Back in business! Anything I should know?

[Trude0]

In mid-August 2021, I decided to take a looong break from Airbnb, and was not sure if I would return.

I was quite tired of Airbnb, after some disappointing own experiences with customer service, and after reading about some disturbing experiences shared by hosts here in Community Center.

I told my 19-year old daughter she could move into the tinyhouse/guest house.

But end of September, I decided to "re-open" again.

Cleaned the house, made some minor upgrades to make it more practical, and some slight updates to the decor (quite happy with the result, if I do say so myself) - and tadaaaa: Back in business!

During this year of not hosting, I have of course lost my Superhost status.

Which is a pity - but I'm not to bothered about it. 

I thought it would take a while until I received any bookings - it being autumn, Sweden, my listing probably ranking low in searches etc. 

But it only took me about a week to get my first booking - a fantastic guest who left me my 47th 5-star rating (out of 47).

And yesterday, I confirmed my second booking request - a young couple new to Airbnb, but who seem responsible and nice.

But to my point/question:

As I took a year-long break from hosting, I also took a break from this forum, so am not updated on the latest.

Is there anything new that I should know about, any new rules, things to look out for, anything I should read up on?

Would be greatful for any tips, links to threads I should check out etc!

Thanks!

[Huma0]

@Trude0 

Yes, there is a LOT you should know about, but I couldn't possibly go into detail about it all here. I am afraid you will need to do some reading/catching up here on the CC, but here are some pointers for things to swot up on:

- Summer Release/categories, i.e. major changes to the search function that had many hosts reeling...

- Changes to the host cancellation policy, i.e. much heavier penalties for hosts who cancel, but also increased loopholes for guests who want to scam hosts for free stays.

- Guests now have 72 hours, instead of 24, to report travel issues to Airbnb in order to claim refunds.

- A worrying number of cases of long standing/well performing hosts being suspended for no explicable reason and then getting the silent treatment from CS.

- Long standing and respected contributors to the CC being banned for transgressions that are not fully explained.

- Changes to the pet fees. I know very little about these as I don't allow pets anyway so haven't really read up on it.

There are probably lots of other things that I have missed.

On a more positive note...

Erm, the only thing I can think of in the last year is Airbnb finally removing COVID-19 as an extenuating circumstance as if it was something we didn't already know bout, although I think a guest/host can still claim if they are actually sick with COVID.

[Sudsrung0]

@Trude0 

It's all good, 

Failure to reply in the CC gets you a ban, and effects your super host status

[Trude0]

For real? Good thing I no longer have a Superhost status to affect! 😉 

[Huma0]

@Trude0 

@Sudsrung0 is messing with you. Maybe she is getting a commission for keeping hosts active on the forum (joking @Sudsrung0 🙂 )

[Trude0]

@Huma0 : Yes, I got that...;-)

[Huma0]

Sorry @Trude0 . @Sudsrung0  posted something similar on another thread and the OP thought she was serious!

[Trude0]

@Huma0: Oh no, I feel like closing down again…  

I had been hoping that when/if I started to host again, either Airbnb would have improved their handling of hosts, or a competitor would have come and taken over this market.  

But thank you very much for these tips, will spend some time reading up on the topics!

[Huma0]

@Trude0 

Don't despair! It's not all gloom and doom! Personally, the only thing from the list mentioned above that has personally affected me so far is the Summer Release. My bookings/views dried up to almost nothing, but I have seen some improvement over the past month or so and the reservations are now slowly coming in.

@Robin4 is correct about the outsourcing of CS/standard of support going down, but this started happening in 2020 early on in the pandemic, so I thought you might already be aware of that! Certainly there has been more discussion her on the CC about it in the past year as I suppose more hosts and guests have encountered it.

Last night, my new guest told me he called Airbnb CS because he had just found out that guests get star ratings but can't see them, which kind of freaked him out. This guest already has 49 reviews and has been a regular user of Airbnb since 2015. The CS rep at first would not give him a straight answer, then got angry when he kept asking and eventually told him not to worry and that no one could see the star ratings. Of course, I then had to tell the guest that the rep was talking nonsense and explain how the review system actually works and that hosts CAN see the guests' star ratings. So, just another typically frustrating and fruitless interaction with CS...

[Robin4]

@Trude0 

Great to see you back Trude, we were wondering what was happening in Scandinavia, you disappeared about the same time as @Mariann4 from Bergen and the loss of both of you was felt here in the CC.

As you can tell from @Huma0 's post, being an Airbnb host hasn't got any easier since you have been gone. I feel the main issue is, first tier support is now entirely outsourced and from what we read here responsibility and product knowledge has become very minimal with many hosts complaining that their tickets are being hand-balled with no subsequent follow-up. Now more than ever before it pays to have your own work around strategies for problem solving and not depend on the company for help. 

In the 7 years I have been hosting with around 580 Airbnb guest stays I have never once lodged a damage claim with the company, I don't want to be let down if things don't turn out the way I need them to.  Sure I get damage just like every other host but if the guest doesn't want to take any responsibility for it, that's ok, I just put things right and get on with hosting. I leave a neutral review and check the review box that says 'No' to 'Would you host this guest again' and give a brief explanation as to why and leave it at that!

If you try doing a random search you will find that programming alterations have altered the search criteria entirely. You will find that categories like Caves, Yurts, Towers, The Arctic, Barns, Boats, Shepherds Huts and..........OMG, would you believe, have taken over as preferred search options to us Superhosts with 7 years of faithfully looking after guests and never once cancelling a reservation. 

To Airbnb we are boring, we don't inspire the public, despite the fact that I am fully booked month after month and have not had a month with more than 3 vacant nights since April 2018, even right the way through the Covid pandemic. We in my state were almost unaffected by Covid during 2020-21 and as such, business was good and brisk because of the restrictions on overseas travel. 

Read fully the implications of the 'Summer Releases/Categories' Trude, you may want to re-word your listing description or you could find your bookings/enquiries drying up!

If you have some spare time go back through some of the posts here on the CC it will teach you more than any of us individually could.

Welcome back Trude, I hope you have continued success with your hosting.

Cheers.........Rob

[Trude0]

Thanks Rob, both for the warm welcome back, and the update and tips - both much appreciated! I am so impressed by your Airbnb success, and always enjoy your posts. 

I’ve checked, and discovered that Airbnb did not put me in some categories where I probably should be (Beaches, Golfing, Cabins), so have made some additions to my ad/listing, hoping this will help. We’ll see. 

But was also pleasantly surprised to find my listing in the ”National Parks” category. Checked, and realised that no less than 4 areas very close to my listing (that I love and frequently visit), are in fact nature reserves/preserves! So thanks to Airbnb, I have entered more information and photos about these. Maybe this will be a new USP for my listing. 

Am feeling quite positive about my return to hosting, it feels fun again! But will take some time to read up on posts from the latest year, as you suggest.

Thanks again, 

Trude

[Jenny]

Hi @Trude0 

Welcome back, it's great to hear that you've decided to start hosting again.

I had a look at your listing and it's absolutely lovely!  The surrounding area looks like it's packed with things to do, and with lots of ways to spend some time in nature.

I hope we'll hear more about your return to hosting here on the CC, please do let us know how things are going.

Jenny

[Trude0]

@Jenny Thanks Jenny! Yes, there is a lot to do in the area. For myself I really enjoy being so close both to the city and to nature. Business is still slow, only 2 bookings so far, but am hoping it will pick up soon.

As mentioned, I’ve noticed that my listing is not in some categories where I think it should be. I made some updates (texts + photos) and contacted CS,  but after 2 weeks  I am still not in these categories. Is there anything you can do to make sure the right department has a look? The categories are: CABINS (I am in Tiny Homes, which is great, but many people don’t know that concept and instead search for cabins. Many of my competitors are in both these categories.) BEACH (3-400 m to walk to the closest one, several more within walking distance.) GOLFING (4 courses within a few minutes’ drive, 1 walking distance). 

[Trude0]

@Jenny : Anything you can do to help me try to get my listing in the right categories? Can I contact anyone, or can you have someone look at it?

It’s now been 3-4 weeks since I made some updates to texts, photos etc, and also since I tried contacting CS. But no change. I am not too worried about not being in the BEACH and GOLFING categories. But I really need to be in CABINS, as this category/word is much more commonly used than Tiny Home, in many countries. I have seen multiple competitors who are in both CABINS and TINY HOMES, whilst I am only in TINY HOMES (can show examples, one listing is only 2 km from mine). This does not give me equal oportunity to compete, in my opinion.

Hope you can help in any way!

[Jenny]

Hi @Trude0 

I am so sorry I missed your tag from the first time you mentioned this.

Just wanted to confirm that I've asked what we can do to assist you with this, as the first step is usually to ask CS.

Bear with me and I'll come back to you with an update when I can get one!

Jenny