AirBnB: Host With The Most

With nearly 17 million guest stays this summer, AirBnB is creating an industry out of thin air but can it overcome political and social hurdles to continue disrupting the travel industry?  

Are you an AirBnB host?  I am.  There’s nothing like your first time, the trepidation: which valuables to lock up? will they trash our place? or even worse: will they not love our home? give us low ratings?  

AirBnB, there’s so much to discuss, let’s unpack the product over a few blogs, starting with how AirBnB should address the backlash while refreshing their mobile app for hosts.  

My wife and I decided to give it a try: set up profile; arrange professional photographer; book first stay; check, check, check.  So, remind me again why we’re letting complete strangers have our home for a weekend?  sleep in our beds, wash their naked bodies in our showers, co-habitate our space with our precious little beta fish!  why?  We want to be part of the sharing economy.  We put great care in making our home a stylish, comfortable space and love opening it up to others; oh yeah, and they’re paying us.  

While my AirBnB experience, so far has been good; the mobile app missed my expectations and there’s room for improving it for hosts, like me.

Also, if AirBnB is going to extend their stay atop the industry, they must address political and social concerns: Trust, Safety, and Regulations and it makes sense to do this while sprucing up their mobile app.  For now, let’s focus on Trust and Safety, we’ll get to Regulations later. 

THE GOOD

I like the aesthetic of AirBnb’s mobile app.  It offers a clean design: crisp, intuitive iconography; snappy pics; without excessive lines or superfluous UI elements.  Other standouts:

• Help Center is well organized and full of useful information
• Host/Guest toggle for context switching between hosting and traveling, great!
• Edit Listing is clearly presented with obvious anchors and a handy preview  
• Groups are easy to find and follow  

OPPORTUNITY FOR IMPROVEMENT

Quick Rant: The AirBnB app should be situationally aware.  What do I mean? 

AirBnB Landing Page, Meh.

Without reservation requests, the landing page, the entryway into the app is a bland, colorless, dull message screen: “No Reservation Requests.”  This from a team that prides itself on design?  it’s the oatmeal of landing pages.  

Also, my wife and I share Google Calendar, Google Drive,  iTunes Library, bank accounts, Amex Cards, but I have to log into her AirBnB account to help manage our listing.  Be situationally aware.  
Rant over.  

The AirBnB app was pitched as the “Host Home” for managing listings; and since launch the world has changed, hosts need more tools to feel at home. 

Tools to help them address concerns related to: Trust, Safety, Regulations.  

TRUST

Trust is built on verification of reputation; and the AirBnB App must support use cases which build Trust. 

Guest Star Ratings
AirBnB guests should be rated, just like Uber and Lyft passengers.  Guest reviews are good, but a Guest Star Rating is more concise: 

Guest Start Ratings In Profile

Host Screenings
Verified ID links your AirBnB profile to your online identities, like Facebook.  It’s great, but AirBnB should take the next step and perform background checks on participating hosts.  Background checks of hosts would help alleviate Trust issues and even prevent those with a spotty past from becoming hosts. 

Matchmaking
Matching goes beyond the room; AirBnB should be matching hosts and guests, creating harmony by pairing lifestyles.  Familiarity builds Trust.  And, yes, there’s even a host out there for the 22 year olds in town for Outside Lands, Coachella, whatever festival (that host most likely doesn’t have light colored rugs).   

The matching algorithm should include attributes for both hosts and guests: 

• Star rating 
• Number of identity verifications
• Background checks
• Amenities 
• Safety features
• Lifestyle details  

Host/guest matchmaking would further differentiate AirBnB from hotels; and enhance their unique experience. 

Conditional Approvals
Hosts have 24 hours to respond to guest queries and make a booking decision, or approval ratings will suffer.  Even if waiting for guests to... ah, let’s say prove they’re not a serial killer!  This is stressful and would be streamlined with conditional approvals.  If the only thing preventing me approving a booking is the guest missing reviews or Verified IDs, let me add these as conditionals for approval, turn it back on them, 24 hours to book.   

Hosts have 24 hours to respond…. Even if waiting for guests to... um, let’s say prove they’re not a serial killer!  

Conditional Instabook  
Instabook is removing approvals from your listing, so anyone can book it.  Yeah, right!  “No, we ain’t do’in that.”  While we’re not about to let just anyone stay in our home, I would entertain the idea under certain conditions, like: 

• Limit four guests
• Five star guest
• Background check

• No smoking
• No children
• No parties

Otherwise, Instabook is a nonstarter. 

SAFETY

Safety is assured with adequate precautions and a plan, in case of emergency.  

Message Center
The landing page would be better suited as a Message Center to help communications between hosts and guest and timely, safety reminders.  The app should know when, say I have active guests, their messages go to the Message Center, the rest can still go to the email Inbox.  Be situationally aware.

If I were the manager of a hotel this would keep me dialed into my VIP guests.  Some examples:

• Messages from active guest
• Reminder safety checklist before guests arrive
• Important alerts on local regulations where I have listings
• Breaking news near listings with my active guests 

Host Tips are great, but they’re buried in a one-and-done wizard.  To address Safety concerns the app needs to be more dynamic and, situationally aware. 

Safety Net
Life is uncertain, and when things go wrong in a hotel the staff has your back; at an AirBnB, not so much.  

AirBnB has an emergency contact, listed in the account profile, quite simply they should use it.  My emergency contact should be able to find out from AirBnB where I’m staying.  

Also, the AirBnB app should have location based Police and Fire contacts to contact local authorities.  Do you know how to call the fire department in, say, Beijing? 

FUTURE

The future is now, well at least we have a glimpse.  Between writing and posting this blog, AirBnB announced their Apple Watch App which could act like the Message Center I defined above.  Good to see we’re on the same page.   This could be a good start, but if it’s not situationally aware and focused on core use cases, it’ll be a miss.

BOTTOM LINE

The AirBnB app is clean, snappy, and well designed.  But if AirBnB is is going to overcome recent backlash it should address Trust, Safety, and Regulations and be a link between hosts and their guests.   With well appointed additions, the app could be a Message Center for specific alerts and timely checklist reminders while supporting features to address Trust and Safety.  Otherwise, the PR nightmares will continue to mount, which would burst their bubble.            

NEXT TIME

It’s no secret AirBnB wants to go from managing one part of travel, the room, to the entire experience.  Next time, we’ll take a closer look at how adding basic hospitality services can help AirBnB go beyond the room and hold the customers they grab.  As well as digging into app features which can help with Regulations.  Oh, and maybe take a closer look at the Apple Watch App. 

Meerkat v. Periscope, Next Episode

Whoa!  that was fast, just a week after my June 30th blog, Meerkat rolls a major update, addressing key areas that were begging for improvement.  

Their V1.5 release is ambitious and demonstrates: 

1. they get it (or at least they read this blog, haha) and
2. they have a strong ability execute   

Let’s walk through it; then compare to the July 8 release from Periscope. 

CAMEO

As the name suggests, enables the broadcaster add a viewer for a brief appearance in their livestream.  Simply tap on a viewer’s icon from the audience and invite them to cameo.  

• Cameo meerkaters must be invited by and accept the broadcaster's invitation 
• Cameos are one at a time
• Cameo streams display nested inside the host’s livestream 
• Cameo streams last 60 seconds

This is awesome! a creative way to improve Engagement  and even better than my suggestion: allow livestream viewers to leave voice memos (like “love line” call in shows) but why stop there? it’s all about live and video, duh!  

Well played.

FACEBOOK CONNECTION

Connect your Meerkat account to Facebook to “magically” Discover friends and interests.  It’s about time (easy for me to say).  But this had to happen, my #1, NOT-SO-BOLD-PREDICTION from last week.  Time to move on from the Twitter episode; I have 1.44 Billion reasons why.

NO SOCIAL MEDIA, NO PROBLEM!

For those out there without a Twitter or Facebook account… wait... do you even read blogs? was this printed and mailed to you? anyway, now Meerkat accounts can be created with just a phone number, welcome!

MEERKAT LIBRARY 

Livestream videos live on; now Meerkat will host your finished streams so you and others can watch them later.  This is close to my suggestion of a more seamless connection to YouTube, letting Google store the ended streams; perhaps Meerkat learned their lesson from another company, eh hem, tweet, tweet. 

SHARE BEYOND TWITTER

Sharing is seminal for growth and Meerkat now allows notifications of upcoming streams to be shared out to Instagram, Facebook, and Tumblr.  

SEARCH

Meerkat now has search!  previously there was a sad text box masquerading as search; not anymore.  Meerkat. Now. Has. Search.  This is a good start for the Discover use case, but limited to finding friends; still plenty of opportunity for improvement here.  

LEADER BOARD UPDATE

Now there’s both “Past Week” and “All Time” leaders *yawn* but more importantly for Discovery the “Suggested” list helps you find people to follow based on your connections; and thus Meerkat Social Graph begins.

AND IN OTHER NEWS…

Periscope released 1.1.2 with the following, it’s not fair to compare, but let’s do it anyway:

• Profile edits of name, photo, and description
• Blocked comments displayed as such (to the broadcaster)
• Polished the design of “Featured Users” and Broadcast Share” sections

THE BOTTOM LINE

Meerkat won this round.  V1.5 shows great promise, as the team focuses on Discover, Engagement, and Share use case to enhance their ability for grabbing and holding users, well after the initial novelty wears off.  Periscope unfortunately, dropped a point release on the same day; was this a true comparison?  No.  But will the ongoing Twitter management drama weigh down their ability to execute?  because, the ‘kat moves fast and they’ll have to sprint hard to keep up.   

Meerkat v. Periscope

This month, with Meerkat announcing coverage of @sharkweek and Nestlé running the first ever sponsored Periscope, @drumstick, livestream video moves closer to mainstream.  But are they ready for primetime?

It’s still too early to call this one, both services have shown promise; moving from just grabbing users with Discovery and Sharing use cases to holding them with deeper Engagement while creating an Ecosystem for developers.

Let’s compare Meerkat and Periscope against how well they Grab and Hold viewers and creators. 

DISCOVER

Discovery is seminal for growth; for livestream video to gain adoption, viewers must find content.  So far it’s been rough sledding; finding streams is more happenstance than anything.  But, there’re been a few bright spots: the Meerkat browser plugin launches a page which contains an Alice In Wonderland like question “Bored? Random Meerkat” which launches you into a random livestream.  This feature is fun, I like it, it embraces the randomness of finding livestream videos. While Periscope offers their Twitter page, ho hum.  But then again Periscope has full Twitter Social Graph for finding your friends and a respectable search for finding others, like celebs and public figures.  Meerkats search requires typing an exact Twitter handle - which is remedial search, more like an “enter box.”

NOTEWORTHY | DISCOVER

Periscope’s Map View, is great! it’s a creative way to open a window up to a place.  “What’s happening in Sao Paulo?” tap it to list local livestreams. 

SHARE

Sharing makes livestream social, viral and growth exponential.  Initially, sharing options for both were predictably limited to Twitter posts.  Since, Meerkat has been busy and now offers Facebook posts and share to phone contacts; and from their website player include Twitter, Facebook, and copy link; the table below lists the rest.

NOTEWORTHY | SHARE

Meerkat’s Embedded Player, is a crafty tool that allows creators to insert a livestream player onto their site. It’s easy, check it out!  Discovery Channel is using this for the upcoming @sharkweek livestream.  

ENGAGEMENT

Twitter acquired Periscope to help with their infamous Engagement problem.  And if livestream video expects to live up to its great expectations the content must be more engaging; holding the users they’ve grabbed after the initial novelty wears off.  Recently, they’ve both shown promise in their own way; Meerkat with fun, quirky animations and easter eggs, mobbing, and basic scheduling (dare I say ‘scheduled programming?’ we’re not there yet) and Periscope with private broadcasts - give the non-exhibitioninsts a nudge.  

NOTEWORTHY | ENGAGEMENT

Meerkats’ Mobbing, effectively makes livestreaming social by promoting popular streams which are trending.  And there’s a cute graphic of a meerkat in a yellow submarine. 

Pericsope’s Design, is slick, clean with a well-organized layout and a fit and finish expected from a product a year in the making.  The iconography is beautiful and just makes sense and even data heavy displays like user profile cards are refreshingly legible.   The map views support their fundamental vision: to share a person’s window into a place. 

ECOSYSTEM

For services which capture and broadcast live content their surrounding Ecosystem is critical.  Think about it; the components in their must have user experience: from the hardware used to capture and play livestream videos to the sites they depend on for sharing this content and adding new users.  Ecosystem is the silent, behind the scenes growth multiplier.  So far, Meerkat is way out in front here.  Nowhere is this more obvious than with the number of 3rd Party projects listed on Product Hunt, producthunt.com, 17 for Meerkat and just 5 for Periscope.    

NOTEWORTHY | ECOSYSTEM

Meerkat’s 3rd Party Services, could be how Meerkat stays competitive with Twitter owned Periscope.  Of the 17 services listed on Product Hunt one of my favorites is the browser plugin that launches the Meerkat portal page which includes the “Random Meerkat” button and alerts of streams going live.

NOT-SO-BOLD PREDICTIONS

1. Meerkat cozies up to Facebook, says “I’ll see your Twitter Social Graph and raise you a Facebook.”  What’s better than 300 million users? well, 1.44 billion users.

2. Periscope is caught up in Twitter’s management drama - dramaa! - product development and innovation start to slow.

3. Livestream video breaks out into wearables, like Google Glass (don't call it a "comeback"), and drones.

Meerkat Livestream Alert Posted To Facebook

TAKING STOCK

The reports of Meerkat’s death were greatly exaggerated by more than one guy and they’re fighting back after losing their early lead.  

But while Meerkat is winning the feature chase, their product efforts, at times, seem like throwing stuff against the wall to see what sticks. 

​ The mixed bag of often half-baked features lacks clarity and a cohesive direction.  Without a vision they’ll soon lose their befuddled audience.  For a startup with limited resources that which you don't do is more important than what you do.  Saying “no” focuses the team on what matters, putting more wood behind fewer arrows.  On the other hand, Periscope has been more measured and professional but is starting to fall behind in functionality and as Meerkat’s API and ecosystem take off it’ll be difficult to keep pace with the ‘kat.  Will it be Meerkat? Periscope? or both that take livestream video into mainstream?