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Yes, I have it from an inside source that those employees that Airbnb let go and made public were only the ones who were give a severance package. In addition to those 1900 employees, they also quietly laid off 80% of their low level customer service staff.
It’s little wonder that their CS has become virtually non-existent. I don’t know how they think they can run a company like this which is all about human interaction. No only are they losing hosts, they are losing a lot of guests.
They’re working for some Philippine sweatshop contractor. All they want to do is read the script and take home enough to feed their family. If they tried to organize, they’d be fired.
This is entirely my point.
Sweat shop workers keep their heads down.
Guests and hosts don’t scream bloody murder.
Nothing changes!
Does an Executive MBA w accounting classes count? 
I’m quite sure that would do but do you really want to debase yourself that much counting sooo much money? And, it’s not going to get you into CS so you could do a Norma Rae.
I don’t see this as being any different than hosts who complain for years that Airbnb doesn’t do one thing or another that they want, yet continue listing with them. And this isn’t to blame. Everyone here knows perfectly well that Airbnb is the best listing site in the US. Everyone wants someone else to DO SOMETHING!
There is no way in hell that ABB is the best listing site in the US!!! NO WAY. An hour and a half wait time on a call? You call that the best? Canned responses then … NOTHING! I get, at best, one-third of my bookings from ABB. VRBO is the rest of my bookings AND my last calls to them: 7/27 12 minutes, issue resolved; 7/4 9 minutes, issue resolved; 5/12 19 minutes, issue resolved.
If your “best” means overcharging guest on sales tax (NM GRT), admitting the error and then doing NOTHING to change it in nearly a year, then you have a very different standard than I do. Again, VRBO fixed in 6 weeks, three of those were documenting the error.
I’m trying to get some response from other hosts. MAYBE, if enough of us complain enough, ABB might wake up. The only reason I’m continuing with ABB at this time is for this purpose because I could certainly do without this BS.
I’ve never spent an hour and a half on a call. Over 800 bookings and I’ve probably only called them or chatted or emailed about 20 times total. I’ve had very few problems and my listing is not like many folks listing. But yes if you want a site to bring you bookings and collect the payment most of the time, they appear to be the best in the US, they certainly are for me. If you have a stand alone vacation home I hear that VRBO is good as well.
What purpose? Over a year you’ve been complaining but you are still listing on Air and letting them overcharge your guests? If you are happy with VRBO then why are you continuing to reward Airbnb.
So you’re spending this money and effort in a Quixotic quest to get Airbnb to change? Maybe they will in the future but they don’t seem to have much interest. You’ve also been posting here for months and there doesn’t seem to be much response from fellow hosts.
I’m not unsympathetic to your plight but I don’t understand your thinking at all.
I’ve listed on Airbnb, VRBO, Houfy & Booking.com
I think which one is better is related to the type of listing.
VRBO I listed on for one year & got two bookings. Booking. Com no bookings in a year. Houfy no bookings BUT that was my fault (lack of payment methods).
2015-2019 Airbnb pretty much kept my listings booked. 2020 is an awful year but Airbnb can’t make people travel.
Also the competition in my area is heavy so several property managers have deeply discounted the nightly rentals to get as many nights rented as possible thus keeping service providers like housekeeping & linen services working (separate fees) while proving some revenue (albeit small) for the Owners.
I’ve had good support from Airbnb
If I was unhappy I would leave Airbnb like I did VRBO.
Airbnb will only change if they:
1 get consistent feedback from A majority of hosts when soliciting our opinions
2 A significant number of hosts leave
Airbnb is now so big neither of these things will happen.
For every unhappy host there will be another joining. When Airbnb allowed property managers to join, they guaranteed a potential endless supply of listings
…Please grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and wisdom to know the difference …
Issue #1
I kept hoping that someone at ABB would see the light, do the right thing and fix the tax rate. If they’re doing it here … how many others are getting screwed, possibly without knowing it? One CS rep admitted it was wrong and they would change it but it might take a couple of weeks. That was last September. I just tell guests now they are being overcharged and there’s nothing further I can do and suggest they use another platform or book directly if they wish to return.
Issue #2
We had a booking for an event in June, it was Covid cancelled. Guest and I agreed to re-book it for next year so changed the dates on the reservation. Come the original date of the event and ABB took the balance of the money due for 2021, over a thousand dollars. Would not allow guest to cancel without keeping all her money. So I got on the phone. Nope that’s the rule don’t care if the new booking is a year away payment is taken based on the original booking. We get to keep the money for a year+. Kept trying to call and no way to get through.
Issue #3
The bulk of my complaints and postings have been on Issue #1, I’ve only been trying raise some awareness very recently; especially with the layoffs, billion dollar influx and now an IPO. And I have no idea why you think I’m spending money, time yes but I thought it might be worth it to try and right some wrongs. Especially when I see all the frustration at no assistance from ABB.
Silly, stupid me.
I am sorry, but when someone, especially an ABB Moderator, makes this kind of ABSOLUTE statement “Everyone here knows perfectly well that Airbnb is the best listing site in the US.” it needs to be called out. I’m very happy that you’re happy with ABB and I’m sure lots of folks are. But I’ve seen a lot of discontent recently, especially with all the people thrown out.
Everyone can stop suggesting that I should walk. I will walk when I want to walk.
I’m not an “ABB Moderator.” This site is not affiliated with Airbnb. It’s privately owned and I’m a volunteer moderator. It says so clearly in the header of the site.
So if you’ve been posting here all these months thinking it was going to have an impact on anything airbnb does, you are wasting your time. And now you’re just embarrassing yourself.
LOL. Your posts show that you are allowing airbnb to take advantage of you while also trying to play the victim.
Hmmmm. I had a similar situation and I was able to refund the guest’s payment except Airbnb fees. I did it through the Resolution Center.
As a CSR I wouldn’t be counting any money…
“Best listing site” I believe was referring to the fact that it gets you the most bookings.
It doesn’t mean that it’s best in terms of customer service and fair policies. I don’t think anyone here would argue that it is.
I understand your frustrations, but you are very naive in thinking that host complaints make an iota of difference to Airbnb. You seem to think other hosts are just silent little milquetoasts. Tens of thousands of hosts have sent feedback to Airbnb on tons of issues and made their voices loud and clear. Airbnb doesn’t care.
Absolutely. And that’s what most of us want and need. I don’t need them to do anything else. Thanks to reading this forum and not just showing up a few times a year to complain, I learned early on in my hosting life (2015) not to count on Airbnb. I want bookings and payment, everything else I can work around.
I didn’t understand why a host like @casitacresta didn’t just adjust his rates and handle the tax issue himself. He says on his profile here "Our plan is to cover the basic annual costs of our two-bedroom, two-bath guesthouse, insurance, taxes, utilities, etc. Not looking for end-to-end bookings, maximize profits, etc. Just some nice casual, low-key bookings. "
Now I realize he’s been posting here for the last year thinking he was speaking to Airbnb.
You wouldn’t think it would be so hard to read the heading here, but it seems like quite a few posters entirely miss it.
We always say guests don’t read. I’ve long said “lots of people don’t read;” my experience as a school teacher. So many hosts don’t read either. It’s fine, I just feel badly for all that wasted effort by casita.
Oh, I am so sorry I left a couple of words from your title. I do know, and have always known, this site is not affiliated with ABB, but I have received direct responses from ABB so believe me, they do watch. But you’re right. It’s obviously a waste of time looking for hosts fed up with ABB. Too many obviously depend on the income. And I never implied anyone was a milquetoast.
I have already adjusted rates to absorb a good part of the county lodging tax since ABB took away the field to add other taxes since they’re collecting for the state. And, ABB is not consistent in the rate of overcharge to the guests. So, I will happily tell guests they are overcharged and encourage them to book directly should they wish to return.
I will continue being a part of this forum whether I continue with ABB or not, albeit with notifications off. I’ve usually found good information on other topics and hope I’ve offered some as well. I will certainly avoid topics that bring a moderator to bear. I use forums a lot and get a lot of assistance but this is the first instance I’ve run into where a moderator was belittling and demeaning to a member.