360 degree feedback - host satisfaction survey

[Steve416]

Guests rate hosts......hosts rate guests...........however there’s another key player - ABB.....so why don’t guests and hosts get to rate ABB?

As many of you know in the corporate world,  the concept of 360 degree feedback has developed whereby everyone gets reviewed by everyone else. Even the CEO and Board receive feedback from staff and stakeholders. Further many forward thinking companies have satisfaction surveys where they seek general and specific feedback from employees and stakeholders and then publish the company’s satisfaction scores. This is not a feedback or contact us link, it is a formal survey usually conducted by an Independent third party.

It would be a development opportunity for ABB to engage in a formal feedback process. Maybe they already know what their rating will be? maybe they don’t want to know? But they need to know.

would hosts be prepared to participate in a formal feedback/performance survey rating ABB?

cheer Steve

[Pete28]

Good point 🙂

I imagine if they read these forums they would know that atleast their more engaged hosts are not happy with the review system, the host guarantee, and the complexity of contacting the  organization.

They occasionally allude to these things during the q&a but I get the impression the business has expanded beyond their ability to cope. The answer as ever is more competition...

[Sarah977]

@Steve416  I mentioned this awhile back in another thread- that if hosts and guests were to rate airbnb the way we are rated, they would be lucky to get 3 stars and would be delisted.

I really get the feeling that the company simply doesn't care. They embody arrogance. They have their marketing experts, their idea people, whoever those are, their software programmers who appear incompetent (I've never seen so many constant tech glitches on any other website, and the way they make you wade through and click on 8 different things before getting to the part you need to access is sadistic), their ever increasing hoards of support staff who they apparently no longer bother to train properly and who seem to be given instruction to placate hosts but not actually address the problem, and until their profits start tanking, I hold out little hope that the attitude will change. 

You'd think the website "airbnb hell" and all the comments on this forum would nudge them into a more receptive attitude.

They remind me of nothing so much as teenagers who think they know everything and that Mom and Dad are just plain stupid and not to be taken seriously.

It's such a shame. The platform has been great for me in terms of getting lovely, interesting guests and earning a little extra money but dealing with the company itself is frustrating at best.

[Steve416]

Thanks so much @Sarah977@Pete28 apologies to be going over old ground. 

Yes - I am just sticking around for the good guests, now that I am getting better at identifying the problem ones, and have no expectations of ABB.

I agree about arrogance, as I cannot otherwise justify why any organisation would not want to proactively address issues, and there are so many.

Perhaps an independent host satisfaction survey is something that we can raise in the next Q&A?

best wishes Steve

[Fred13]

@Sarah977 "They remind me of nothing so much as teenagers who think they know everything and that Mom and Dad are just plain stupid and not to be taken seriously." Hahaha.

"It's such a shame. The platform has been great for me in terms of getting lovely, interesting guests and earning a little extra money but dealing with the company itself is frustrating at best."

That is why I do everything in my power to not have to ever deal with them, by solving any & all issues on the spot, always work on my description to pre-empt the 'ill-suited', and not worry about what Airbnb thinks or even does, whatever it is, I work around them.  

[Jessica-and-Henry0]

You are so spot on @Sarah977  "They remind me of nothing so much as teenagers who think they know everything and that Mom and Dad are just plain stupid and not to be taken seriously." 

Seems to me that ABB simply does not care! They are busy racking in fees, changing the layout and menu without notice, on whim, doing whatever they want however they want whenver they want. But since they've made everyone (hosts & guests) agree to the terms that "ABB has the final say in all decisions" they have total free reign. So me..........I'm just on the site to find guests, and other than to find guests and get my payout, I think the less I involve/depend on ABB the better. 

[Kelly149]

@Steve416 "don't ask the question if you're not sure you'll like the answer"

the best way I've found to give "feedback" to abb is to move more and more of my business to HomeAway. But I'd LOVE to get to review ABB

A client was asking advice about setting up a new listing yesterday this was the pros/cons list:

HA: subscription fee, but they pay me immediately not after arrival

real security deposit

their guests are older, and more about the place, less about the bargain

they store documents for me so that I can easily communicate with guests: contract, welcome book, pet info

they allow me to collect all taxes at the percentages I set

my HA guests book further ahead

there is a review feature but it isn't a huge deal

ABB: no security deposit

guests are more bargain driven

less ability to vet guests (incomplete profiles anyone?)

review system pros & cons

last minute bookers

[Steve416]

Thanks @Kelly149 yes reading your list, the decision seems rather obvious!

I too no longer have my eggs all in the one basket.

best wishes 

Steve

[An-Maré0]

Hi everyone, I'm ready all the comments with fascination - can you please highlight some of the issues you have with Abb - I'm hosting since Feb 2018 and no problems as yet - what can I expect?

[Sarah977]

@An-Maré0     Just spend a few hours reading through all the topic posts on the hosting forum and you'll get a good idea of what the issues are. If I hadn't found this forum about 6 months ago, I would have been unpleasantly surprised by a number of things. 

Personally I've never had a problem with a guest for which I needed to contact airbnb. But I have had to deal with tech issues- my phone notifications suddenly disappearing, reviews not appearing, etc. And right now I'm concerned about the minimum 4.7 rating coming in July, which if one falls below, means one can be delisted. One false, bad review can do that, even if you have 50 5*s.

[An-Maré0]

@Sarah0-, yes I'm experiencing the rating system as inconsistent. It is either a 5* or nothing. I'm still thinking about how I can start the conversation with the guest to make them understand - tell me rather than rating me average on ABB - just because this is not a 5* hotel.

[Sarah977]

@An-Maré0     Type "How can we as hosts educate guests...." into the search bar at the top right of the hosting page. That is a really good thread to read for ideas on this star rating issue.

[An-Maré0]

Thank you @Sarah977 - will have to educate myself first!