LISTING REMOVED

Peter6
Level 2
Barcelona, Spain

LISTING REMOVED

Hola,

 

I have received an email from Airbnb Customer Experience telling me the they are going to remove one of my four listings because I'm not delivering the kind of hospitallity experience to my guest.

 

I’m in shock ! There are a lot of work and effort behind this listing and I have never received a complaint about it….NEVER !!

 

Actually my rating from guest are great:

Last 3 ratings were each 5 stars. Overall, I’ve received 5 stars 86%of the time. On average, hosts near me get 5 stars 57% of the time.

 

My current guests are happy in my apartment and they are enjoying it.

 

Has somebody has some similar experience ??

 

All the best !!

Peter

120 Replies 120

To all of us involved in this discussion:

@Peter, @Thomas, @Kelly, @Rene, @Anne-Marion0, @Thomas And Chaja, @Julia, @Maxine , @Monica , @Mathew0 , @Deborah , @Dania0

 

I have a clear idea of which is the reason why Airbnb is shutting us down, but I need to collect all our figures to check it out.

Please write me a private mail message to

airbnbdroppedme@doyoubnb.com

and I will write you privately.

If needed, let's create also a facebook page and/or anything else. This blog has too less visibility, and is not properly organized. Wheras this matter should be as much as public and widely spread.

 

 

Former message repeated for @Peter6, @Maxine0@Julia0@Thomas24@Kelly3 too:

I have a clear idea of which is the reason why Airbnb is shutting us down, but I need to collect all our figures to check it out.

Please write me a private mail message to

***

and I will write you privately.

If needed, let's create also a facebook page and/or anything else. This blog has too less visibility, and is not properly organized. Wheras this matter should be as much as public and widely spread.

 

@Pietro-And-His-Friends-0 Just sent you an email as well. I think its a great idea to get as many of us to coordinate as possible. Thanks for your efforts on this!

 

Cassandra

Lizzie
Former Community Manager
Former Community Manager
London, United Kingdom

Hello @Pietro-And-His-Friends-0

 

Good to meet you. I am really sorry, but for safety reasons I don't recommend including any of your personal details in your posts, as it is publically visible, I have therefore removed your email address. I hope you understand my reasons around having to remove this. 

 

Thanks so much, Lizzie


--------------------


Thank you for the last 7 years, find out more in my Personal Update.


Looking to contact our Support Team, for details...take a look at the Community Help Guides.

Hello Lizzie,

my pleasure to be in contact with you.

However, everybody here feel that my email address has been removed because we were creating a group of "banned host without any reason" who could potentially harm your wage provider, AirBnb.

 

However, let me write that it happened to move too slowly. Data have been collected, the picture is clear. And we're contacting the press with our data.


It's really sad that we, most important hosts, who provided a lot of effort in Airbnb and contributed to its growth now have to defend against Airbnb itself.

@lizzie - this same topic has appeared in several community areas and is clearly causing some concern amongst hosts - both those immediately affected who have recieved a de-list email, as well as those of us who haven't but are concerned about whether we could be next, and why.

 

Some firm gudielines from airbnb that set out what may give rise to a de-list notice, would be very helpful.

 

Are you able to respond to assistance request for help on this matter?

 

Best regards, Maxine

Lizzie
Former Community Manager
Former Community Manager
London, United Kingdom

Hello @Maxine0,

 

Thanks for tagging me into this thread, I am sorry for my delay in getting back to you.

 

I am very sorry to read of your worry here, I wish I could be of more help but unfortunately I don't have any information on this at the moment.   


--------------------


Thank you for the last 7 years, find out more in my Personal Update.


Looking to contact our Support Team, for details...take a look at the Community Help Guides.

Maxine0
Level 10
Brighton, United Kingdom

Thanks @Lizzie for the response. Sorry you have no information to share with affected hosts or those of us currently unaffected but feeling concerned and bewildered.

 

I think I have worked out why the cull is taking place and I doubt I'll be affected as I do not have multiple listings, just my one home with one airbnb space within it, and I'm always here to meet and greet guests.

 

I guess ABB didn't foresee local authority and action groups response to it departing from its 'shared economy' brand and allowing those with commercial property portfolios to use the platform alongside single homeowners. Instead they are having to retrospectively resolve the local authority disquiet and media backlash by culling hosts with multiple listings. That is understandable as ABB has to work within the bi-laws etc -

However that is what it should have communcated to those hosts affected inorder that, like it or not, hosts at least understood the reasons. Instead their corespondence directed the problem at the hosts as though they had provided such a poor service that guests had complained.  That decision left loyal multiple listing hosts bewildered and feeling disrespected with nowhere to turn - and communication channels were shut down, a 'stonewall' approach we have now all come to expect.

 

Hey ho

 

 

Robin4
Level 10
Mount Barker, Australia

@Maxine0  @LizzieThere appears to have been two events in the past two months which are having a major impact on hosts, and after reading all the posts and, more importantly, gleaning information from our local 'help desk' I have come to the following conclusions!

In the case of sms notifications, the sheer numbers of affected hosts has made it impossible to roll this alteration out in the normal manner

It's extremely disappointing we had to find out the way we did.....in bits and pieces by other users on the CC! Even the CC moderators have been kept in the dark. Phone-in help desk DO know all about it however, but for some reason or other they are tight lipped, as though they have been instructed to keep it under wraps.

The only logical reason I can see for this silence is, the impact of this decision will be spread out over a few weeks, and even months as hosts discover they are not getting message notifications! Had Airbnb made a general statement to the hosting community there would have been such an uproar that their customer support would have had no way of coping with it and the platform would have ground to a standstill!!! By spreading out the impact they have more hope of coping with what will be a major crisis within the company!

 

Where hosting cancellations are concerned there are obviously legalities that have to be overcome by both local government bodies and by Airbnb. It may well be that Airbnb are being legally 'gagged' and their hands are tied as far as making a statement is concerned. If they announced their intentions there would be a mass of activity  from affected hosts trying to circumvent rulings....the legal sands would be shifting all the time making it impossible for Airbnb to comply!

There appears to be a comminality in a lot of these host cancellations and that is the date 9th February 2016. It is possible we may learn a lot more after that date. I think Maxine you have worked a lot of this out for yourself...it would just be nice if someone would 'reach out' to us and let us know what is going on.

It will have a considerable affect on me because I am going to 'Snooze' my listing so as not to do damage to the good standing I have built up over the past 8 months by having some major alteration simply slip by me because someone on the other side of the world felt I was not important enough to be kept in the loop!! Cheers....Rob

@Maxine  @Lizzie @Robin4

You wrote "Where hosting cancellations are concerned there are obviously legalities that have to be overcome by both local government bodies and by Airbnb. It may well be that Airbnb are being legally 'gagged' and their hands are tied as far as making a statement is concerned."

 

That's not the case.

 

Me personally, host in Rome, am 100% compliant with the local laws. I've spent more than 10k€ in buying proper licenses to host my guests. I've also sent a copy of all my licences to Airbnb, but they did not care.

They are just shutting down the major hosts only to leave space to the newbies. This is their marketing rules of a thumb: the more newcoming host, the more travellers. So, let's fire old, big hosts (22 listings and 1500+ reviews) so brand new hosts will have space to grow up.

Regardless of looking who's compliant with the rules (as me, and I've sent them all the documentation) and who's not (many, many unlegal airbnb hosts are just kept inside).

 

Airbnb will soon face this point with local authorities, as firing a fully licensed host just to make space to many illegal ones is not what local authorities was expecting from them

@Pietro-And-His-Friends-0    Pietro, I undestand, and agree with what you are saying but Pietro, like you I am searching for answers and, with this 'deafening silence' from the company I am looking at other explanations. It doesn't make sense that Airbnb would cripple it's most experienced income stream!!!

I may have missed something Pietro but what is the attitude of the Roman authorities to the hosting community? I do know that here in Australia the AHA (Australian Hotels Association) and Tourism Australia are joining forces to put pressure on the Federal Government to limit the effect of Airbnb, Stayz, Homeaway and other hosting sites into their traditional market.

How active have the authorities been there towards Airbnb and does this ruling only affect Airbnb? What of the other sites, Trip Advisor, Holiday Lettings and Homeaway? Have they been similarly affected?....Cheers....Rob

@pietro I truly appreciate that you are legally registed etc. I think the issue is the 22 listings when the ABB brand was set up as a sharing economy between home owners sharing their 'home' with guests or making it available entirely for weekends & short holidays of less than a month.
That is what they are (I believe) retrenching to. And a focus on the business community who are better behaved guests than many holiday visitors.

So it's not you in the wrong

Quite why they are not being transparent with hosts, goodness only knows

I guess they feel that hosts with multiple listings have a solid business & have many other options like Trip Adviser etc to immediately use. Many probably use several other platforms- whereas single home owners are likely to use just one platform & stay loyal to it for convenience etc

So I think they are returning to core purpose but not admitting their errors in judgement over moving away from that position in the first place
So hosts with multiple listings are paying the price now.

Thats my take on it, I could be wrong

@Maxine1

 

I think you are right. If you read the notices you will see a statement that the listings involved do not give guests the experience they expect. To me, that means that they are not staying in someone's actual "home".

 

@Maxine0

@Peter6

@Robin4

 

Unfortunately @Monica4 this is neither the case. In Rome the whole business is not about hosting guests in your own home but everybody is taking a 2nd apartment and re-renting it. I think I know around 100 hosts and there is almost nobody hosting people within the space where he/she lives. Exactly with this idea in mind we created this structure, where each one of us (we're a group of friends) lives in each property managed. We just united to share mutual help and suggestions. At the end of it all hasn't Airbnb proclamed itself with a sense of community and belonging?

Well, Airbnb is not. They pushed on Paris' conference about "make an house a money maker" and on the other side they're cutting the top of their trees (us, most prominent hosts) only and barely to leave space for newcomes host to share the pie.

But what is worst is that they push you so hard to grow and then without any notice and mostly without any explanation they cut you off. This is exactly the opposite of the proclaimed Airbnb spirit.

@Pietro @Monica @Robin @peter

Pietro - you have just revealed the issue 'most people / hosts you know are renting a '2nd' property & 're-renting' it out.
There's the problem- with most rental agreements that is a contravention of the lease, in some City's it's illegal, it is profiteering above the rental value, it is displacing affordable housing for those needing full time housing at a fair / affordable rent, it isn't what ABB was set up for.

I had some sympathy for you until you said you & friends were renting 2nd properties not to live there but purely to profiteer in this way.

I understand why you & friends might think its a good thing to do to benefit solely yourselves without even investing & buying & maintaining a property .........