CRITICAL BUG with co-hosting (lack of) access--WHEN WILL THS BE FIXED???

CRITICAL BUG with co-hosting (lack of) access--WHEN WILL THS BE FIXED???

I'm both the primary host of a listing--supported by a co-host--and serve as co-host for a couple of listings.  

 

Since early December, my co-host and I have encountered a number of technical glitches specifically having to do with a cohost's access / security privileges, which are negatively impacting the guest experience.

 

In a nutshell, though I'm officially a co-host of a particular listing, I lost access to the message thread with a guest.  The thread disappeared entirely from my Airbnb Inbox, and if I try to access via the Calendar view the booking and then the message thread, I got a "You don't have access to this thread" error.  When the guest replies, I *may* re-gain access to the message thread, only to lose it again later after I send a reply.  Similarly, if the guest wishes to alter the booking, I can't review the request or approve it.  

 

I have received (some of the) notifications sent to my regular email--however clicking via the regular email while I'm on my laptop or iPhone gets me the same "access" error message/glitch.  In some cases, say when the (primary) host sends a message to the guest, I don't even get the email or mobile phone notifications anymore and had to ask my co-host/host if a message was sent.  Previously I would have received a mobile phone notification and an email.

 

The above "restricted access" issues have happened to me:

* Multiple times with the same guest/message thread

* More than one guest/message thread for the same listing

* More than one listing

* Regardless of whether I access Airbnb from my iPhone or laptop (via Google Chrome)

 

And it has only become more frequent in the last 3 weeks. 

 

The same is happening to my co-host when she's trying to help out on messages for guests booked at the listing where I'm the primary host.  Similar (lack of) access issues are occurring with respect to writing guest reviews.  As a co-host I was able to write guest reviews, but not since December.

 

All this despite our making NO changes to our listings, hosting/cohosting arrangements, etc.

 

I called Customer Service on at least two occasions before Christmas, and though they were able to replicate the issue, they refused to escalate and keep open a support ticket because apparently the Engineering is already aware of this and has been working on it. For the last 3+ weeks there have been no updates or resolutions, so we tried the following workarounds ourselves but none worked:

* Removing myself as a co-host and then adding me back on--or removing my co-host from the listing where I'm the primary host and adding her back on.  It worked only temporarily and we started to encounter the same issues again.

* Re-installing the app, clearing cache, logging out, etc.  Been there, done it.

 

Searching the Airbnb community for cohost (lack of) access issues has revealed I'm NOT the only host/co-host encountering this.  There were several similar posts from prior years but those seem to be unrelated.  I can't help but have the suspicion Engineering has implemented last month some non-essential oh-so-clever "coding enhancement" and in the mean time broke the rather MISSION CRITICAL security model governing host/cohost system privileges.

 

How are we able to stay on top of guest communications, enquiries, etc. when our system access is being hindered by these technical glitches--and seemingly little Engineering attention is assigned to resolve this ASAP???   There is SIGNIFICANT IMPACT to the guest not to mention the hosting experience...but let's not kid ourselves which one Airbnb priorities. 

 

70 Replies 70
Nyoman4
Level 1
Bali, ID

I am having the same problem as a co-host and It is very frustrating. It’s been happening since early December and no matter what I try nothing will fix it. I’m responsible for answering all messages and have been unable to do so for a few guests. The main host has been contacting me when she sees that messages haven’t been answered but one message slipped through unnoticed. Luckily disaster was avoided! When is this problem going to be fixed?

Kathy855
Level 1
Cape Town, South Africa

I am having such issues to communication with guests because of a restriction on my account, am also super host with primary communication and Air b and b are so bad at sorting anything out.  I have lost bookings through non communication and they always say that I have been elevated to high authorities but nothing ever happens. what is the best option 

Susan1228
Level 1
Palm Bay, FL

This is a big problem for us too. I am technically the host and my husband is the 'co-host', but he is the one who is always at home and available to help the guests while I am at work 11 hours a day. To make matters worse, I don't have cell service where I work. I have considered making him the host but he's not exactly a gracious guy and we might lose our good standing pretty quickly if we did that. (He has no patience for people who don't 'know the ropes'). I wish AirBnB would give us the option to give our co-host access to all messages, or not. At least let them READ the messages, if not reply to them.

@Susan1228 there's a bug that seems to be impacting many co-hosts.  While it may not be new, it seems to be more widespread since the end of last year.  

 

If it weren't for the bug, then yes co-hosts could and should be able to access all messages, review/approve reservation alterations, write guest reviews, etc.  That's how it had worked for me for the last couple of years...until last December due to the bug.

 

If you follow @Susan17 's earlier posts within this thread, you'll see Airbnb may be moving away from "cohosts" altogether.  That may be the case, which will impact a lot of hosts/co-hosts (both people who are like us trying to share the load and those who are professional co-hosts managing other people's listings), but until a decision has been formally announced and implemented by Airbnb, their (intentionally or not) letting this bug persist is irresponsible and doing a great disservice for guests, hosts and co-hosts.

 

@Jo-and-Ivan0 

Airbnb are known for springing their "formal announcements" on hosts at the 11th hour, when its already a done deal. Everything I have seen, heard and been told over the past few days confirms for me, without a shadow of doubt, that Airbnb is moving away from (ie annihilating) small, independent co-hosts, and funnelling the business instead towards the large professional property management and commercial operators (who the Teams feature is specifically geared towards - it's more or less useless for most co-hosts)

 

My advice to all co-hosts would be at least to start looking into alternative arrangements - or even better, to set them up now - because the co-hosting facility absolutely isn't going to be around for a whole lot longer (and even if they do keep it limping along for a time while they're trying to redirect business over to the "Professional" sector of the site, these "bugs" are going to keep popping up, as they always do. And no co-host can operate competently and efficiently under such uncertain and volative conditions 

Matt254
Level 2
Detroit, MI

I found a couple work arounds that appear to have fixed the issues. 

https://community.withairbnb.com/t5/Help/Cohost-messaging-error-in-AirBnB-Desktop-and-App-Workaround...

Thanks @Matt254 .  My $0.02 I wouldn't call them workarounds but rather desperate last resort measures.

 

Many co-hosts have different relationships with their primary hosts and may not be in a position to use their primary hosts' login and passwords.  The remains the only viable workaround.

 

Getting yourself deleted as a co-host and added back has many downsides which I already covered (including blocking your access to all past messages)--and at least 2 weeks ago when I was so desperately stuck to take the plunge, the bug returned soon after, as in the next day.

 

Going forward, whether Airbnb decides to have a role for cohosts or not is a separate (albeit bigger) issue.  What they SHOULD do is fix a bug ASAP that's critically impacting the experience of guests and hosts.

 

I say "SHOULD" since that's how businesses focused on customer experience and trust behave; actions speak louder than words.

Stephanie
Community Manager
Community Manager
London, United Kingdom

Hiya everyone, 

 

Quick update: this issue was identified and is being fixed around the clock. As soon as I have eta for fix deployment I will share it with you. Thanks everyone for sharing details around this, it helps to form a clearer picture around all the affected areas, devices and facets. 

 

Please ensure you contact CS if you are suffering this issue so there is a record for us to follow up on, individually outside of the CC.

 

Thanks again,

 

Stephanie

-----

 

Please follow the Community Guidelines 

@Stephanie 

This is, word for word, exactly the same cut-and-paste response you gave from "The Team", in relation to the Community Commitment account and booking cancellations issue, Steph. 

 

And once again, it fails - spectacularly - to answer any of the questions posed, or address any of the serious concerns raised, and tells us precisely nothing

 

Please understand that, as always, my scorn and contempt are never directed at you or the other mods personally, in any way, and I fully understand that you guys can't give us information that Airbnb is not giving you, but seriously - this is a roaring disgrace, and an insult to every host out there, whose income and ability to operate is being chronically affected by these ongoing, unresolved issues. 

Stephanie
Community Manager
Community Manager
London, United Kingdom

Hiya @Susan17 ,

 

The other post you mentioned was posted erroneously and has since been removed.

 

As always, myself and the team read every single word of every single post, collate and feedback to Airbnb's relevant teams. Statements regarding bug fixes (or anything else for that matter) must be prepare to go out across all marketing channels, including appropriate translations. When we have the communication piece, we share it here, social media, email etc but it must be all inline so no misinformation is given. 

 

On the CC we do get to give some indication before the statement goes out like I mentioned here regarding the bug being worked on. I know it's somewhat hollow in terms of details but I believe its better we acknowledge the issue exists and show reporting hosts we appreciate the level of detail they give us. By choosing to share the issue here, it gives us the additional information we need, as well as the opportunity to try work around and open conversation to explore parts of the issue, all critical in identifying the problem. 

 

I appreciate you sharing workarounds and pointing hosts in the direction of threads they can share the details of issues @Susan17  - it gives us a weighty thread of information we can feedback succinctly. 

 

Thanks and sorry for the long post!

 

Stephanie

-----

 

Please follow the Community Guidelines 

@Stephanie 

Steph.. I've lost count of the number of times I've seen this exact "issue has been identified.. working round the clock.. will share eta for deployment later" (whatever that means) statement, on threads relating to all sorts of malfunctions, from missing payouts, to missing messages. Yet still, the issues persist - in many cases, for months, or even years. 

 

Let's just look at the reality here - the income and ability to operate of countless thousands of hosts and co-hosts worldwide, has been seriously negatively impacted by this "bug" for months now, and is causing major hardship for many. Some have been suffering the consequences since late Oct/early Nov, and it has been reported to Airbnb, ad infinitum, ever since then. 

 

There's been more than enough time for "The Team" to get their "communication piece" together. They appear to have had plenty of time to get their communication pieces ready for all their outside third-party Property Management Software and Channel Management Software partners, informing them of what's going on, and of Airbnb's plans for the future (or non-future) of the co-hosting facility. Airbnb has already shared their plans with those operators, so why are the co-hosts/actual Airbnb members - who this issue impacts most negatively - still left completely in the dark? 

 

Mind you, at this point, we're well accustomed to Airbnb's communication pieces being spread all across the media before we're informed about anything - only recently, weren't the likes of Skift blasting out the results of the infamous 10-Day Sprint, long before anyone could be bothered to inform the Airbnb hosts who had been waiting weeks here in the Airbnb CC for an update?  

 

And how difficult can it be - or how long can it take - to get a simple statement on bug fixes translated anyway? Two and a half months seems an awfully long time for something so basic. And if they'd taken 2 minutes to post in each of the different language CCs, about the Community Commitment issue - when hordes of users first started reporting it several days ago - and warned everyone  that pressing "decline" could result in their accounts and all their upcoming bookings being cancelled, that would surely have saved innumerable users untold time, stress, grief and lost earnings; saved CX untold manpower and resources in dealing with armies of irate punters and reinstating thousands of unnecessarily cancelled bookings, and saved the company a small fortune in having to cover the fallout from the debacle. 

 

Quite frankly, that Airbnb could still be working on any communication piece on the co-host issue, after all this time, points clearly to the fact that there's something much, much bigger than a "glitch" afoot, and that what we're hearing about the phasing out of the co-host facility (from everyone but Airbnb) appears to ring more and more true. But we can only surmise for now, can't we, because not a single one of the questions posed in this and many other threads, and none of the serious concerns raised by frantic, stressed-out hosts, have been answered, or addressed. 

 

And finally, apart from enlisting members as free customer support, one of the primary functions of a properly-functioning brand-owned community forum, is supposed to be the facilitation of a clear, efficient and timely  two-way channel of icommunication and information between a company and its users. Not so, in the case of this CC. This is well and truly a one-way street.

 

Sorry Steph, but you're defending the indefensible here. 

Having looked through the thread it is not really going to help me at all.  I've deleted my co-host, recreated her record but still not helping.  I need my co-host to be able to do the reviews for me as I am not able to see the properties when they are cleaned.  I am not prepared to give her my login details as that gives her access to my income information.  

When is this bug going to be fixed?

regards

Marilyn

I am not entirely sure if the bug has been fixed, but in my case, I have not encountered anymore of the co-host "lockout" issues in the last week or so.  I didn't implement any workarounds...the previous errors have simply not re-appeared.  I have had full access to correspond with guests at listings I co-host, write reviews, etc.  Basically the co-hosting access like before.

 

FINGERS CROSSED.  Hope I didn't jinx myself by posting about this!

 

@Stephanie  FYI.  I am not sure if other co-hosts continue to be hindered or not.

 

There is the more significant issue regarding Airbnb's support of the "cohosting" feature longer term.  This will no doubt impact a lot of co-hosts--and others such as @Susan17 (thank you for all your insider info by the way!) may take up that fight, but for now I'm counting my blessing.

 

 

Ally-and-Blake2
Level 2
New South Wales, Australia

June 2020 here and we're still seeing this error across several of the listings we co-host. No app notifications for new bookings, enquiries or messages. The only way we even know we have a new booking is if we get an email - but those are also hit and miss.

 

If we try to click on any links in the email we're redirected to the Airbnb website homepage with an error message at the top: "You do not have access to this." in the browser. Or, in the app, a blank loading screen where nothing ever loads or happens.

 

We've contacted Airbnb support several times over the last few days, and tried all the usual troubleshooting steps (delete/re-install the app, delete the cache, etc. etc.) to no avail. Provided screenshots of the error in both the app and the browser. Told we were being passed over to their technical team aaaand... that's it. Radio silence.

 

Our support tickets are still sitting there days later with no follow-ups or resolution. If we try to open a new support ticket we get an automated reply: "It looks like you already wrote to us about this issue..." and the message thread is instantly closed.

 

The hosts we work with rely on us to be the first point of contact for all new booking enquiries as well as communicating with current guests, and this bug is making that near impossible.

 

Beyond frustrated at this point and truly disgusted by Airbnb's handling of this error.

 

What the heck are we paying them "service fees" for again?!

July here, I appear to be having similar issues for the last 2 months or so as a co-host. I am unable to mark messages as “seen” / “read” after looking at messages under co-host from an iPhone.