OK, please can someone explain to me why this is exciting? I don’t get it 
You almost had me hooked there, until I noticed “retired” 
JF
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I got the email yesterday, I have no intention of using it. I see no benefit to my business by sending business to Air. For a host who has no intentions of developing their business outside of Air then I guess sending your SOP (sphere of influence) contacts to Air may result in bookings, but it makes no sense to me.
RR
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I also see a serious downside to my business. Someone searches for my business and then they are directed AWAY to Air. No thanks
RR
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RR, good point. I have a website for our home and it has done surprisingly well for it’s first year. The last thing I want is to tie my home name to ABB for booking. If someone finds me on ABB and books that way, great. If they find my direct site, then that is wonderful! The last thing I want is for them to find my direct site and be steered away.
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I wonder if that’s intentional on Air’s part. Let your marketing work for them.
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Yes, I’m quite certain it is.
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It would be hard to believe that it’s not. I see no benefit for this host. Their are plenty of hosts who will be happy to never get a direct booking and keep air in the middle though.
RR
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Direct booking is huge risk in case of damages, etc.
Probably not so much in the US but anybody else working with international tourists will be happy to have middleman that can charge for damages
Who would that be? Air? ok…
RR
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I’d rather be the one collecting an actual security deposit and deciding how much (if any) gets returned than have Airbnb’s fake security deposit.
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Again. Maybe it works in US (I am pretty sure most of the US hosts use security deposit) but other parts of the world have hard time with any kind of security deposit (it gets avoided like a plague).
and only thing you are left with is a direct charge on the card. Since that requires at least some sort of authorization, most of the hosts are out of luck.
So, Airbnb is a last resort.
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The Airbnb security deposit is pretty worthless and you can only get money from a guest for damages if they or Airbnb agree to give it to you. YOu have no way to forcefully take it.
Airbnb helps some new guests feel reassured they are protected.
Airbnb has a market dominance that is unmatched by anyone in certain markets. Bookingdotcom is first or second in some markets. The advantage of Airbnb is that they bring you guests. If you find them on your own there isn’t much reason to use Airbnb, that’s why people are mocking this move by Airbnb. But there is no doubt that many hosts will use it and incorporate it into their branding with enthusiasm.
“Airbnb” is to homestays what “oreo” is the chocolate sandwich cookie (to use a US example).
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Do you mean, US hosts collect a security deposit when direct-booking? And that you wouldn’t be successful to do so where you are?
I’ve only ever (so-far) direct-booked known guests - repeats that I originally got off of Airbnb so didn’t feel like I need a deposit with them. I am curious now. For those hosts who direct-book, are you collecting a security deposit and how?
I collect a deposit, they sign a contract and submit their credit card information to my website and the money goes into my bank account. I have owner res as my booking engine.
RR
RR
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I charge their card the security amount at the time of the booking, along with the room rate and cleaning charges. It is detailed out on my invoice “Security deposit - to be returned if no issues”.
I haven’t had anyone complain yet, and I’m not worried about anyone that skipped us because of the deposit. I probably dodged a bullet with them …
The house is checked and the deposit returned to their card after check out. I much prefer having the funds on hand than a “Pay me please” promise from ABB. But - knock on wood! - we have been treated decently with ABB … so far…
No complaints either way, but I like having more control over my property, especially as the OTAs become more and more guest-centric.
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When I booked a home in Costa Rica via HA I was sent a contract and paid the deposit with credit card. After the stay I was refunded.
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Not exciting, but I jumped all over it when I got the email a few weeks ago, only because I wanted to grab my listing name, not because I intend to use it much. It is not like a URL with “forward slash, h, forward slash” in the middle of it trips off the tongue.
Does anyone know what happens if we lose superhost afterwards? Do we lose the unique URL? Do we get the same one back if we pull up our socks the next quarter? Or do we get to keep it forever? The latter makes sense, since they are encouraging us to use it for advertising, but making sense isn’t a big part of rollouts.
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Can you tell me if you register with the new domain, will the old air domain with the numbers still get you to your listing?
I don’t know for certain, but it would be a real dickmove if they were to make those addresses redundant!