Just watched it - Thank you @Lizzie for posting it.
I came away feeling that the founders are on one hand hanging on to the old idea of us hosts being at the center of the Airbnb concept, yet are simply overwhelmed to effectively deal with the dramatic growth of the company, so they are more or less trying to soothe some ruffled feathers and to simply placate us hosts by promising to be better in their communication with us:
Joe says that "staying connected to our hosts is one of our most importants tasks". Nate suggests that through the Host Voice ( nobody really goes there, or feels paid attention to) or the newsletter (where is it?) they are reaching out to hosts to stay connected and to work together. Brian says that it is "always about the hosts" and he acknowledges that they are playing catch up, grew too fast, and are - right now - not as accessible as they should be...
But instead of working on these flaws by slowing down , by fixing the existing problems and working out the kinks, they are investing their energies into the future, they are talking about the new experiences concept, and they also mention adding services and flights to their offering in the future. Did you all catch that?? (What services, what flight?)
The bottom line is: I am inclined to be conciliatory, as I personally benefit from being an Airbnb host, I don't have to worry about anything but providing a nice offering to my guests, I get paid for it, and I meet some nice people along the way! That is good enough for me. From my own experience of first dreaming up a business, then actually making it reality by working 24/7, then growing it until I successfully sold it a few years ago, I know that most people simply don't understand or realize how complex and difficult it is to stay on top of a business, let alone a phenomenon like Airbnb.
To constantly change and innovate a company (instead of working out some minor details that may soon be obsolete anyways) seems to be the successful concept these days. Whoever doesn't go with the flow or embrace new ideas and changes gets left in the dust. That also means us hosts - and we all are better off getting used to it, I dare say. Hanging on to "old" ideas or getting riled up about certain minor things, like the ratings system or IB, is so miniscule in the grand scheme of things that they will inevitably fall to the wayside.
I came to the conclusion that we hosts are the product which the company shapes and changes as they please. I don't believe we have any significant leverage in the game. We are an exchangeable commodity. But it is my choice to accept that and be happy with what I get out of it - or to get upset and want things to be different. So I'd like to suggest to my fellow hosts here to just "go with the flow" , or borrowing from the serenity prayer: "Grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, Courage to change the things I can, And wisdom to know the difference."
Annette