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Introducing Airbnb Plus

airbnb.com

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Re: Introducing Airbnb Plus

#111

Post by branchless »

BugsJustFindMe wrote: post #110
branchless wrote: post #106

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Wait, I'm confused. Airbnb is part of the "sharing" economy, right? So mostly people renting out their home whilst briefly away. And they don't have a drying rack? Something doesn't fit.

Anecdotally, having stayed at dozens of AirBnBs, a large percentage of listings are not people renting out their homes while briefly away. Many listings are from large-scale property owners who take several apartments off the rental market, put the least possible investment in them, and then list them on AirBnB, often using multiple host accounts to make it look like they aren't doing this, while living somewhere els…

I know, it was tongue in cheek

Let's tax these parasites, get them out of residential areas.

What is Airbnb providing? Their premium "service" is their previously claimed bare-minimum if you exclude the slumlord part.

Tech innovation? Pah.

Re: Introducing Airbnb Plus

#112

Post by aquadrop »

grapehut wrote: post #62

I travel a lot and have stayed at 50+ airbnb places all around the world -- but the biggest problem is that the reviews are always so artificial you honestly have zero idea of what you're getting into. Worst of all is the amenities, which are more often incorrect than not. I generally filter for places with washer + drier, as I'd rather not be looking for laundromats. Probably over 80% of listings that say they have…

You complain about the problem but then add to it yourself. Post honest reviews. Host can't see it until they already wrote your review. There's also star ratings. I write honest reviews and also have "profile that shows me as an exceptional guest".

Re: Introducing Airbnb Plus

#113

Post by mrgordon »

grapehut wrote: post #62

I travel a lot and have stayed at 50+ airbnb places all around the world -- but the biggest problem is that the reviews are always so artificial you honestly have zero idea of what you're getting into. Worst of all is the amenities, which are more often incorrect than not. I generally filter for places with washer + drier, as I'd rather not be looking for laundromats. Probably over 80% of listings that say they have…

Sounds like you’re exactly the guest this was made for. Now someone can certify the washer and dryer exist and are functional before you arrive.

If it’s not a lot more, I’ll definitely consider using it to ensure a smooth check in and accurate amenities when I need them.

Re: Introducing Airbnb Plus

#114

Post by ghaff »

mrgordon wrote: post #96
matte_black wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Agreed, don’t know why we should suddenly pay more for something we once expected for free.

A lot of people stay in hotels because there is a certain consistency even if they are more expensive and less nice usually. Airbnb Plus is a way to make sure Airbnb is as consistent as possible to compete. If you want the cheapest possible room, you can just get a normal Airbnb and not pay slightly more for someone to check that there is an extra toothbrush and a bottle of wine when you check in

I have no idea if this new tier will actually result in a consistent curated list of places to stay. However, to the degree it does, I would absolutely consider using it to a greater degree than Airbnb today.

Re: Introducing Airbnb Plus

#115

Post by BugsJustFindMe »

organsnyder wrote: post #107
swaggyBoatswain wrote: post #103

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"I don't really want to pollute my profile with candid feedback." This is how I feel about most things. A lot of times I give everyone 5 stars (things on fiverr, reviews for customer support, airBnB reviews, etc) even if the service is mediocre, partially because I don't want to deal with the potential problems of giving poor reviews. Potential problems include being unable to get files after a project (fiverr → givi…

Why leave a review at all if you're not going to be honest?

Because people are willing to externalize costs for short term personal benefit at the expense of making everything worse for everyone. The rationale in the moment goes something like "I've already stayed there, so leaving an honest review won't help me." And they just don't think about the logical consequences of that kind of behavior.

Re: Introducing Airbnb Plus

#116

Post by swaggyBoatswain »

get wrote: post #14

Interesting. I wonder what those "checked for 100+ things that guests told us they love" are. Shouldn't the general quality of the listing already be apparent from the ratings? I'm always looking for apartments with a view. That is why I am starting a startup that will help locate these: https://nothingless.github.io/ I will also list if an apartment has a table. Because I need one to work with my laptop on it. What…

I'm confused what you are trying to build here.

Every startup can be summarized in one sentence or company can be summarized in one sentence. For instance, linkedin is facebook for business users. Uber is peer to peer ride sharing. News.Ycombinator is reddit for tech oriented users.

Ratings are always going to be biased to some extent. If companies can game any marketing in general, it will be done. Tags are also biased as well, not everyone has the same definition and need for what a "table" is. A dining table, a standing desk, a computer table? 30"x30" or larger? Round or square? Real estate / renting /airBnB is going to be always driven by short summarized text / tabular data (square footage, cost/square foot,location) and interior/exterior images so the potential tenant can make their own decision.

Re: Introducing Airbnb Plus

#117

Post by kelnos »

calbear81 wrote: post #80
kelnos wrote: post #74

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Does a host (where you've stayed) get to see your review of their place before they post their review of you? If so, I think the fear would be a traveler leaving a negative review, the host seeing it, and then leaving a negative review of the traveler in retaliation.

Airbnb employee here: both parties have to leave a review before you can both see the review posted to prevent retaliatory reviews. Also, you can leave public feedback, private feedback, and feedback to Airbnb if you have specific issues with the guest/host that you want us to address.

Thanks for the clarification. In this case, I don't see why anyone would ever hesitate to leave a negative review or feedback if they've had a bad time. The parent who claimed he always leaves a positive review regardless of the experience is just admitting to being part of the problem.

Re: Introducing Airbnb Plus

#118

Post by sf_rob »

apetresc wrote: post #99

They don't explicitly state this, but I really hope one of the things they guarantee with Plus is that the host isn't expecting you to cover up the fact that you're in an AirBNB. I love the service overall, but I absolutely hate getting the morning-of-checkin email saying "Hey can't wait to host you, by the way, tell the receptionist you're my cousin and if any of the neighbors are in the hallway please just pace aro…

This happened to me in Toronto (my local coworkers said it was a common thing) and the doorman threatened to not let me in and to not return my bags that the airline temporarily lost and delivered there.

Re: Introducing Airbnb Plus

#119

Post by kaybe »

pradn wrote: post #87
ghaff wrote: post #60

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I semi-regularly stay at Bed & Breakfasts when I travel. I've never booked through Airbnb but I observe that a fair number now list there. I expect this also fuels the perception that Airbnb is more expensive than it used to be. B&Bs (in the small inn sense) aren't typically all that inexpensive. It really depends what I'm looking for. With a lot of business travel in particular, I'm looking for a consistent experien…

AirBnB has also made it pretty easy to use their service for business travel. If you're under cap, you could possibly upgrade to a better plane seat. Personally, I prefer a cheap hotel and a good plane ride. A lot of the old-school business travel services like fax machines and gyms I don't ever use anyway.

I haven't been able to opt out of amenities that apparently AirBnB considers essential for business trips. I'm a scientist - I don't wear a suit and I don't need a hairdryer. Sadly this limits my choices of places down too much, so after looking at it once I changed back to the normal view.

Re: Introducing Airbnb Plus

#120

Post by fatjokes »

BugsJustFindMe wrote: post #104
MechanicalTim wrote: post #98

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As a host I use a chrome plug-in that shows me every review a guest has written for their stays

As a guest, though, if a host is actively weeding out people because they speak out about being scammed by shitty not-as-described slumlord empty-ikea-box listings, then I probably don't want to give that host money anyway.

But how do you know if they have been?
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