December 2020

[Scott]

Hello,

Here is the latest Pro-tools update:

Automate “standard” guest messages using personalized templates

A new scheduled messaging tool allows you to send personalized messages to guests after booking, before/after check-in, and before/after checkout. Select the ‘Scheduled Messaging’ folder from the Inbox’s left navigation pane on the Web or mobile app. Learn more.

See popular dates in Multicalendar

We’ve made it easier to understand which dates are popular so that you don’t miss out on bookings on dates when more travelers than usual are searching for stays. Click on the “Layers” button on the multi-calendar and make sure “Popular Dates” are enabled.

See “sandwich” nights in Multicalendar

If you have nights unintentionally blocked due to your minimum length of stay settings, we’ve made them easier to see on the calendar and added the ability to temporarily lower the minimum length of stay rules for those nights. These will show up automatically on the multi-calendar.

Filter by opportunity type in the Opportunity Hub

To make it easier to focus on specific types of opportunities, we’ve added opportunity filters to focus on specific goals. Select a filter under ‘Ways to improve your business’ on the Performance tab on the Web or mobile app.

List of Listings design update

To make it easier to navigate between the List of Listings page and Manage Your Space pages without losing track of your workflow, we’ve embedded the Manage Your Space experience inside the List of Listings page. It’s now easier to navigate between listings without losing context. Click ‘Listings’ from the top menu on the Web.

Account Activity Log

To make it easier to tell when settings were updated, and by whom if you host with a team, we’ve added an activity log that shows key changes to your listings and account. Click ‘Activity’ from your profile menu on the Web.

Airbnb support folder in Inbox

To make it easier to find conversations with Airbnb support from the Inbox, we’ve added a dedicated “Airbnb Support” folder that collects all support conversations in a single place. Select the ‘Airbnb Support’ folder from the Inbox’s left navigation pane on the Web or mobile app.

Let us know below if you have used any of these features and/or if you have any feedback. 

Scott

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Scott I am trying to get cleverer on my pricing using rulesets. My frustration is I cannot see the rulesets except on the multi calendar. Equally I can only see what a guest pays for a particular set of dates on the other calendar.

Would it be possible (or am I doing something wrong) to see what rulesets are being applied on the individual listing calendar?

[Benny28]

Dear Scott, 

the automated messages are a wonderful tool... though having visitors from all over the world in different languages that we offer... it is very confusing.  We need your help!

When our guests make the reservation, we send an automated message after 5 minutes.  So far so good.   Though we have templates in Dutch (our language), French, German and English.   As we speak it all (and coming soon Italian and Spanish).    Though the guests receive all automated messages  - so a message in 4 languages ?! This should be in 1 language only, in their  preferred language!!

Why does Airbnb not make the intelligent move to select the correct language?
Our guests are now receiving the automatic confirmation in all available 4 languages.
This way of sending all messages to my guests, is very confusing for our guests, and not ideal for a super host. Some of the guests already cancelled... due to this ?   I am not sure, but it is not ideal.

Hope AirBnB will find a solution.   On other OTA platforms (such as Booking) this automated messages are also introduced a while ago, but the language is automatically adapted to the native language of the guest.  And if  the language is not there, then automatically English is send (and to all languages available as in AirBnB).

I have tried to contact the help desk of AirBnB, but i only get information how to make an automated message, and not a answer to my questions.  It is already more than 3 days ago with an answer.

Thank you for your quick reply and solution

friendly greetings
Benny from Bruges

[Scott]

Hi @Benny28 thank you for bringing this up!  We agree this can and should be improved, but unfortunately I don't have a timeline to share right now.

I'm sorry I don't have a better answer for you right now.  I agree sending 4 messages in 4 languages is a poor guest experience, so you might consider how to either combine the messages into one if they're short, or not using scheduled messaging for those messages until we can improve this for you.

[Benny28]

Thank you Scott for the honest and quick update.   I rather have an answer which is not satisfying than none.  Now I know there is no solution yet for all European countries working with all kind of languages and cultures visiting us.    

Still if I my suggest, a temporary solution would be, to have those standard messages in the different languages in different templates, which  we can pick at our own time frame to send to the guest after the reservation.  Now these automated messages in different languages are only possible to use if you schedule a time frame.  You can not choose them without the time frame.   

Having those templates In the quick answers on AirBnB, could be a possibility.  This way we can choose those confirmations  or check-in templates in the different languages and send them to the guests whenever we like!

Would that be easier to improve in short notice for AirBnB ?

friendly greetings

Benny

[Branka-and-Silvia0]

Oh, thank you for letting me know how to turn off "popular dates" it's totally useless distraction.

Is it also possible to turn off the mandatory color pickup for every single rule set I want to apply?  I don't need that and it's just one more click I have to do ( + 18 other clicks for each rule set) . I already have carpal tunnel syndrome, no need to make it worse. 

https://community.withairbnb.com/t5/Help/RULE-SET-FRUSTRATIONS/m-p/1037016

@Scott 

[Beatrice258]

Hi we use this tool it is very good. The one thing we would like added is the way of sending the information that is scheduled for that day manually if guest's book the same day as checking in.

[Patricia2834]

I just discovered these new tools.  I want to say how much I love the standard messaging tool.  I have fat thumb syndrome and this makes it so much easier to send the complex directions to my apartment.  I will definitely be teaching myself how to use the other tools.  Thank you

[Emilia42]

@Scott 

I really like the option to easily open up the sandwich nights. It would also be really beneficial if we could open specific prep days. Right now, I cannot make a prep day available without changing the preparation setting for the entire listing.

[Ann72]

@Emilia42  Have you gotten that to work?  It has been working for my listings - i.e., I can override the blocked prep time date by making it available.  Sometimes it takes more than one try, though?

[Emilia42]

@Ann72 

I wasn't able to get it to work so I removed the prep time in my settings which makes me really nervous if I can't get to my calendar right away. But I will try it again. Maybe it's working now. Thanks!

[Emilia42]

@Ann72 Still doesn't work. It defaults back to "Unavailable based on preparation time settings" no matter how many times I click save or refresh.  😢

[Ann72]

@Emilia42  Ugh, don't like!!!  I just tried it again and it worked.  That's so frustrating you're having trouble with it.  What browser do you use and is it the most recent version?

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Scott When I look at the layers available in the Muti-calendar we only have 'price' and 'rule sets'. Does your post above for popular dates only apply to hosts in the USA? If so  does Airbnb have any plans to become a truly global company and roll this out worldwide?

[Colleen253]

@Scott

 As Mike and Jane, I also only have price and rule sets to choose from.

Also, re activity log. Like @Ann72, I make daily updates to listing description, and only rarely update rules or listing title, yet any activity noted due to description updates is always accompanied by "house rules updated" and "listing name change". This isn't accurate, and also makes the log extremely cluttered. Interestingly, I also noticed a recent log of a reservation request that didn't actually take place. I have no record of this reservation request anywhere else. How accurate is the info in pro tools overall? I'm left doubting a tad.

[Ann72]

@Scott  Can you share a screen shot of what popular nights would look like?  As noted above, October should have popular nights highlighted but I see nothing like that on my calendar.

[Scott]

Hi @Ann72 the focus for this feature is to highlight unexpected high demand.  That might be why October is not being highlighted for you.  Here's what it looks like:

[Ann72]

@Scott  I missed this when you posted it, but it's really useful.  After you replied to my post about Scheduled Messages with a link to the help article, it reminded me to look there first before posting here.  I spent some time in the Help resources today and found a ton of information.  I especially like the way a help article there is linked to a post here on the same subject.  

I've been using the highlighted "sandwich nights" for awhile and find it really helpful.

I've found the Manage Your Space tool embedded in the Listings list to be incredibly useful as well.  At this time of year, I like to make small daily changes to my listings to keep them updated and to nudge them up in search results, and this makes doing that a lot easier.

As you know, I've been using Scheduled Messaging and it's been a fantastic addition to my hosting toolbox.  I still want to be able to pull the Guidebook link into a scheduled message and hope they're working on that.

I did not know about the Activity Log until reading the above and think that's great, too!  The only thing is it keeps saying Listing Name Change and I have not changed the listing names at all.

I discovered the Airbnb Support Inbox a couple of months ago and thought it was great.

I've got Popular Dates selected in multi-calendar, but I don't see any results.  For instance, Columbus Day Weekend is very popular in New England for fall color viewing trips, but I see no popular dates in October at all.  Could you share a screenshot of what popular dates look like on the calendar?  

Finally, the Opportunity Hub.  I would venture to suggest that this is the red-headed stepchild for most hosts.  For instance, as @Emilia42 suggests, once we've dismissed a suggestion - like "allow pets" or "switch to a flexible cancellation policy" - it should stay dismissed.  We're not five-year-olds who have to be reminded to wash our hands before and after every meal.  Once we've decided on a policy, the vast majority of us probably know that we can find the tool to change it when we want to change it.  We have gotten far enough into adulthood to own property, after all.  You might remind the 20-somethings who design some of these functions of that.  (@Katie, don't get mad at me for that.  I've been in Zoom meetings with some of these smart, charming, and engaging young people, so I know their age range. :))

I do spend a lot of time on the Opportunity Hub, but I usually skip down to Quality or Conversion.  From a hosting standpoint I find that increased views result in increased bookings, and I want to keep an eye on the view count.  However, this isn't as clear as it might be.  I understand that views and clicks and other forms of engagement are all different things.  But the view count used to make it clear that it was based on trip dates.  Is that no longer a factor?  And are views counted differently on the web and on the app?  Because I'm seeing two very different view counts.  See screenshots below.

Sorry about the lengthy screed but I did want to give you positive feedback overall!

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Scott Is this a new plan to actually inform hosts when the listing tool changes? If so then I applaud you. Will we get informed when you reduce functionality as you did recently be taking away the ability to see what a guest will pay and a host be paid out for a particular set of dates?

[Scott]

Hi @Mike-And-Jane0 yes our goal is to highlight updates on what is changing in the tools. Although we definitely won't be able to cover every change, so thanks in advance for bringing up this particular change.

Can you explain a little more about the change so we're clear what it was?

• what did you used to get done with that feature?
• now that it's gone, how do you get that same task done?

Thank you!

[Mike-And-Jane0]

Hi @Scott Thanks for following up on this. Up until a few months (?) ago, when in the monthly calendar view if you highlighted say 7 nights the right hand side that pops out would allow you to see what a guest would pay and what the host would be paid. Since this disappeared, as a host, I no longer know what the guest is paying so I fear we price too high - But I just don't know!

Many hosts were sad when this disappeared .