Co-founder of https://xitter.cf/t.co/k4UNLJzsDv, a zero-effort budget you can use at a glance. Formerly, engineer at @Airbnb and @MysterySci.
San Francisco, CA
Joined August 2008
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Budget to a "Free House" medium.com/@avand/budget-to-…
The story of purchasing my first home and how budgeting made it possible.
Some of blocked dates were for the following week so making them available meant they would likely go unbooked. Inevitably, both listings sat vacant for a week, which never happens.
I have hosted hundreds of reservations and maintain a 4.9 star rating as a SuperHost. God knows the service fees Airbnb has made as a result. I’m super grateful for the product to create this financial opportunity for me. But man, they make it so frustrating sometimes!
I Googled “smartbnb” and discovered that it’s a 3rd party integration (perhaps formerly Hospitable): smartbnb.io. I asked my co-host if she knew what this was and she said that another host she works with had set it up recently.
I tried unblocking the dates and within a few minutes they were blocked again. Then, I changed my co-host’s access to be more limited, removing her ability to make calendar changes and that stopped the blocks from happening.
I called Airbnb and reported the issue. They were not able to explain what was happening so I took debugging into my own hands. Fun fact: the CX agent was reporting the bug using software I wrote when I worked there!
One day, I woke up to a bunch of random dates being blocked on my calendar. The same dates across both listings were blocked. There was a note on the block like “Smartbnb <reservation-code> Airbnb.” I didn’t block these dates. I called my co-host and she didn’t either.
I have two vacation rentals listed with Airbnb. I also have a co-host that helps me with the listing management. She chimes in from time to time to read or reply to messages on the app. She had full access to both my listings but I had to limit her access to workaround this bug.
I don’t love to blow up a product’s spot due to a bug. But this one from @Airbnb is spectacular and the way it’s being handled is so stereotypical to Airbnb’s support I have to call it out in hopes of some change.
Typing is a great modality for interfacing with a computer. I don't think it's a great way to connect with humans. If you want to connect, send me a voice memo or call me please.
My work on Awedience at Airbnb landed me a patent and makes me feel proud. patents.google.com/patent/US…
What is Awedience? medium.com/airbnb-engineerin…
As you may have heard, @Intuit is shutting down @mint by the end of the year and pushing users to @creditkarma, which doesn't really do what Mint does. I've tried dozens of alternatives (free & paid) and wrote up a comparison guide:
lopery.substack.com/p/mint-i…
Hope it helps!