Is this forum hosted by AirBnB? I see something like the AirBnB logo, but it isn’t quite the same. Do AirBnB employees respond to issues raised? How are the moderators associated with the forum or AirBnB?
This is a site primarily for hosts on AirBnb. It is not affiliated with AirBnb. For any customer complaint issues please contact them directly.
After reading lots of responses, I don’t believe it’s not affiliated. There seem to be a lot of ‘damage control’ type posts, things like blaming the host for not having psychic abilities to predict when a potentially awful and disrespectful guest enters a home and causes emotional disarray or terror. These things absolutely can not always be predicted. The standard reply is ‘only accept people with reviews’. Hmm. Well who is going to take those first few bookings so a new user gets reviews? Someone’s going to bite the bullet and be the lucky or unlucky chump. And then we have the fact that most people have often stated they don’t review bad guests, because they don’t want retaliation (a real fear), or to cause more drama. There are so few negative reviews, it is almost impossible to find a reviewed guest that doesn’t have the generic ‘great guest’ reviews. Many of these have been not as great as I would have hoped. Did I review? Nope. For the reasons above. The one time I did, when a person tried to blackmail us with a bad review if we didn’t refund their money, Airbnb removed my review. and the fraudster was allowed to go on happily booking, with the next potential host none the wiser.
By the way, I am a super host for what it’s worth!
1 Like
It’s definitely not affiliated. Airbnb would be much sleeker, and buggy, too! Besides, Airbnb doesn’t have the manpower to keep tabs on all the forums out there.
I am a former Airbnb employee but don’t go to bat for them.
3 Likes
With some posts here akin to being the exact same articles appearing on airbnb’s website, it’s hard to believe. In the very least employees plant their little blurbs on how us little hostee’s should all provide the generic experience with our little treat boxes and cakes for birthdays, and other things to run ourselves ragged over to make guests expectations ridiculously high for an insanely low price.
Sandy, I’ve wondered about this myself. The promotion of chocolates, champagne, flowers to get good reviews and happy guests – WTF? I don’t get all three of those in one day from even my freakin husband but I’m supposed to provide this to every guest who arrives?
I can’t tell if its AirBNB promotion or if some hosts just get a little OCD about pleasing their guests and lose perspective.
2 Likes
It’s airbnb promotion. I don’t think the bulk of airbnb hosts could possibly provide these things and still make worthwhile money from what we’re doing. Not to mention the added work, pressure, time. Every single thing added to the to do list will very quickly show itself to be a commitment you should think very well about before starting. Because once guests start mentioning that they got this or that in their reviews, then everybody expects the same - trust me, I’ve learnt this.
We advertise as a private room for instance, not even offering breakfast, because we are very busy, and our rooms are huge and beautiful for the price they pay, and we supply great coffee and tea and fruit. Nonetheless, once or twice we got bagels from our fantastic local bagel place to share with some favorite guests. Well, guess what? They included this in the review, and suddenly ever guest turned up expecting it. Then we had guests declaring they were vegan and expecting us to go out and buy special vegan cream cheese, and soy milk. So now every morning we have guests, my husband has to get up ultra early and do a bagel run. It was a fine occasional, but not so fun thing to have to do.
We have five star reviews on all our rooms, and as I mentioned are superhosts for whatever it’s worth (not not that much), but we never supply any of those things. It would eat into the profits that are already extremely hard earned, but more importantly the time and energy that is involved is pushing it even at this point. I have given half bottles of champagne to anniversary guests a few times- and found myself annoyed when they didn’t even bother to review after my extra efforts, so stopped. I put fresh flowers from my own garden on the table when available.
I may be different to others, who claim they enjoy all the guests that come visit. I find at least a quarter or more of people that visit our home to be relatively unlikable, and find it hard to enjoy sharing my home with the kinds of people that have clearly come to use my home as a kind of cheaper hotel. I really love my home, and it has lots of beautiful things in it, so there’s always the worry about breakage (yes, guests have broken my favorite antiques), and damage to the house. People throw their luggage onto my delicate little sofa from the 18th century, trudge over our Persian rugs and historic wood floors in hiking boots covered in salt, mud (in the winter we ask people to remove them, but many don’t bother). Our favorite and very expensive antique was stolen, and went unnoticed so that we couldn’t totally identify who did it, although we are pretty sure (it was in a position that meant it was not visible all the time). This is our home, so we can’t just pack everything away.
It might be obvious by now, but if we didn’t need the money at the moment due to being artists and having to support ourselves with supplementary income presently, we would never in a million years do airbnb. We absolutely hate it. I am very surprised everyone else seems to love it so much.
2 Likes
I’ve only done this a short time – 4 months – but so far I’ve had good experiences with renting a small in-law apt in the basement of my home.
I think the biggest factor for me in reducing my stress is that I don’t have any nice stuff in the rental. I even get annoyed when people don’t take shoes off in the apt (I have impractical, natural stone floors that cost $500 to have power cleaned every year). I can’t imagine how stressed out and resentful I would be if I had my nice things down there. Could you replace your good items in rented rooms with cheap duvet covers and rugs from overstock, TJ Maxx, etc?
Again, I haven’t done this for very long (18 visits) but so far guests have been pretty great, and a few of them have even gone as far as leaving gifts for my children (a LOUD 2 yo and 6 month old baby) in the apt when they leave. I’m so sorry that the people you’ve hosted have been terrible – I wish there was a way to screen these people out.
Yeah, I think the difference is they are given access to our whole home. So it is impossible to move everything nice and valuable out. And then it would be an added expense to refurbish all the rooms with cheaper furniture and rugs.
It is us that lives up on the top floor, in kind of a separate apartment. It’s most,likely down to something called burn out. I think many hosts experience this after a while. I never pictured myself growing up and being in the hospitality industry. I thought it was a horrible industry to be in when I did it as a teen! Another thing may be to do with the fact that our home is one of the most expensive in our area, so expectations are high. Obviously our personalities play into it. A bit of resentment that we’re even in the position of even having to accept people into our sanctuary to make some extra cash right now. Because the real truth is this. If we didn’t need the extra money, we’d never do this. Cleaning up after people, having to act happy that people are in your space and making a racket, taking away precious privacy, is nothing that my husband and I would call enjoyable. We come to bed each night and mutter how much we loathe it. I’m beginning to think it’s only us seeing as everyone else claims to be having such a wonderful time!
As we’ve discussed Sandy, I’m getting to the burnout too… Luckily or unluckily, I get quite a break in the summer as bookings in this part of Hawaii come to a grinding halt. Not just me but for all hotels and B&Bs.
I would book a lot less if I could increase business elsewhere.
I could not hack having them inside my house… They are downstairs in their own private unit and mostly good… But true and well said… there are still all the things you’ve mentioned that take a bit away from your life. I feel less like the professional writer I am and more like an innkeeper. Cleaning the bathroom is always the worst part. That and seeing what they’ve left on the sheets. Ewww.
An old friend asked me recently, “what are you doing for work these days,” and I regretfully had to answer, oh, you know, innkeeper!
2 Likes
Yes, we’re artists too, so know how the salaries aren’t week to week. It truly is embarrassing when other friends that know you for great work you’ve done ask what you’re up to, and you have to admit you’re playing Basil Fawlty. It’s actually depressed us more than having less in the spending account at certain times. We’re at the point of going back to the uncertainty, rather than putting up with this faux utopia.
2 Likes
Billy Bob, anyone can go to your profile, click on any one of the posts you have made and see that every single one has been to name call, argue (even pointlessly when you don’t know all the facts), or to brusquely make someone feel stupid. Although I do appreciate this sudden change towards trying to seem more caring, somehow I just don’t buy that you deeply care about my art and happiness. It’s just so contrary to the other Billy Bob we’ve seen here.
Perhaps if you spend some time using all that twelve years worth of joyous experience helping new members in a kinder way to navigate through the difficult issues they are dealing with, rather than simply picking on me and other members in such hateful and aggressive missives, a message like this won’t seem so laughable.
As for airbnb being your godsend, that’s wonderful for you. But you do need to understand that others have lives outside of airbnb, and it needn’t hurt or offend you that some people find it fails on many fronts, or is not all they hoped from the hype. If it bothers you so much to read the posts where I offload some of the frustrations that have built up for me over time, in chasing the airbnb dream, then I would suggest you don’t read them. After all, a forum is for sharing viewpoints, all different kinds, so we don’t feel alone.
But you can spare me the life advice - you’re really missing the point, or more than likely simply can’t help yourself being condescending as usual. I stick to an earlier statement I made. YOU are one of the reasons that airbnb could be someones biggest nightmare. They could end up either being a guest or host to someone like you. Heaven forbid dealing with someone with your personality issues in person. This, far more than any advice you could ever give is enough to make me want to close my doors asap.
One more time: if you would like to share the joys of this wondrous website, spend it kindly helping those seeking your advice rather than trying to give life advice to someone who neither asked for it from your nor wants it. This seems pathological, and as you mentioned earlier, is turning into stalking type behavior.
Please cease following me about trying to shut me up and trying to make out that I am defective, just because I have a different opinion to yours. You’re a bully and who tries to use shaming and put downs to prove that only your outlook is the right one, when in fact there are any number of possibilities for experiences and others have identified with what I am writing about.
I suggest you don’t read my posts, seeing as you seem to find them hard to tolerate without trying to find a way to control. As I have said and believe more and more the scarier you become as you try to hound me: people like you are the reason Airbnb is a very scary proposition.
I’m not an AirBnb employee and I don’t play one on TV, but suggestions such as providing chocolates on pillows or providing bottles of wine is certainly some things Hosts think is necessary and do it. Other hosts don’t because they don’t have time or the profit margin. Please realize that there is a wide range of folks who do AirBnb, all the way from lonely little old ladies with a spare room and a need for human companionship, to owners of multiple units who are glued to their spreadsheets everyday rather than a regular job. I choose not to put chocolates on the pillows (because I always ended up eating my inventory before it ever got to a pillow) or bottles of wine, because wine is exorbitantly expensive and rigidly controlled in Ontario, Canada. I do put out 2 bottles of Port and Sherry, because very few people drink it, but subliminally like the effort.
2 Likes
Please note we are NOT affiliated with Airbnb in any way. If we were then I’d gladly quit my day job!
We want to provide a place for hosts to ask questions, discuss issues and share their experiences. We also share articles, news stories and developments which may affect Airbnb hosts. Any opinions shared by us and other members are our/their own. Posts where we share how to become better Airbnb hosts are not in any way influenced by Airbnb. Yes, some of us leave our guests wine, food, flowers etc but we are not saying that hosts must or should. It’s just food for thought, like all the other suggestions on being a good host.
Oh, Beach_Guy… thanks for the laugh!
1 Like