Is AirBnB Plus Worth It?

[Roderick8]

Hi,

This property of mine was invited into AirBnB Plus: https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/26453179/.

I find the procress to be monumentally frustrating and stupid. Many of the so-called fixes like carbon monoxide detectors and bottled water are silly in the context of the Hungarian market since the bottled water comes from municipal water systems and Hungary has ridiculously tight regulations of chimneys and boilers to prevent CO poisoning. Moreover, I have great photos and not to be able to post them is silly. The process itself is totally automated and apparently run out of California. I have great doubts that a recent college graduate can write a better listing than mine. I don't mind considering suggestions, but to have AirBnB dictate my listing is extremely aggravating.

It is a corporate mentality run rampant.

[Gordon0]

>>Is AirBnB [Airbnb] Plus Worth It?<<

You seem to have answered your own question, @Roderick8. 

[Roderick8]

Well, then I must concentrate on booking.com where the per night revenues are higher and the customers better behaved. What a shame ....

Regards,

Roderick.

[Larissa112]

Hi @Roderick8 - we were also invited and went through the entire process - we then opted out when we saw our new listing.  The new photos were not good, and they totally missed the mark on communicating any personality to our listing.  I have heard from several hosts that their bookings actually went way down after switching to Plus.  I would not recommend moving forward with it.  Your photos are beautiful and you have a lovely place - maybe don't risk it? 

Cheers, 

Larissa 

[Roderick8]

I am always looking for ways to take my real estate business to the next level, I was hoping AirBnB Plus would be the road. I am intrigued by Booking.com's efforts to become friendlier to our SME segment. But getting traction on Booking.com is still really difficult. So it leaves me more than bit frustrated.

[William708]

It is a horribly frustrating and needlessly miserable process. I was invited to be a Plus host early January 2019. As of late August 2019 I have still not "met" their requirements. Mind you their requirements are vague and ambiguous AND change depending on what "design rep" is reviewing your application. Literally one month a rep insisted I add an end table to the living room and the next month, after I added one, the next rep told me to remove the end table because the space is too small for an end table! That's the very reason I didn't have one to begin with. I'm starting to believe that management has instructed design reps to stall stall stall approving any properties. I mean nothing else makes sense, except for the possibility that it is just a horribly managed, ill conceived and poorly implemented department at Airbnb. Stay away.

[Matthew315]

Airbnb Plus Isn't Worth It!

Dear Giancarlo (Candidate thoughts on Airbnb Plus),

Thank you for reaching out and for suggesting that I provide input. Please feel free to share my feedback with the operations and management team.

Your response and the Airbnb team’s responses over the last six to seven months of on-boarding for the Airbnb Plus designation don't meet my needs nor does it respect the amount of time or dollars invested. The process lacked integrity, clarity, a clear communication channel, and Airbnb didn’t follow through with its end of the agreement.

In my last correspondence, I asked to speak with someone who manages this process and has the capacity to make executive-level decisions. That didn’t happen. Instead, I received your message which doesn’t meet my actual needs. However, it’s simply par for the course at this stage so not much of a surprise.

Given the assiduous effort made over the last 6-7 months, and my candid conversations with team members throughout the AirBnB Plus onboarding process, I no longer trust AirBnB, its programs or processes. It’s highly unlikely I will ever consider any additional offerings again, apart from being a Superhost as I am today. In sum, I have no trust or confidence in AirBnB at this stage.

I made my scheduling constraints clear, attempted to coordinate efforts over the phone, listen, and take action in alignment with Airbnb Plus' demands which continuously changed online and over the phone. My time and energy were continuously disrespected and interactions were unprofessional, leaving me with no confidence or trust in AirBnB’s team. It lacks integrity.

I no longer trust AirBnB as a company. This is extremely unfortunate as we've been loyal users and hosts with AirBnB for nearly a decade. We were your early adopters. Our loyalty and trust have now evaporated. However, it will not affect the exceptional service that we provide to our guests as Superhosts.

We will continue to treat our guests with respect even if Airbnb doesn’t demonstrate the same consideration for its Superhosts. Unlike Airbnb, we will continue to offer exceptional service to the people who enjoy our home or host us in theirs - the people who make Airbnb actually work.

I no longer view this relationship as a partnership between my family and Airbnb, I view it as a crass capitalist relationship that is purely transactional that works best so long as I don’t have to engage AirBnB’s customer service team or its snake oil offerings.

This is a classic case of HQ not getting the people who make Airbnb possible and potentially profitable. I can assure you, ignoring the people who make this service stellar is the road to failure. If Airbnb doesn’t treat its hosts and Superhosts with respect, the future of the business is grim and an IPO potentially disastrous.

After this experience, I’ll be making it clear to my investment adviser that the capital I have set aside to be invested in Airbnb if an IPO occurs should be placed in another company where I still have trust in its business model and the people behind it. That doesn’t exist with Airbnb any longer.

Thanks again for opening the space to hear my candid point of view. On that note, here’s to moving forward, remaining a Superhost, and avoiding anything additional with the Airbnb or Airbnb Plus team unless it pertains directly to meeting the needs of guests using our listings or when staying with another host.

Respectfully and regretfully,

Matthew

[Matthew315]

Dear Giancarlo (Candidate thoughts on Airbnb Plus),

Thank you for reaching out and for suggesting that I provide input. Please feel free to share my feedback with the operations and management team.

Your response and the Airbnb team’s responses over the last six to seven months of on-boarding for the Airbnb Plus designation don't meet my needs nor does it respect the amount of time or dollars invested. The process lacked integrity, clarity, a clear communication channel, and Airbnb didn’t follow through with its end of the agreement.

In my last correspondence, I asked to speak with someone who manages this process and has the capacity to make executive-level decisions. That didn’t happen. Instead, I received your message which doesn’t meet my actual needs. However, it’s simply par for the course at this stage so not much of a surprise.

Given the assiduous effort made over the last 6-7 months, and my candid conversations with team members throughout the AirBnB Plus onboarding process, I no longer trust AirBnB, its programs or processes. It’s highly unlikely I will ever consider any additional offerings again, apart from being a Superhost as I am today. In sum, I have no trust or confidence in AirBnB at this stage.

I made my scheduling constraints clear, attempted to coordinate efforts over the phone, listen, and take action in alignment with Airbnb Plus' demands which continuously changed online and over the phone. My time and energy were continuously disrespected and interactions were unprofessional, leaving me with no confidence or trust in AirBnB’s team. It lacks integrity.

I no longer trust AirBnB as a company. This is extremely unfortunate as we've been loyal users and hosts with AirBnB for nearly a decade. We were your early adopters. Our loyalty and trust have now evaporated. However, it will not affect the exceptional service that we provide to our guests as Superhosts.

We will continue to treat our guests with respect even if Airbnb doesn’t demonstrate the same consideration for its Superhosts. Unlike Airbnb, we will continue to offer exceptional service to the people who enjoy our home or host us in theirs - the people who make Airbnb actually work.

I no longer view this relationship as a partnership between my family and Airbnb, I view it as a crass capitalist relationship that is purely transactional that works best so long as I don’t have to engage AirBnB’s customer service team or its snake oil offerings.

This is a classic case of HQ not getting the people who make Airbnb possible and potentially profitable. I can assure you, ignoring the people who make this service stellar is the road to failure. If Airbnb doesn’t treat its hosts and Superhosts with respect, the future of the business is grim and an IPO potentially disastrous.

After this experience, I’ll be making it clear to my investment adviser that the capital I have set aside to be invested in Airbnb if an IPO occurs should be placed in another company where I still have trust in its business model and the people behind it. That doesn’t exist with Airbnb any longer.

Thanks again for opening the space to hear my candid point of view. On that note, here’s to moving forward, remaining a Superhost, and avoiding anything additional with the Airbnb or Airbnb Plus team unless it pertains directly to meeting the needs of guests using our listings or when staying with another host.

Respectfully and regretfully,

Matthew

[Susan17]

@Matthew315 

I'm not a Plus host - never will be and never want to be - but I am a 21 time superhost, also with almost a decade of exemplary service to Airbnb - and I can relate wholeheartedly to every word and feeling you've so eloquently expressed here. 

How sad that it's come to this - for Airbnb, and for the countless thousands of hard-working, committed hosts whose loyalty and dedication helped build this company from the ground up... only for Airbnb to tear it all down again with their negligence, hubris, incompetence, dishonesty and greed. 

"This is a classic case of HQ not getting the people who make Airbnb possible and potentially profitable. I can assure you, ignoring the people who make this service stellar is the road to failure. If Airbnb doesn’t treat its hosts and Superhosts with respect, the future of the business is grim and an IPO potentially disastrous"

So, so true. Very wise move, instructing your adviser to invest your capital elsewhere, as will become abundantly clear over the coming months. Airbnb's impending dance to IPO/DPO, has the potential to make the WeWork debacle, look like a rip-roaring success. 

Thank you for posting. 

[Jennifer347]

Well said.  I just opted out the Plus program after running it for a whole year.  May be my listing was more visible but the end result was the same.  The photos took by the so call professional photographer was cold and impersonal.  The imagines projected deviated from the original intention that a Airbnb's listing is someone's home  which should be warm and welcoming.  The Plus team would only contact you to remind you of whatever trivial matters that mentioned by guests and request to follow up immediately.  It seems if they were your boss and you must comply to whatever they say.  They seem to have forgotten that they are just a meant for linking hosts and guests, they are not the boss and we hosts are the bosses of our own business.  I too feel the same way if I can find a hosting platform similar or better to Airbnb, I have no hesitation to switch over.