Airbnb May 2022 Release(airbnb.com)
airbnb.com
Airbnb May 2022 Release
https://www.airbnb.com/2022-summer
142 comments
This is like the dirty secret of Airbnb. They have absolutely garbage customer service. The Reddit /r/airbnb is mostly frequented by Hosts, and there is a horror story posted there weekly.
I get that people only kinda show up there to complain, but there is a theme amongst these stories.
1. Customer Service doesn't understand their own policies. Often, a host will need to read their own terms of service back to the CS rep to get some requested action (undo an instant booking, not allowing a pet, etc).
2. To get a promised refund / money owed / etc. you need to call and call and call, continue to ask the status, etc. etc.
3. Their $1 million host guarantee isn't worth anything. Their marketing on this vs the reality is comically far apart. Unless it results in bad publicity for them, they will stick very very strictly to all of the gotchas. (Claim denied, guest says it wasn't them, existing damage. Ohh you had another guest in, claim denied it could have been anyone.)
The general recommendation is that as a host, you need to 100% look out for yourself and that the company does not have your back at all.
I get that people only kinda show up there to complain, but there is a theme amongst these stories.
1. Customer Service doesn't understand their own policies. Often, a host will need to read their own terms of service back to the CS rep to get some requested action (undo an instant booking, not allowing a pet, etc).
2. To get a promised refund / money owed / etc. you need to call and call and call, continue to ask the status, etc. etc.
3. Their $1 million host guarantee isn't worth anything. Their marketing on this vs the reality is comically far apart. Unless it results in bad publicity for them, they will stick very very strictly to all of the gotchas. (Claim denied, guest says it wasn't them, existing damage. Ohh you had another guest in, claim denied it could have been anyone.)
The general recommendation is that as a host, you need to 100% look out for yourself and that the company does not have your back at all.
> They have absolutely garbage customer service.
I'm not a customer of AirBnB; I'm the neighbour of an unhosted AirBnB flat, that is let for most of the year. They dump food-waste in my recycling bin; break the common parts, leaving me to fix the damage; come and go at all times of night; and they intimidate me if I'm unlucky enough to meet them.
I'm OK with the old-style "couchsurfing" model. But the unhosted ultra-short letting model means that I don't have a neighbour, instead I live next to a glorified holiday chalet, except that a holiday chalet is usually let for a couple of weeks; this place is rarely let for more than 2 days.
I want to see AirBnB banned from the city I live in.
I'm not a customer of AirBnB; I'm the neighbour of an unhosted AirBnB flat, that is let for most of the year. They dump food-waste in my recycling bin; break the common parts, leaving me to fix the damage; come and go at all times of night; and they intimidate me if I'm unlucky enough to meet them.
I'm OK with the old-style "couchsurfing" model. But the unhosted ultra-short letting model means that I don't have a neighbour, instead I live next to a glorified holiday chalet, except that a holiday chalet is usually let for a couple of weeks; this place is rarely let for more than 2 days.
I want to see AirBnB banned from the city I live in.
> come and go at all times of night
I don't see this as an issue unless they are being obnoxiously loud. Lots of people work night shifts or attend late night events.
I don't see this as an issue unless they are being obnoxiously loud. Lots of people work night shifts or attend late night events.
Eight guests milling around in the stairwell as they decide where to go next or whether to stay is obnoxiously loud.
soperj(1)
They use a 'dark pattern' where they don't really make clear how much you are actually paying for night till you are on the checkout page.
Lots of hosts use this pattern and make their listing real cheap buck tack on a huge 'cleaning fee' and there are whole bunch of local taxes, service fees ect which you only know at the end.
They count on people to just go through with checkout since they spent a whole bunch of time to get through that point. Compare this with kayak which shows you final price right on the search screen.
And then there is a problem with reviews where a guest is not really motivated to write a bad review even if they have a bad experience because people are usually conflict avoidant. So almost all airbnbs have positive reviews 4.9 review average making the whole review section useless. Also, there is no way for user to sort reviews in ascending order of star rating.
They count on people to just go through with checkout since they spent a whole bunch of time to get through that point. Compare this with kayak which shows you final price right on the search screen.
And then there is a problem with reviews where a guest is not really motivated to write a bad review even if they have a bad experience because people are usually conflict avoidant. So almost all airbnbs have positive reviews 4.9 review average making the whole review section useless. Also, there is no way for user to sort reviews in ascending order of star rating.
Book on https://airbnb.com.au where law requires showing the total (inclusive of all fees) in search results. You can set the price to USD or whatever other currency you prefer.
(disclaimer: I was an Airbnb employee)
(disclaimer: I was an Airbnb employee)
How do you change the currency without logging in? Because as soon as I log in on .com.au to do that, I'll get the not so transparent pricing again :(
Edit: It's just in the footer and I was blind. Thanks, that's actually awesome!
Edit: It's just in the footer and I was blind. Thanks, that's actually awesome!
OMG thanks so much for this! You should post this as its own submission.
I am amazed that ABNB has this dark pattern as I don't see how it benefits them and it clearly pisses off users and makes searching so much more work than necessary.
I am amazed that ABNB has this dark pattern as I don't see how it benefits them and it clearly pisses off users and makes searching so much more work than necessary.
The cleaning fee and service fee is under the rate off to the right, and it lists your total before taxes.
The point is that the total should be what is shown in search. As it is, search is meaningless.
Currently, it's hidden in a collapsible widget, not in the main view.
Ideally, cleaning fees and similar shouldn't be allowed - they're a cost of doing business and should be rolled into the nightly. Heck, taxes too for that matter - no reason they need to be hidden from the main view.
Ideally, cleaning fees and similar shouldn't be allowed - they're a cost of doing business and should be rolled into the nightly. Heck, taxes too for that matter - no reason they need to be hidden from the main view.
The fees should be included in the list price. Instead you have to open each listing in order to compare real prices, which disadvantages hosts who don't play games with the fees. The last time I stayed at an Airbnb we found a host with reasonable fees, but they were buried under a bunch of "cheaper" listings that were all actually $100+ more expensive.
The way things are is bad for guests and bad for honest hosts.
The way things are is bad for guests and bad for honest hosts.
It makes sense for the user to have this feature. The ticketing app Gametime has a settings flag that says "all in pricing" and it's so much better when turned it. It keeps me off of other platforms like ticketmaster. I guess the problem here is: who are they competing against?
There are a few reasons to keep it the way it is: Airbnb is probably aspirational about its userbase: they don't want people to choose based on price comparison, it's more about the unique space. Or maybe this even speaks to actual measured user behavior. Airbnb invests a lot in data science so I would assume they have either tested this or have data to show the performance impact of such a change. They also might want to one day reduce or eliminate such fees using a membership program of some kind. So a perk of this membership would effectively be "all in pricing"
There are a few reasons to keep it the way it is: Airbnb is probably aspirational about its userbase: they don't want people to choose based on price comparison, it's more about the unique space. Or maybe this even speaks to actual measured user behavior. Airbnb invests a lot in data science so I would assume they have either tested this or have data to show the performance impact of such a change. They also might want to one day reduce or eliminate such fees using a membership program of some kind. So a perk of this membership would effectively be "all in pricing"
yea i know you can see it but it shouldn't be a subtext. You cannot also search within budget because it searches for listing rate not the final rate making price filter totally useless. I also don't understand why they can't add taxes ( which are significant these days) in the listing. I really think this is a dark pattern designed to trick users.
Curious, where have you been staying with the egregious misrepresentation? What sorts of things were false?
We've used Airbnb about 2x/year for a while now and the worst we've had is a house that's a bit dirty (but never to the point we'd leave). But, most of our stays are rural, smaller towns, or western Europe, so maybe it's a location thing?
I dislike the pricing visibility (fees and taxes only shown later, and sometimes the feed are astronomical). That's probably my biggest gripe with the platform.
We've used Airbnb about 2x/year for a while now and the worst we've had is a house that's a bit dirty (but never to the point we'd leave). But, most of our stays are rural, smaller towns, or western Europe, so maybe it's a location thing?
I dislike the pricing visibility (fees and taxes only shown later, and sometimes the feed are astronomical). That's probably my biggest gripe with the platform.
> Curious, where have you been staying with the egregious misrepresentation? What sorts of things were false?
The biggest offender I've seen is a "Dedicated workspace". Everyone seems to just tick that box, and it never really exists. I can see from the photos that it doesn't exist, but it makes searching really annoying. I stopped ticking it, because it just filters out otherwise acceptable places.
I've also seen people tick stuff like gyms/pools when really they mean a commercial one is available a short walk away.
What counts as a 'kitchen' is pretty debatable as well, I've seen places with only a microwave tick that box.
I don't mind all these things, I know what to expect judging from the photos. I just wished there was some penalty for doing that to make filtering easier. In the current state, the filters are pretty useless (in my experience).
Cleaning fees for dirty places also feels pretty bad. I don't mind paying the fee if the place is actually clean, but it seems people just set it to make extra money. I've had hosts ask me to take out the trash and put the bed sheets in the washing machine whilst also asking for $100 cleaning fees.
I don't actually mind cleaning the place myself (if there's a vacuum/mop and washing machine), but charging for it and not providing it really rubs me the wrong way.
The biggest offender I've seen is a "Dedicated workspace". Everyone seems to just tick that box, and it never really exists. I can see from the photos that it doesn't exist, but it makes searching really annoying. I stopped ticking it, because it just filters out otherwise acceptable places.
I've also seen people tick stuff like gyms/pools when really they mean a commercial one is available a short walk away.
What counts as a 'kitchen' is pretty debatable as well, I've seen places with only a microwave tick that box.
I don't mind all these things, I know what to expect judging from the photos. I just wished there was some penalty for doing that to make filtering easier. In the current state, the filters are pretty useless (in my experience).
Cleaning fees for dirty places also feels pretty bad. I don't mind paying the fee if the place is actually clean, but it seems people just set it to make extra money. I've had hosts ask me to take out the trash and put the bed sheets in the washing machine whilst also asking for $100 cleaning fees.
I don't actually mind cleaning the place myself (if there's a vacuum/mop and washing machine), but charging for it and not providing it really rubs me the wrong way.
Ah, dedicated workspace. I can see your problem, and agree. I'd expect that to be a proper desk and chair, not the kitchen table or similar. I've never tried using that filter - the one time we booked for a working vacation, we knew it would be a massive compromise for the duration.
And totally agree on the cleaning fee - that should be baked into the nightly cost, along with the taxes. It's a cost of doing business, no different than other running costs (mortgage, etc). Our expectation for departure is to quickly sweep the floor, wipe counters/sinks, and put sheets/towels in a laundry basket. Basically put the place in a state where the cleaning crew can do their job without having to clean up our messes.
EDIT - my other pet peeve is the lack of pet pricing transparency. There's a pet filter, which works, but pet fees aren't part of the Airbnb pricing model, and hosts have to add them manually after the fact. Completely ridiculous oversight.
And totally agree on the cleaning fee - that should be baked into the nightly cost, along with the taxes. It's a cost of doing business, no different than other running costs (mortgage, etc). Our expectation for departure is to quickly sweep the floor, wipe counters/sinks, and put sheets/towels in a laundry basket. Basically put the place in a state where the cleaning crew can do their job without having to clean up our messes.
EDIT - my other pet peeve is the lack of pet pricing transparency. There's a pet filter, which works, but pet fees aren't part of the Airbnb pricing model, and hosts have to add them manually after the fact. Completely ridiculous oversight.
> The biggest offender I've seen is a "Dedicated workspace". Everyone seems to just tick that box, and it never really exists.
Different people seem to have different understanding of what it means. To some, it implicitly means a separate room; to others, any table and chair are a workspace.
Different people seem to have different understanding of what it means. To some, it implicitly means a separate room; to others, any table and chair are a workspace.
AirBnB should explain to the people offering a room / house when they should tick it, or what the place should conform to in order to be allowed to check it.
But that requires oversight from AirBnB, to the point where they have to send out inspectors or mystery guests, and they don't want to have to pay for that, they want the service to be self-regulating. So the people offering the rooms, if there are no negative consequences to ticking a box unjustly but there will be benefits, i.e. more people viewing the advert and renting it, they will keep doing it.
The only way to fix it is with human intervention and Consequences. AirBnB would be a much better experience if it was curated, if people couldn't make their own listings, if there were Consequences for lying, or if they can't post their own listings but need an AirBnB representative to do it for them. With fines if they change something afterwards.
But that requires money and to give up on some of their profits, they wouldn't want that. It's about volume, not the best experience for their users.
But that requires oversight from AirBnB, to the point where they have to send out inspectors or mystery guests, and they don't want to have to pay for that, they want the service to be self-regulating. So the people offering the rooms, if there are no negative consequences to ticking a box unjustly but there will be benefits, i.e. more people viewing the advert and renting it, they will keep doing it.
The only way to fix it is with human intervention and Consequences. AirBnB would be a much better experience if it was curated, if people couldn't make their own listings, if there were Consequences for lying, or if they can't post their own listings but need an AirBnB representative to do it for them. With fines if they change something afterwards.
But that requires money and to give up on some of their profits, they wouldn't want that. It's about volume, not the best experience for their users.
The only way to fix it is with human intervention and Consequences.
Or, remove the filter, as it serves no purpose and is effectively unenforceable.
Or, remove the filter, as it serves no purpose and is effectively unenforceable.
Anyone claiming to have a dedicated workspace can easily include a picture of it. Those 99.9% that don't do that can easily be discounted as liars. And if they are lying about having a workspace, well they can just as easily be lying about everything else too - such as:
The place is very quiet (except for dogs, nusiance neighbours and constant building work). Is walking distance to the beach (if you consider a 5 mile treck nothing but a stroll). Has nice views of the park (if you stand on the 5th rung of a step ladder). Has fast internet (provided the local bar has not changed the password recently). Etc, etc
The place is very quiet (except for dogs, nusiance neighbours and constant building work). Is walking distance to the beach (if you consider a 5 mile treck nothing but a stroll). Has nice views of the park (if you stand on the 5th rung of a step ladder). Has fast internet (provided the local bar has not changed the password recently). Etc, etc
> To some, it implicitly means a separate room; to others, any table and chair are a workspace.
I take it to mean a _dedicated_ table & chair. A sofa and coffee table are not a dedicated workspace. I don't expect a separate room, that would be an extra bedroom in my mind. Just a desk that isn't the single dining/coffee table is enough for me.
Here's an example of what I mean [0]. That was the single desk like thing in the entire place, not even a coffee table. Calling that a dedicated workspace is clearly bullshit. That place was pretty convenient though, the perfect height for me as a standing desk :D.
[0] https://imgur.com/a/B3mWc6j
I take it to mean a _dedicated_ table & chair. A sofa and coffee table are not a dedicated workspace. I don't expect a separate room, that would be an extra bedroom in my mind. Just a desk that isn't the single dining/coffee table is enough for me.
Here's an example of what I mean [0]. That was the single desk like thing in the entire place, not even a coffee table. Calling that a dedicated workspace is clearly bullshit. That place was pretty convenient though, the perfect height for me as a standing desk :D.
[0] https://imgur.com/a/B3mWc6j
And for lots of hosts "a table" is either a kitchen countertop or a coffee table, while "a chair" is a small sofa next to it. Et voila, "a dedicated workspace".
It is absurd that some hosts will even consider high/club chairs next to a kitchen counter a suitable place for work. It is the most frustrating filter on Airbnb right now.
https://community.withairbnb.com/t5/Help/How-do-you-define-q...
https://community.withairbnb.com/t5/Help/How-do-you-define-q...
This is one of the reasons I believe that Apple will feature Airbnb as a launch partner for whatever kind of AR/VR device they might end up launching. Could easily see the user story of "know exactly what you are renting" on stage when they launch the product. Remember, Airbnb built their business on high quality image capture. The famous story of doing things that don't scale where they hopped from host to host capturing beautiful photos of their spaces. VR is the next leg and a meaningful use case. Imagine if every host could capture their own space by waiving their phone around their space? Big idea here.
I find it hard to believe that Apple would associate themselves so closely with another company and put them on the stage, but I could be wrong
They could present the same story but keep it generic to get the same value without towing airbnb along
They could present the same story but keep it generic to get the same value without towing airbnb along
Apple does this all the time. Here is a link to the Apple Watch hardware launch which shows off use cases made by developers (Twitter, American Airlines, City Mapper, BMW, Nike):
https://youtu.be/bdyVH5LqneU?t=2043
I would actually be very concerned if Apple launched the device (still an if for me) and didn't have 5+ 3rd party partners to show off the capabilities.
These companies weren't on stage, but they have brought many partners on stage for various reasons (Verizon CEO for mmWave in the phones, I believe Epic games, and a few other games-related partners as well).
https://youtu.be/bdyVH5LqneU?t=2043
I would actually be very concerned if Apple launched the device (still an if for me) and didn't have 5+ 3rd party partners to show off the capabilities.
These companies weren't on stage, but they have brought many partners on stage for various reasons (Verizon CEO for mmWave in the phones, I believe Epic games, and a few other games-related partners as well).
"cleaning fee" often means "base price for the booking".
Ie. It's a way to charge more for short bookings and less for longer lets. That makes sense because for a host the chances of a place being trashed totally is approximately proportional to the number of bookings, not the total days booked.
I wish they just had an option to use different wording so the customer didn't think the money was for actual cleaning.
Ie. It's a way to charge more for short bookings and less for longer lets. That makes sense because for a host the chances of a place being trashed totally is approximately proportional to the number of bookings, not the total days booked.
I wish they just had an option to use different wording so the customer didn't think the money was for actual cleaning.
> Curious, where have you been staying with the egregious misrepresentation
One thing I recently noticed was, including "sofa bed" as an actual bed. Screwed up with my filters so much that I had to verify from the pictures that they actually had the number of beds I was looking for.
One thing I recently noticed was, including "sofa bed" as an actual bed. Screwed up with my filters so much that I had to verify from the pictures that they actually had the number of beds I was looking for.
Airbnb could EASILY fix the issues by two tiering their market place and having a HUMAN BEING validate listings and holding hosts to a very strict set of standards.
Unverified listings could be in the tier two marketplace. The problem would sort itself out.
Unverified listings could be in the tier two marketplace. The problem would sort itself out.
They do this. It’s called Airbnb Plus [0].
[0]: https://www.airbnb.com/plus
[0]: https://www.airbnb.com/plus
Interesting, I didn't know about this.
I've wondered before if Airbnb could do a Guest Plus: instead of paying a massive service fee (which likely goes towards insurance and customer support) and cleaning fee, a guest could clean the house to its original standard, wash the sheets, put the bins out on bin day, sharpen the knives, etc. You'd also get a late checkout as the host wouldn't need to get a cleaner between guests.
See also: that Black Mirror episode where everyone rates each other.
I've wondered before if Airbnb could do a Guest Plus: instead of paying a massive service fee (which likely goes towards insurance and customer support) and cleaning fee, a guest could clean the house to its original standard, wash the sheets, put the bins out on bin day, sharpen the knives, etc. You'd also get a late checkout as the host wouldn't need to get a cleaner between guests.
See also: that Black Mirror episode where everyone rates each other.
I don't believe they would do that. They know we know there are both honest and dishonest hosts, but they prefer that it is us who take the risk. Based on the reviews, apparently.
They have underpaid, undertrained human beings.
That behavior is going to drive their company to ruin as they slowly poison their own well with bad experiences.
That's not what happens when you're a monopoly. What happens is the people just eat it.
You can see it more clearly in politics. Does anyone think politicians have the people's interest at heart? The answer is it doesn't matter, because people have proven that they'll just eat it, for decades.
You can see it more clearly in politics. Does anyone think politicians have the people's interest at heart? The answer is it doesn't matter, because people have proven that they'll just eat it, for decades.
> That's not what happens when you're a monopoly.
But they're not a monopoly at all. There are countless other ways to find lodging, whether short term or long term, and even the market for app-powered short term letting like airbnb has very low barriers to entry so someone with enough capital (harder in the current environment, but eventually doable) can come in and outcompete them
But they're not a monopoly at all. There are countless other ways to find lodging, whether short term or long term, and even the market for app-powered short term letting like airbnb has very low barriers to entry so someone with enough capital (harder in the current environment, but eventually doable) can come in and outcompete them
> There are countless other ways to find lodging
Would you mind sharing some? I only know of Booking.com, the rest are country-specific billboards at best. E.g. Craigslist in the US, Bazaraki on Cyprus or Avito in Russia. In all of them you'd better view the apartment in person first, and you manage your own contracts and payments.
Would you mind sharing some? I only know of Booking.com, the rest are country-specific billboards at best. E.g. Craigslist in the US, Bazaraki on Cyprus or Avito in Russia. In all of them you'd better view the apartment in person first, and you manage your own contracts and payments.
> That's not what happens when you're a monopoly.
Fortunately, that's not exactly correct. After getting burned a few times with AirBnB I now use booking.com mostly. Of course they are evil in their own ways, but the percentage of incidents is much lower for me.
Fortunately, that's not exactly correct. After getting burned a few times with AirBnB I now use booking.com mostly. Of course they are evil in their own ways, but the percentage of incidents is much lower for me.
Its not a monopoly at all. In europe booking.com is more prevalent and for example florida rentals most ppl use vrbo
If I live in a town with one internet service provider, it doesn't help me that they have a different provider in Europe.
There is a monopoly on internet service, in my town. Get it?
There is a monopoly on internet service, in my town. Get it?
Agreed, I haven't lived in them full-time but I use the service quite a lot and have spent many many months in Airbnbs and definitely think it'd be a great idea if they had some sort of preferred service in the same way airlines do for frequent fliers that gave additional support. I luckily haven't had the same issue with you on the scale of misrepresentation for listings but agreed that many of them at least leave things out that would have been desirable to know (e.g. one in Armenia I stayed in was great, but while it technically had an elevator it looked pre-Soviet and liable to plummet to the bottom of the shaft at any minute, not to mention the rats in the trash room).
I've stayed in multiple Airbnbs avg 6 weeks since January. The first one had mold everywhere. Took two weeks to get refunded by Airbnb. Talked with like 10 customer service people. Customer service found alternatives that was 50% more expensive, but we couldn't afford that, so had to book something not-so-great ourselves. Got a small coupon as compensation.
They won't ever fund their customer service operations to a high level in that you get great client care across the board. It costs them too much money. The best you could hope for is some kind of tiered class care.
Good luck. Only for VIP's.
They're optimizing for profits and not allowing a buffer of higher costs in the short term for support, which would support higher profits in the long-term by maintaining a good relationship with people in the present. It's an externalized or delayed cost they don't seem to be accounting for.
I think a competitor will pop up before they fix themselves, just the right conditions have to occur and Airbnb's market share will quickly sink - they likely will have exited and dumped the risk and unsustainable platform onto the general public by that point though.
I think a competitor will pop up before they fix themselves, just the right conditions have to occur and Airbnb's market share will quickly sink - they likely will have exited and dumped the risk and unsustainable platform onto the general public by that point though.
> * Easily 90% of listings contain some kind of misrepresentation. Probably half it’s something egregious. Airbnb doesn’t seem to care.
This. We stayed in Philly and got a nice looking AirBNB. What wasnt mentioned was that the nice pictures were of the owner's kitchen that is shared with their family room and that the room reserved for us in a 'private apt' was just a room off to the side with a glass door and a camera pointed at the door.
This. We stayed in Philly and got a nice looking AirBNB. What wasnt mentioned was that the nice pictures were of the owner's kitchen that is shared with their family room and that the room reserved for us in a 'private apt' was just a room off to the side with a glass door and a camera pointed at the door.
100% agree with you that the fees are really substantial when you start to pay attention to them. I guess when you are invested in a particular property and already dropping $2,000, it's easy for them to tack on another $400 without a lot of people questioning it.
On your second point, I think a lot of this has to do with the price point you are renting at.
My experience - I'm usually staying with a group of people at a relatively expensive property as a vacation/splurge, and I've never had anything less than a 5 star stay. I'm pretty choosy in reading reviews (but don't expect someones' home to be as spotless or perfect as I expect a hotel to be) - nonetheless my expectations are always met on Airbnb.
On the flip side, I've seen comments like this one from guests who have been deceived or disappointed, and also chatter among Airbnb hosts renting less expensive properties complaining about the constant stream of problem guests they have. There's a particular host on TikTok I occasionally get served who talks about her hosting experience and she's constantly dealing with issues (and as a result, micromanaging her guests.) Downward spiral.
On your second point, I think a lot of this has to do with the price point you are renting at.
My experience - I'm usually staying with a group of people at a relatively expensive property as a vacation/splurge, and I've never had anything less than a 5 star stay. I'm pretty choosy in reading reviews (but don't expect someones' home to be as spotless or perfect as I expect a hotel to be) - nonetheless my expectations are always met on Airbnb.
On the flip side, I've seen comments like this one from guests who have been deceived or disappointed, and also chatter among Airbnb hosts renting less expensive properties complaining about the constant stream of problem guests they have. There's a particular host on TikTok I occasionally get served who talks about her hosting experience and she's constantly dealing with issues (and as a result, micromanaging her guests.) Downward spiral.
On the other hand, it's still the only website I know of where one can find and pay for a short/mid-term apartment online in lots of countries. Booking.com is mostly pricy hotels. Local bulletins are even cheaper, but typically have worse interfaces, awful listings, and require that you are already in the town to view the place in person.
I cut my reservation short according to host's cancellation policy. Host wrote a review on my page that I was racist to her. I never even met the said host or anyone at the airbnb. WTF.
I explained this to airbnb but they said they have policy that reviews cannot be be removed/modified. So now I have that on my reviews. Great!
I explained this to airbnb but they said they have policy that reviews cannot be be removed/modified. So now I have that on my reviews. Great!
I'm curious how much time you estimate you have spent dealing with customer service per year or per month in those two years. That would be an interesting statistic given that you've been full time for two years.
It's not uncommon to burn the better part of an hour with cable customer service calls with an airline or cable company. And it's hard to quantify them solely in terms of time as I think most people would rate those two businesses' customer service at the bottom of the heap in terms of experience.
It's not uncommon to burn the better part of an hour with cable customer service calls with an airline or cable company. And it's hard to quantify them solely in terms of time as I think most people would rate those two businesses' customer service at the bottom of the heap in terms of experience.
Check Vrbo for the same listing before booking on Airbnb. We have vacation rentals on both and we need to charge more on Airbnb to cover our their extra fees and charges.
You've actually managed to reach people at AirBnB? And not just one, but enough to get bounced from person to person? That's better than my track record..
Same experience I had constantly misrepresented, especially internet/quality of A/C which are not minor things.
Air conditioning is my pet peeve. Surprised I didn't see more mentions of it.
Book a large-ish house that says it has A/C. What it really has is a single small window unit in one of the bedrooms.
Book a large-ish house that says it has A/C. What it really has is a single small window unit in one of the bedrooms.
Wonder how human support scaling is done for a business with potentially millions of customers
The AirCover policy looks like a game changer that elevates Airbnb basically to hotel-like level of service.
Just wondering if they won't default to "we will just refund you" in case the host cancels (1st scenario)
In that situation, if I get the info 1 day before arrival and just a refund, then I am screwed anyway since the prices on the market will be sky high.
Just wondering if they won't default to "we will just refund you" in case the host cancels (1st scenario)
In that situation, if I get the info 1 day before arrival and just a refund, then I am screwed anyway since the prices on the market will be sky high.
Yeah that was my thought too. "Or we'll refund you" is not that great of a guarantee.
Hotels overbook just like airlines, though, so I'm not sure how AirBnB is much worse in this situation? I recently lost a room due to overbooking and being the easiest guest to get cut (I was only staying for one night).
I stayed in literally hundreds of hotels and that never happened to me.
Sure, it can happen on very rare occasions, but what a hotel will do then is "walk" you to a hotel in the vicinity of the same category or better.
They don't put you on hold for hours.
Sure, it can happen on very rare occasions, but what a hotel will do then is "walk" you to a hotel in the vicinity of the same category or better.
They don't put you on hold for hours.
And when they walk you, they pay for your stay elsewhere and for transport to and from. And usually other perks like snacks or rewards points or hotel credit.
And a half decent hotel will call you or email you in advance to notify you of the situation so you do not waste much time.
And a half decent hotel will call you or email you in advance to notify you of the situation so you do not waste much time.
Happened to me a few times. The hotel booked me a room in a different hotel a few blocks away, refund my entire stay, and provide points for the troubles.
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Airbnb isn’t a hotel, it’s a person renting out their house. Not a fungible thing like a hotel room. When I book Marriott I don’t care which room in the class of rooms I booked that I get. When I book an Airbnb I very much care that the house I selected is the one I stay in.
Airbnb is to a great extent hotels and property managers.
The cosy little family business is not so common to come by.
The cosy little family business is not so common to come by.
The AirBnB that is my "neighbour" is run by a property manager - they run a chain of apartments on behalf of the owners. They aren't letting a room in their home; they live in another city. The owner seems to be an investment banker who lives overseas, and never comes here.
From a landlord's point-of-view, their proposition is attractive: guaranteed monthly rent, they handle all admin, they hire cleaners.
From a guest's point-of-view, it's good too; they have a full schedule of bookings and get rave reviews (this is a very attractive location). The standard of decor is high.
But from my point-of-view it sucks, because they've degraded my owner-occupied home into a hotel suite, except with no concierge, no mailroom (the visitors have access to my mail deliveries), and no onsite manager.
From a landlord's point-of-view, their proposition is attractive: guaranteed monthly rent, they handle all admin, they hire cleaners.
From a guest's point-of-view, it's good too; they have a full schedule of bookings and get rave reviews (this is a very attractive location). The standard of decor is high.
But from my point-of-view it sucks, because they've degraded my owner-occupied home into a hotel suite, except with no concierge, no mailroom (the visitors have access to my mail deliveries), and no onsite manager.
> the visitors have access to my mail deliveries
How does that happen? Don't you have a lock on the mailbox at the very least?
How does that happen? Don't you have a lock on the mailbox at the very least?
There are three flats, each with its own front door opening onto a shared stairwell; and a common front door that opens onto the street. The main front door has a mail slot. There's no 'mailbox' - mail deliveries land on the doormat. Someone picks it up and puts it on the first three steps when they come in or go out.
This works fine as long as my neighbours are actually neighbours. If they're some random tourist from anywhere in the world, not so much.
This works fine as long as my neighbours are actually neighbours. If they're some random tourist from anywhere in the world, not so much.
Wow. Is such system popular where you live? What country is it, if I may ask?
Looks like a flatmate-like agreement for me, but on a house level for whatever reason.
Looks like a flatmate-like agreement for me, but on a house level for whatever reason.
This is the UK.
This is not a "house" - if it were a house, it would be a six-bedroom mini-mansion. There are separate houses on this estate, and two larger blocks of flats. The larger blocks have entry-phones and so on. This is the only block with as few as three flats.
They are nice flats, luxury even, in an amazing location. Unfortunately the developer (early 80s) went broke, and so there are some loose ends that were never properly dealt with, especially the handling of rubbish, and the whole matter of investment properties, empty properties, and ultra-short lets. There are no children.
As I say, it would all be fine if my neighbours were neighbours. Even if I didn't like them, we'd have a shared interest in making things work. I don't have to like my neighbours; I just need to be able to find them, so I can talk to them about issues. The landlord of this AirBnB property lives 600 miles away, in a foreign country, and has never lived here.
This is not a "house" - if it were a house, it would be a six-bedroom mini-mansion. There are separate houses on this estate, and two larger blocks of flats. The larger blocks have entry-phones and so on. This is the only block with as few as three flats.
They are nice flats, luxury even, in an amazing location. Unfortunately the developer (early 80s) went broke, and so there are some loose ends that were never properly dealt with, especially the handling of rubbish, and the whole matter of investment properties, empty properties, and ultra-short lets. There are no children.
As I say, it would all be fine if my neighbours were neighbours. Even if I didn't like them, we'd have a shared interest in making things work. I don't have to like my neighbours; I just need to be able to find them, so I can talk to them about issues. The landlord of this AirBnB property lives 600 miles away, in a foreign country, and has never lived here.
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I used Airbnb significantly last year (several 1 month+ stays in 4 different countries across 3 continents) and I found that they usually started with pitching me on other Airbnb instant books in the area; most of them I had already seen and wasn't interested in but I'd guess that this 24hr line will do that first before refunding you and maybe in the situations where there is a sub 20-25% differential (whatever cut airbnb takes these days) they might just true up the difference for a more expensive booking than the one you had to keep you in the airbnb ecosystem. I am a little surprised they aren't also offering a more literal aircover add on with flight insurance for if your flight is delayed or cancelled and you miss part of your stay but maybe that was too out there.
> In that situation, if I get the info 1 day before arrival and just a refund, then I am screwed anyway since the prices on the market will be sky high.
"Sorry, we didn't find a equivalent alternative. Enjoy sleeping under a bridge!"
"Sorry, we didn't find a equivalent alternative. Enjoy sleeping under a bridge!"
exactly - how is this not a baseline expectation? "I bought a service and you didn't provide it", "ok you'll get your money back"
Unless they mean that I as a guest can choose between the refund and the rebooking, but they should definitely clarify the wording if that's the case.
> Booking Protection Guarantee
> In the unlikely event a Host needs to cancel a booking within 30 days of check-in, we’ll find guests a similar or better home, or we’ll refund them.
Unless they mean that I as a guest can choose between the refund and the rebooking, but they should definitely clarify the wording if that's the case.
> Booking Protection Guarantee
> In the unlikely event a Host needs to cancel a booking within 30 days of check-in, we’ll find guests a similar or better home, or we’ll refund them.
I was actually going to make a comment about the refund part. That sounds absolutely terrible and doesn't match the tone they were trying to go with by saying "Only on Airbnb.". I mean the whole paragraph doesn't make any sense.
> If a guest can’t check into their home and the Host cannot resolve the issue, we’ll find them a similar or better home for the length of their original stay, or we’ll refund them.
This implies that the guest is already at the doorstep. Yeah, enjoy your stay in a shitty overpriced hotel, in the meantime we will try and refund the money over the next couple of days.
> If a guest can’t check into their home and the Host cannot resolve the issue, we’ll find them a similar or better home for the length of their original stay, or we’ll refund them.
This implies that the guest is already at the doorstep. Yeah, enjoy your stay in a shitty overpriced hotel, in the meantime we will try and refund the money over the next couple of days.
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AirCover just sounds like a rebrand of their existing policy. They've always offered an "swap for similar or refund" policy when hosts cancel.
Absolutely. This happened to me and cost us thousands of dollars. A refund is expected when services are not provided. But in practice if you are not able to get a similar service for the same price than a refund is not an actual solution.
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I recently had an experience where we locked ourselves out of an AirBnB by leaving my phone inside the apartment. The door code was in the AirBnB messages and protected by 2FA that required my phone - which was in the apartment.
I got to another computer and couldn't log in. I tried to contact customer support - but it required an account. So I created another account and tried to message the host, but it wouldn't let me talk to them without a booking. So I entered all my credit card information into the new account and attempted to book with the host - but they had no bookings available. So I used the new account to reach out to customer service - they were unresponsive taking 30+minutes per message to respond. Given that what I was doing looked plausibly like a phishing scheme, you can imagine this would require a lot of back and forth, which basically rendered CS useless.
I ended up solving the problem by checking the public records of the property to find the owners name. Then tried finding them on social media but all of their accounts were private. Luckily the AirBnB was in my (smallish) home town and I was able to find someone in my social circles that knew the host and shared their phone number.
It was an absolute nightmare and I'm still not sure what I would have done had I not found someone who knew them.
I got to another computer and couldn't log in. I tried to contact customer support - but it required an account. So I created another account and tried to message the host, but it wouldn't let me talk to them without a booking. So I entered all my credit card information into the new account and attempted to book with the host - but they had no bookings available. So I used the new account to reach out to customer service - they were unresponsive taking 30+minutes per message to respond. Given that what I was doing looked plausibly like a phishing scheme, you can imagine this would require a lot of back and forth, which basically rendered CS useless.
I ended up solving the problem by checking the public records of the property to find the owners name. Then tried finding them on social media but all of their accounts were private. Luckily the AirBnB was in my (smallish) home town and I was able to find someone in my social circles that knew the host and shared their phone number.
It was an absolute nightmare and I'm still not sure what I would have done had I not found someone who knew them.
>Check-In Guarantee
If a guest can’t check into their home and the Host cannot resolve the issue, we’ll find them a similar or better home for the length of their original stay, or we’ll refund them.
Were they not doing this until now?! I never had such an event occur to me, but I assumed if I can't enter the place I booked, the least I should expect is my friggin money back.
Were they not doing this until now?! I never had such an event occur to me, but I assumed if I can't enter the place I booked, the least I should expect is my friggin money back.
They did this before but it has gotten extremely hard to work with customer support for things like this. Bad CS alone has driven me more towards hotels for even longer stays.
This happened to me before and I got a full refund, so it’s not a new thing at least.
My thoughts exactly. Every single new guarantee sounds like the bare minimum customer service capabilities I already assumed they had in place.
When I pay Airbnb for a stay, I already expect: 1. to be able to freaking check in 2. to get what I paid for
That's... what it means to pay for something, no? And if the promised service isn't delivered, some reparation is made. Either a full refund or something in between.
That makes the whole "only on Airbnb" tag sound so funny. It sounds more like "Promised absolutely last by Airbnb"
When I pay Airbnb for a stay, I already expect: 1. to be able to freaking check in 2. to get what I paid for
That's... what it means to pay for something, no? And if the promised service isn't delivered, some reparation is made. Either a full refund or something in between.
That makes the whole "only on Airbnb" tag sound so funny. It sounds more like "Promised absolutely last by Airbnb"
I thought "AirCover" was already the standard? Also this still doesn't address the issue that host can cancel your stay at any time and then you are left without any kind of accommodation in the middle of nowhere or unknown area
> thought "AirCover" was already the standard?
Nope. Rented an Airbnb in Austin. Pool was a mess to the point of being unusable; host was noncommunicative. Complained to Airbnb. Gave the host five stars, but left them a note. Host left a negative comment on my profile. Airbnb refused to remove. Refused to provide even a modicum of a refund.
Nope. Rented an Airbnb in Austin. Pool was a mess to the point of being unusable; host was noncommunicative. Complained to Airbnb. Gave the host five stars, but left them a note. Host left a negative comment on my profile. Airbnb refused to remove. Refused to provide even a modicum of a refund.
As I understand it, Aircover is for cancellations by the host, it wouldn’t apply for the scenario you describe.
> Aircover is for cancellations by the host, it wouldn’t apply for the scenario you describe
The Get-What-You-Booked Guarantee claims to cover if "listing description wasn’t accurate about significant things," though it's unclear if something like a pool being unusable would qualify.
The Get-What-You-Booked Guarantee claims to cover if "listing description wasn’t accurate about significant things," though it's unclear if something like a pool being unusable would qualify.
Ah yes. Although that doesn’t seem to be new either? Of course if something is completely off (bedroom missing) they have to give you a refund for the remainder of the time.
Yes. I think it’s just a rebranding of the current offering.
We used Airbnb almost exclusively 5-10 years ago. We’re now back to nearly 100% hotels, with Airbnb as a backup option if there truly is not a suitable/available hotel.
1 out of 3 airbnb stays was deficient to the point of affecting the trip in some way: didn’t match the description, overbearing rules, maintenance/cleanliness issue that was difficult to resolve with absentee hosts, etc.
The costs became equal to or more than hotels once you added in fees, and the experience was guaranteed to be less consistent than just booking a familiar hotel brand.
1 out of 3 airbnb stays was deficient to the point of affecting the trip in some way: didn’t match the description, overbearing rules, maintenance/cleanliness issue that was difficult to resolve with absentee hosts, etc.
The costs became equal to or more than hotels once you added in fees, and the experience was guaranteed to be less consistent than just booking a familiar hotel brand.
I agree. If I didnt need a kitchen I would stay in hotels. So many airbnbs lie in ways that are smalll but important. Their "office space" is the kitchen table. Renting the "whole house" means you get one floor and while the helicopter owner gets the upstairs or a shed out back or the basement.
This type of stuff is so common but there is no real way to get a partial refund or screen for it ahead of time.
This type of stuff is so common but there is no real way to get a partial refund or screen for it ahead of time.
Same exact situation. I've used airbnbs almost exclusively for the past 6-8 years. I've spent 10s of thousands. It has become such a shit show. Especially, in other countries, and cultures.
I don't think a redesign is what they need at all. The problems run far deeper.
I don't think a redesign is what they need at all. The problems run far deeper.
Cool blog. I dont think the four coverages will change anything. I've been nomading from airbnb to airbnb across the USA for over a year now. Airbnb has been meh to poor everytime we have had to use their CS.
The worse case was a home that we rented in Denver for a month (during peak renting summer months) was sold less than 30 days before we were to arrive. We'd booked it 90+ days in advanced.
Airbnb told us they would help us find a similar or better home in the area. Very similar to their policy they just announced. But because it was summer and less than 30 days from our booking and we were looking to stay for ~35 days, there were no similar cost homes. The equivalent homes were 3k-5k more for the same time period in the same location.
Airbnb said okay. Here is a refund and a $200 coupon to help you find another place. A refund is great but if all other similar homes are booked you could end up spending thousands more for a similar place like we did.
The worse case was a home that we rented in Denver for a month (during peak renting summer months) was sold less than 30 days before we were to arrive. We'd booked it 90+ days in advanced.
Airbnb told us they would help us find a similar or better home in the area. Very similar to their policy they just announced. But because it was summer and less than 30 days from our booking and we were looking to stay for ~35 days, there were no similar cost homes. The equivalent homes were 3k-5k more for the same time period in the same location.
Airbnb said okay. Here is a refund and a $200 coupon to help you find another place. A refund is great but if all other similar homes are booked you could end up spending thousands more for a similar place like we did.
Split stays? I don't understand how that changes anything... isn't that just bundling to stays and packaging it under one reservation?
Or is it that you can get shorter stays under the minimum number of days required to rent from a place? If so isn't that just pushing the cost to the home owner who now has to pay for the turn over service?
Airbnb -- super interesting company, great business model out of the gate -- as we start to get to the mass adoption stage the prices keep getting silly and the quality outside of the core offerings kind of slips. I don't see how they continue to keep growth going without some major sacrifices.
Or is it that you can get shorter stays under the minimum number of days required to rent from a place? If so isn't that just pushing the cost to the home owner who now has to pay for the turn over service?
Airbnb -- super interesting company, great business model out of the gate -- as we start to get to the mass adoption stage the prices keep getting silly and the quality outside of the core offerings kind of slips. I don't see how they continue to keep growth going without some major sacrifices.
I see the value just from a search perspective -- take as an example:
* I'm looking to stay 8 days in Paris in fairly peak season
* There is no good availability for a single Airbnb for 8 days
* This lets me see good matches of "3 in spot one, 5 in spot two" as well as "4 and 4" etc. without needing to do a lot of filtering by availability and digging into individual listings
* I'm looking to stay 8 days in Paris in fairly peak season
* There is no good availability for a single Airbnb for 8 days
* This lets me see good matches of "3 in spot one, 5 in spot two" as well as "4 and 4" etc. without needing to do a lot of filtering by availability and digging into individual listings
Got it - that makes a lot more sense.
Instead of having to try and piece meal it yourself they give you great options.
Actually now that you have clarified it -- it sounds pretty great once I test the functionality!
Instead of having to try and piece meal it yourself they give you great options.
Actually now that you have clarified it -- it sounds pretty great once I test the functionality!
I'm guessing that it's so that when you search for a long duration of stay, many of the listings will be unavailable but with split stays they can make it easier to figure out how to plan a longer stay, so you don't have to look at the availability calendars of a bunch of different listings.
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Just felt like I wanted to contribute something positive here. I have used Airbnb extensively for the past 5 years. I used to live 1 month at a time at one place and then switch. And I only had 1 singe visit (for a daily visit) where the host canceled and at this time I got back my money + 80 euro.
> In the unlikely event [we can't provide you the AirBnB you booked], we’ll find guests a similar or better home, or we’ll refund them.
You had me until the refund. I understand it isn't always possible to find another place to stay last minute in a city - sometimes things are just fully booked. I get that, in that case, you'd have to issue a refund.
But this doesn't give me the peace of mind they imply. It just tells me I can be stuck in a city with no shelter and left to fend for myself finding a place to stay.
Peace of mind is AirBnB maintaining a reserve inventory by under-booking a city or maintaining relationships with hotels. Were they can guarantee an equal-or-better home or a refund and at least a studio apartment or hotel room.
You had me until the refund. I understand it isn't always possible to find another place to stay last minute in a city - sometimes things are just fully booked. I get that, in that case, you'd have to issue a refund.
But this doesn't give me the peace of mind they imply. It just tells me I can be stuck in a city with no shelter and left to fend for myself finding a place to stay.
Peace of mind is AirBnB maintaining a reserve inventory by under-booking a city or maintaining relationships with hotels. Were they can guarantee an equal-or-better home or a refund and at least a studio apartment or hotel room.
A redesign is nice but please consider a secure Airbnb app-controlled electronic door lock. Hardware is hard but it could reduce entry/exit and check-in friction and confusion.
Not to mention improve the safety of guests...
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2021-06-15/airbnb-sp...
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2021-06-15/airbnb-sp...
Door hardware is harder than most kinds of smarthome gadget by a substantial margin. Failure has a much higher liability - a failed door (failing open or closed) renders the entire house worthless. Can’t say the same thing about an internet speaker.
I have an electronic door lock and it needs monthly fiddling to stay in alignment, and I need to push the door in to allow it to unlatch. The door system as a whole needs to be fixed here - but if such issues happen for a guest trying to check in, and the door is Airbnb branded - who is gonna get blamed? Even worse - a door that fails to latch for the night, and no one notices…
I think Airbnb has concluded (correctly) that this is a losing game.
I have an electronic door lock and it needs monthly fiddling to stay in alignment, and I need to push the door in to allow it to unlatch. The door system as a whole needs to be fixed here - but if such issues happen for a guest trying to check in, and the door is Airbnb branded - who is gonna get blamed? Even worse - a door that fails to latch for the night, and no one notices…
I think Airbnb has concluded (correctly) that this is a losing game.
And yet somehow many electronic door locks exist as commercially viable products. If Airbnb wants a turnkey solution, then a product that works like turning a key would be a big step.
…but none with the liability relationship that an Airbnb branded lock would imply. Probably the best path to defray the risks would be for Airbnb to partner with lock tech groups like Kivo for API-side integration, and then gently suggest hosts use a partner-supporter lock.
From my eye the available commercial products are just beginning to be “good” - for example, NFC locks entered the market this year, so smarthome locks can finally provide the hotel-room authentication experience, if not the hotel-room unlatching experience.
From my eye the available commercial products are just beginning to be “good” - for example, NFC locks entered the market this year, so smarthome locks can finally provide the hotel-room authentication experience, if not the hotel-room unlatching experience.
Aircover seems a rebranding of the current policy? They already give a refund if the host cancels (as you would expect). And they already have discretion to find you alternative accommodation (although they never have for
me).
It’s still useless if your long term stay is cancelled at the last minute as it’s often impossible to find a replacement for a comparable price.
This is the risk with using Airbnb for long term stays - last minute cancellations can (and do) happen.
It’s still useless if your long term stay is cancelled at the last minute as it’s often impossible to find a replacement for a comparable price.
This is the risk with using Airbnb for long term stays - last minute cancellations can (and do) happen.
Of the changes while I think that the design categories are cool (who wouldn't want to stay in a Le Corbusier designed space at least once?) the "AirCover" stuff is probably most impactful and mitigates a major pain that I've had/been concerned about with booking (and from other threads on Airbnb sounds like others have too)
How is it possible that a website is so slow like AirBnBs?
Everything I do on the site makes me wait. Even when I click on the calendar, it opens the widget and then slowlay paints the day numbers one by one.
Everything I do on the site makes me wait. Even when I click on the calendar, it opens the widget and then slowlay paints the day numbers one by one.
isn't that true for basically any website these days? spinner gifs are the trademark of this decade
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I'm a host for a cabin on airbnb and vrbo and I can say that it is remarkable that airbnb has achieved such a horrible reputation amongst hosts and guests alike. The truth is that the product is pretty great, until something goes wrong... Airbnb will refund a guest their money for seemingly any unverifiable accusation. I greatly prefer bookings from Vrbo despite their horrid tech simply because they are more reasonable when a guest sees a ladybug and wants a refund.
Categories look identical to the top-tabs they already had, no? Even their "OMG" tag is simply a rename of the previous "Offbeat". I don't get it.
Does anyone know if there's a secret advanced option to search by keyword?
Some Airbnbs have free bicycles available, but there's no "bicycle" filter (possibly for liability reasons). There's also no way to search for homes that mention "bicycle". Instead, I have to comb through every listing.
I think this used to be an option, but they took it away. This is the only feature I've ever wanted from Airbnb search.
Some Airbnbs have free bicycles available, but there's no "bicycle" filter (possibly for liability reasons). There's also no way to search for homes that mention "bicycle". Instead, I have to comb through every listing.
I think this used to be an option, but they took it away. This is the only feature I've ever wanted from Airbnb search.
I just happened to go to the website this morning ([un]ironically some friends are coming to town and their host cancelled on them).
At least for me this new design is unusable. All I wanted to do is enter a city/zip and I couldn't figure it how to do it. It feels like they are really pushing those high end lifestyle/adventure/experience options.
At least for me this new design is unusable. All I wanted to do is enter a city/zip and I couldn't figure it how to do it. It feels like they are really pushing those high end lifestyle/adventure/experience options.
I don't understand what you mean by unusable. I just went to Airbnb.ca, typed in a postal code in the very big entry form at the top, chose the next two nights and immediately received relevant results.
Split stays is a fantastic feature. Limiting it to just two homes seems weird though. I'd love to be able to stay in a city for 2+ months and change homes every couple weeks if I have to. At the moment finding places and timing all the dates is a nightmare.
Lmao at the example "split stay" - oh yeah, the average person is going to spend ~$14K for a month of travel at some national parks. Way to stay in all of those Airbnbs and see what it's like for an "average user" Brian!
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Looks like the transition to "experiences" is taking hold.
Also, what the hell are "Grand Piano" homes ?
Do people like to have big pianos in their vacation stays?
Also, what the hell are "Grand Piano" homes ?
Do people like to have big pianos in their vacation stays?
I think its the type of thing that might appeal to someone who wants a fancy vacation home of a certain style. If there is a grand piano the rest of the house is probably pretty nice.
Does seem like an odd category but maybe its just a bucket they realized they could fill with high priced rentals.
Does seem like an odd category but maybe its just a bucket they realized they could fill with high priced rentals.
I suppose if you're a professional piano player you might enjoy being able to train while on holiday, but I'm as curious as you, some of these prices sounds insane to me, $10k for one night?!
Maybe it’s more about what kind of home has a ~$20,000+ musical instrument & a room big enough to hold it? That sounds like a fancy house to me.
Considering their user base is mostly millennials and younger who will never afford to buy housing, there should be category "elephant in the room".
I am not a heavy Airbnb user. Most of what I read on AirCover aside from the 24-hour Safety Line I assumed was part of the standard service.
Airbnb experiences are cool but for every other normal vacations, I prefer hotels. Turns out regulations do matter.
I really liked the new design. It is really hard to do it this simple yet useful.
I wonder if they allow the same lifestyle to their own subcontractors?
I 'd like to see airbnb move to long-term rentals.
I used to let a flat through a property management company; 6-month lets. It turned out they were using AirBnB as an advertising platform.
Any category for "basic but secure"?
Recent thread on Airbnb here https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=31253306
* I’ve paid them tens of thousands of dollars in service fees. Yet the customer service experience is on par with an airline or cable company. Getting bounced from person to person every hour, having to explain the situation a dozen times (really, a dozen), and in the end they rarely help me.
* Easily 90% of listings contain some kind of misrepresentation. Probably half it’s something egregious. Airbnb doesn’t seem to care.
Hopefully they’re trying to turn the ship here. We’ll see.