Neither Airbnb nor its hosts seem to be able to take a break. Of Ridiculous Airbnb Host Rules to ridiculous places with a view inside a restaurant to the hosts feed the guests… mac and dog food.
This is just the tip of the iceberg. And the problems continue Continue in the form of superhosts pointing out their sharp drops in customer base lately.
It didn’t take long for the internet to internet and respond to such general comments, complaints, or comments by the host by explaining why it is happening and expressing dissatisfaction with Airbnb as a whole.
More information: Twitter | AirBnBust
Airbnb is back in the news, this time because of “AirBnBust” and how some hosts have noticed a drop in bookings
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This story is long, so buckle up.
Twitter user @texasrunnerDFW, who is a Texas-based housing analyst, pointed out in one of his tweets that this thing called AirBnBust is “on us”. This refers to a movement driven by dissatisfaction with Airbnb and its hosts. And that in turn sparked a little discussion online, mostly about how Airbnb should just shut down.
The tweet featured two messages found on the Public Airbnb Superhosts group on Facebook (boom and boom) where hosts ponder the sudden and seemingly unexpected drop in attendance. Comments under the original posts suggest this is not an isolated event as many others have experienced something similar.
A Texas-based housing analyst pointed out that some Airbnb hosts are complaining about dropping patronage in a dedicated Facebook group
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This inevitably led to speculation from said commentators, suggesting that it could be a location-specific problem (like waterside sites) that always occurs around fall, or that the current economic and energy crisis could also have something to do with it.
But people who responded to @texasrunnerDFW’s tweet were more direct about it. You see, in addition to being fed mac and dog foodAirbnb had a lot of problems with its hosts for a very long time and now people think enough is enough.
It didn’t take long for supporters of Airbnb’s absence to explain why there’s a dip in bookings (and why hosts shouldn’t be surprised)
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People point to everything from chore lists to ridiculous cleaning fees to secret cameras inside places, with some Airbnbs being less appealing on many levels than opting for a hotel room. Travelers have also often noted that because Airbnb relies so heavily on individual lodging, it can’t really guarantee security against scams or ensure quality like hotels can.
We also briefly discussed some of the issues that Airbnb has had over the past few years in This article, but it looks like neither Airbnb nor its hosts will be having a break anytime soon. Besides the hitches mentioned above, The initiate points to other issues like an influx of 58,000 new rentals into the market making competition much fiercer, the post-pandemic period where domestic travel has peaked and is in decline, and we can’t forget the inflation and all that is happening in the world.
People pointed to everything from chore lists to cleaning fees to secret cameras, with some Airbnbs less appealing than a hotel room
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However, it’s important to note that Airbnb’s financial reports show that the company appears to be doing very well. According to their own statement on Hospitality Net, of the 103 million nights and experiences booked in Q2 2022, they generated $2.1 billion in revenue. This resulted in 58% growth for them, including $379 million in net income. This is not representative of the current situation as the numbers are yet to come, but no one is ruling out the possibility that Airbnb may be suitable, but a segment of its hosts, not quite.
Apart from personal reasons, there is speculation that the drop in bookings could also be due to increasing competition, post-pandemic decline and world events.
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We won’t even try to dive into the whole issue of Airbnb originally being a service for people who have available living space that they can passively earn, and now there are reports of people buying an apartment buildings so they can be turned into Airbnbs. Or people start long term tenants to convert their living spaces into Airbnbs. Either way, not good.
Now, in honor of the hosts, cleaning, upkeep and maintenance all come at a price. This is on top of any insurance costs, taxes, utilities, and other financial obligations that hosts might have that inevitably affect the end user. They are the ones who have to deal with complaints from neighbors, take care of the damage, all the while risking crooks booking a stay and then dealing with the theft of the whole apartment.
Anyway, people were more or less celebrating this because of what Airbnb has become and the fact that it’s no longer acceptable
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The tweet generated quite a bit of discussion, getting over 53,000 likes along the way with thousands of retweets. This is in addition to major online media picking up the story to discuss it. #AirBnBust more in detail. And speaking of discussion, what do you think? What is your experience with Airbnb? Do you see these problems, and are they really problems? Let us know in the comment section below!
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