the quality of the home, the amenities we provide, the location etc. Our current photos are far superior to the new photos they submitted.  We did request a re-shoot with a different photographer, but the Plus team stood behind the photos and claimed they are on brand and that a re-shoot wasn't necessary. 

2) Someone at AirBnB decides what photos are used (the host doesn't get to pick at all) which does not make any sense as the hosts know the property best.

3) The photos do not tell the story of the home, provide any character, or showcase any of the special touches that we provide. They are generic front-on shots (our photographer was a real estate photographer).  Real estate photography is not the same thing as interior/hospitality photography.  I am an interior designer with a background in hotel, bar and restaurant design, and have years of experience with photographers shooting interior spaces.  I have seen many Plus listings with GREAT photography, we unfortunately did not luck out with a good photographer. 

4) There is not enough narrative on the Plus listings.  As hosts we have a responsibility to accurately describe our home, and this disappears with Plus.  Guests need a better balance of imagery and descriptive text.  The Plus listing is designed to showcase the home like a spread in a magazine, which sounds awesome but in reality, we need to be able to communicate more information the potential guests.  

5) AirBnB says that they have hired copywriters to create the narrative for the listing - which again makes no sense as they have never experienced the home.  The new title for our home was "Relax in a Spa Like Tub on the Oregon Coast" ... yes, we have a bath tub, but that is not the #1 selling point of our home.  

6) I have read in other conversations on this platform that hosts who switched to Plus actually had less bookings, but AirBnB claims that Plus homes show a 70% increase in bookings, so I would be curious where the data for this came from and why some hosts are having the opposite experience...perhaps the poor photography is taking its toll on some listings? 

We backed out after going back and forth with customer service on the new photos; we were hoping for a re-shoot as we were interested in trying out this program, but we couldn't move forward with the listing based on the new photos and the lack of descriptive text. 

I am sure there are hosts out there that are having great experiences from the Plus platform, and that is awesome! It seems to be working well for hosts in some markets. 

Was anyone else in the process of becoming a Plus listing and then backed out like we did?  What was your experience like? 

Thanks for reading! 

Cheers, 

Larissa 

[Md-Mizanur0]

Hi Larissa

Thank you very much for sharing about Airbnb Plus services.

Regards

Mizanur

[Sudsrung0]

We also backed out and we didnt even see the photo's we could tell the 2 clowns who came did not take the main areas of the project like the pool area

[Natasha226]

Hi Larissa -- Your post exactly describes the experience we've had with the Plus program for our home in Wine Country.  We've been accepted in the Airbnb Plus program and very much would like to do it.  But the pictures are inferior to our existing pictures.  They don't highlight the best parts of the property.  Moreover, the text is truncated and doesn't provide nearly as much information as guests need to make an informed decision.  The proposed Plus presentation is objectively less attractive and informative, and I really believe will prevent us from attracting high quality quests.  I benefited greatly from reading posts about Plus from many disappointed hosts.  It has allowed me to accelerate the decision to not switch to Plus.  It's such a shame because my house is now 100% verified by Airbnb, we nothing but positive reviews and happy guests, and I am a loyal SuperHost who books exclusively through Airbnb.  Yet because the Plus platform is so weirdly constricted and inferior, we can't take the risk of joining a program that should in fact present no risk at all.  I plan to wait and see if my bookings decline due to competing properties swithing to Plus status.  If that happens, I will reconsider, but as of today, it seems like mainintaing the status quo for my property is less risky.

[Larissa112]

Hi @Natasha226 

Thank you for sharing your experience!  It's so unfortunate and I hope they make the necessary changes to the program so that hosts feel confident moving forward. 

Your home is gorgeous!  I have saved it for my next trip to Sonoma - hope you all are doing ok from all the recent flooding. 😞 

[Shaun69]

Hi @Larissa112 , my experience of the plus programme was slightly different, the photographer did not actually turn up, he cancelled about 15 hours before he was due to arrive. Therefore my company had spent hundreds of pounds in preparation for a shoot that didn't take place!!!! When I asked the Plus programme for his details they would not give them to me, they told me that it was against the rules, I can assure you that the photographer in question would not have worked in my area of the country again if I could have got his details. This was my fault for trusting a photographer that was forced on me by the plus programme. I have learnt a lesson by this experience and I will never sign up to using an unknown individual who I cannot verify again. Fair to say I opted out of the plus programme!!!!!!!

Regards Shaun

[Larissa112]

@Shaun69 Thank you for sharing!  I am sorry to hear your experience wasn't so great either.  It's a bummer as we all put so much time and energy into our properties, especially to get them prepared for a photo shoot.  I think you made the right decision to opt out, will be interesting to see how long Plus actually lasts! 

[Daniel1598]

@Larissa112 @Shaun69 Wow tough crowd. But as it sounds, rightfully so! I wonder if there are any positive experiences that hosts can share. Plus has yet to take hold of my area so I am only observing from afar. Sounded great on paper.

[Larissa112]

@Daniel1598 I would love to hear some positive experiences as well!  I have only heard the bad so far! 

[Huma0]

So far I have only been reading about negative experiences of Plus from hosts and they are the exact same problems that @Larissa112  describes. In addition, several hosts have complained that the Plus team are slow and not very responsive, so I guess they have bitten off more than they can chew (maybe they will eventually get on top of it all, especially if hosts are starting to pull out).

However, people do tend to post when they have a problem or complaint rather than something positive to say, so there may well be many happy Plus hosts out there. Lots of hosts never use this community forum anyway or even know about it, so we might not be getting the full picture.

What I'm really interested in is the whole photography angle. I had Airbnb photographers round twice to photograph my listings and plan to have another over for my Superhost bonus. It was a very postiive experience both times. The photographers were communicative and reliable, knew what they were doing, took photos of everything, including detail shots and different angles of the rooms. I had no choice in the final selection of shots (that is decided by the team in San Fran, not the host nor photographer), but I could delete any I didn't like from the listing. I was happy with them so saw no need. I believe they have helped my listings enormously and are one of the main reasons I am always fully booked.

So why are Plus hosts having such a different experience? Are Airbnb using completely different photographers for this than for the regular shoots? In the busy, cosmopolitan cities that Airbnb has chosen to launch Plus in, there are no shortage of competent, affordable photographers. Quite the opposite. There is a shortage of clients compared to the availability of photogaphers. Believe me, I work in the magazine industry and know this. 

I suspect it's rather that the photographers shooting for Plus have been given a very strict brief to stick to. It's not necessarily their fault, but from their perspective their client is Airbnb, not the host (even if the host is paying to be part of plus) and therefore they need to stick to Airbnb's brief, not the host's requests for this detail or that. I wouldn't be happy about it either. Plus sounds like a bit of a flop to me. Anyway, not being part of it hasn't affected my bookings in the slightest. I suspect that it also attracts more demanding guests.