Airbnb not interested in protecting hosts who play by the rules

Yeah good point… I just tend to go straight for the jugular. I could have approached it in a much more measured way :wink:

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Noooo they won’t!
They quote it as the guests experience…

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I do think Airbnb cares about it. We’ve previously seen reports of people having their listing tagged due to have words imposed over the pictures. It could be innocuous like a picture of a parking space and the letters “park here.” But some hosts were putting their direct contact information on the photos. In your case I think the CSR just didn’t understand what your complaint was but when they figured it out they removed his phone number from the listing.

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Yes they will if it violates their review policy, it would be an absolute bugger to fight, but hey, I’ve plenty of time on my hands :wink:

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Oye you, I’m a Brit too, and kicked the godly one in the nuts firmly, without compunction.

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and you did it so well (note to self never to cross you! :wink:)

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I am quite nice really; most of the time, when life matters…

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Just focus on your own success, and keeping your property booked.

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Another “Brit” here and not naive (I hope). :crazy_face:

Truly, life isn’t a level playing field.

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Dear Mr Adam. Airbnb should be the one to worry about this Superhost not you. They are the one benefiting from the commissions or fees not you. Why don’t you mind your own business and worry less about this superhost and maybe more about what is going on in the world?

Ohhhh shhh!
You’re a bit late to the party aren’t you? Where have you been? Solving the world’s problems I guess.
Anyway we’ve moved on, but hey, thanks for your really valuable contribution to the thread. Right… you best get back to it sweetcheeks.

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I love your post which is full of humor!!

A lot of people working in the CS of Airbnb are incompetent.

I see nothing wrong in what that host is doing. Any host can do the same. I choose to work only with Airbnb at this time, however if in the future I decide to add another site such as VRBO or even list it on my own, that is my choice. The reason I don’t list it myself is the insurance that is provided by Airbnb. I have had a couple of problems with guests and I was always covered with them. I also appreciate that the taxes are submitted to the state and I have a great “paper trail”. Don’t worry about their being able to lower the price due to no fees, it is all subjective.

I’m glad you’ve had good luck with Airbnb’s assistance with guest problems. I hope you are aware that there are many instances of Airbnb not backing up hosts and if you have serious problems, Airbnb’s help will fall far short. I hope you’ve protected yourself with your own insurance policies, particularly if you have a separate, stand alone rental home.

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I had an interesting conversation with my current guest (who works for AirBNB). While I usually give my guests as much privacy and distance as they want, he asked to use the BBQ which is just outside my home office so it lent itself to a good discussion while his dinner cooked.

  1. Work from anywhere has them now contemplating leaving S.Francisco.

  2. He asked about the area and my views of the real estate market, as he and girlfriend are going to look at some investment properties. The interesting part of that was that he does not plan to list it on AirBNB or use as it as STR but rather use it as an LTR. The reason is because of his concerns about party houses and damage, especially since he would be remote landlord.

  3. He mentioned that he was initially involved in reviewing AirBNB LTR product. He too thinks the offering (quickly formulated because of Covid) doesn’t seem to be prudent, especially concerning squatters / eviction concern. He suggested that he believed that most hosts wouldn’t use AirBNB for LTR. I suggested to him that if AirBNB modified its LTR offering to include all the things a host (me) would need to do (Credit / Background checks, Security deposit, First/Last month rent, regionally appropriate leasing terms), and if the AirBNB profit margin was fair that I’d definitely consider using such a service. I suggested I could be on board if AirBNB offered a try and buy program where a guest books for up to 28 days on AirBNB STR, then Host / Guest has an option to convert to an AirBNB LTR product, IF such a product covered LTR concerns. He seemed intrigued.

  4. He was VERY surprised when I mentioned how supportive I was of AirBNB and the way they handled the Pandemic refunds. He said that they tend to only hear about the negative reaction hosts have had. I stated that the way AirBNB handled Covid and BLM made me that much more a fan of AirBNB. I mentioned this forum where I’ve heard a variety of opinions. I assured him that there are a lot of hosts, who like me, applaud AirBNB’s approach and look for them to succeed

  5. I did briefly discuss my technology concerns and some of the recent changes (email intermediary) He also echoed that some of the product decisions he finds confusing and agreed that adding the ability to attach a PDF on the messaging App seemed needed. He wasn’t aware that it wasn’t already possible.

  6. He asked me my view of AirBNB Plus, as it never seemed to take off. I explained:

  • most hosts don’t like that hosts have to relinquish control of the content and photographs in the listing to the PLUS team.
  • one of HIS initial inquiry questions I get asked all the time; that before PLUS I had a listing photo that made it clear but because I don’t select the content, I’m left to answer the same question over and over again.
  • I need to update my photographs but there is a very rigid process to do that, requiring me to take the exact same perspective picture and submit for review, for AirBNB Plus to repost.
  • it takes weeks to get those updates or any response on PLUS issues.
  • I’ve never had a guest tell me that they selected my listing because it was PLUS
  • the only reason I stay with PLUS is because it elevates my listing queue (consistently in top 10 according to Porter App).
  1. He and his girlfriend did compliment my listing, saying that they stay in a lot of AirBNB properties and their view of mine is it rates high if not highest of those they’ve stayed at. :smiley:
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Great info, thanks. And thanks for taking you time to not only let him know how we feel about some things but letting us in on some insider Airbnb info.

Aside from Airbnb, work from anywhere could have lots of folks moving away from high rent places, especially temporarily. Why live in NY or SF for the culture while so many things are shut down?

Just like any host forum is filled with complaints.

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I had a guest who has an online business and she doesn’t really have a home base, although she does own a home that she rents out on Airbnb and through other channels. Mostly she just travels and works from home.

She told me about an outfit, whose name I didn’t write down, so of course it’s gone from my old brain, which is designed for those who work online and arranges group travel all around the world for them. They make sure the places that are booked have reliable Wifi, a comfortable work station, etc. They get deals on flights, restaurants, places of interest in the area and other group perks.

She said what she didn’t like about it is that you are stuck with the group for the duration of the travel and, in her case, there was one woman she couldn’t stand, so it made things rather unpleasant for her and she eventually left the group and made her own arrangements.

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Really? Is that a fact? We had a one-time one-star from this young girl who burnt holes in our comforter smoking indoors and left drug paraphernalia all around. When we charged her for it she left a one-star review. Lo and behold she went on to book two more rentals in our same resort and those hosts said she did the same thing there too. It was all there in writing and yet AirBnB still would not remove her damaging one-star review.

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That’s a very naive statement. Hosts with hundreds of 5 star reviews haven’t been able to get 1* retaliation reviews removed.

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