Many travelers and followers of the Airbnb crisis and #fail have probably received the same personal letter. Thought we’d throw a summary of it out there for those who haven’t seen it. To fix the recent mishap that happened in San Francisco, they want to make it up to their followers, customers and community. On August 15th, 2011, they will be implementing a $50,000 Airbnb Guarantee, protecting the property of hosts from damage by Airbnb guests who book reservations through their website. They plan to extend this program to hosts who have reported property damage while renting on Airbnb in the past.
Yesterday, they launched a new safety section of the website (www.airbnb.com/safety) with the following offerings:
- Airbnb Guarantee
Starting August 15th, when hosts book reservations through Airbnb their personal property will be covered for loss or damage due to vandalism or theft caused by an Airbnb guest up to $50,000 with our Airbnb Guarantee. Terms will apply to the program and may vary (e.g. by country). This program will also apply retroactively to any hosts who may have reported such property damage prior to August 1, 2011. - 24-Hour Customer Hotline
Beginning next week, they will have operators and customer support staff ready to provide around the clock phone and email support for anything big or small. - 2x Customer Support Team
Since last month, they have more than doubled our Customer Support team from forty-two to eighty-eight people, and will be bringing on a 10-year veteran from eBay as our Director of Customer Support next week. - Dedicated Trust & Safety Department
Airbnb now has an in-house task force devoted to the manual review of suspicious activity. This team will also build new security features based on community feedback. - Contact the CEO
If you can’t get a hold of anyone or if you just want to contact Brian Chesky, the CEO, he says, go right head and his email is: brian.chesky@airbnb.com.
They have also added several other safety-related features to strengthen the trust and confidence of their community:
- Safety Tips
Suggestions for both guests and hosts on how to utilize our tools to better inform your decisions. - Verified Profiles
Updated user profiles chronicle their public history on Airbnb, giving people more insight than ever about a potential host or guest. Along with standard social information, you’ll also see if a user has verified their phone number, connected to their Facebook account, and whether the majority of their reviews are positive or negative. And as always, you can read their reviews and references. - Customized trust settings
They now give hosts the ability to set custom trust parameters for bookings; those who don’t meet the specified requirements will be unable to make a reservation. Selections for Trust Settings include: verified phone numbers, profile descriptions, location information, with more coming soon. - Product suggestions poll
Have more ideas on improving safety? Now, you can submit and vote on the best ideas through their new product suggestions poll.
Renee Blodgett is the founder of We Blog the World. The site combines the magic of an online culture and travel magazine with a global blog network and has contributors from every continent in the world. Having lived in 10 countries and explored nearly 80, she is an avid traveler, and a lover, observer and participant in cultural diversity.
She is also the CEO and founder of Magic Sauce Media, a new media services consultancy focused on viral marketing, social media, branding, events and PR. For over 20 years, she has helped companies from 12 countries get traction in the market. Known for her global and organic approach to product and corporate launches, Renee practices what she pitches and as an active user of social media, she helps clients navigate digital waters from around the world. Renee has been blogging for over 16 years and regularly writes on her personal blog Down the Avenue, Huffington Post, BlogHer, We Blog the World and other sites. She was ranked #12 Social Media Influencer by Forbes Magazine and is listed as a new media influencer and game changer on various sites and books on the new media revolution. In 2013, she was listed as the 6th most influential woman in social media by Forbes Magazine on a Top 20 List.
Her passion for art, storytelling and photography led to the launch of Magic Sauce Photography, which is a visual extension of her writing, the result of which has led to producing six photo books: Galapagos Islands, London, South Africa, Rome, Urbanization and Ecuador.
Renee is also the co-founder of Traveling Geeks, an initiative that brings entrepreneurs, thought leaders, bloggers, creators, curators and influencers to other countries to share and learn from peers, governments, corporations, and the general public in order to educate, share, evaluate, and promote innovative technologies.
