What You Should Know About The Airbnb 2022 Winter Release?

Every new Airbnb update comes with a number of exciting new features, such as AirCover and Split Stays in the Airbnb 2022 summer release, which has been well received by most hosts.

However, sometimes these updates can be somewhat controversial and could turn what was an advantage for some hosts into a disadvantage.

With the Airbnb 2022 Winter Release, what new features are coming, and how will they affect hosts? Let’s share some views on these updates.

1. Even More Aircover

AirCover for Hosts is a top-to-bottom protection for Hosts. It includes guest identity verification, reservation screening, Host damage protection, Host liability insurance, Experience liability insurance, and a 24-hour safety line. These protections are further upgraded in the Airbnb 2022 Winter Release.

$3M damage protection

Vrbo and Booking.com offer a $1,000,000 liability insurance to hosts, and if Airbnb wants to get even more focus, it will have to raise the bar even further, so AirCover now offers protection for parked cars and boats at the listed property, as well as additional protection for art and valuables and increasing damage protection from $1 million to $3 million.

This protection is certainly attractive to new hosts. When you start as a short-term host, you are bound to offer a series of high-value assets in your rental property that will attract bookings, and when you allow strangers to stay in your home, you will have a lot of peace of mind if you feel that your assets are under protection.

Guest identity verification

The comprehensive verification system checks details such as name, address, government ID, and more to confirm the identity of guests who book on Airbnb.

Currently, this covers 90% of all reservations, which is a huge bonus to hosts as they can rely on having a clearer idea of who will be staying at their property, thanks to a stronger vetting process. By spring 2023, 100% of all global bookings will be verified.

This feature is important for hosts, especially new ones.

Reservation screening features

Airbnb’s proprietary technology analyzes hundreds of factors in each reservation and blocks certain bookings that show a high risk for disruptive parties and property damage.

Now, Airbnb says that is exclusive to its platforms, but it’s unclear what specific factors the technology takes into account and how it can successfully differentiate between potential problem guests and well-behaved large groups.

However, this feature will block any request that may seem like a potential rule-breaker and surely be well-received by the majority of hosts.

Easier to file a claim

This feature is designed to make it easier for hosts to notify Airbnb and guests about damaged or lost/stolen items. Following a simple and intuitive process, hosts can inform Airbnb of a broken or missing item, how much it was worth, how old it was, and when it happened. A summary of the claim is then passed to both the platform and the guest. The aim is to provide further protection to hosts while reassuring them of reimbursement in the worst-case scenario.

But for hosts, the troubling thing may not be the previous claims process, but the fact that Airbnb tends to favor protecting the rights of guests when making determinations. Perhaps addressing this nuisance would be welcomed by more hosts.

2. The All-new Airbnb Set Up

The coming recession may drive more people to try to earn more by renting out their listings on Airbnb, over the past year, nearly 30 million people have visited Airbnb to learn about hosting. So with each new product update since 2021, Airbnb is working on lowering the barrier for new hosts to get started.

With this in mind, Airbnb wants it to be far easier when adding your property as a bookable accommodation, Airbnb Set Up in 2022 winter release is designed to make it true.

One-to-one guidance from a Superhost

This new flow for onboarding offers newbie hosts the opportunity to be matched with an existing Superhost in the same area who can guide and advise throughout the setup process free of charge.

New hosts can video call and share their screen with their partnered Superhost, who will help with selecting photos, writing your listing, and sharing any tips they may have.

An experienced guest for the first booking

Now new hosts can choose to host an experienced guest for their first booking—someone with at least three stays and a good track record on Airbnb.

This makes it a less daunting proposition for new hosts, who can use the experience to improve and act on customer feedback.

Specialized support from Airbnb

New Hosts can reach Airbnb’s support agents for help with anything in 42 languages, just like it has for Superhosts.

It is extremely friendly to most new hosts and looks like Airbnb is ready to spend more time and money to get new hosts on the path to success.

3. New Airbnb Categories

In May, Airbnb introduced a new way to search designed around Airbnb Categories. Having distinctive categories will allow the owner to market their vacation home to better meet the needs and desires of potential guests.

Now, there’re six new categories in Airbnb winter release to help hosts identify their market and their customer base, and hosts will be able to view which category their home is in and add category-specific details to their listing.

Airbnb is also improving what Categories are displayed. For example, when you launch the app, you’ll see the Vineyards category if you recently searched for homes in Napa.

In addition, you’ll see more details when viewing categories in search results. For example, homes with amazing views will list the type of view, and homes near national parks will show the distance to the park entrance.

4. Ground Rules for Guests

Ground Rules are rules that cannot be broken by guests, it’s a welcome addition for hosts who want to enforce specific policies as guests must read–and agree to–all the ground rules before booking. A guest will either be warned, suspended, or removed from Airbnb if these rules are broken.

The fact is that every host has always set rules for staying, however, this is only a notification text sent to guests, and whether it is effective or not depends on the strength of the enforcement. I hope this new feature of Airbnb can really play a role in restraining the behavior of guests.

5. Upgrade of The Reviews

Guests and hosts can now add tags to their reviews to provide more specific details about the stay.

For hosts, this feature will allow them to record including if the guest broke any ground rules or if they went over their check-out time. This way, when other hosts receive a booking request, they will see these details and make a better decision.

Airbnb also expanded the reasons a review can be disputed, and now make it easier for hosts to request the removal of unfair, retaliatory reviews no matter how long ago they were left.

You can send reviews to guests, view and respond to guest reviews via Hostex, and all of these actions can be automated. Now sign up for Hostex to automate your multiple channels of listings and reviews!

6. Fast pay

The new Fast Pay feature allows hosts to choose to receive payouts to their debit card in 30 minutes or less (available in the US only).

This will go a long way in relieving the pressure on small hosts who are very sensitive to cash flow. There is no need to wait 24 hours for payment and will make hosts feel more at ease with their financial situation.

And Airbnb will charge a 1.5% fee (with a maximum fee of $15 USD, including tax if applicable) from this, which may also be a way for them to increase their profits.

7. Prices with the cleaning fee

Airbnb will include the cleaning fee in the displayed booking price, which will allow the guest to see the total cost he will pay beforehand while browsing the listing, instead of waiting until the booking is confirmed, making it easier to make a decision and saving unnecessary time-wasting.

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Disclaimer: Hostex is an Airbnb Software Partner. This post, including any claims or statements within, is solely from Hostex and is not endorsed by, directly affiliated with, authorized, or sponsored by Airbnb in any way.