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I presume our guests have also received something similar to this message from Airbnb CS
Because of severe weather conditions in Queensland, Australia, we wanted to pass along some local resources to help you stay informed.
Here’s what we recommend you do:
This current cyclonic system may affect up to approximately 200 kms of coastline. Queensland has 3,000 kms of coastline. They are doing more harm than good. They even have an incorrect link in the message.
Hosts don’t need to be informed by Airbnb about where to go for information and what to do in a challenging weather event.
They do the same thing for Hurricanes (USA Cyclones). It is a safety gesture.
Looks like you’ve got two large powerful systems that may hit a large area at the same time.
New to the coast & many guests are unfamiliar with what a hurricane can do. It is appropriate information be shared.
People can be foolish. A cat 5 hurricane was going to hit my area so I’m driving west (inland) as quickly as I can. Others were buying out the liquor stores for a hurricane party.
Remember at the start of the pandemic when the system would tell you that due to the recent event in [name of your city/town/village], the guest is cancelling and has been given a full refund?
Like COVID-19 was affecting only my tiny village in rural Canada. Just us few.
They are always a little over the top, and always making it specific to your area. It’s fine. At least guests cannot say they weren’t warned that weather (and pandemics) happen.
Ah but when they provide “such valuable services” such as THIS, then it is a total substitute for supporting hosts when guests cause damage, violate house rules, disable cameras, etc.
Ya gotta look at it from THEIR point of view (sarcasm)
So just to highlight the point of my post, that would mean that if a Cat 2 system was threatening southern Florida Airbnb hosts and guests in New York would be warned about the pending danger.
This is a good example of what I’m saying. TC Kimi Cat 2 is the only system threatening >10% of the Queensland coast. By including a link to the Joint Typhoon Warning Center it seems that you may be referring to TC Joshua which is closer to Africa than Australia.
Happy to do that as well. Just wondering if other online and high street travel agents also send this type of advice to their hosts and guests. eg. Does booking.com also warn guests about weather events?
If it was specific to our area then there may be a case for it.
I don’t know how storms in your area behave. Depending upon the projected storm path, yes a warning for the entire east coast FL to NY may be appropriate. 2012 Hurricane Sandy crawled up the east coast causing flooding & wind damage from FL to past NY. New Jersey & New York were especially hard hit.
You’ll get answers from Airbnb and just speculation from other hosts.
I would imagine that others OTAs (and other businesses in general) do it. Most businesses take any opportunity to contact their clients to remind them of their existence. As I said above, I get shedloads of unwanted hurricane advice during the season. Most organisations with a mail list see hurricanes, wildfires, any extreme weather conditions in fact as an opportunity to say “don’t forget us! We’re here and thinking about you!”
Do weather warnings only need to be given to hosts in the area of weather events? Or wouldn’t it be important to tell guests who are coming to the weather event area? I’m pretty confident this is NOT what air does - but I would be very happy and impressed if they took the initiative to tell folks that have booked with a host in a weather event area about the event they are traveling to?
As Airbnb is an Online Travel Agent we should be able to be certain that all guests have regular access to the internet. My own view on this is that guests booked to travel to a destination will already be following all sorts of information on their upcoming destination including weather. Do I need to pack a sweater? etc.
In case of a weather event like a hurricane or cyclone, as the system approaches populated areas updates are published by the relevant warning centres every 3 hours and even every hour. And it’s eye candy for the media.
As others have said here, it seems that it is a marketing exercise. The downside of this is that unless they target their warnings to guests more relevantly they are getting in the way of truth. Hosts don’t need warnings from Airbnb. As @jaquo mentioned, as owners or renters of properties we are inundated with information.
Yes, it seems that here, the hurricanes are sponsored by the Home Depot.
And the news always shows the queues of people lining up in Home Depot stores to buy plywood to board up their windows and I always wonder what did they did with the plywood they bought to board up their window last year?
The media have a field day with reporters in heavy-duty raincoats swaying in the breeze whilst behind them is a palm tree that’s not moving at all. All a con to make us spend money and/or panic.
@JohnnyAir I agree that it’s quite pointless. I don’t need a message from Airbnb to know that there is a hurricane barreling up the coast towards my area, I’m not living under a rock. Obviously such things are known to residents.
Jim Cantore (Weather Channel) …it’s ok with me if he gets a little over dramatic. I enjoy his camera face time.
Stupid story.
Hurricane was to make landfall north of Wilmington NC. It was girl-friends trip to beach weekend so we went with the intention of leaving if it looked like it was going to get serious.
Storm downgraded plus turned direction away from coast.
The 4 friends went out to dinner.
We left the restaurant. 3-Friends went to car. I lagged behind
I caught up and said, “ did y’all see Jim Cantore sitting on the deck?”
You’ve never seen three middle aged women (1-cane user, 1-broken foot, 1-arthritis knees) pour out of the car and hustle back to look at Jim Cantore so quickly.
We may not can climb stairs but we can zip across a parking lot when properly motivated.
