AirBnB Hosts have had enough?

Question

More of the same stuff that we discuss frequently. This host is calling for a national 'boycott'....

https://www.businessinsider.co...

Leslie Anne Morris · Answer

If I was at the top of the house in Airbnb the number one problem I would be working to fix would be host support and truly understanding hosts and what hosts want.  This is another reminder to focus on increasing your direct booking!

Ryan Moyer · Answer

They're pretty much in a lose/lose situation.  Hosts hate them because they think Airbnb is too guest friendly.  Guests hate them because they think they're too host friendly.

We all live in our little host bubble, always talking to other hosts.  But if you step out into a situation where it's a bunch of people that don't own any properties talking about Airbnb.  Holy cow, they think the platform exists for nothing more than to cater to the hosts every minute of every day.  It's eye opening.

I do think they overreact to social media trends.  99% of my guests are nothing like the wave of social media complaints with "chore lists" or "fees", yet that is what they choose to react to.  Oh well.

I agree that support has not been able to keep pace with the growth of the company.  I had a call yesterday that would have been hilarious had it not been so frustrating.  I was trying to put up a new listing and got some generic error message like "could not verify listing publication" or something.  I called in and the support guy was basically like "yeah I don't really know, I'm not like in the backend or anything I can just see the same stuff as you, so not really any way to troubleshoot it, good luck though!".

It was like I was talking to a friend that had used Airbnb a few times before, not an actual support person.

Trent Reeve · Answer

word out of the STR conference in Vegas is that Booking.com is revamping to make a bigger play in the market. I know most people have avoided Booking.com in the past due to their issues. I think they see the market share AirBNB has and the dissatisfaction with their hosts and are making their strike. Will be interesting to watch

Chuck Masters · Answer

Since Airbnb support is off shore, wonder if the folks who decided to remove this hosts property from the platform realizes this property is in an area where this is common. I can imagine a host in Florida who has a guest report an alligator and support saying that’s a dangerous animal. Well no sh!t.

Trent Reeve · Answer

if you listen to Avery Carl's podcast on JAn 3 with Julie Gates, she talks about how Booking.com they talk about the improvements

Michael Baum · Answer

If Booking.com became more friendly towards hosts while still providing good service for guests, then using them is a no brainer.

Right now there are too many weird things going on with payouts. Refunds for no stated reason, slow pay etc etc.

Not sure if they will ever get there.

Myka Artis · Answer

I 100% agree on Booking.com. They have revamped to be a bigger play and they are now cracking down on the scams on their site with the Booking.com payouts feature. I've been getting a majority of my bookings through Booking.com, VRBO, and direct this month since Airbnb has decided to change their algorithm and cater to those with no cleaning fees in metro markets. Id definitely suggests getting on there.

Bruce Woodruff · Answer

I have been seriously unhappy with their support. I can never understand the tech support people. I feel somewhat bad for them since they are usually trying to help, but since I am calling with a serious issue I need some serious help.

AirBnB Hosts have had enough?

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