Why I'm leaving AirBnB

I got a very bad review on an other platform (basically that was frauding people…) and still get booking coming. It was the same a bad review and client didn’t pay…

Ya never know – could be the frying pan into the fire. If you’re 40°N or
better, I recommend a bird feeder – VERY cheering!

At 10:51 AM 1/25/2017, you wrote:

The ground is constantly shifting beneath our feet!

That, I’m afraid, is Life.

At 12:51 PM 1/25/2017, you wrote:

That’s what happens in free market economy. Supply and demand. Next year there may be a drop in rental availability and then you could resume hosting as prices rise.

Ace… How funny…no I don’t work for them, but sometimes I feel like I do because I am so beholden to them.

Canadian, it’s super tricky to write a response that reassures potential guests while avoiding more drama and defensiveness.

I’m a writer by trade and was so flattened by this I relied on my dear friends here to help me compose the perfect response, hold my hand and put up with my obsessiveness the last few days. You know who you are. :heart_eyes:

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I have hummingbirds about 6 month a year and am old enough that hopefully they will still be coming around until I die.

Sorry to hear that, Kona. You always seemed relatively positive about them. And of course, you are a veteran. :slight_smile: What happened to upset you so much? If you don’t mind me asking.

Hi Johnny I did try that a couple of days ago and no response but have tried again. I said I tried to register but now realize I had only submitted my email. Fingers crossed because I am very curious about this company and the options.

Faheenm, I will PM you.

@MaryJO. You’ll soon receive an invitation code to access and register on the platform.

Thank you.

I am also considering quitting Airbnb… despite nothing but 5 star reviews and superhost status, my listing is buried and I have been told by returning guests that they cannot find it and they had to dig up an old message to reach out to me. My rooms are beautifully decorated, spacious, impeccably clean, and incredibly private, all for $51/night. I have been updating pictures / descriptions, changing the titles, adding new listings - anything to bump the ranking, but no results. We are looking into LTS options, since my husband works for a large company that has internships.

Just so sad that it’s been quiet, I really enjoying hosting and meeting people. It was great extra money (but hardly get rich money at $51/night!) and the work wasn’t too onerous. Since the oil and gas business is in a complete bust, it was filling in for my regular work as a freelance graphic artist.

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Thank you for your post @ace.

At the end of the day we are a business, and we need to make decisions based on our business needs.

If you aren’t making enough through BNB and it’s causing you stress there is no point you continuing. You are absolutely right to look at other sources of income.

I am fortunate in that unlike many hosts I own my place outright and don’t need the income to support me or to pay a mortgage.

I only let my place out for a few days each month as and when it suits me, because I enjoy the company, I like being a host and I use the money to help do up my new home. If it gets to the stage where it becomes stressful or it makes me unhappy I will stop.

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Sorry to hear this @konacoconutz…sending you virtual hugs :slight_smile:

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We had ruby-throats and Anna’s when we lived at 8,000 ft, just west of
Boulder, and my cat was fascinated, hypnotised – until one of the hummers
tuned her up of a sudden – no injuries, but she stuck to chipmunks after
that…

At 01:44 PM 1/25/2017, you wrote:

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I wish I had that luxury. I am loathe to admit that the income from STR, and mostly Air, completely pays my mortgage every month, minus a few expenses.

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There’s nothing wrong in using income from BNB to pay your mortgage, just have a few other options up your sleeve that you can use, if it gets too much .

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For a while I was updating my Google calendar several times a day, but that
too stopped working after a while. If AirBnB’s priority is to grow host
numbers, it would make sense for them to jig the search algorithm to favor
new hosts, right? They figure (rightly or wrongly) that they have us
old-timers hooked already.

Please make an effort to ignore their groovy marketing jibjab –
“community,” “love,” “puppy-dogs and rainbows” – and remember: this is
not a co-operative, or a cartel of hosts; this is a corporation and they’re
out to make money. Expecting sympathy from them is like iron ore expecting
sympathy from the steel mill, or a steer expecting sympathy from the
slaughterhouse – we are one of their raw materials.

All that said, if there are ten people out there who can demonstrate that
they have been damaged – financially, not emotionally – by AirBnB through
unfair or deceptive business practices, there is a lovely lawsuit to be
had. And the timing could not be better: they’re continuing to raise big
wads of cash to expand, and the threat of a nice fat settlement with
defrauded hosts, along with a super-cute cease-and-desist order, would get
their attention and pronto-prontissimo.

At 05:33 PM 1/25/2017, you wrote:

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Airbnb made all users agree to a binding arbitration/no class action clause.

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Coco dahlin’, most things work until they don’t – when they stop working,
you have to make the effort to drum up something else. Hard saying, but true.

At 05:50 PM 1/25/2017, you wrote:

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Well in fairness, this is the only real terrible review I’ve received after hosting hundreds of guests over seven years. It’s been a real challenge. I will get more bookings but I am sure this review will tarnish me and scare some potential guests off. And this was after I refunded the guest, and bent over backwards to address her concerns.