Stuff like this takes a very long time. You chip away at it every week. It takes great patience. I am not expecting instant results. And maybe, nothing. But I will say that the culture is supposed to be one big family, it’s time to see Dr. Phil. Or Judge Judy
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This thread is why I keep saying hosts should be on EVERY listing site. You can get slammed or delisted or tied up and have all your bookings suddenly canceled.
You need to be on ABB, FlipKey, HA/VRBO, B.com, Craigslist, etc.
People have reasons they don’t, but they are wrong. You just have to price each site to reflect its shortcomings.
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I think the attorneys for the guest and AirBNB itself, and the judges, are starting to feel sorry for me!!
Agree regarding whole house rentals.
If you are homesharing, it’s more or less 98% AirBNB, and some Craigslist and Tripadvisor and Homeaway (2% in total), at least around here.
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UPDATE
The one star review is GONE, but mine remains on his. Looks like using Facebook works and have such an outlier review and the obscene message via the inbox gave the situation weight
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The guesthouse next door is almost all BDC for its 4 Rooms
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Thank you Klatchers. Most of,my bookings are direct now.
The key is to be the mosquito in the mix. You could be looking at 12 months yourself. But it’s nothing compared to the hoops the legal department is going through. Be prepared for a last minute offer to settle,with a non disclosure clause.
Already got that back in February and declined due to the paltry amount and the NDA.
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Sometimes they will argue that a reasonable offer was refused by you. But I like your style.
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Is the owner on-site? Just curious.
Another drawback on BDC is “no maximum stay” limits. (unless this has changed.) Which would really crimp your privacy if you were an on-site host.
As someone who used to be a ‘PR Director’, I’m sure you understand Airbnb will use channels that their market research has shown them work best to reach they various target markets both in terms of guests and hosts.
If they have invested in a paid for magazine, they must have research that demonstrates it helps grow awareness and trust in their brand with their target market.
Airbnb advertise widely in Europe across a variety of channels including online/social print/broadcast/print/ambient/promotions which all reach the public. I’m sure they use some of these channels in your area. However broadcast and print ads I’ve seen are either selling the brand or popular destinations, you are unlikely to see ads in your area, promoting that area.
Helsi: As a former PR Director, I know it would be helpful for Airbnb headquarters to survey us North American hosts, if “we” could use more national and/or regional advertising. You are fortunate Airbnb advertises often in Europe, as I assume your rental unit is in Great Britain.
It does not take a retired 36-year-career PR Director to know the Airbnb quarterly-magazine is ONLY mailed to hosts and not to the general public looking for a vacation stay. As I earlier stated, Airbnb should use that magazine-publishing money to buy more advertising directed to the general public.
Has Airbnb surveyed what are the demographics (ages, incomes, etc.) of those travelers using Airbnb most and why isn’t Airbnb sharing that information with us hosts?
One forum member once said, he saw an Airbnb TV commercial two years ago during the televised Super Bowl USA football game. What has Airbnb done in advertising since then to keep-up with the many VRBO and Booking.com commercials I now see?
Helsi, may I ask your current or former occupation(s), as this is the second time you have told of mine on Airbnb Forum?
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What is the basis for your declaration that it’s ONLY (emphasis yours) mailed to hosts? Best I can tell it’s available for anyone to subscribe to.
I’m sure they’ve done the former, I can’t recall about the latter. However, information is easily available to those who want it.
Here’s a couple I found with a quick google search
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KKC: I have never subscribed nor paid for the Airbnb magazine. It magically appeared in my home mailbox a few months after I became an Airbnb host.
There were many articles (with nice photos) about unusual and exotic Airbnb rental units; but nothing else to help me improve as a typical host.
Thanks for those two weblinks!
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So is the totality of your knowledge about the magazine based on it being mailed to you quarterly?
It’s a travel magazine produced in conjunction with Hearst. I don’t think it’s intended to do anything in particular for hosts, least of all help you improve. Airbnb does provide emails and a host newsletter. You can subscribe to get their press releases. They have a “help” section as well as the Airbnb community forums on the Airbnb website that are moderated by Airbnb employees.
Snail mailing hosts something to help them improve as hosts would be a more colossal waste of money than the magazine purportedly is.
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FWIW, Don, I agree that the magazine is probably not the best of ideas and I think it’s curious to launch a magazine when magazines everywhere are failing. It looks slick and I put it in my Airbnb room. Maybe barnacle covered old Hearst thought they would hitch their wagon to what they saw as a star of the new economy.
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@Don_Burns I agree with your assessment of the magazine → well put together, beautiful photography, but rather useless articles*. I leave it in my guest house for those ABNB guests to peruse. One thing that you might be unaware of is that I have actually seen it at US Airport Newstands for sale.
*an exception was this article that I sent it to some relatives who recently relocated to this area where this article’s focus was.
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Airbnb aren’t going to ask hosts if they ‘could use’ more advertising - hosts are hardly going to say no are they are they 
As I said in my earlier post Airbnb do advertise in Europe but it tends to be generic brand advertising or promoting big cities. I wouldn’t expect them to promote my city/area.
It’s pretty irrelevant how other STR brands use their advertising budget, Airbnb doesn’t need to ‘keep up’ with them. It is the leading global brand for STRs by a mile. Airbnb will invest their marketing spend in activities that work best for them in terms of growing their brand, attracting hosts and guests and managing stakeholder relationships with government and communities.
It’s relevant to mention your profession as you are, I think you said a former publicity or PR director, talking about the marketing of the Airbnb brand, but seem to be struggling with understanding Airbnb’s marketing approach.
I mention my former professions on here from time to time so happy to mention them again. Trained as a journalist, spent most of my career in the charity sector heading up communications/campaigns for national/international charities and have set up my own charity supporting women who are homeless.
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Helsi: From one professional journalist to another: Thanks for telling me your career background!
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