Bigger is better: Changing perceptions of “large hosts”

I read a lot of press about our industry, both the good and the bad. When the publicity is good, most of the time, it’s a story about a retired couple or a struggling artist ‘Airbnbing’ their spare room (or spare property) to make ends meet. 

Airbnb is pushing this narrative, too. By always talking about ‘hosts’ and even rebranding property managers as ‘cohosts,’ it’s become clear that Airbnb wants to project an image of a community of individuals who do in-person check-ins with gift baskets of local produce and don’t use any technology (besides Airbnb, of course). They also suggest that hosts provide better hospitality than professional property managers.

And the data seems to corroborate this story in part: Brian Chesky, Airbnb CEO, claims that the average rating for a co-host on Airbnb is higher than that of a ‘third-party’ property manager. AirDNA has also found that the larger the portfolio, the lower the score, especially on the communication front. 

And maybe it’s partly a psychological factor. It’s much harder to give a bad review to a person than a faceless company — that’s just how our brains work. It’s the same reason Airbnb often puts forward its CEO, Brian Chesky, in videos and interviews, and very often in a t-shirt, like a normal, real person, rather than a corporate suit or written statement.

Mega-chain vs. B&B