Has rapid growth and an IPO on the horizon shifted this once exemplary short term rental service?
One of Canada’s top Airbnb is operated by Bill Dandie, an enthusiastic host who loves setting the stage for exceptional stays, saw Airbnb change from a strong partner to merely a frustrating big business.
“A recent guest logged a case and Airbnb shut our idyllic Cabin in the Woods down. I was shocked to see Airbnb take the side of the guest who has three reviews and discredit a Superhost with a 4.96 rating with close to 500 reviews”, Mr. Dandie comments.
For a period of one month Airbnb did not inform Mr. Dandie of the proper details and the matter went unresolved.
Mr. Dandie remarks, “Airbnb’s current platform to resolve host and guest matters is faulty. The safety department handles these cases poorly and from my personal experience has created serious trust and respect concerns related to this STR service.”
“On the dawn of an IPO you’d imagine that Airbnb wouldn’t be pushing long term, successful hosts into the arms of competitors such as Vrbo and TripAdvisor”.
As the foundation to Airbnb’s success is a solid community of hosts, guests play an equally vital role in driving Airbnb’s value to the estimated 30 billion mark.
In addition to mismanaging community relations being the top Airbnb host complaint guests will need to be seriously concerned with their privacy.
Outlined in a previous article Bill Dandie explains how he resolved this matter after a month of attempting to communicate with the Safety Department at Airbnb.
Mr. Dandie comments “A weakness at Airbnb ended up helping me solve the case that suspended business for a month. I called for two weeks straight and customer service, on two occasions, disclosed the guest name. I was shocked, but used this breach of privy to solve my case and move on”.
The guest mistook an electronic mouse deterrent device for a hidden camera and based on Airbnb’s inability to communicate this to Mr. Dandie he is no longer an Airbnb supporter but a STR [short term rental] proponent.
In closing Mr. Dandie remarks, “Airbnb was one of the last great organizations that I respected based on our remarkable 5 year working relationship. I feel something has seriously changed and as their stock goes public on December 7th, 2020, take heed to this infamous date in history when choosing to invest your money.”