TL/DR; Annoying questions from people who don’t know how or can’t be bothered to read the listings properly are infuriating for everyone involved, waste everyone’s time, and lead to less than perfect stays. For £100k ABB could build a tutorial overlay that educates new users.
@Stephanie I’ve read this thread, and whilst I think the topic expanded slightly, I’d like to try and offer some very specific feedback from my time in IT&D / Projects which I think supports the original post. I hope it’s useful (and I haven’t missed the point)!
There is a general assumption with modern tech that users will not require “training” as the user interface is designed to be intuitive, that is, users can just assume where something will be and be correct most of the time. It makes all platforms easier to use, and the fact ABB seem to do the same thing is arguably following best practice.
The issue being consistently raised by hosts in this forum (and specifically this conversation thread), is that the app and/or desktop interfaces are intuitive enough to allow users to book listings and message hosts, but not so intuitive that they don’t try and resolve their own (often basic) queries first. In the last week alone I have been asked the location three times by different guests, had a third party booking despite ABB T&Cs & my own house rules, been told they are arriving 3h after my check-in window, and have been asked for a microwave - I can’t imagine what busier hosts have to deal with whilst also having kids, full-time jobs, and their own life-demands have to deal with too.
I’ve not done a focus group, but I can imagine these problems occur because either:
A) The user can’t easily decipher the information available to them on a listing, or,
B) The user could decipher the information if they tried, but they don’t realise it’s there, or,
C) The user could decipher the information if they tried, but they don’t think they should have to
All three of these reasons are massively frustrating for hosts because we all spend a lot of time creating and managing our listings. ABB promote ‘self-service features’ like the Wi-Fi instructions, Check-in instructions, House Manuals, Guidebooks etc., but these, along with the listing descriptions, are not being fully utilised by our guests. This results in needless questioning and requests for help; at best it’s an annoyance, but at worst it puts a high amount of stress on the host, prevents hosting being ‘worth our while’, and leads to frustrating delays for a guest who wants information right now. We are a community, and helping each other is an understood part of that, but it’s also a fair statement to say that it simply isn’t a host’s job to teach guests how to use the platform. Note, that those hosts who it will frustrate more will be those who have invested more time and effort in already filling out detailed instructions / descriptions and who care about response times & good customer service; therefore it can be assumed to be the upper end of your host-base that feels the impact more acutely (the ones who make ABB what it is and who ABB want to retain and/or expand).
So so now that the “problem” has been defined, what’s a possible solution?
Well, the original poster suggested a tutorial of some description; it doesn’t eve have to be a 20 minute online course with an exam to pass.
All three of the reasons could be fixed relatively easily with a very small amount of development work from ABB, either in-house, or by using a third party tutorial overlay software.
Have you ever opened a gaming app on your ‘phone, and it has little videos or step by step instructions saying, ‘click here to do x’, or ‘now click here’? Sometimes it’s a little avatar that speaks to you, other times it’s bubbles and arrows on the screen? It would be relatively simple develop and deploy this for all new accounts.
Setting up an account: “Verifications help engender trust within our community, and the more you have, the better it is. Click here to register your Govt ID in a few simple steps. We don’t share these details with your hosts, but we do add a badge to your profile to tell them we have verified you. You will be unable to book some listings until you have done this.”
First time they search: “Refine your search by using filters. Select whether you want a single room, or a whole place, or if you’re flexible select both. Hover your mouse over each of the words to see what each one means.”
After they have applied a filter: “Is the location important to you? If so, check out the map here -> where you can view listings arranged over the map by general location. Remember, specific addresses will only be shared after your booking is confirmed.”
After clicking on a listing: “Not sure where this specific listing is? Scroll down now to see the embedded map.”
First time they look at a listing: “Really need a hairdryer? Click here to see what amenities are available to you at this property. Hosts take time to fill this out for you because they vary from place to place, so if something is important to you, check for it here before booking”.
Before they book for the first time: “Have you read the House Rules? These vary by listing, make sure you’ve understood them before booking to ensure the listing is a good fit for your needs / plans.”
There are loads of other examples I could give, but I’m sure you get the idea. For a one-off cost of realistically less than £100k, ABB could design and deploy these features, improving the host experience, improving customer experience (booking and staying), and increase retention of both groups.
With a slightly more advanced rule set you could even flag guests who rate one of their first three stays poorly on certain metrics for advanced help or repeat tuition:
Bad location rating: “Location was important for you during your last stay, click the map here to view the general area. You can read how the host has described the neighbourhood in this section.”
Bad communication rating: “Good communication is important to guests and hosts. Click here to see when the host makes themselves available. You can click here to view their average response times.”
Anyway, it’s a bit long, but if you want to discuss it further, please feel free to message me and I’ll expand or clarify as needed.
Matt