Airbnb Cancelling MORE Hosts..

Summary

Airbnb has aggressively removed thousands of hosts from its platform, signaling a strategic shift towards prioritizing quality and unique experiences over quantity. The company's focus on AI-driven policy enforcement and the launch of 'icons' experiences suggests a move away from traditional listings to differentiate from competitors like hotels. The 2024 summer update lacks host-centric features, indicating Airbnb's pivot to experiential offerings that provide guests with memorable stays, aiming to overshadow negative press and solidify its position in the market.

Takeaways

• 🏠 Airbnb has removed 5,000 hosts from its platform, possibly due to a new AI feature that identifies and deactivates listings violating circumvention policies.
• 🤖 The AI deployment is likely linked to Airbnb's acquisition of Game Planner AI, which helps in identifying duplicate listings or those with negative reviews.
• 🎯 The cancellations are not just of listings, but also of Airbnb Experiences, indicating a strategic shift in Airbnb's offerings.
• 🆕 Airbnb introduced 'Icons,' a new type of experience, suggesting a focus on unique and memorable activities for guests.
• 🛠️ The 2024 summer release from Airbnb lacks significant updates for hosts, signaling a change in the company's relationship with its host community.
• 📈 Airbnb is prioritizing listings that offer experiential elements and are likely to attract guests over traditional hotel stays.
• 🏨 The company is shifting its competition from other OTAs (Online Travel Agencies) to the hotel industry, aiming to provide unique experiences that hotels cannot.
• 🎉 Airbnb is focusing on large group accommodations that offer a communal and memorable experience, differentiating from individual bookings.
• 📊 The cancellation of 5,000 hosts, including those with high ratings, may be due to a misalignment with Airbnb's long-term goals of providing magical experiences.
• 🔗 The introduction of group wish lists and the expansion of experiences indicate Airbnb's strategy to engage guests in a more interactive way, potentially leading to larger accommodation bookings.
• 💡 The overall message is that Airbnb is redefining its platform to offer unique, experience-driven stays that hotels cannot replicate, in an attempt to solidify its market position.

Q & A

Why did Airbnb remove 5,000 hosts from the platform?

Airbnb removed 5,000 hosts due to a new AI feature that identifies and deactivates listings related to previous negative reviews or suspended accounts. This is part of their updated circumvention policy.

What is the significance of Airbnb's purchase of Game Planner AI?

The purchase of Game Planner AI likely provided Airbnb with the technology to develop the AI feature used to identify and deactivate problematic listings.

What changes did Airbnb make to its terms of service in March?

In March, Airbnb updated its terms of service to include a new circumvention policy that forbids hosts or guests from creating new listings or accounts if they have negative reviews or if any of their listings have been suspended or deactivated.

What parameters does Airbnb's AI use to find and deactivate listings?

Airbnb's AI uses parameters such as addresses, photo matching, and descriptions to find and deactivate related listings.

What major change in Airbnb's strategy was highlighted in the 2024 summer release?

The 2024 summer release highlighted that Airbnb is shifting its focus away from host-level features and widgets, and towards enhancing guest experiences and launching new experiences like 'Icons'.

How does Airbnb's new 'Icons' experience align with their strategy?

'Icons' aligns with Airbnb's strategy by focusing on unique guest experiences that distinguish Airbnb from traditional hotels and other platforms like Verbo and Booking.com.

What key features were removed or not included in the latest Airbnb release?

The latest Airbnb release did not include any new widgets or host-level features that were previously common, such as multi-calendar scheduling and rule sets.

Why does Airbnb believe they cannot keep hosts exclusively on their platform?

Airbnb believes they cannot keep hosts exclusively on their platform despite their features because hosts also use other platforms like Verbo and Booking.com for better management and revenue strategies.

What realization has Airbnb made about their competition?

Airbnb has realized that their main competition is not other rental platforms like Verbo and Booking.com, but traditional hotels, especially in terms of guest experience and consistency.

How does Airbnb intend to enhance guest experience with group wish lists?

Airbnb introduced group wish lists, allowing multiple people to vote on and select listings, enhancing the planning experience for group trips and making the booking process more collaborative.

Outlines

00:00

🏠 Airbnb's Host Purge and Strategy Shift

Airbnb has aggressively removed 5,000 hosts from its platform, signaling a significant shift in strategy. This action is part of a broader policy change that began with a March update to their terms of service, which now includes the use of AI to identify and remove listings that violate their circumvention policy. The AI scans for duplicate listings or those with negative reviews, using parameters like addresses, photos, and descriptions. This move is concurrent with the launch of Airbnb's new experience called 'icons,' indicating a pivot towards unique and memorable experiences rather than focusing on host tools and services. The 2024 summer release from Airbnb is notably lacking in host-oriented features, suggesting a reduced emphasis on retaining hosts through innovative tools and a realignment towards guest experiences.

05:01

🎪 The Evolution of Airbnb's Business Model

The script discusses Airbnb's realization that it is not in direct competition with other OTAs like Verbo or Booking.com, but rather with traditional hotels. This understanding has led to a strategic decision to focus on unique, experiential listings that hotels cannot easily replicate. Airbnb is prioritizing large properties suitable for group bookings, which are often fully booked due to their appeal for shared experiences. The company is also leveraging smaller properties with unique features or locations that offer experiences not found in hotels. The script mentions the addition of group wish lists and the continuation of group payments, features that enhance the group booking experience on Airbnb. The underlying message is that Airbnb aims to offer an inventory of properties that provide guests with memorable experiences, setting itself apart from traditional hotel stays.

10:02

🚀 Airbnb's Focus on Experiences Over Consistency

The final paragraph delves into Airbnb's decision to focus on providing exceptional experiences rather than striving for consistency across all listings. The company is moving away from dealing with the challenges associated with average properties and is instead concentrating on high-quality, unique listings that offer guests an unforgettable stay. The cancellation of 5,000 hosts, some of whom had high ratings, is part of this strategy, as Airbnb believes that experiences, rather than being a significant revenue generator, serve as a gateway to attract users to book accommodations. The introduction of 'icons' and the emphasis on experiential elements in listings are part of Airbnb's attempt to create a 'halo effect,' positioning itself as the go-to platform for memorable vacations and experiences, and differentiating itself from competitors by offering more than just accommodation.

Keywords

💡Airbnb

Airbnb is a platform that allows individuals to rent out their properties to travelers. In the video's context, it's portrayed as a company undergoing strategic shifts, including the removal of hosts and listings, and a pivot towards experiences. The script discusses how Airbnb's actions reflect a broader change in their business model and relationship with hosts.

💡AI feature

The AI feature mentioned in the script refers to an artificial intelligence system Airbnb has implemented to identify and remove listings that violate their policies, such as duplicates or those with negative reviews. It's a key part of the narrative discussing Airbnb's crackdown on certain types of listings.

💡Circumvention policy

The circumvention policy is a rule set by Airbnb that prohibits hosts or guests from bypassing platform policies, such as creating a new listing or account after receiving bad reviews or having listings suspended. The script uses this term to explain one of the reasons behind the removal of hosts.

💡Game planner AI

Game planner AI is a company that Airbnb purchased, which is likely related to the AI feature they implemented for identifying and removing listings. The script suggests that this acquisition played a role in Airbnb's ability to enforce their circumvention policy more effectively.

💡Airbnb Experiences

Airbnb Experiences is a service offered by the platform that allows users to book unique activities and tours, separate from accommodations. The script discusses the cancellation of 5,000 hosts from this service, indicating a strategic shift in Airbnb's offerings.

💡Icons

Icons refers to a new type of experience launched by Airbnb, as mentioned in the script. It signifies Airbnb's move towards creating unique, memorable experiences for their users, which is part of their strategy to differentiate from traditional hotels and other online travel agencies.

💡Channel managers

Channel managers are third-party software tools used by hosts to manage their listings across multiple platforms. The script discusses how Airbnb recognizes that hosts are using these tools, which offer features that Airbnb does not, contributing to a shift in Airbnb's approach to host relations.

💡Str Nation

Str Nation is an event mentioned in the script where the speaker is scheduled to speak about market research and revenue management for Airbnb hosts. It serves as an example of the kind of community and educational resources available to hosts outside of Airbnb's platform.

💡Group wish lists

Group wish lists is a feature added by Airbnb that allows multiple users to collaboratively select and vote on listings for group trips. The script discusses this as an extension of the group payments feature and part of Airbnb's strategy to facilitate group travel decisions.

💡Inconsistency

In the script, inconsistency refers to the variability in quality and experience that guests may encounter when using Airbnb, which can include issues with hosts, cleaning fees, and checkout instructions. The term is used to highlight the challenges Airbnb faces in maintaining a consistent user experience.

💡Experiential element

The experiential element in the script refers to the unique and memorable aspects of a stay that go beyond basic accommodation, such as the design and location of a property. It's a key part of Airbnb's strategy to offer more than just a place to sleep, aiming to provide a complete experience.

Highlights

Airbnb has removed 5,000 hosts from its platform, likely due to new AI features related to their acquisition of Game Planner AI.

The AI hunts for listings that appear related to those that received negative reviews or were previously unlisted or duplicates.

Airbnb's new policy forbids hosts from circumventing policies by creating new listings or accounts after receiving bad reviews or suspensions.

The cancellation of 5,000 hosts includes Airbnb Experiences, coinciding with the launch of Airbnb's own new experience called 'Icons'.

Airbnb's 2024 summer release lacks updates for hosts, indicating a shift in strategy and relationship with hosts.

Previous summer releases by Airbnb included innovations and services to retain hosts and prevent them from using competitors like Verbo or Booking.com.

Airbnb now understands that providing software to hosts isn't enough to keep them exclusive to their platform.

The summer release saw no significant changes to host-level features, suggesting Airbnb's focus is shifting away from host tools.

Airbnb is focusing on inventory that guests are more likely to choose, even with potential drawbacks like cleaning fees or long checkout instructions.

Airbnb is competing against hotels by providing unique, experiential stays that hotels cannot offer.

Airbnb's strategy includes pushing listings with an experiential element, aligning with the reasons why guests visit certain areas.

Smaller properties can also provide full bookings due to a combination of location, design, and price point.

Airbnb is aiming to create a 'halo effect' with their product, enticing users with experiences that lead to larger accommodation bookings.

The cancellation of 5,000 hosts may be due to their delivery of experiences not aligning with Airbnb's long-term goals.

Airbnb is trying to build confidence for future bookings by offering experiences that make time off worthwhile.

Airbnb's approach is to make the first purchase easy, with the expectation of larger purchases later, following a common sales strategy.

Transcripts

Airbnb has doubled down and removed

another 5,000 hosts from the platform in

what will likely be known the year that

Airbnb killed the average Airbnb host

this is more than just an extension of

airbnb's mass wiping out of hosts

listings and accounts using this new AI

feature that is likely related to their

purchase of a company called game

planner AI this first wave of

cancellations came starting in March

where Airbnb secretly updated their

terms of service to reflect this new

circumvention policy polic which forbids

hosts or guests from circumventing

airbnb's policies I.E creating a new

listing or creating a new account if you

have bad reviews or if Airbnb suspended

or deactivated any of your listings

Airbnb then deployed an AI to go hunt

and find listings that looked related to

listings that were unlisted or

duplicates after they received negative

reviews they can do this with addresses

Andor photo matching there might be more

parameters but as of today photos

descriptions and addresses seem to be

the main ways Airbnb is finding and

deactivating these listings but what's

even more telling about these 5,000

hosts that have been cancelled is it's

not listings that's getting canceled

it's Airbnb experiences and at the same

time Airbnb announces the launch of a

new experience of their own called icons

and this is where my wheels started

turning Airbnb is telling us exactly

where they're going and where their

priorities are and when we look at

airbnb's 2024 summer release alongside

of this including what's missing from

that summer release it all starts to

make sense air BNB has completely

changed their strategy and what they

believe their relationship with hosts to

be moving forward in order to tell you

what's missing I need to tell you what

used to be there in these summer

releases over the last 5 to 7 years

Airbnb has been heavy on updates heavy

on Innovations heavy on Services heavy

on widgets Airbnb much like any other

software understands that in order to

keep you from leaving them and going to

another provider they need to give you

sticky products much like apple would

say they would give you things like the

multi calendar scheduled messages they'd

allow you to put in rule sets and have

private names for your listings and all

these cool host level like Enterprise

widgets all of these widgets were

designed to keep you from going to

places like verbo or booking.com

naturally if you loved airbnb's features

you wouldn't use verbo if they could

solve all of your problems and provide

all of your Solutions in one go but

Airbnb understands now that people are

using Channel managers which are widget

heavy that have all these extra features

and benefits not including things like

rule sets and 3-day discount which

Airbnb was very smart to create verbo

not having three or 4day discounts and

booking.com not having three or 4 Day

discounts allows hosts to have a much

more granular Revenue management

strategy on Airbnb which can provide

completely different results at the end

of the day they are still features that

I believe make Airbnb Head and Shoulders

above any other otaa that level of

responsiveness is appreciated but Airbnb

sees the truth even with those features

that we all love Airbnb can't keep us

from verbo they can't keep us from

booking.com and they can't keep

customers from going to verbo or

booking.com because they gave hosts some

software Airbnb has made a lot of

Innovations for hosts to be greedy with

that host inventory but they've still

lost that war so with that said that is

precisely what is missing from Airbnb

summer release any widgets for hosts at

all they've made a comical attempt to

sell a couple of features like a better

way to view your earning results and

group messages which actually always

existed but now at the top they show you

who's in the group message Airbnb really

made no significant changes to their

host level features none at all and if

you can be anywhere near San Diego July

8th and 9th I'm speaking at an event

called Str Nation there's a boat party

on the 7th so get there early I will be

speaking about market research and

revenue management two huge topics for

Airbnb hosts and if you use the link

down below this video that code will

give you special access to two breakout

sessions that I'm doing one for hosts

and one for absolute newbies this gives

you a chance to meet me directly ask

your questions and get valuable insights

on topic matter that will make you a

better host I guarantee it use the link

down below to learn more about Str

nation and I'll see you there when I get

back from Italy thanks guys but Airbnb

made two big changes on the guest side

not only did Airbnb add icons which says

everything about why Airbnb created

experiences in the first place what they

were hoping they would get from the host

community and what they weren't getting

we're going to talk about that but also

they added the ability to have group

wish lists where multiple people could

vote on a listing whether or not they

like the listing this is an extension of

a key feature that guests got a couple

years ago group payments if you guys

remember when Airbnb created split

payments it was made so groups of people

could all pitch in and get a bigger

property where not one person had to

come up with $7,000 eight or 10 Airbnb

accounts could split those payments and

you can find out when people do this

because on reviews for listings if you

go down to the review it'll say group

trip on that review meaning that the

person who left the review isn't the

only person that paid for the listing

get it sometimes Airbnb makes a feature

that sucks and they take it back like

Airbnb teams sometimes Airbnb makes a

feature and it speaks volumes for where

they should go like group payments now

they have group wish lists so when

people are planning group trips overseas

like to Italy where I am now they can

create a whole wish list full of their

favorite Italian listings and people

will up vote and downvote every listing

so that way they can choose the one

that's right for the group because

booking is no longer an individual

decision on airbnb's most important

listings yes airbnb's most important

listings are the massive listings that

multiple people need to come together

and purchase airbnb's had a realization

they're not competing with verbo they're

not competing with booking.com that's

why Airbnb gave us hosts no reason to

stay in the summer release they gave us

no widgets to keep us on the Airbnb

platform they realize that they are

competing against hotels and over the

last year airbnb's presence in the media

says this loud and clear people are mad

about inconsistency bad hosts cleaning

fees long checkout instructions lists

all sorts of stuff that makes hotels

attractive compared to Airbnb and Airbnb

realizes something they can't get rid of

some of these things because hosts we

have rules you want to stay at our place

it has to be worth it for us we're not

just some corporate inventory where we

have no say you staying at our property

has to make sense for us too so Airbnb

cannot tell hosts what to do and so

Airbnb instead is doubling down on

inventory that guests are going to pick

even though they may not like cleaning

fees even though they may not like

checkout instructions there's going to

be properties that hotels will never

have so even if Airbnb can't solve these

problems there's absolutely inventory

that people will go to Airbnb 4 always

even if they're unhappy about a couple

features because all of those features

aside this massive house that everybody

can book together and make memories is

absolutely still worth it now it does

sound like I'm saying that the only

listings that are going to survive on

Airbnb or these massive five or seven

bedroom houses with pools and a view

overlooking the Grand Canyon or

something crazy like that but that's not

the case Airbnb does have categories and

many of those categories are for smaller

properties sure tents tree houses bubble

domes stuff like that but they also have

categories like Chef's kitchen or grand

piano or amazing view and some some of

these properties can be small they don't

have to be five-bedroom houses and I

have verified this with my students

doing one-on-one coaching in cities like

Boston or Chicago or South Florida or

Dallas Southern California Utah Portland

everywhere even internationally there

are Studios and one and two-bedroom

properties that because of the

combination of location and design style

and price point they're completely full

some months in advance and Airbnb is

still dedicated to pushing the listings

that make them money what is in common

with these listings and these Mega

houses that Airbnb is pushing is that

there is always an experiential element

to these listings they're not just some

simple stay Alfred or saer listing that

has basic Furniture basic art basic

paint and a keyless entry on the front

door there are hosts choosing eclectic

and brave design Styles and creating

accommodations that are in line with why

people are in the areas that they're in

much like this property here in Mata

this is built into the caves of the

landscape much like people who have

lived here for the last 10,000 years

have done and because the fact that Mata

is one of the oldest cities in the world

and people lived in caves for 10,000

years that's why people are coming here

to hike these hillsides experience these

Scenic views see the city in all of its

age and its wonder and to soak in as

much of that culture as they can and

what better way than to soak in a

bathtub in the middle of a cave this

place gets it they're providing an

additive experience to the reason why

someone is coming you and this is hard

to get your hands on sometimes hotels

will beat hosts to the punch sometimes

hotels won't be able to create something

at scale that is costeffective much like

in Philadelphia when I first got there

in 2018 there were no hotels in an area

called Fishtown or Northern Liberties

Oldtown Northern Liberties and Fishtown

are all in a highly sought after tourist

area where the food the culture and arts

are all super Progressive and picture

worthy and people wanted to go there but

there's no hotels to accommodate so

hosts could rush to the area and provide

even a basic accommodation at a high

price because of sheer supply and demand

and then in other areas like Park City

Utah or t New Mexico or Los Angeles near

Disney there are places that just take

up so much square feet to give a family

what they want when they travel that a

hotel would have to unload massive

amounts of money to acquire the

properties necessary to deliver that

product at scale and for hotels 10 years

ago this didn't make sense on paper but

it's starting to make sense now and you

will see hotels try to scoop up as much

housing as they can in areas that they

can get away with this because the money

is there at scale and if they could buy

out every small host they probably would

so be on the lookout for that here soon

this all circles back to the big point

that average is not performing well on

Airbnb and Airbnb doesn't want to deal

with the problems of shoddy inconsistent

experiences in average properties they

can't get rid of the inconsistency of

working with one host and then another

and then another but the only way to

make it worth their time is to focus on

the listings that have the highest

likelihood of providing great

experiences and provide something that

hotels can't give they're hoping to

create a world where people forget about

all of the negative things that have

happened on Airbnb in order to get a

fresh start again by getting rid of a

lot of the cheap inconsistent value

price listings where the management

really isn't focused on experience and

quality they can then get rid of the

negative media and as far as the 5,000

hosts that got cancelled there were a

lot of good high valued hosts people

with great ratings that got cut because

Airbnb knows something that maybe we

don't all know which is that experiences

isn't a big Revenue generator for them

it was another way for people to

interact with the app to have another

reason to download the app so that way

people would eventually funnel into

properties to book their main bread

winner which is accommodations and any

time that a company has a secondary

product one that's not core to their

business model if trying to deliver that

product leads to somebody being less

likely to do business with you in the

future that was a bad product to deliver

now it could be that some of these tours

were using Airbnb just as a way to

transact dollars getting people on the

platform only to use it and then people

were making no meaningful exchanges with

Airbnb outside of that use it could be

that these hosts were actually violating

terms of service by getting people to

spend money offline there could be a lot

of reasons that we don't know that could

be the reason why these high reviewed

high- rated hosts are gone but if we

look at it for what we believe to be the

simplest answer Airbnb cut 5,000 hosts

where the delivery of that product was

out of alignment with their long-term

goal which is to funnel people in to

magical experiences and accommodations

when we put this and Airbnb icons

together it makes a clear statement

about what Airbnb is trying to do Airbnb

wants to create this halo effect with

their product where people who aren't

ready to book a $10,000 accommodation

can still do cool stuff on the airia go

see a property from their favorite Pixar

or Marvel movie and that keeps air Bean

be first in mind when people stop and

ask themselves what can I do to have an

amazing spring break or summer vacation

where can I go that's going to make my

time off worth it Airbnb wants everybody

to think about them over hotels and

verbo and booking.com because not only

do they have the products that hotels

can acquire but they also have these

experiences that booking.com and verbo

would never touch telling people that we

understand what you want and what you

need with your valuable time off we're

going to make your one week off the best

week of your life they're trying to use

experiences as a way to build confidence

for booking accommodations in the future

there's a phrase that is commonly used

in sales second money is easier to get

than first money get someone to fall in

love with a $50 purchase on banb and

they will make a $5,000 purchase later

I've left links for the research on this

video down in the description check them

out and if you think that I missed

anything or you have a different opinion

about what you think is going on put it

down in the comments I'd like to check

out your perspective and maybe it'll

become a video in the future thank you

so much for watching this one my friends

and as always I will see you on the

other side

[Music]