constant platform changes - lets lighten up about it!

[Annette33]

So we know that every 5 minutes something changes in the platform, about rules and regulations, about bookings, about reviews, about everything! And then comes the protest wave.....and then we all get used  to it.... by now, I am just amused by it all and don't take it that seriously anymore. Lets all lighten up, realize that we simply don't have much input, but that the whole Airbnb experience is fun, that we are in it along for the ride, and that we benefit from it! 

@Branka-and-Silvia0 have said  somewhere that there are probably a bunch of young programmers busy all the time to test their ideas, not so much with any consideration as to how new things affect hosts and guests, but oh well, time to jump onto the next fun thing to try out, so we are left to cope tand to figure it out.

The uproar about IB has subsided, and many people have figured out that having it in place or not not does not make a dramatic difference in bookings  after all, or that the "old" style of booking doesn't really give us more security anyways...so now, aside from the fixation on needing 5 star reviews at all times,  one of the new issues is the  choice guests now have of looking at highest ratings and lowest ratings, rolled out in some test markets- well, that will also subside, guests are just not that thorough, they glance at the image of stars, it all looks good, then it's down to price, pictures, description and availability. 

The only thing we hosts have control over is our own listing: if it is impeccable, the guests will come, no matter of IB, stars for location, or where exactly in the Airbnb page of offerings it is placed.  As long as we all focus on that, we are good to go! I have seen plenty of crummy listings, with bad pictures, confusing descriptions, etc - and I have seen awsome listings as well! 

One last thing, about platform changes here in the forum, that happened a while ago, with the new "top",  recent, and unanswered format: first the discontent, me included, then seeing that it now actually facilitates conversations much better than before, and the dreaded "how do I reach Airbnb" has mostly disappeared. Hallelujah!

Cheers, and happy hosting,

Annette

PS : one thing I would like is to be able to highlight other Airbnb peeps here at all times, not just when they have contributed to a specific post - like I was not able to highlight Branka and Silvia above....but I now see that it actually highlighted the wrong Branka. Help Airbnb!

[Mention updated] 🙂

[David126]

How do I contact AirBnB is still there several times a day, at the moment it seems mainly to be in existing rather than new threads.

And then of course the old favourite about the Host Guarantee.

[Robin4]

@Annette33

A bit of a bind, that bit about 'taging' others into our posts. Fairly obviously the only ones you get to automatically include are those who are currently in that particular thread....and this is where the problem comes in! You can search other parts of the forum until you come to the tag you want, copy and paste it into your post but, I have seen many contributors who have got upset to the point where they have made mention of it by being tagged into another thread they are not interested in.

So Annette you are damned if you do and you are damned if you don't.

Your point about rolling changes to the platform while being right, it is important for us to sound off when we need to, not just to vent our spleen, but to guage constructive comment from the other first class regulars here.

At the moment I think most hosts would be upset by this current rollout of highlighting a hosts best and worst reviews at the head of the review page.

This is an absolute shocker of an inclusion, and if anyone in the programming department had stopped to think about this for a moment they would have realised that by putting a hosts worst reviews over the entire time they have been hosting prominently on the review page will in fact frighten some guests away! It will highlight issues that were long ago dealt with and give the guest an impression that is not relevant to their current hosting......If you were selling autos, you wouldn't put a 1989 Caddi back into the promotion would you! It is just another negative that these young kids who have been brought up on a diet of computer games where for every positive you must have a negative......the most popular games are where the bad guys sometimes win. This is the logic that is driving the programming department now, and Annette we have to all make a noise about this, it is a big deal. I did a post about it that promptly disappeared into obscurity, nobody yet cares about it but, once it is fully rolled out hosts will see it differently.

We do need a voice and it is not going to do any of us any good if we just shrugg the shoulders and say, what will be will be everytime a really flawed decision is rolled out.

Good on you though Annette, you have a great mind and you really do come out with some wonderful ideas and give the rest of us food for thought.......and on that note, I am going to go and have some breakfast!

Cheers.....Rob

[Annette33]

Ah, @Robin4 - have you had your breakfast now?

"We do need a voice and it is not going to do any of us any good if we just shrugg the shoulders and say, what will be will be everytime a really flawed decision is rolled out", you say.

my question is: where is our voice going?  does voicing our discontent here has any tangible results aside from feeeling better about having gotten it off one's chest and getting sympathy and comiseration for it? I don't poo-poo that one bit, it probably makes the poster feel better - still, what ultimately counts are obvious, tangible results or changes......and I am simply advocating putting our energies into what we have control, over, our own listings, make them as good as possible, take pride in that and enjoy.  I have seen plenty of armchair revolutionaries , and they all only end up frustrated. So to me, it's not a question of just shruggging my shoulders and being complacent, it is the conscious choice to see where I can have an impact and where not.

Btw, we don't know yet if the best review/worst review feature is a flawed decision: all sorts of sites that have reviews with various levels of stars , such as  book reviews, hotel reviews(!), have the feature to click on the worst reviews - and often enough, it incriminates the poster of such review, not the actual book, lodging, or whatever. Give readers some credit, they are smart enough to put it into perspective. So what is there really to be afraid of? Besides, we all know how ridiculous those reviews are in  the first place - but that is another subject.....

.Also, when I looked into it a bit, I found that feature is not visible on the airbnb app -and most people are  on mobile these days, so that already cuts way down on the visibility. it only shows up on the website, and one has to actively search for it. How many guest will actually do that, and then decide against a host because  he/she has one negAtive  review under 200 positive ones? So, I wouldn't be so fast to run down the founders of the company  as being young sloppy kids who don't know anything, but just wait a bit and see... maybe us older folks can learn something from them?

[J-Renato0]

>>>"Give readers some credit, they are smart enough to put it into perspective. So what is there really to be afraid of?"

Thats my point!

>>>"How many guest will actually do that, and then decide against a host because  he/she has one negAtive  review under 200 positive ones? So, I wouldn't be so fast to run down the founders of the company  as being young sloppy kids who don't know anything, but just wait a bit and see... maybe us older folks can learn something from them?"

Very interesting post @Annette33. I thought I was the only one who was able to see the "Lowest tab" from a different point of view.

IMO, I believe It can be good to the guest and to the host.

In most of the websites to search accommodation, we can order the reviews by date (from newst to oldest and vice versa), by number of stars (from highst to lowest and vice versa).

We all know that when reading hotel reaviews we are able to read about pros and cons and take a decision. We can also see when a review is a malicious one that was written just to harm the hotel amoungst other honest reviews.

[Branka-and-Silvia0]

@Annette33  "don't take it to seriously" is our mantra too 🙂 And not just about new Airbnb features.

 Stains on the sheets ? 3 star review? No review? Booking cancellation? Broken plate ? Chocolate on the carpet? Dirty dishes in the sink? extensive toilet paper use? cigarete/feet/curry smell? bah... life is to short to be upset about it  😛 

God, give me the beer to easier accept the things I cannot change,
Coffee to quickly fix the things I can ,
And wisdom to know the difference :)))

[Robin4]

@Branka-and-Silvia0

You two crack me up 🙂 You always manage to come up with these funny little witicisms and it's great to have that lighthearted slant on a difficult topic at times!

Hey, how is HOMBRE getting on?...He's not shedding too much hair around the apartment I hope. We have a devil of a time trying to keep Betts hair under control. She seems to completely change her coat every two months.....or at least, that's the way it seems!

I know....off topic but our guardian angels should never disappear into obscurity.

Good on you girls, keep your great comments coming!

Cheers......Rob

[Branka-and-Silvia0]

thanks for asking, he is fine:) He is not going to the apartment bc of hairs, he stays at home while we are there cleaning or whatever. 

 Betts is a natural beauty 😘

[Lizzie]

Hello @Annette33,

Thanks for starting this upbeat post and sharing your thoughts. 

I have updated your @ mention for Branka & Silvia above in your post, so all sorted now! 🙂 In terms of the mention function in the CC, I completely agree with you. I know many of you have asked about this before and believe me it is very high up on my CC wishlist too. The way of implementing this though, is a little trickier than it sounds and so we are in the process of working out the best way to do this. Therefore, please be rest assured I am fully with you on this and it is important to us too. 

I also want to add to your original point here Annette about changes to the platform, it is a regularly discussed topic here in the CC and I imagine that is why you have started this post. As you touch upon, one of the exciting things about Airbnb is that it is able to adapt and introduce new feature, which inevitably brings change. Change doesn't necessarily have to be good or bad, sometimes just different to what we use to which can take a little bit of getting use to and so I can understand why this can sometimes be frustrating or cause confusion. What is great though is that the Community Center is a place to share your thoughts, hear others points of view and how they are using something. I love hearing your feedback and believe it is vitally important to Airbnb,  so I really want to share this(and I am already) back with the team. You voice is definitely being heard.

Thanks so much,

Lizzie

[Nancy67]

Really? Hey Guys-- why don't you just throw rocks in the street when I'm skateboarding down it. 

If you want to know how this feels?  get a review from your best and worst hookup and post them outside your office door for everyone to gawk at. Perfect.