Meet AIRBNB LUXE - AIRBNB PLUS' Sexier, Sassier, More Expensive Sister...

Susan17
Level 10
Dublin, Ireland

Meet AIRBNB LUXE - AIRBNB PLUS' Sexier, Sassier, More Expensive Sister...

"Stays at Airbnb's most exclusive homes could come with a driver, concierge, and childcare"

 

And you don't get a humble host - you get your very own "Trip Designer"

 

 https://www.cntraveler.com/story

29 Replies 29
Bryan10
Level 10
Feltham, United Kingdom

No thanks, lol. 

 

Pete28
Level 10
Seattle, WA

Who at this point thinks of Airbnb as a luxury brand ? It's just becoming a quagmire of identikit condos hosted by some entity with 100s of listings and ikea beds piled high.

 

Also note that 'entire place' now includes 'hotel' as a category. Soon all of booking.com will be arriving.

 

Every time I look on the host calendar I see 50% less guests are looking than last year etc. could it be because things like searching by price remain broken across the entire US. $50 / night - but wait $300 cleaning fee -  only shown when you scroll through each listing over and over. Imagine that experience with all these new categories on top.

Susan17
Level 10
Dublin, Ireland

And in other news... how about some Airbnb transport options... 

 

https://www.rte.ie/news/business/2019/0207/1028190-airbnb-to-begin-offering-transport-options/

 

The proposed Hotel Tonight acquisition didn't quite  pan out though... 

 

https://skift.com/2019/01/18/airbnb-talked-to-hoteltonight-about-an-acquisition-but-would-it-make-se...

 

 

 

How about AirBnB Tonight ?  where you fill your home with crazy locals at $40/night*.

 

Locals only.

 

Must live within 20 mins. free AirBnB Tonight Vape kit with first booking.

 

Fill those unsold nights now ! (*$300 cleaning fee not included in $40 price; IB with stolen credit card to avoid any additional charges)

Kevin940
Level 10
Quinns Rocks, Australia

No thanks, likely to be meth heads, Bogans and people having elicite affairs. 

If you're wealthy enough to afford a luxury holiday home with child care, driver & concierge you don't use Airbnb. Sounds like another inconceived plan like Airbnb Plus!

Robin4
Level 10
Mount Barker, Australia

@Rachel177 @Susan17 @Cormac0 @Bryan10

Rachel, back in early 2017 I was invited to join the 'Select' scheme as it was then called. The idea was that Superhosts with a proven record of reliability were invited by the company to join an elite  band of hosts and be promoted under the 'Select'  banner!....does any of this sound familiar?

There was no joining fee involved back then and the host retained control over their listing, but I declined the offer to join! My feeling was guests that came to me would require a higher standard of accommodation than they could expect from rank and file hosts and I felt the potential for disappointment with what I offer would be magnified considerably. In those days the guest review process was very much simpler than it is now, but nevertheless, I still felt hosting would be more difficult under the Select scheme than it was simply being a mere mortal Superhost!

Well, Select disappeared, just like that....never even got off the ground and the next thing 'Plus' popped up with even tighter restrictions than Select and now all of a sudden there was a joining cost involved. That has been less than satisfactory and fragmented the community, and now.....God bug*er me dead, they now want to have another 'nibble at the yeast bun' and try setting up yet another different elistist group.

When are these people going to learn....they have 2 failures under their belt and they want to have a crack at another one!

 

Cheers.......Rob

 

@Robin4 Isn't that the classic definition of stupidity- doing the same thing over and over again in the same way and expecting a different result every time?

Kevin940
Level 10
Quinns Rocks, Australia

omg you sound like my husband.  

@Robin4

Airbnb fragmented the community long ago with the whole "Superhost" sham, Rob (and not unintentionally, either) That's when the real  rot set in... 

Robin4
Level 10
Mount Barker, Australia

@Susan17

I don't know so much Susan, Superhost is a guest reward, it's not a company award...the company just sets the criteria but the guests determine if a host is elligible.

'Plus' and these other cockomainy schemes are company inspired and bare absolutely no relationship to performance.

I am proud to be a Superhost, there is no way I would want to be a 'Plus' host, and moves like this just re-inforce my belief that I did the right thing by now deciding to list on another platform as well. As their corporate image takes hold, less and less of my booking nights become available to Airbnb. My hosting style (which there is absolutely no way the corporate sector can match) will be lost to Airbnb. The Airbnb brand will just be cheapened to the level of hotel hospitality, which, when you think about it is the entire reason that Airbnb got where they are....by escaping the hotel image! And the great style some of us show and provide will be lost to the platform. 

There must be some seriously worried personnel at the top at the moment. Government regulations are being ignored, users rights are being trampled all over....I have seen this scenario so often throughout my business life......this is a classic case of a company in decline!

And that is sad.

 

Cheers......Rob

Kevin940
Level 10
Quinns Rocks, Australia

Exactly, you rent out Necker Island.  Is Air BnB run by millenials per chance?  

Cormac0
Level 10
Kraków, Poland

@Susan

 

 

Airbnb obviously realise that the wild west of Short term letting is over with regards to ever-increasing government regulation and they only have themselves to blame, Airbnb has made a fortune on the back of Hosts, which they're going to dump in the not too distant future.

 

The Plus programme was the beginning of this process as it more resembles a franchising product than the current setup.

 

Wake up hosts,  Airbnb have been riding you for years.

 

 

I think the underlying Airbnb business is fine, but it's not growing at this point. Airbnb should have done the IPO a while back - no word on 2019 unlike uber and lyft.