Loosing passion for hosting

[Ivanka-and-George0]

After 132 reviews, out of which 128 5-star, and one full-time year on Airbnb, today we lost our passion for hosting. Not because we received a partially negative review from a guest who complained that he had only the chance to check in at 2 pm when we actually offered 3 different alternatives. Not because, although this review was just partially based on the true, the position of the Airbnb support is to not to remove this such of reviews, because it helps to generate an "honest" portrayal of the variety of experiences that our hosts and guests have with each other. But the reason why we are seriously considering to quit on hosting is because of the poor quality of the support we received. We opened the case with a detailed analysis of the incident, including also quotes from the recorded chats. The result? Just some cold answers, copied and pasted from standard templates, from two "case managers" who quickly closed the case without so many motivations. They did not even spend 5 minutes of their time to make a phone call, despite we requested a call-back. Is this how we get recognized for being an outstanding super-host,  after a whole year opening the doors of our house to Airbnb guests? Definitely frustrating. 

[Fred13]

@Maria0 As has been said many, many times in this forum, the 'Host Guarantee' policy of Airbnb tends to give the illusion that it means something a lot more encompassing than it really is, (see its Terms section). In this particular case being a - 'an incident wherein my guest had a self-inflicted accident and is asking for a full refund' - what exactly you want Airbnb to do? 

Going on just the very limited information you have given thus far, a guest expecting anything from 'an incident wherein my guest had a self-inflicted accident and is asking for a full refund' comes across as nothing but a hustler looking for a free stay.

[Jean-Michel19]

Dont look for AIRBNB SUPPORT , they dont  have it AT ALL ... for them MAIN PRIORITY IS THE GUESTS that it is who ever they are ,  dirty, disrespectful , insulting people ... etc AIRBNB WILL ALWAYS SUPPORT THEM FIRST...

IF YOU ARE AGREED WITH THAT YOU WILL LIVE BETTER WITH AIRBNB  you use it like a REFERRAL GUESTS MACHINE THAT IS WORKING VERY WELL AND I M VERY THANKFULL FOR THAT..

I DO NOT WAIT FOR ANY REWARDS FROM AIRBNB IT IS OVER EVENTHOUGH I M REAL SUPER HOST WHO DO NOT HAVE MORE THAN 4.6 RATE FOR 200 POSITIVES COMMENTS OVER 203 loool... that is the life ahahahahhahah

[Sharon477]

I agree Jean-Michel and a lot of other comments. I too a fantastic rating from all of my guest except one.  I did everything I could to assist this person and had numerous text messages and Airbnb messages to collaborate my side of the story.  The guest left my house in a mess the dog which I had no idea was even their scratched doors, ripped a quilt cover, ripped flyscreens, there was food and dirty dishes and these people only stayed on night, I was charged by the cleaner and in the end the booking left me out of pocket over $200.  I wore this and we fixed the damaged caused.  But I was very upset when they review me veryly badly.  I contacted Airbnb support to request to have the review removed and received the same response that the policy of Airbnb is not remove these reviews as it gives an overall view of a guests experience.  The support person at Airbnb agreed that the guest had not read the information provided and agreed that I was a great host based on all my other reviews and suggested I respond to the review.  I wrote what I believe to be a very well worded and honest response to the guest.

What really upset me though was the generic message I then received from Airbnb stating that I needed to improve my guest reviews or risk being removed from the site.  As our property had only been listed for less than 12 months and at that point I had about 7 reviews the 2 start rating brought my results down.   I am now working my way back and am currently at 4.5 %. 

Since that review I now make sure that guests are given as much information as is possible.  I email them a number of times before they visit and I will no longer take a booking with less than 24 hours notice.  I am constantly reviewing my listing to make sure it is accurate and up to date. 

But I know no matter how much information we give the guests we are still going to encounter an unhappy visitor.  99% of my guests are lovely, respectively, honest people who take care of our holiday home.  I am more careful with the guests that I accept and this seems to be working for me.

[J25]

HI their Hosts.  I was frustrated as well.  You can reply and put it up for everyone to read.  Another nearby host said "you don't do anything'.  Like you, I could not.  I am thinking of going to Slovakia, please do not close your doors.J.NZ 

[Jetset--Living-INC--Miam0]

i had the same situation... ( in some situation airbnb should investigate and remove the unfair review )

sometimes i feel the guest have more rights than the hosts when.. thanks to us this huge company is making a lot of money.

[Pippa6]

Any organisation is only as strong as its weakest link. Sounds like significantly inconsistent host support is AirBnB's weak link. Let's hope the powers that be listen, take heed and DO something palpable about it .. like instilling a culture throughout the organisation that takes customer service very seriously, remembering that we the hosts are customers as much as our guests. After all, without hosts there would be NO AirBnB ..... and it is us, the hosts, that create the reputation for the company so look after us!!

[Jana141]

It would be nice if there was any type of customer support here!  Last year I had to cancel someone because hot water heater went out/plumber had to order a part and renter would have no hot water.  I was given a BLACK MARK on my hosting account with no sensible response to my being a GOOD HOST by alerting my renter to the problem.   

Right now I am trying to resolve their issue with never depositing  rent for someone who checked in over a week ago - transaction still a pending payout.  Besides that - I have a $500 security deposit on my rental and same renters removed an air conditioning unit from ANTOHER  BUILDING and put it in my house (where there is already air) and broke it!   No response on my claima and no response from the renter on my claim.....no way for me to replace my damaged property before my next renter!   Let me add that it was sixty degrees out - there was no need for air conditioning in the first place much less to steal a unit from a building they weren't renting!

I read these stories and I wonder what the hell is wrong with Airbnb?

Without hosts - there would be no Airbnb!

I am blocking off the rest of the year as unavailable - I am done - I cannot afford to give away my time, my supplies, my laundry, gas and electricity and replace a $399 room air conditioner.

Somewhere Airbnb has to have a phone number or some way to CONTACT SOMEONE!!!

[Tracey108]

I have hosted 12 different guests now and with my 22 years of traveling with my job- I understand the need sometimes to provide certain check in and out times; however, it doesn’t always guarantee everything is going to go well to make this guest happy and keep things straight. I stuck to my check in and out times to prevent any miscommunications. I’m also very clear with my house rules and let them know I would be stopping in from time to time to check on the mail and deliveries. I haven’t had any problems with parties and very clear about the number of guests requesting to stay. If it ends up more- I just tell them and maybe next time they will be more honest. The world isn’t perfect and s—- happens. I LOVE LOVE LOVE AIRBNB- but sometimes you may need a break. Hope you come back soon.

[John1574]

@Huma0

"If I had any advice to other hosts experiencing problems with getting support, I would say don't email in the first instance. From what I can tell, this doesn't get very positive results. Always call and speak to a rep in person (and do it calmly). This might work, it might not, but I think there is a better chance than if you just email."

Thanks for that advice, Huma.  I think it is very solid advice. 

I quoted it here to highlight it because I believe it is an important enough point to reiterate.

This thread is the reason I began the thread about AirBnB Customer Service and policy.

I wish they could be combined as there is so much info in this thread that is not revealed in the title.

My link:   https://community.withairbnb.com/t5/Hosting/How-Do-You-Rate-AirBnB-for-Customer-Service/m-p/712486#M...

[Robert-And-Nancy0]

I think hosts that have been with Airbnb for a long time are having more frustration. We have only been with them for 5 years and have seen a tremendous change and mostly not for the good. I can remember back in 2014 when you called Airbnb, you got a CS rep who could answer your questions and help you with any issues or problems. I am sure the hosts who have been with them for even longer have seen even a larger change. We are at the end also. The passion is gone, the work is tremendous, and truthfully we are burnt. We love the great guests but there are not as many anymore. We are tired of wondering if the next new guests will knock us out of SH.

We recently signed on with a new company out of Ireland with the same concept and OMG what a difference in working with this company. They reached out to us personally to answer all our questions, make sure we felt comfortable with our listing. When signing up we realized we did not meet the full criteria and sent an email stating we would withdraw our listing . We were send a personal email staying they consulting with the team and deemed our place to be great for their site and suggested we just add to our listing an explanation in the description. We are keeping our fingers crossed for this new company and the return of our passion. We have not had any requests yet as we have been mostly booked with returning private guests and some random Airbnb but we hope to get more involved with them in August/September.

[Lucrecia2]

I used to give Airbnb 5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ but now I  rate them 3 ⭐️⭐️⭐️ I am EXTREMELY disappointed  for exactly the same reason!!! Airbnb is HIGHLY advertising the “overall stars”  when I got 4 stars because it rained! 4 stars because in a “tropical beach “ he saw an ant!  3 stars because the guest broke the refrigerator vegetable drawer and I had to charge him!

What I do not like is that now they place in BOLD the OVERALL RATING!!! They are giving TO MUCH IMPORTANCE TO THE RATINGS when we make SUCH AND EFFORT INVESTING  on amenities, on keeping our properties up by painting them buying new appliances , decorations etc