Post by High Priestess on May 2, 2016 1:04:42 GMT
www.airbnb.com/groups/content/content-219543
Tips on using the Host Community -- Host Community is not Airbnb Customer Service Center
Here are some tips for new hosts on getting oriented to Airbnb and the Host Community:
1. As a new host, please put in some effort to learn to use the website and manage your account. Also put in some effort to learn how to run a business. Too many hosts start up a hosting business without being well prepared or willing to do some work to learn how to use the Airbnb website. Do your due diligence on learning how to run a business and researching the supply and demand for short term rentals in your area. Set some time aside to learn to navigate the AIrbnb site, and I mean not just the mobile app, but the full website on the PC (by the way, you can find all these groups on the PC too -- just go to www.airbnb.com/groups -- ours is www.airbnb.com/groups/41)
To learn to use the site, click around and see what is available. Search under all the menu choices. Read the FAQs. Go to "manage listing" and learn how to manage all parts of your listing. Learning to use the website will probably take several hours -- please be a responsible host and invest the time it takes to be a knowledgeable host who is capable of managing their listing.
2. If you have basic questions on using the website or managing your account, don't bog down the host community by expecting it to function as a customer service desk, but rather contact Airbnb customer service. Hosts have posted literally hundreds of posts asking how to contact Airbnb -- please make use of the very functional search functions (hint, search under "contact Airbnb") on www.globalhostingforum.com or on www.community.airbnb.com to find out how to contact Airbnb. The host community is not a customer service desk. Treating the host community as a customer service desk mitigates against building up a vibrant host community.
3. As well, many questions about how to use the website or manage your account, can be found on GlobalHosting Forum and Airbnb Community Center with the search functions there, -- go there and see if the question you have has been asked before...or 100 times before.
4. Before posting a question, scroll down a bit on this group and make sure that the question you have has not just been asked twice already in the last 2-3 days.
5. Great uses for the host community: the host community is best used to help you with questions involving decision making, judgements, how to deal with guests or problems with guests. For instance, "My guest just brought their friend over...and I don't allow guests to bring visitors. What should I do?" Or "My guest said they would be here at 6pm but it's 10pm and they haven't showed, what should I do?" Also to share your stories.
These are the kinds of questions and sharing that really benefit and build up the host community, whereas tedious and repetitive questions such as "what is a preapproval and how do I do one?'" or "I just started, I didn't get a booking yet, can you advise me?" or "why did I not get a review prompt?: will weigh down the host community and make us feel like unpaid help center staff. WE are not here to spoon feed hosts or hold the hands of those unwilling to put in the time to learn to use the site --what we are here for and would love to help you with, is helping you host wisely and confidently, and make decisions, to share the wisdom and experience of the collective host community.
6. From this point forward, I will try to repost this information about the use of this forum every few days. I will try to post more interesting stories here rather than just on GHF which is where I have been putting them. From this point forward, let's try to avoid posting questions about how to contact Airbnb or Posts which are essentially duplicates of one which was just asked a few days ago.
We are in the final month of the existence of the New Hosts Forum, and I think it would be benefiical to use that time to educate hosts, as we have always done, and part of that education is to instruct hosts on how to be responsible and learn how to use the website, as well as how best to use and participate in the host community.
Tips on using the Host Community -- Host Community is not Airbnb Customer Service Center
Here are some tips for new hosts on getting oriented to Airbnb and the Host Community:
1. As a new host, please put in some effort to learn to use the website and manage your account. Also put in some effort to learn how to run a business. Too many hosts start up a hosting business without being well prepared or willing to do some work to learn how to use the Airbnb website. Do your due diligence on learning how to run a business and researching the supply and demand for short term rentals in your area. Set some time aside to learn to navigate the AIrbnb site, and I mean not just the mobile app, but the full website on the PC (by the way, you can find all these groups on the PC too -- just go to www.airbnb.com/groups -- ours is www.airbnb.com/groups/41)
To learn to use the site, click around and see what is available. Search under all the menu choices. Read the FAQs. Go to "manage listing" and learn how to manage all parts of your listing. Learning to use the website will probably take several hours -- please be a responsible host and invest the time it takes to be a knowledgeable host who is capable of managing their listing.
2. If you have basic questions on using the website or managing your account, don't bog down the host community by expecting it to function as a customer service desk, but rather contact Airbnb customer service. Hosts have posted literally hundreds of posts asking how to contact Airbnb -- please make use of the very functional search functions (hint, search under "contact Airbnb") on www.globalhostingforum.com or on www.community.airbnb.com to find out how to contact Airbnb. The host community is not a customer service desk. Treating the host community as a customer service desk mitigates against building up a vibrant host community.
3. As well, many questions about how to use the website or manage your account, can be found on GlobalHosting Forum and Airbnb Community Center with the search functions there, -- go there and see if the question you have has been asked before...or 100 times before.
4. Before posting a question, scroll down a bit on this group and make sure that the question you have has not just been asked twice already in the last 2-3 days.
5. Great uses for the host community: the host community is best used to help you with questions involving decision making, judgements, how to deal with guests or problems with guests. For instance, "My guest just brought their friend over...and I don't allow guests to bring visitors. What should I do?" Or "My guest said they would be here at 6pm but it's 10pm and they haven't showed, what should I do?" Also to share your stories.
These are the kinds of questions and sharing that really benefit and build up the host community, whereas tedious and repetitive questions such as "what is a preapproval and how do I do one?'" or "I just started, I didn't get a booking yet, can you advise me?" or "why did I not get a review prompt?: will weigh down the host community and make us feel like unpaid help center staff. WE are not here to spoon feed hosts or hold the hands of those unwilling to put in the time to learn to use the site --what we are here for and would love to help you with, is helping you host wisely and confidently, and make decisions, to share the wisdom and experience of the collective host community.
6. From this point forward, I will try to repost this information about the use of this forum every few days. I will try to post more interesting stories here rather than just on GHF which is where I have been putting them. From this point forward, let's try to avoid posting questions about how to contact Airbnb or Posts which are essentially duplicates of one which was just asked a few days ago.
We are in the final month of the existence of the New Hosts Forum, and I think it would be benefiical to use that time to educate hosts, as we have always done, and part of that education is to instruct hosts on how to be responsible and learn how to use the website, as well as how best to use and participate in the host community.