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