I was not charged and the photos are very nice.
Good for you but if I paid $150 and others didn’t I’d be so mad. Glad to know that they are approving people doing the private room thing and only hosting a few people per year. It’s hard to imagine my room ever qualifying but never say never. Hopefully it will help you get those badly needed bookings.
I just received this
We took a look at the current listing photos for 
Your OWN PRIVATE POOL and CASITA! and are really impressed! Airbnb Plus recognizes homes known for quality, comfort, and style. It’s designed to help your listing(s) stand out and earn even more. The first step is to schedule an in-person home visit.
Schedule yours by November 24 and we’ll waive the $149 application fee.
Looks like hosts are turning this down, so they are no longer charging
Wait, wait, wait??? Once plus comes to your neighborhood, you HAVE to do it if you are a “chosen one”??? I’m starting to see my plus preview on my property page… I don’t think my space is “plus worthy” because it’s too small, but its still good to know.
Show me the money.
Show me your projections of what my business will look like in one year if I redecorate to your satisfaction and hand you over control.
That’s what I call Host control.
Watch out for Airbnb Plus. I received an invitation for my two properties in early November waiving the $149 fee if I booked my appointment before November 16th. I booked both properties for November 13th. No response from AirBnb. It appears airbnb has a separate company for plus. They call it “Onboarding” You NEVER hear from Onboarding and it appears that the airbnb support can’t reach them either. Anyway, I called support to tell them I had not received confirmation around November 9th. They assured me that I would be hearing from “Onboarding” soon. Again, no response. To airbnb’s credit, they did keep reaching out telling me that they also were not getting response. I finally received a message 2 days ago from airbnb support (not onboarding) to try and make an appointment for both of my properties. I responded that I would, so long as they would still waive the fee. airbnb support assured that if a fee was charge, they would waive it. So… I booked both appointments of which they did note the charge. After making the appointments, I called to confirm that the fee would be waived. Now, it’s in question??? Really??? So, I said fine. I don’t want the appointments, please cancel of which I was told I would STILL be charged the fee of $149 for each appointment.
Unfortunately, I did not know about this forum. If I had, I wouldn’t have bothered. I don’t want airbnb plus to handle my account regarding text and photos. I feel like I was swindled - because I was!
Welcome to the forum @sherrylom! That’s insane! It sounds like Air has lost control of their own company. If you look at Plus Cities, you won’t find many that are Plus rated and I don’t think it’s because that few of homes make the cut. Plus is a sham. Look at the photos…they are soulless and each city looks the same. Where did the idea come about that homogenization would be a step forward? And that seasoned, already booked up hosts need Plus to take complete control over their listing? Insanity starts at the top
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Let us know what you learned!!!
Not a whole heckuva lot. The host had surgery the day of my arrival, and had someone covering for her. Check in was a little screwed up as a result. I was not terribly impressed with the place once I got inside. The cleanliness was not what I was expecting (for a normal Airbnb experience, never mind that this was a Plus), and I thought the place was cluttered with too many tchotchke (which was part of the cleaning issue). She normally provides her guests with bottled water, but there was none there when I arrived. She phoned after the first night to say that she was bringing some bottled water by the next day, but never did. As a result, I wasn’t able to have a conversation with her about the Plus program.
I haven’t reviewed her yet, but because I know how the system works, I am loath to give a fellow host anything less than five stars unless the experience is really awful. Which it wasn’t. I will probably give her a five star review, and a four star rating for cleanliness and check in, and give her specifics in the private feedback.
How is Plus working out for hosts?
Please review honestly. Please.
I’m just wondering if this is fair to those of us who bend over backwards being great hosts?
I sometimes see listings which are obviously not of a high standard and yet they get five star reviews - is this why?
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Wait, is there a minimum size??? They are coming to vet our listings on Tuesday and they’re 8’x10’ shipping container tiny homes.
I’m also worried about losing control of the copy in our listing, since we are unique. we’re an ecofairtrade listing, so we emphasize the green and fair trade aspects of what we do… also, part of the draw is our meadow, which it sounds lie they wont feature. And I swear – If they use language like “chic” in the title, I’m going to puke.
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I’m very generous with my praise (in public comments) when I think someone has gone above and beyond. In those cases where I felt things could have been better, I do briefly note the issues in my review but I will go into greater detail in my private feedback - I think that’s sort of the point about having that option. In fact, I just read the latest reviews on this particular property and they all were extremely positive except for one who wrote, “I have given (host) a few recommendations…but all were minor and should not impede a wonderful experience.” But I’d rather give a higher overall rating and mark them down in the subcategories.
In this particular situation, the issues I had with check in and cleanliness were these:
- I was told the key would be left under the doormat, and it wasn’t. I texted the host’s friend, who didn’t immediately reply, so I messaged the host and she tried calling her friend. Meanwhile, I tried the door and found that it was unlocked, so I messaged the host back to say I was able to get in. (I’d give the check in a 3 due to the lack of clear directions.)
- There were grimy fingerprints/smudges on the inside of the front door, and along the edge of the bathroom (pocket) door, as well as on the switch plates throughout the unit.
- The bathroom windowsill over the toilet was dirty.
- There was a small smear of blue toothpaste on the shelf over the sink in the bathroom.
- There were lots of partially used personal products on the shelves in the bathroom which I thought looked awful. I don’t want to see someone else’s two half empty boxes of tampons on “my” bathroom shelf.
- The bedside table had the peel off backing from a maxi pad in the top drawer, which I thought was kinda gross.
- The freezer was full of previously opened food (the refrigerator was mostly empty, but had things like fish oil and probiotic capsules in the door). There was no ice, nor was there space to put ice, or an ice cube tray (if I had been able to find one). This is a dedicated “entire home” rental, so I don’t know why the host keeps leftover food in there - it’s not like those items would appeal to anyone renting the place.
Perhaps I’m being picky, but these things did not make me feel like the place was special/Plus in any way.
In this particular situation, though, I felt badly for the host due to her having had surgery on the day I arrived. Yes, she’s ultimately responsible for what her surrogate did (or didn’t do), but I completely understand how things like that can happen. (Heaven knows I freak out if I must have someone else clean and prepare my apartment for a guest’s arrival.) I just didn’t feel like I should slam her in my review - it felt like kicking her when she was down.
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Hmmm…I rent out entire houses on AirBnB. I have personal supplies in a cabinet in the bathroom (toothbrushes, deodorant, shaving creme, body wash, pads, bandaids, toothpaste, etc. Guests have opened and used some of the products (like the pads) and left the opened box. Are you saying this would bother you and you would rank the place down for it?
Guests leave food in the fridge all the time. Most of the time they can’t take it with them. So an opened loaf of bread, or carton of ice cream, for example, are you saying that having that in the fridge would be a reason to think less of the experience with that AirBnB rental? I always tell the guests to help themselves to anything in the fridge or cabinets in the way of food. I always throw out anything that isn’t fresh. Most have appreciated having some food there, I thought. I always leave them bread, eggs, milk and butter. Other guests have left jams, jellies, condiments, etc. would those bother you?
The questions are for everyone, not just the OP. I’m truly curious if these things are a turn-off.
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I don’t mind the bathroom items if they’re in a cabinet. Or even out on a counter if they’re neatly arranged like they are in a hotel.
But there were torn open boxes jammed on the shelf with about a dozen small bottles of shampoo and lotion (most of which were mostly used up), and a long hair tangled around the bottle cap of one of them that dangled over the edge. Kinda like this:
The freezer had an opened box of veggie burgers; obviously, some of them had been eaten but the remaining ones were probably freezer burned (I’m not going to try them to find out). There was a large clear package of some sort of meat (unlabeled), and bags of frozen veg that had been partially used. There were other items in there that I couldn’t identify. It was not as if the items had been properly labeled and stored for a future guest’s use.
Personally, I don’t think you are being picky at all. I understand about the host’s surgery but I would be appalled if those happened in our rental when a guest arrived. Whether it was her or the person who was standing in for her, the issues you describe showed a real lack of attention to detail.
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Respectfully, you aren’t rating the host’s personal life. You are rating the listing and this one certainly sounds substandard.
This reminds of my teacher days. A top student would turn in a B paper but complain about getting a B and in come the excuses: my grandma was sick, I had four tests, band competition was this weekend, etc. But none of that changes the requirements for the assignment. Then I have to hear excuses about how this endangers their position in the class or how they never get Bs, (or Cs…) Or they tell me how much they like me or the class. None of that is germane.
If in fact this is a one-off situation then it will even out in the averages. But if a substandard place gets top marks when they don’t deserve it it isn’t fair to other guests or even other hosts who truly provide a 5 star place. It also wasn’t fair to you. Only what was fair to the host was considered and in the long run that helps no one.
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I hear you. I ended up giving her 4 stars overall, a 3 for cleanliness and 4 for check in. I think the place was a bargain at $90/night, even with the (I looked it up just now) outrageous $95 cleaning fee.
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Most hosts have leftover stuff. Often, it’s simply because the guests need to buy items while they are staying (sun block, mosquito repellent etc.) that they won’t really need at home but can’t take on the plane. I leave them for the next guest (unless they are really good quality in which case I take them for myself) but point out during the house tour that they have been left by guests but are too good to throw away. Ditto foodstuff if they are things like olive oil or vinegar.
But I just checked one of our rentals because guests just checked out - they have left half
a pot of jam, half a large bag of salad greens, half a bar of chocolate (better willpower than me!) but there’s no way I’d leave those for guests. That’s just sloppy.
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