Interesting article in the Guardian about the gamification of work

[Alexandra316]

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2018/nov/20/high-score-low-pay-gamification-lyft-uber-drivers-r...

I thought this was an interesting article in the Guardian this week. It talks about how rating systems, like the one used by Airbnb, gamify making money on the platform and encourage you to pursue better results. It's pretty interesting. I've often wondered how much research went into choosing the notification sound in the Airbnb app: people who design video games and slot machines choose these sounds very deliberately, and they're actually addictive on some level.

I enjoyed reading it, and I hope some other hosts will get something out of it too.

[Kelly149]

@Alexandra316

"After weeks of driving like a maniac in order to restore my higher-than-average driver rating, I managed to raise it back up to a 4.93. Although it felt great, it is almost shameful and astonishing to admit that one’s rating, so long as it stays above 4.6, has no actual bearing on anything other than your sense of self-worth. You do not receive a weekly bonus for being a highly rated driver. Your rate of pay does not increase for being a highly rated driver. In fact, I was losing money trying to flatter customers with candy and keep my car scrupulously clean. And yet, I wanted to be a highly rated driver."

Interesting article. The quote above I recognize from ABB -- lower your rate, set out flowers, leave them snacks, don't complain when they break your rules....

But, in the end, I've decided that the best way to play the game is to make more money.

[Pete28]

I'm waiting for them to throw some of the $1b quarterly profit at us to encourage us to host during surge periods like Xmas.

Oh, and they could maybe fix the web pricing to show total cost...

[Alexandra316]

@Pete28 Any day now, I'm sure!

I had New Year's Eve on Airbnb pricing; it was initally about $140. I looked again, and it had been reduced to my minimum. New Year's Eve. It seems like the sole goal of the automated pricing is to get the space booked, no matter waht.

[Alexandra316]

@Kelly149 I also enjoy making money :-).

[JB6]

Enjoyed the article.  Whether through gamification, or just a lot of statistics, it is an interesting way to stay involved in the work you are doing.  I create a lot of statistics on just the 3 places we host - how often they are rented each month, how many guests (and pets) we host, average daily rental, occupancy rate, days booked in advance of rental (on average, my guests book about 6-7 weeks out, so I can tell when a month is starting to look slow), new bookings vs. stays (always try to keep that number positive, so I'm booking more new stays than I'm currently hosting).  I even track whether the guest is a rookie or an old timer on AirBnB.  We only do this part time (about 10 bookings a month), but having that information has kept us involved and working on maintaining that almost-perfect rating!

[Cathie19]

Thanks @Alexandra316 for the interesting article and perspective. 

It makes it even more important that we continually review our own aims and goals with Airbnb or other rental homestay platforms. I could be cynical and say we are merely like chess pieces on a game board. Happy to play the game until I choose to be part of a different game or life choice.

We need to remain true to ourselves and don’t fall into the gameplay and lose ourselves, and possibly ourselves or happiness along the way.

🙂

Cathie

[Fred13]

Interesting article, and being a game player myself, it inevitably influences my way of thinking. For example, turning Superhost status more into a more engaging fun 'game 'may serve that program well.

4.7 Superhost

4.8 Superhost +

4.9 Superhost ++ 

5.0 Superhost +++. 

[Ute42]

.

@Fred13,

6.0 = OT VIII scientology = brainwashed

Fred, don't take this too serious. It's just a joke to cheer You up.

[Sarah977]

@Alexandra316  I turn off game sounds- can't stand them. Guess I foil their "addictive sounds" plan.

[Jessica-and-Henry0]

@Alexandra316

Very interesting read! Thanks for sharing~

[Branka-and-Silvia0]

Oh yes, the same brain games like here on ABB....  stars, badgets, collections, superhost, plus... he he

It seems it works better in USA then here in Croatia... but OK 🙂

[Ute42]

.

@Alexandra316,

Very very interesting article. Thank You so much for sharing.

[Anonymous]

It's an excellent article, and the behavioral manipulations it describes are also deeply embedded in social media, dating apps, online shopping platforms, and increasingly everything people interface with regularly. 

When I started using Airbnb, there were no progress bars, individual star ratings weren't visible, requirements were vague, and there was no "smart pricing." I preferred it without so many mind-control gimmicks; I intended to run my homestay business my own way, deliver the specific experience I advertise at a price I set myself, and all I wanted from Airbnb was to host the listing and process the payment.  A less-than-stellar review was no cause for panic; I used constructive criticism to learn and grow better at my job and also got better at identifying and targeting the guests who were the best fit.

I find that it is still possible to use Airbnb this way, but I have to resist the pull of all those emotional manipulation tactics and ignore an ever-increasing amount of BS. This must be especially hard for people who are new to hosting, and especially for those for whom it's the first experience of having a business with a public profile and reviews. 

[Alexandra316]

@Anonymous Yes, you're right: it can add a whole extra level of stress and anxiety to something that's pretty simple. It also reminds me of the Black Mirror episode Nosedive, which is referred to as "the Airbnb episode" at our house. One misstep, one bad review, sends a woman's life into a tailspin.