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Why Airbnb is dead to me

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Re: Why Airbnb is dead to me

#141

Post by codyb »

ogezi wrote: post #21
flippyhead wrote: post #10

I continue to use AirBnb but have been pretty disappointed in their customer service. I rent out a family cabin occasionally and someone who stayed there scratched the floor accidentally wearing winter boots with spikes on them. They admitted this, apologized and were generally totally awesome about it. It took me months to get Airbnb to figure out how to deduct money from their damage deposit. They first said I had…

That's the problem with the on-demand companies' business model, you often have to put complete trust in complete strangers. This is generally dangerously. But this won't get the coverage it deserves until an "important" host is seriously injured or even killed by a guest.

Generally dangerous seems disingenuous. I think it's generally practical to assume most people are decent human beings. It's worked very well for me over time (and clearly has worked for services like uber, lyft, ebay, craigslist, airbnb, etc), but it when bad actors appear (as they always do once you hit a certain number of persons involved), it's what happens then that counts the most.

I think E-bay has tended to handle things very well, I haven't heard many horror stories about them (if ever), and they've been around for quite some time (as software companies go) and quite successful. Uber and AirBnB on the other hand I've heard plenty of horror stories from. It may (or may not be) the reason I've not used Uber in months and months and have only ever booked a room once on AirBnB (which I cancelled last minute and still paid for).

Re: Why Airbnb is dead to me

#142

Post by mikeash »

brazzledazzle wrote: post #137
mikeash wrote: post #106

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not defending the host's actions or AirBnB in any way here, but if you're not capable of getting a hotel on your own, then you probably shouldn't be traveling to foreign countries alone. Edit: well, that was unpopular. Am I wrong, or just saying it inartfully?

You're right, but it's still something they should account for. Some people just fall apart under stress and have no interest in resolving that before doing things they have no business doing. At the end of the day, right or wrong, those people are going to speak badly of your service.

Yes, totally agreed there. A service like AirBnB should be able to handle all sorts of people, even those who aren't prepared to seek new lodging at a moment's notice in a strange city.

Re: Why Airbnb is dead to me

#143

Post by josefresco »

mikeash wrote: post #106
scottmcdot wrote: post #28

Just tonight, my mother checked into an Airbnb in Vienna, Austria. She sent me photos of the bed which did not have new sheets, the towels which were not fresh, a band aid on the floor and some rubbish bins full of cigarettes and ash. The apartment was overall pretty dirty. The host's contact phone number goes straight to message bank (I also tried many times) and the host is not answering emails. In this situation,…

Not defending the host's actions or AirBnB in any way here, but if you're not capable of getting a hotel on your own, then you probably shouldn't be traveling to foreign countries alone. Edit: well, that was unpopular. Am I wrong, or just saying it inartfully?

I'm 34, capable as the next guy and would probably have difficulty re-booking a room, in a foreign country while also being "homeless". In fact, during summer months I'd have difficulty booking a room 5 min from my house last minute.

Re: Why Airbnb is dead to me

#144

Post by mikeash »

ghaff wrote: post #129
mikeash wrote: post #106

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not defending the host's actions or AirBnB in any way here, but if you're not capable of getting a hotel on your own, then you probably shouldn't be traveling to foreign countries alone. Edit: well, that was unpopular. Am I wrong, or just saying it inartfully?

You're being inartful :-) but, yes, when I read that comment my reaction was that, at the very least, a conventional business hotel would have been a far more sensible choice.

I tried to mitigate that with the leading phrase, but this would be far from the first time I was an insensitive jerk.

Re: Why Airbnb is dead to me

#145

Post by hsod »

potatolicious wrote: post #102
flippyhead wrote: post #10

I continue to use AirBnb but have been pretty disappointed in their customer service. I rent out a family cabin occasionally and someone who stayed there scratched the floor accidentally wearing winter boots with spikes on them. They admitted this, apologized and were generally totally awesome about it. It took me months to get Airbnb to figure out how to deduct money from their damage deposit. They first said I had…

This seems like a theme with pretty much all internet companies, big and small - undercut the competition by cutting corners on things that "don't matter", until they matter. Google for example has almost no way to reach customer service, even for their paid products. When it works it works great, when it doesn't God Help You. Ditto Uber/Lyft/other cab companies, where there seems to be no end of people who were put…

Weird, in my experience Uber customer service is very responsive. Never used Lyft CS but friends report the same for them.

Can you share some examples of the "no end of people" you refer to?

Re: Why Airbnb is dead to me

#146

Post by dandare »

mistermann wrote: post #136
potatolicious wrote: post #102

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This seems like a theme with pretty much all internet companies, big and small - undercut the competition by cutting corners on things that "don't matter", until they matter. Google for example has almost no way to reach customer service, even for their paid products. When it works it works great, when it doesn't God Help You. Ditto Uber/Lyft/other cab companies, where there seems to be no end of people who were put…

The older I get the more cynical I get, and the further I drift leftward politically in favor of more government regulation, the underlying reason I think being that generally speaking, most cultures (and especially "high achievers" within) are fundamentally dishonest - like teenagers, they often cannot be trusted with serious responsibility. They have highly potent skills, but they don't have the corresponding matur…

A guy from post communist country here: how is more government regulation going to solve anything?

Re: Why Airbnb is dead to me

#147

Post by ghaff »

RomanPushkin wrote: post #74

For me it's the same as hotels, but with less service. I've relocated to SFBA a year ago, and it was cheaper to rent Extended Stay America rather than AirBnB with weird rules. We had a kid, and one guy was mentioning "no dogs or kids" in his AD. That's ridiculous! DOGS OR KIDS! O-k-a-y. Will never never never use AirBnB again.

Any number of bed & breakfasts and other small properties that aren't Airbnb are "no kids." And, of course, the majority of hotels are no dogs.

Re: Why Airbnb is dead to me

#148

Post by 1024core »

AirBnB's customer service is undergoing growing pains.

We rented a place via AirBnB that seemed to have good reviews. Upon checking in, as soon as the lights were turned off, cockroaches came out and were crawling over us! So at 3AM I called AirBnB and wanted to get out. They helped me find another place, but I could not leave a review of the previous place! No wonder they had such good reviews! It defeats the purpose of a review if you can't leave really bad ones.

Re: Why Airbnb is dead to me

#149

Post by [deleted] »

Elessar wrote: post #22
deveac wrote: post #13

>Airbnb do not care about guests and their safety at all. I don't know. It seems like it would be a nightmare to sort through a he-said she-said after the fact when the offended party didn't even book a stay (instead the room was booked by some other person that is insisting "no, it's cool, I know them"), and furthermore didn't even report the apartment not being available when the issue occurred. It's nice that they…

Have you ever travelled to a foreign country where you don't speak the language? You really need to put yourself in the tourist's shoes. If I booked a tour and the host drove me to a different place to stay, that's all I can do. You rely on their ability to communicate, and if they're being kind and doing their best to make your stay comfortable, then that's fantastic. What you're suggesting is that you're going to s…

[deleted]

Re: Why Airbnb is dead to me

#150

Post by gaius »

scottmcdot wrote: post #28

Just tonight, my mother checked into an Airbnb in Vienna, Austria. She sent me photos of the bed which did not have new sheets, the towels which were not fresh, a band aid on the floor and some rubbish bins full of cigarettes and ash. The apartment was overall pretty dirty. The host's contact phone number goes straight to message bank (I also tried many times) and the host is not answering emails. In this situation,…

Wait, you had a problem with AirBnB so you called Uber? Why not you know, an actual taxi to take her to an actual hotel??
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