How to encourage new participants

[Mary996]

How can we encourage newcomers to participate in the Community Centre? 

There are probably many seasoned Hosts who have never been here or have visited and been put off for some reason. It can be a tough environment and I do not appreciate this.

I was thinking that new Hosts might be directed here as part of a their 'inset' or orientation where they will have the opportunity to learn more and to ask questions or to make the kind of suggestions that fresh faces and fresh perspectives can bring. But I do feel that an element of self-help and of reciprocity is warranted with an expectation that everyone will take their turn. How would it be if Hosts were allocated periods when they are 'on-duty' and expected to respond to Guests and to other Hosts?

In the long run having an element of self-help makes good economic sense. It also contributes to shaping the organisation in the way we would like it to be. An appreciative and supportive place. Any thoughts??????? 

[Mary996]

Helloooo Branka @Branka-and-Silvia0 

First of all ..... I am sooooo glad that we are still speaking .... Phew....I value you!

Second ....I'm afraid I just glaze over when presented with those rules sets. They keep sliding over in front of my calendar and I have to spend half an hour trying to shift them so I can see what's beneath.........!!!!!!

Not my bag ...haha!!

I just came for the beer really and apart from tea and sympathy and the odd social I'm kind of easing out. 

I would suggest letting the Admins know if info is being given out in error maybe? It sounds as if you have had to hold back and that I maybe came in when you'd had enough ??. I have every confidence that in the normal flow of things you'd find just the right way to let Dale know that he's producing more work for others and to perhaps hold back until he has trained himself up. I'm impressed with the handle that you have on this stuff. I may have a look over what you've written in that post to see if I can grasp  it in due course. I certainly don't feel like it now. Haha!! Groan...

Thanks so much for writing here. I am really pleased to hear from you. It felt like I was losing a friend and I didn't want that.

By the way do you think there's room for more participants helping out in the CC?

[Sarah977]

Any therapist or psychologist will tell you that you can't change other peoples' behavior or attitude, only your own. When you do that, their behavior very well might change, or it might not.

When I had an alcoholic boyfriend whose drinking got progressively worse over the years, I didn't try to change him or nag about it, because that never works. I just told him that if he didn't get a handle on his drinking, I wasn't going to be sticking around. He quit drinking that day and didn't start again until after we split up 3 years later.

[Mary996]

@Ann72

and all participants following....

Thanks so much for coming in. I really appreciate what you've said and the effort that you share with respect to how you construct your posts.  I was so pleased to have drawn in new (as in new to me) contributors ... and to read the many sharings.

I am still trying to grasp the system and am frustrated about the difficulties with editing... and as @Suzanne302 was saying - wish I could edit or delete some of my material, which has been agonising and that I regret, but I will get there with improving/being more tactful/self-asserting. However I'm immediately realising that it was quite unnecessary for me to reply to everyone. You will probably appreciate that I was trying to acknowledge negative/critical points to show recognition and not to ignore. And it seemed a courtesy to thank authors for their work as I really appreciate that civility when the host of the thread says something nice in reply to my effort!

Anyway its been useful to attend this part of the CC. I also believe that it would be of benefit for all participants in the Hosting Community to come here for a period - not only for the learning process and to update themselves but also to take a turn at the 'duties' here of answering Guests and of empowering Hosts with support or by sharing tips and tricks of the system (by also learning them first). So a kind of 'giving back' equating to 'National Service....!!'

I would anticipate that if things went well we might take turns on the helpline phone and/or in the chats. There would be economic benefits to this, and, at times of contraction (such as we've just been through) obvious benefits.

I don't think it would be particularly difficult to orchestrate and as has been pointed out there is a limited numbers of questions that keep recurring. I'm mindful of the concern 'if it ain't broke don't fix it' but the fact is that the burden of answering Guests is being left to only a few.

For any newbies coming here the way to gain sight of the questions from Guests is by pressing the red writing saying 'Community Centre'. A list is below the various pictorial headings including 'unanswered'... where you could pick up your first Enquiry and bring it to life for others to add to so the Qestioner has multiple responses to consider, presented in multiple styles. As yet no one oversees the answers so there may be some mistakes. Perhaps there might be a role for a fully literate Airbnb employee or we could delegate 'final answers' to volunteers here who have a grasp of different areas.

On the point of system changes I was thinking that it might be really helpful for Airbnb personnel who creat or alter our systems to make themselves available at certain times to explain them and perhaps to train CC personnel whether Admins, or Volunteers.  

[Ann72]

@Mary996  The number of users online varies at any given time, but it usually seems to hover around 1,500.  I imagine the mods have a true grasp of the percentage of hosts who come on and off and what that pattern looks like.

With the news coming on the 24th, there might be a way to get more hosts onto the forum.  From Airbnb:  "We’ve...audited and completely redesigned the end-to-end experience of becoming a Host on Airbnb.  Our new hosting welcome page features stories and video testimonials from experienced Hosts to help and inspire others to get started.  We are simplifying the process for creating a new listing from dozens of steps down to just 10."

So perhaps one way to draw in more participants would be to lobby @Airbnb to provide a link to this forum on the new hosting welcome page.

[Mary996]

Great strategy @Ann72 

[Linda108]

@Ann72   I wonder if there is a way for any of current hosts to get a preview of the new host create a listing process.  I have been fumbling my way through all the changes over the years and would enjoy reducing the fumbling part if I could.  😋

Of course I could wait for more competent hosts to figure it out for me and post on the forum. 🤔

[Ann72]

@Linda108  A preview would be amazing.  But you don’t need anyone more competent than you.  😘

[Mary996]

And we could publish it as a Doc here.... collaborative effort if you have some gaps!! x

[Ann72]

@Linda108 @Mary996  Those are good ideas.  Today I looked at my listing and found a slew of new boxes to check.  Do you have a Keurig, a pour-over?  Do you have heat, an oven, a sound system, clothing storage?  What kind?

I went through the three listings and got a couple of shocks.  One place was said to have air-conditioning, which it has never had and which I would never have checked.  But it certainly explained why the guest who checked in early in the week asked how to turn it on.  (The fact that it's been in the 60s during the day and the 40s during the night was less important than his wish to turn on the imaginary air conditioning.)  Another place was said to have luggage drop-off, which would explain the guest who came an hour early and told the housekeeper she just wanted to drop off her luggage.

To add insult to injury, even after going through the three places with a fine-toothed comb, none have been updated since April.

It would be great to have a weekly report to hosts telling us what has changed and enabling us to keep our listings accurate and up to date.  Let's not discuss why things are changed or added - like air conditioning or luggage drop-off.  Let's stick to practical solutions that would be helpful to hosts @Nick @Stephanie 

[Mary996]

@Ann72  Updates on changes... brilliant and inspired! But also really a mere courtesy.

The notion of whoever has engineered such changes being required to stand beneath their own bridge whilst its tested would not go amiss!

I definitely think it would be welcome if the 'Engineers' of even the smallest changes were required to announce them and to explain them.

[Mary996]

And yes weekly updates @Ann72 .... even if there haven't been any changes.

[Sarah977]

The concept that replying to posts here, offering support or advice to others, is felt as a "burden" or an obligation that one would appreciate being relieved of, seems like a manufactured issue. 

How is this concept arrived at? Has anyone here ever said they feel some sort of pressure to respond to posts?  Or that they find it stressful? I've certainly never read such a thing.

[Mary996]

Good point... replace 'burden' with 'opportunity' as it is a joy to respond to people and the more Hosts answering and taking an interest the better.

[Ute42]

.

@Sarah977 

I just felt the obligation to reply to Your post despite the fact that I have really nothing to say.

More often though, I read a post, have something to say, but then I'm thinking to myself: „maybe better not“.

Very stressful this CC.

[Ann72]

@Ute42  I read something, start writing, then say the same thing.  I'm always hitting that "leave" button.

Leaving makes it less stressful.  It reminds one that one is under no obligation to say anything at all.