Party policy updates, Superhost status extensions, and more in Catherine’s latest Host Update

[Airbnb]

If you watched the first Host Update from our new Global Head of Hosting Catherine Powell, you’ll know that we are working on rebuilding our business around hosts, and giving you more transparency along the way. 

Today, we’re sharing Catherine’s latest Host Update with you. In this video, she discusses important priorities and insights for hosts at Airbnb right now. These include how Airbnb is handling parties, active steps being taken to support Superhosts, and why it can pay off to commit to higher standards for cleaning. 

Once you’ve watched the video, we’d really love to hear from you. Please let us know what you’d like us to cover in future Host Updates with Catherine.

Thank you.

[Rhonda320]

Unfortunately, some guests will be and have been excellent liars and throw parties after they check-in.  Hosts have zero recourse at that moment.  Legally, we can't have them thrown out.  The police won't assist unless they are doing something illegal.  The Los Angeles County Sheriff Department does not consider having a party illegal.  We, as hosts, need some sort of guaranteed financial recourse if a guest is proven to have had a party.   A clearly stated financial penalty by Airbnb would also deter many from throwing them.   

[Trisa0]

This new policy has some good insights but I’ve run into a big problem for both guests and new users! I have a new user wanting to book the house for her family of four with a 3 year older daughter. She can’t since the August 20th policy went into effect because she doesn’t have any reviews. First how is a new user allowed to establish reviews if they never have the chance to prove themselves. The live chat suggested she use someone else’s account to make the reservation. This is encouraging fraudulence and still doesn’t allow the new user to establish good reviews. In addition this puts well reviewed guests ratings at unnecessary risk as they may be trying to help a friend they can’t control how others will respect their ratings. It also is totally unfair to super hosts like myself who have used Airbnb for close to 10 years and never had a neighborhood complaint ever because I care about my status and vet my new guests as best I can and have seemed to do a good job. I host many first timers families and this will severely impact my business and income! I am hoping this is an oversight that will be fixed right away…if not I am ver disappointed in Airbnb who claims to care about their users. Not a great way to encourage or welcome new users and a great way to punish super hosts for the irresponsibility of hosts who obviously don’t care about their neighborhood and this community by allowing parties especially of 16…which I don’t allow parties of any kind. It’s a place to stay not to party and I make that clear to all my guests but now I’m losing income because of those who do. Please fix this part of this policy or I’m out as a host. I can go to full time rental instead. 

[Stupa-Guest-House0]

namaste Catherine its very glad to watch your very wonderful video which is very helpful to increase booking and take opportunity to host our very wonderful Guest from around the global .

During The Pandemic situation we are just suffering by The financially  Because   No booking .

we are more positive up coming days that wonderful video watching that keep me more motivated  Thank you for share those kind of video with Hugs 

Ram and family with Jack

your co host Stupa Guest House       

[Zhixin0]

@Catherine-Powell I appreciate seeing this initiative and in fact watched this video when it was first posted. Now a few months later I feel like I am experiencing exactly what you have described as an issue.

At the start of August I hosted a guest but to my disappointment my place was returned to me in a completely different state the guest smoked inside the property damaged furniture, the carpet and even decided take everything from towels to cleaning supplies. I immediately contacted Airbnb and documented everything! I was asked to put a claim through the resolutions page which I did - a lot of work went into it. I attempted to restore the property right away by getting someone to steam clean all to no avail in the middle of stage 4 lockdowns.

I was then put in touch with Broadspire - I believe a third party and had to provide all of the information again (mind you a lot of work when documenting every individual piece of item). But some 2 months later I still have no resolution plenty of emails going back and fourth but the dollar figure that is being offered is completely out of line. Depreciation methods are being used which don't align with the actual use of the furniture and carpet and I keep advising them of the actual use which can be supported by my calendar page all to no avail. 

I even blocked the listing right away as it was in no state to be rented out but am now apparently not entitled to loss of rental compensation - effectively I should have continued to accept requests and then cancelled them according to this third party I am dealing with. I made every effort to be in touch with Airbnb throughout the process and should have been provided this advice when notifying them that I would block the dates and request compensation.

I am very disappointed by the way this process has played out and would like to know how this process will be concluded. What are my options when it comes to finding a fair resolution - as some 25 emails later we are not one bit closer to the end and this process shouldn't take this long!

Best Regards,

Zhixin Li

[Katie]

Hi @Zhixin0, I've just received an update on your case, so I will send you a DM with more info now 😊

[Leah153]

@Catherine-Powell  - Thank you for the update.  In regards to the new Party Policy updates, we just received an email from AirBnb stating the following:  "The listing(s) may contain advertisement or promotion of unauthorized party or party-friendly space(s)", which brought to my attention to this new policy.   Reading the comments in the Community I understand the problem with unauthorized parties and I appreciate the efforts that AirBnb is putting in to help hosts prevent these incidents.  I, however, am coming at this from a different perspective. 

The house that we host on AirBnb is on a parcel adjacent to our primary home.  The house sits on 40 acres and we have an additional 70 acres on our primary parcel....so we have some space.  We greet EVERY guest in person that shows up to our AirBnb....after all, we live right next door....we are the neighbor and want to make sure we know who is coming into our property and neighborhood and we want to be clear on the house rules and our expectations.  With that said, the Party policy references "unauthorized" and "disruptive" parties and events.  We have been hosting for over two years and we state that we allow gatherings, with prior approval, and usually include an additional fee, so people have skin in the game, so to speak.   We use the term gatherings, not parties, and the families that we are attracting are those that need a place for 10-20 people to come eat and socialize after a funeral or celebration of life (extremely common), a place for an out of town Mom to throw her local daughter a baby shower because no ones house is big enough, a baptism for a new young family, etc.  Offering these opportunities adds value to our listing and we are able to do it responsibly because of our situation living next door and having the space to offer these gathering options without disturbing a neighborhood. 

I understand that we are peanuts in the Airbnb world and as a large organization rules have to be one size fits all, but if there was a way to apply for an exception or waiver to allow pre-approved gatherings, based on our listing, history, reviews, Superhost status, lack of complaints, etc....it would be extremely beneficial to our listing and I would imagine there are a few others out there that could benefit as well. 

[Feeli3]

It is amazing hosting by  Catherine and every thing can understandable and easy to contact with there're  services

[Paresh3]

@Catherine_Powell, @ Catherine_Powell

Whilst I am directing this comment to Catherine Powell, the apparently new Global Hosting Head, why is is that her name does not appear when typing the address.

With a hope and a prayer perhaps you will actually read this.

So far your support have demonstrated a lack of ability to respond to my issues.

I have been getting random, and inconsistent replies from various staff members, and I don't seem to be able to get a proper credible, rational explanation, which is disconcerting.

As a superhost I found the support was still lacking, despite airbnb stating there would be a dedicated help for superhosts.

Achieving a superhost status is also a mystery.

I was granted that in July 2020 (for the 2nd time), having achieved 4.8 and over 90% response, etc. 

Now logically if you waived the number of stays and occupancy criteria in March 2020 and I only had one guest 5* review in July AFTER I was already a superhost, I would expect that my rating then should be on average higher than 4.8 for October. But apparently, I have had various of your support colleagues give me inconsistent and incomplete explanations. The latest is that the review periods are for the previous 12 months. So even if that is the case, and all things being equal, there were no negative feedbacks, only 2 guests staying and one of them giving 5*, and the other had on a previous stay also given me 5*, it is inexplicable how my rating average can actually FALL to 4.7 in a matter of only 2-3 months! The only explanation I can find is that the rating criteria are STILL taking into account the other criteria that you claim were waived. According to my profile I have a 4.8 rating which also contradicts what your staff say. So what do I believe?

I am REALLY trying t o undertstand this.

Can you please clarify?

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Paresh3 I realise I am not @Catherine-Powell who is probably too busy to answer but if you want to understand what is likely to have happened then I explained it to you above. If you want to just rant at Catherine Powell then you need to be careful how you type @Catherine-powell and then select her from the list that pops up.

[Paresh3]

@Mike-And-Jane0 

Thank you for your reply. If you read my posts above you will note I did type the address in two formats as it is not clear why I get a No Match.  The reason, as I have clearly explained, is her name does not appear in a list, despite following their hint. This is not a rant, just an effort to understand the process, and I have been getting differing explanations. I also note that you have commented on another of my posts which was repeated unfortunately. I am finding my way navigating round this platform and this community, and I am sure we are not all experts like you.

I am also not sure why you feel you have to defend or apologise for Catherine Powell, but thank you for your help. I have tried many times to find her on a list typing @, but only get 4 names popup, so not sure why that is! Perhaps there is some address or contact list that I have to add people before I can write to them, but this needs further investigation.

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Paresh3 When you type @ then a short list of names appears. When you then start typing the name @Catherine-powell her name comes up in the list and you can click on it.

Anyway - Do you understand why you have lost Superhost status?

[Paresh3]

@Mike-And-Jane0 

Many thanks for your reply. 

I have finally had a detailed breakdown from the latest support person, after quite a few attempts, with an explanation. 

As for the address, as I said when I type the @, I only get a pop up list of 4 names, including yours. That is why I also tried with no space between the @and the name. Airbnb automatically add the space when you type the @.  I can only conclude that I have to ADD the relevant person as a contact somewhere, before I can message them. I note that the other 3 names on the popup are people who have commented on some previous post I had, which is also probably why your name appears. So it is not straightforward.

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Paresh3 as you start to type the name @Catherine-powell the list will change until she is on it. You don't need to add her as a contact - just keep an eye on the list as it updates

[Katie]

Hi @Paresh3, thanks for posting here, and I'm glad to hear you have had a detailed response from Support.

Just to clarify, it seems that you are typing a '_' rather than a '-' in Catherine's tag. If you make sure to use the right one then the option should appear 😊

I hope this is helpful for future reference.

[Paresh3]

@Catherine_Powell

I am afraid I do have some real issues with your Superhost status requirements, and poor support. Despite having 'earned' that status a second time in July 2020, I found the support poor and no different to previously. Furthermore, despite your move to waive the criteria as long as one has a 4.8 rating or higher and over 90% response rate, I am astonished that my own status has been removed in October 2020. Bearing in mind that due to covid, I only had 2 bookings in July. After the granting of my 2nd superhost status in July, my only guest review was a 5*, so I cannot see how my rating could have dropped below 4.8 between July and the October review period.I have raised the issue with your support staff, but they are as poor as ever. My latest chat states the rating had dropped to 4.7? My current rating is 4.8, which it was back in July 2020, three months earlier. How is it possible that with a 5* rating the total could have come down? It seems to me that whilst you claimed the occupancy and stay criteria were waived, in reality they still appear to be taken into account. There appears to be a disjoint between your rhetoric and the reality. Could you please explain? The chat staff member was also not aware of your policy statements and asked me to send her a copy of your update. I asked her to copy you into my chat, but not surprisingly that was not done. I have very little confidence in this process.

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Paresh3 there are reasons why, even with one 5* review you might have dropped below 4.8 for the last year.

If the reviews that have 'fallen out' of the current year were all 5* then any 4* or lower reviews that haven't fallen out of the year will have more effect on your current rating as you have only added one 5* review.

Secondly your current rating is probably the rating since you started hosting not the rating for the 12 month super host period

Finally your 4.8 rating could be 4.75 rounded up to 4.8 or 4.84 rounded down to 4.8. If it is the former then the super host standard may not be met.

Shame that Customer Service couldn't explain the above to you but hopefully this helps understanding if not acceptance.

[Lisa1395]

I applaud efforts to curb the party abuse & violations but am saddened that it took a pandemic to finally have it announced as Health, safety & security issues of our homes, self & others. It has always been an issue that is not okay because it’s disrespectful to owners & their homes period. We are the end casualty with extra costs of damage & time after these parties and more still needs to be done to help us prevent them atleast for those of us who would like to not allow them. Thank you for FINALLY doing something and hope you do more. Good old fashioned vetting of renters helps us & still more needs to happen before I initiate Instant Booking atleast until  there are stricter policies of protections in place. Thanks for the right step forward 

[Mariaclara19]

My concern about a  experience with a fake host , put me  to think if I will continue with Airbnb .

this lady was a realtor in Miami and  her job was  To sub rent through  Airbnb apartments   For other people in Colombia.

as probably you know ,The insecurity in my native Country is very high and dangerous. And I was so worry to put the other owners of the Bilding  in danger, because my hosting.

this  lady contacted   me as the guest who supposedly  rent the apartment.

I check her credentials and she was approved  by Airbnb but because she rented to other people I did not know who they were and this people don’t even was register by airbnb . I realized because they had different last name

And when I got suspicious and checked her reviews people was referring her by the owner but some said she was not the owner.

.

 My cuestión is :how  to  improve  the security check  of the guest and be more reliable ?

and how you will penalize those people to abuse the system?

thanks fir reading this.

[Catherine-Powell]

Hi @Mariaclara19 ,

Thanks for sharing your experience here, and I agree that we need to work on improving guest standards and ensuring that agents are not able to use the platform to book on behalf of unknown guests.

We are working on improvements in this area, and I look forward to sharing more with you in the coming weeks.

Best, Catherine

[Joe2433]

Our last guest threw a party, even though she booked for 2 people. When we heard the music start blasting and saw the crowds going to our side entrance we sent her a message reminding her of the 2 person reservation. We saw her party goers leave and the music quieted down. About an hour later the music was back up and the crowd grew. We had to knock on the door and ask them all to leave, which thankfully they did. However, we were left with a broken bed, barstools, feces in the shower, vomit in the sink, burn marks on our carpet...you get the picture. We put a claim in with Air BnB, she of course denied responsibility. We are waiting for a call from Air BnB for next steps, at this point we are over $400 in damages, plus we cannot host until everything is fixed. Additionally, I'm wondering what Air BnBs stance will be on allowing this person to keep her "membership"? Also, what happens when it comes time to review, are they going to allow her review to be submitted? We have a 4.9 rating, take all Covid precautions and pride ourselves on our reputation. Since this goes against their policy and is just wrong, I'm hoping Air BnB solves it and is on the side of the hosts who are clearly having to deal with this growing issue. @Airbnb @Catherine-Powell any suggestions on how we proceed?