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!
In some locations Airbnb hosts have to be part-timers because of the limits on number of days a place can be a STR. So if Airbnb wants to have a good choice of rentals in a place like London they need to have a high number of part time hosts.
Is this assertion based on reading a few social media comments? Airbnb has always had an iffy reputation among some people. Yet in my own circle more and more people are using Airbnb or have heard of it. And I have a steady stream of new people booking my place. I had 8 bookings in Nov. One was a direct booking, 3 had prior reviews, 4 are new users. I had an inquiry last night for Dec, also a new user.
Have you found a decline in the quality of Airbnbs you stay in?
Why do you say that? They don’t need more hosts at all- there are far more listings than there are guests to fill them.
I think they just want a constant influx of new hosts to fill in the vacancies left by seasoned hosts who have left the platform in disgust at the way they’ve been treated (suspended based on some guest lie, having Airbnb reject a damage claim when some guest trashed the house, accruing penalties for cancelling a booking from guests who want to break your rules, having missing payouts for months, etc.,etc.)
They want starry-eyed new hosts who will fall for the gooey rhetoric about community and caring, how you’re totally protected by AirCover for any damages, who follow the absurdly low price tips, who are scared to write honest reviews of bad guests, and not post accounts of poor treatment by Airbnb on social media.
And they do want a race to the bottom. That’s basically exactly what Chesky said in this Winter “update”.
No, I do not think so at all, based on the recent Zoom meeting I attended.
They are concerned that their platform and procedures are too complicated, require too many decisions and too many clicks. Just too bulky. So I think this is an effort to streamline things.
I use a lot of filters when I search: type of place, price sliders, IB, SH, free cancellation, number of bedrooms, beds and baths if going with a group and using the map to search. I can’t filter by star ratings but that would be the single best option they could give me if it would be something like 4.5 and up. If it’s like Amazon and just 2-3-4 then that’s worthless. If there’s nothing suitable, then I start turning off the filters and searching again. Once I find a listing that seems okay I have to look at amenities, pictures, rules, reviews. It’s a lot of work to find the right one. Most people don’t have the kind of time I do to look for Airbnbs so they end up with a suboptimal one.
You are more knowledgeable than I am here. So you might simply be right and my comment that Airbnb needing more hosts mistaken.
But when I looked at the VRBO study it showed that in May 2020 only 12% of consumers were planning an international trip in the next 12 months but in July 2022 it’s 50% – a 4X increase. I imagine that Airbnb’s data is directionally similar.
I just looked at the “Airbnb 2022 Winter Release – Film” ‘starring’ Brian and he didn’t say anything implying a race to the bottom or needing more Hosts because of a surge in travel but maybe he did somewhere else.
I’m sure that Airbnb wants a healthy competition in pricing, to compete with alternative lodging, but I don’t know why they would want a race to the bottom because I don’t think that would be in their long-term interests and I don’t think that the company is stupid. Sometimes we might get that impression because of interaction with customer service reps but that’s about execution not strategy.
Anyway, I don’t feel informed enough to debate this. Nor is it important to me because either way I want more independence from the Airbnb platform and hope soon to be on OwnerRez. If you are right about Airbnb wanting a race to the bottom on pricing there’s no action I’m aware of, beyond what I’m doing, that I can take in response.
So I am left to hope that they’re not wanting that race to the bottom and focus on running our Airbnb as best I can and positioning myself to get direct bookings.
“The highest quality homes with the best total prices will rank higher in search results.”
“We started as an affordable alternative to hotels, and affordability is especially important today. During this difficult economic time we need to help our hosts provide great value to you.”
“To enable hosts to set more competitive prices, we’ll be launching new pricing and discount tools.”
Chesky must think hosts are idiots. As if “help our hosts provide great value to you” and “to enable hosts to set more competitive prices” isn’t totally transparent double-speak for “race to the bottom”.
every update they put on a big show about how wonderful they are to give us these new things, but actually they are secretly taking away important features. Every time. and if people don’t complain in the forums, it doesn’t get fixed.
There was a very good post on the thread you started about this survey, from mdornari, who said they have worked as a market researcher for 30 years. They outlined the faults with a study like this and pointed out that you have to know who was surveyed, which this survey does not mention, and what exact questions they were asked. Without that information, a survey doesn’t give you the knowledge required to know whether the conclusions are useful.
Yes, it’s fair. The way I look at it is we are simply covering Air’s credit card processing fee, and I’m fine with that. Three percent is on the lower end of CC processing costs…
I could be cynical and call it a marketing stunt. Instead, I’ll be good and just point out that this will only be of use to a very small group of hosts. Most of us don’t have homes worth $3 million.
