Airbnb Plus - can we cancel if unhappy?

[Lucia152]

It seems like they are using BOTS to approve our listings because they flag completely nonsensical things as needing "fixes." Eg., we have a vacation home in the Catskill Mountains of UPSTATE NY and they asked us to prove we have a HEATING sytem. REALLY??? Our pipes would be frozen, not to mention the skiers, who would then have not written 5-Star reviews.

We have a lockbox for guests to enter and they flagged that and said "Please provide proof that you have a lockbox." YOU JUST SENT ME A PHOTO OF IT!

Also, the same "fix" was flagged twice for numerous rooms, so I had to upload and explain twice for the same item due to Airbnb's errors. Then, one would be approved and the other would sit there for weeks not being approved.

We have art in every single room but apparently the photographer didn't take enough closeups -- or the bots or whomever is looking at these things didn't see them -- because they flagged two rooms as not having art that DO  (and I should mention that nearly every review raves about our decor).

Since we're not there in winter (we started this Plus nonsense back in OCTOBER when we were there) I had to ask our housekeeper to take photos of the heating system, artwork, etc and send them to me so I could prove we had these things.

Now I submitted my last "fix" over 5 weeks ago and have heard nothing since. This whole process has taken far too much of my time and energy.

Anyway, since I'm hearing many people saying their listings dropped to zero after their listing went Plus, I don't know that I even want to do it anymore. I may try it -- but only if I can cancel Plus if I'm unhappy!

So my question: if we are unhappy with our Plus listing, can we cancel and change back to our previous listing? I am saving all my photos and descriptions.

Many thanks,

Lucia

[Rebecca181]

@Lucia152 Lots of hosts have cancelled and reverted back to being a non-Plus listing -  and for a variety of reasons. One of the biggest complaints is that the Plus host loses all control over the listing (photos and description), and inexplicably bad photos are often chosen as the main 'cover' photo. Many hosts who were in the approval stage got out due to frustrations over the blatant incompetency displayed by Airbnb during the review process (similar to yourself) and later shared here that they felt they dodged a bullet (do a search on these forums on 'Airbnb Plus' and you'll see why). But if you feel that you need to go 'Plus' for specific, compelling reasons then I do hope that you get a response soon. Perhaps write them and say you will withdraw yourself as a Plus candidate if you don't get a response in 24 hours? Best of luck!

[Lucia152]

Thanks, @Rebecca181 Rebecca. Have you seen ANYONE who has been happy with Plus?

Also, if you're accepted and then you cancel, is your listing automatically restored or do you have to remake it manually? I've saved all the photos and text but there are lots of both, so it would be a huge hassle to recreate...

[Rebecca181]

@Lucia152 Not sure. If you do a search here in the community on 'Airbnb Plus' you will likely see comments from hosts who backed out - then you can ask them how they did it. Best of luck!

[Lisa723]

@Lucia152 thanks for confirming my sentiment of happiness that Plus is not available in my areas... sorry not to be of any help to you, though.

[Gordon0]

There is no snarkiness or tone in this question, @Lucia152; what made you sign up for Plus having seen the (generally) negative feedback on here about the product?

[Lucia152]

Why are you asking?

[Lucia152]

@Gordon0: not sure how it's relevant to the discussion, but I started the process before I had seen negative comments. Once I started experiencing all the nonsense is when I started searching for it. By then I'd gone to so much trouble I figured I should go through with it and see what happens.

But it just keeps getting worse and worse, so I started searching for others' experiences again.

Do you have anything to share in that regard?

[Gordon0]

All I can say, @Lucia152, is that I've yet to read/hear many (if any) positive tales about Plus. And I asked because there have been dozens of long-running threads on here about it.  

[Lucia152]

Thank you @Gordon0 . That's discouraging but helpful. 

[Robin4]

@Lucia152 

Hello Lucia, the main thing you have to get your head around when using Airbnb is, the preoccupation within the company is making money, and whatever they put in place has that goal in mind.

I was invited to join the 'Select' scheme which was the forerunner of Plus. Although it was by invitation only I rejected being involved, (even though it was free) because all I could see it doing was bringing to my door a more demanding calibre of guest. I could see my good standing suffering with rerviews which showed the guests disappointment at not finding something totally utopian with my listing!

Airbnb did not proceed with Select because they could not get enough interest in it to make it worthwhile and, in the interim someone in the halls of power suggested that it failed because it was not exclusive enough....hosts did not have to pay to be part of it.....Select was classless!

So 'Plus' was born and all of a sudden hosts with no proven record behind them could simply pay over some money to be part of a class of host that would be elevated in search rankings.....they could buy their way to the top.

Lucia, I have watched 'Plus' from it's inception and, for the life of me, I cannot understand anyone wanting to be a part of it! Try as you might to be a great host Lucia, would you seriously want to be lumped into a class of host who has a review base like this.......

How exactly does a host with a total of 11 reviews including a host cancellation get to be a 'Plus' host? Where is this proven record of outstanding performance.....the whole thing has 'sham' written all over it!

But for a joining fee of $150, it made Airbnb additional money....yippee!

You will find both on the computer version and the phone app Lucia an 'Opt Out' button where you can put the past behind you, get back some control over your listing and it's description and simply go back to being a good host.

I am sorry you have been stung but, you are I am afraid just one of many posts like yours that are popping up evey week.

Unfortunately some things in life we have to learn the hard way!

Cheers.......Rob

[Lucia152]

@Robin4  - good points, all. I didn't pay anything, thank goodness - I was invited. Would never have done it otherwise.

And, yes, the reviews I receive on my "non-Plus" property far exceed these! It's that - the very lukewarm nature of the reviews - that strikes me more than the one cancellation. I wouldn't put too much stock in one cancellation, because things can happen beyond the host's control.

Same with the "only 11 reviews." I, for example, have far fewer reviews than guest-nights at my property because our home is located in a ski area, and for the past three years we have rented to the same family from December or January through March. (Obviously, they love our property!) I wish I could do this yearly seasonal rental via Airbnb, but Airbnb doesn't allow stays longer than 1 month.

And since my husband and I are typically here from July through October, and few people wish to rent during "Mud Season" here (April and half of May), that significantly cuts down on the availability. As a result, despite my 100% 5-star ratings and rave reviews, I've never been able to attain "Superhost" status because I've never had 10 rentals a year. Personally, I don't think that number of stays per year should be a criterion for "Superhost" status.

[Alexander691]

Lucia, I’m now in the same spot as you, the message that I’m getting are soooooo frustrating!!!! They sent me a picture of my window and said , this bed needs a mattress and sheets and 2 pillows. I have been messaging them for 10 days over just that picture. And I have 13 things to “fix” , I’m definitely pissed off and have a different opinion of Airbnb now!

[Lucia152]

@Alexander691  I'm sorry - and I know, it's awful. They must be bots. Anyway, we should probably be grateful, based on the many threads about what happens when people DO get approved to "Plus." (They lose their entire description, which is actually important especially for vacation rentals, their bookings decline, etc.)

I have only 2 "fixes" left and at this point will send photos when my housekeeper can take them (I live across country half the year so can't just go take them myself) and if I'm approved, will probably try it. But I'm saving my description and all my photos, so that if I am approved and it negatively affects my bookings, I can go back to the old listing.

Tahnk goodness this was a free trial for me, but the waste of time is outrageous. I predict "Plus" will go down as a disaster within the year. I think they're in the process of finding out - in more thngs than just Plus - that you simply can't run a global business with so much automation.