Explanation in relation to customer service within Airbnb has been drawn.
- Details of problem faced by Airbnb.
- Examination of capabilities of Airbnb.
- Investigation of quality management techniques used by Airbnb.
INTRODUCTION
Hospitality industry includes lodging business, hotel services, accommodation facilities, bars, restaurants, entertainment, amusement park and theatres, cafes as well as food and beverages department. Airbnb was founded in August’ 2008 at San Francisco in California. It is a start-up of US which has seen tremendous increase in the revenue with time. Airbnb was launched at the time when founders could not afford their rent. The report will provide a guidance about various issues faced by Airbnb in recent scenario and its capabilities and competencies to improve quality in the coming years. Use of techniques will also be depicted in the present report.
TASK 1
Problems being currently experienced by Airbnb
Airbnb has evolved tremendously providing lodging and accommodation facility to many travellers. The industry has 60 million users, over 2 million listing and has been valued at $25 billion in 2016. Airbnb provides an online platform to allow individuals to rent out their homes, rooms or apartments to visitors. It has though enhanced its operations in few years many problems and issues arises giving travellers a bad experience. Airbnb has been associated with many ill practices majorly in UK and other parts of the world as well. News and stories about murders, injuries, sexual assault and discrimination are common in respect of Airbnb. These issues associated with Airbnb are:
No help at times of Emergency – Many travellers and visitors have faced issues regarding help services at the time of emergency while using Airbnb in UK as these houses are located mostly in suburban areas where network and help reaches late. The Trust pilot has rated the industry as bad with 1 star out of 5.
Irresponsible representative – The people associated with Airbnb are mostly irresponsible and have a neglecting attitude when it comes to help customers. No customer care services are provided and no valuable guidance is given to customers in the UK based services. Many people has rated their customer service team as ill-mannered and carefree.
Pathetic attitude – The team at Airbnb does not help customers in solving problems or engaging with them. Such a poor attitude will impact the overall performance of the industry. Either, they will lose the customers or the customers will shift to other competitors.
Might lose valuable information – The Airbnb personnel has a tendency to interact with customers till they get their money. Afterwards, these people do not maintain any records or ledgers or basically service tickets which could provide solutions to various problems. A service ticket is vital for any company providing online services and should remain open so as to help customers in need.
Poor communication – It has been seemingly felt by many travellers that information shared with Airbnb managers goes in vain and becomes void. Because of the seemingly disorganized nature of customer service system of Airbnb, it can be easy for important and case-relevant information to become lost or misdirected.
Less interaction amongst themselves – It has been researched that many Airbnb service providers interact less to customers and amongst themselves as well which is the major problem responsible for decrease in revenue. Travellers around the world reported chaos and confusion while communicating with Airbnb members.
Blame others – It has been reported by many travellers of Airbnb as feedback that the persons managing Airbnb services blames customers mostly and never take any appropriate decisions regarding problem solving. Poor customer services have also degraded its overall image causing issues.
Low knowledge about technology – Many Airbnb members are not up-to-date about the current technology and know-how which hamper communication and quality customer services. It has been noticed that if you provide support for a service or product, it would seem like a basic job requirement for you to understand the ins and outs of the product you are selling which is totally lacking in them.
Unfair policies and practices – The UK based Airbnb service providers are engaged in unethical practices towards customers and travellers from around the world. It mainly focuses on making a huge amount of money and policies as well as rules that are followed according to the interest of the company. Such an ill behaviour has arose problems for industry as a whole in the UK.
Poor refund system – The company has an ill system of refunding to customers who did not availed the companies services. Reports and social media feedback show that customers have to wait for months to receive their refund amount which becomes hectic for users to always write to support service for refund purposes.
Loopholes in the system – There has been many scams and loopholes in the overall system of Airbnb as they don't keep the promises made at first hand. Low quality of customer services and lagging in refunding amount has arises many problems leading competitors to succeed. Fulfilment of promises is vital so as to maintain a healthy relationship with customers who are the key to success.
Thus, Airbnb is the cheapest mode of finding accommodation while travelling but has several issues associated with its management team in UK. It has been in many disputes causing huge sums of money demanded by customers as refund for providing ill and poor services. For instance, a group of friends in Barcelona has booked a flat using Airbnb services has been locked up in jail as the neighbours thought they were robbers which ruined their trip. The group asked for refund which credited after 5 months of discussion.