Airbnb Looking for Millions of New Hosts to Meet Demand
Leisure travelers has been the driving force behind the recent travel rebound, and many of them have been looking to Airbnb and other services for their stays. But as demand spikes, Airbnb needs to add more available properties, and that is not all up to the company itself.
“To meet the demand over the coming years, we’re going to need millions more hosts,” Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky told CNBC on Friday. “I think that we probably will have a high-class problem where there will probably be more guests coming to Airbnb than we’ll have hosts for, because … we think there’s going to be a travel rebound coming that’s unlike anything we’ve ever seen.”
Increased demand is not the only reason for a shortage of available properties. During the pandemic hosts have also stopped offering their homes for rent. Airbnb lists 4 million hosts now, down from about 5.6 million active listings at the end of last year, based on the company’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
But while Airbnb needs more hosts, it doesn’t plan to offer any increased incentives to attract them to the platform. The company recently rolled out a number of ads using images from Airbnb guests staying in homes around the world. “I think that all we have to do is just continue to tell our story of Airbnb, and the benefits of hosting. And we are seeing a lot of interest,” Chesky said.
Airbnb’s Basic Requirements for Hosts
If you are planning to host your home or property on Airbnb, here are a few things you should know about. Airbnb wants all hosts to meet these basic requirements for each listing:
- Be responsive: Maintain a high response rate by replying to booking inquiries and reservation requests within 24 hours.
- Accept reservation requests: Make guests feel welcome by accepting requests whenever you’re available.
- Avoid cancellations: We take cancellations seriously and ask all hosts to avoid cancelling on guests–their travel plans depend on it.
- Maintain a high overall rating: Guests like to know they can expect a consistent level of quality, no matter where they book.
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I was a host for almost 4 years. What an enormous PITA as the company does not explain to people using AIRBNB how it is different from a hotel, etc. They also treat the hosts like crap. They might value hots now but when they were booming and growing they didn’t give a damn about them. I worked hard and had excellent reviews, virtually always 5 stars across, plus lovely comments, but good god almighty it was work. I was so glad to quit being a host and just use it as a customer. Never again, thanks.