More and more complications

[Robin4]

I love Airbnb but, I just don't know how much more of this useless 'tinkering' I can stand!

I have just about had enough!

Two fairly major changes have taken place recently that do not make sense on any level.

1/... The host review page:

Here is what we used to have until a couple of weeks ago.........

Write a review, give em some feedback, rate them in 3 categories and give them a thumbs up/down and submit it....all on the one page.

There was a certain logic to it. But I guess the powers that be thought....'Why should guests have all the review pain, lets give hosts a bit of curry too'!!

How best to achieve that........ like this of course......

It achieves precisely the same thing but it is now spread out over 6 pages. What person in full control of their faculties would consider that this is a warranted improvement.

There are so many glaring problems with the platform that have been ignored for years despite repeated calls, and all they can set the R&D department to do is come up with bleep like this and bugger up something that did at least work ok!!

2/.... Guest Resources:

This alteration is just plain insulting and is already the cause of complaints here on the CC.

There is a spot on each hosts listing page where we put in the specific details that we want a guest to know prior to their check-in.

Ironically it is still on the listing page...here it is, or was, an hour ago!

It says ..."Only visible to confirmed guests......WRONG....it's gone, guests don't get to see it at all any more. It used to be on their booking confirmation. 

But I have just booked a stay with a fellow host in August and when I do what I have always done and click ..."View Itinerary" instead of getting a statement of what I have booked with the guest resources on the left of page.......this is what I get......

'Itinerary' has gone and been replaced by 'Trip Overview' and you then have to click on 'Your home reservation' and are then presented with this screen....

All the guest gets is the house rules, who is staying, a stay date and the address. The guest resources have entirely disappeared and try as I might I could not find them anywhere on the booking confirmation. It simply says 'Check-in, instructions will be visible during your stay and that's it, the field is not expandable to reveal any resources....it's just general waffle about what we can do and what we can't!

Why on earth is this company hellbent on destroying what works and spending valuable time and resources introducing measures that don't!

As I said, I don't know how much more of this I will put up with. I wish to God someone would take a bit of notice and get us back where we were a couple of years ago!

Cheers......Rob

[Kimberly54]

Hi @Rachel177,  Salome stands 3 1/2 feet tall, and her wing-span is about 6'.  

She's prettier in the water!  Let me see if I can insert Tuesday...Tuesday the Wonder Parrot

[Kimberly54]

@Rachel177, dear Lord, I can't edit the photos on this forum, so you have TWO pictures of Tuesday The Wonder Parrot--but you can SEE how menacing she can be?  Yes, that is the Beak of the Week.  Salome is the Chinese Swan. Both amazing birds. Mostly intimidation, but for pure force, Tuesday would win hands-down. 

Best,

[Rachel177]

@Kimberly54 they're both gorgeous birds! They must be lots of fun to have around the home.

[Emilia42]

100% agree. This new review format is ridiculous. The name of the guest is nowhere to be found when the review is started. If the name is foreign/unfamiliar, I have to write down the spelling on a piece of paper before I start. It's taking me twice as long to complete the reviews. 

[Suzanne302]

@Beth80  and Emilia (can't tag) same here with the guest name! I've had to go back on more than a few reviews because I forgot spelling or who I was reviewing!

As for the format, @Robin4  I've had this "new" review format for at least a couple months. I seem to remember a post in the past when it happened because we went from "thumbs up or thumbs down" on a guest to a "yes or no" to the question of would you recommend. Apparently they roll out different formats in waves?? Or experiment on a few at a time before making it system-wide?

And as a guest I just now noticed the star rating we give a host at the beginning says this:

5 stars - Great

4 stars - Good

3 stars - Okay

2 stars - Bad

1 star - Terrible

Maybe it's always said that, but this is the first time I've noticed it as a guest.

[Beth80]

@Emilia42  I had forgotten about the missing name. That is so annoying!!  I have to back track and write it down. Why o why are they do this!

[Sandra126]

Agree, it is now two clicks per page, one for the star, one for next. Repeat many times. It means you can't see the end and have no idea how long it will go on for. Same result in the end. Why? It really is no improvement.

[Cathie19]

I often wonder Sandra (unable to tag), how many guests start the review process quite happily, then as the thesis and pages continue, they think “Blimey/ WT# is going on here ??

                ... and just stop... mentally brushing their hands of the whole business.

Never. To. Continue. Or. Submit.

[Robin4]

@Cathie19 

A small but rising percentage of them are doing that and those that use other platforms are just annoyed by the Airbnb process.

On Homeaway/Stayz both guest and host have up to a year from the time of the stay to review each other, or, if one leaves a review the other is reminded a review has been left and they at that point  have 14 days to submit their review before the reviews are published. And the review consists of 3 star rated categories and would you recomend this guest/host....yes/no..... and that's it.

But further discussing the way the review system is working is not what this thread was about. As someone else has said, that has been flogged to death here, just unfortunate that the 'flogging to death' has escaped the notice of the decision makers!

This thread was to question why the process has gone from being simple to being complicated for zero net gain in information. It's now like catching a train from Toronto to New York via Denver!!

It makes no sense!

Cheers......Rob

[Sarah977]

@Robin4  You know what this is? This is the way the millenials text these days. Do they put everything they need to say in one text message, so it can just be quickly and efficiently replied to? No. 

"Hey"

"Hey"

"Whatcha doin?"

"Nuthin much"

"Wanna come over?"

"Can't"

"Y?"

"Waiting for some 1"

"Who?"

"Someone from work, you don't know him"

"Name?"

"Johnny"

"Cute?"

"Kinda"

"Have fun"

"LOL"

"Text me later, K?"

"K"

This is called zero attention span- one can only formulate, read and write one thought at a time.

That's what this new review form is, to me. One miniscule task per page, then click next. Whatever idiots come up with this stuff assume we're all as challenged as they are.

[Robin4]

@Rachel177  @Suzanne302  @Sarah977  @Sandra126  @Kimberly54 

From what I have been able to find out, Airbnb have been receiving a lot of complaints from hosts whose  personal details about their listing have been supplied via the Guest Resources to a reserved guest. The guest for one reason or another subsequently cancels the reservation but retains information the host no longer wished then to have! Guest Resources information will now be given out just prior to the stay.

That's fine, but for each action in life there is a counter-reaction.

Four of my confirmed bookings lately have been at me either through the message stream or via my phone looking for things I list in my guest resources. I was begining to doubt these as being suitable guests, my reaction being, 'how many times do we need to spell it out, read your confirmation!'

Now having done a booking myself I realise these guests are simply in the dark and want to know where they stand!

Doesn't someone or some department in R&D do a 'cause and affect' assessment of any of these ideas before they run them up the flagpole?

I strikes me that just about everything they do is a 'knee-jerk' reaction to a few CX getting abused!

If confimation is going to be continued in this format I would suggest, under Check-in they put.....

'Due to possible mis-use, important relevant information about your reservation will be given to you just before your stay. 

At least that would take a bit of pressure of us hosts!

As to the 6 page review system, that seems to be a bit of a mystery! The only rationale that could be put to that is many hosts are also guests and it makes it easier for them to understand how guests rate hosts if the system is mirrored!

Like I said earlier up the thread, why should guests be the only ones in the review process to be put through hoops.......lets make hosts jump though a hoop or two as well!

Cheers......Rob

[Rachel177]

@Robin4 the removal of the guest resources information until closer to check in makes sense. I don't particularly want guests accessing that information months out from their booking if they then go ahead and cancel.

I had selected the extra security of my address not being released to guests until after the 48hr cancellation grace period had passed, I wonder if this new update with guest resources has removed that.

[Robin4]

@Rachel177 

Hey I agree it makes sense Rachel, but tell guests that what you are doing, don't just leave them hanging in the air not knowing how to proceed with their trip.

Tell them all will be revealed just before their stay is to commence.

Rachel, I know all these things are done for a reason, but all I would ask is that the company keep their bread and butter in the loop....let us know what changes are happening and why, so that we can reliably inform our guests when they run into that information brick wall!!

Cheers.....Rob

[Rachel177]

@Robin4 

Rob, you're assuming that the left hand knows what the right hand is doing within Airbnb 😉

I've previously worked in a rapidly expanding online company & for a couple of years in the early stages of expansion the product & technology teams would launch new products or tweak existing ones without letting the customer, or the customer service team know! I reckon the same thing is happening here, to the detriment of hosts and guests.

[Kimberly54]

@Rachel177 @Robin4 , and @all, the truly horrifying truth is that POTENTIALLY, EVERYTHING on your AirBnB site can leak out into the INTERNET.  Seriously, Seriously, SERIOUSLY.  And once out, God only knows where it will end up.  I was shocked and horrified to find the TOUR of nearly my entire house/property on ZILLOW.  Big wake-up call.  

I believed this platform to be SECURE.  IT IS NOT.  Of course, anything can get hacked into, but the point is, if there is ANYTHING sacred to you, KEEP IT TO YOURSELF and yourself ALONE.  Release it ONLY at the time it is required.  Jeeeeeezzzzzz! 

If I told you all of the details of the single Irish guy booking my place, you would not believe it--and obviously ALL of you have had a taste of HOW LONG all of this takes to get to someone who can actually DO SOMETHING about anything, RIGHT?  

I haven't yet tested whether I'm on SNOOZE again, and if it didn't stick, I'll just deal with it myself.  

Once again:  IS ANYONE on this thread savvy enough to move this up the Corporate chain?

With love,