This forum is dedicated to connecting hosts with other hosts. Sign up to get the latest updates and news just for AirBnb hosts! Note that we are not affiliated with Airbnb - we are just passionate hosts!
I added a picture to my listing for the upcoming Music Festival in my area. My home is within walking distance and since we know most guests don’t read, I figured a picture could start the conversation for me. Stupid ABB censor computer removed it. I got this message:
“We noticed on your listing that you provided direct contact information in one or more photos. Just a quick reminder of our guidelines for using Airbnb—we require all communication to be handled on the site before a reservation has taken place to maintain your privacy, help provide customer support, and adhere to the Airbnb Terms of Service. This means that you should not exchange addresses, websites, email addresses, or telephone numbers before booking a reservation. Read more about why it’s best to keep your communication and transactions on our site.
We have gone ahead and removed the following photo from your listing. The next time you are uploading photos to your profile or listing, please avoid selecting photos with contact information on them.”
I got a hold of customer service via the messaging system and they agreed that the picture did not violate any of their guidelines and put it back up. One little problem, apparently they used a screenshot and failed to screenshot the entire picture. What they put back up was only half of it and did not convey the information that I needed it to. So I reloaded the full copy of the picture. Apparently that was a big mistake. The stupid computer removed it again! I tried sending another new message through the online messaging system and never even got an answer just “this case is closed” message. Maybe @TheInsider has some insight on this one?
#1 advertisement #2 it’s not related to your actual listing #3 your picture must show your property included in any photo in some way (backyard view is fine type of thing) #4 this is a dumb policy BUT if they allow these types of pictures then they’d have to allow neighborhood picture THEN that PITA guest will complain the neighborhood wasn’t as pictured and leave a bad review. Host will call in to support and they’ll go through even more denied review disputes.
Oh I absolutely agree. I just know that I this case it was flagged due to appearing to be an ad but the automated email sent covers both ads and neighborhood pictures.
They don’t seem to notice if you put contact information in the caption, though. I saw a listing with a picture of the host’s car and a link to their Turo listing.
Thank you @TheInsider for your insight. Had the message included any of those points it would have made sense. However, it specifically states the picture was removed because it has “Contact Information “ when in fact, it does not. Add to that it was reviewed and approved and reinstalled.
Whatever program they are using is total crap if they are relying on it to catch contact information and it doesn’t do it correctly.
Sorry, nope. The message had NOTHING to do with it being an ad. It specifically says it was removed because it appears to have Contact Information. The link in the message leads to information about protecting your payments.
What we have to remember here is that it is a computer (stupid or not). Someone somewhere has written some sort of program that recognises text. And the picture contains text. True, it isn’t contact information but computers being ‘stupid’ they’re not quite up to differentiating.
Also I don’t think it’s worth making a fuss about. There’s a local music festival here annually and both apartments get booked well in advance for it. If they’re looking at your listing, then they’re looking for accommodation in your area, so the chances are that they’re going to the festival anyway.
@jaquo, I ended up choosing a different picture to represent the Festival. It was just based on principle that I made any effort to reinstate the original in the first place. I am generally a literalist and it annoyed me that the picture had NONE of the offending or not allowed information included in it. However, when a second attempt to deal with it hit a wall, it was no longer worth the effort. My aim in posting here was to, of course, vent, get possible insight from @TheInsider, and share the experience possibly saving someone else from having to deal with similar.
I wanted the picture to catch the eye of prospects that were looking for a place close to the Festival. We are within walking distance but no parking issues. I already have it noted in the text portion but we all know how well most guests read
You’ll probably find that you don’t have to do it in the future as your guests will either stay with you again or recommend you to other festival goers. Our guests can freely park outside the apartments but they are just over a mile away from the venue. Last years both couples, formerly strangers to each other, shared ubers to get there and sat on the deck together when they were at home. They said that they’d be staying in touch with each other. That’s nice.
