Senior Specialist, Premium Support

Airbnb was born in 2007 when two hosts welcomed three guests to their San Francisco home, and has since grown to over 5 million hosts who have welcomed over 2 billion guest arrivals in almost every country across the globe. Every day, hosts offer unique stays and experiences that make it possible for guests to connect with communities in a more authentic way.

The community you will join:

We are looking for a dedicated and enthusiastic candidate to provide exceptional customer service to the Airbnb community as a Senior Specialist, Premium Support. The ideal person is flexible, hospitable, analytical, and determined to deliver the highest standards of service, in English, both orally and in writing.

The difference you will make:

The Senior Specialist, Premium Support works on the front lines, in direct interaction with customers as well as internal stakeholders. In this capacity, you will be primarily responsible for providing end-to-end support to key members of our community experiencing issues related to their reservations, including, but not limited to, those in the luxury segment. You will take ownership of cases, ensuring their complete resolution, while building strong relationships with our users.

A Senior Specialist, Premium Support must possess strong communication, problem-solving, and customer service skills. The person will need to work with great autonomy, being able to assess a case and constantly research the best solution, both for the host and for users, as well as for internal stakeholders. In this role, you will need to demonstrate flexibility and may be called upon to change teams within Community Support and/or assume different responsibilities than those described below. The ideal candidate will be open to a role that is expected to evolve according to the needs of the company and will know how to adapt to these needs.

A typical day:

The responsibilities listed below are not exhaustive. Given the fast-paced nature of this work, these responsibilities may change and additional tasks may be assigned as needed.

Complex Case Management: Providing the highest level of service to our community in every case, including handling the most serious and urgent cases in the service.

• Interacting with customers and Airbnb community members through all current and future channels, both inside and outside of Airbnb tools

• Taking full ownership of all assigned cases, ensuring a complete final resolution is reached, based on working methods, management guidelines, and your own assessment of the situation

• Becoming an expert in Airbnb policies and procedures

• Explaining and simplifying complex information, providing appropriate context, and answering complex questions with confidence

• Being able to negotiate and mediate between the host and the traveler to resolve issues involved in high-stakes and high-value reservations

• Proactively anticipating user expectations regarding case resolution and working towards the best possible outcome for all parties involved, by thinking outside the box and constantly seeking compromises

• Managing highly sensitive cases end-to-end, which may involve working cross-functionally with Legal, Policy, and other departments

• Acting with full autonomy, making the decision to follow or deviate from established working methods in order to resolve our customers' problems with the best possible outcome, both from the perspective of the community and the company

Combining efficiency and personalized quality: Setting the performance benchmark for service, by providing constantly personalized and exceptional customer support to travelers and hosts, ensuring that their unique needs and preferences are met with the highest level of care and attention

• Acting consistently impeccably in managing customer-facing cases, personalizing communications, and demonstrating the highest standards of hospitality

• Driving cases to completion with a sense of urgency and without error, demonstrating good judgment to make exceptions in ambiguous situations

Contributing to your team's improvement: Leveraging your functional operational knowledge to proactively lead your team toward success

• Providing management with observations on the community experience and opportunities for continuous improvement

• Supporting the simplification of complex processes and working methods within the team

• Supporting management in assigned initiatives, such as performance improvement, supporting consultations, acting as a content expert, etc.

• Supporting the onboarding of new employees

• Being a positive force within the team and helping management lead and implement changes with as little friction as possible

• Being willing to take on various tasks and responsibilities as needed (including changing teams), demonstrating openness to new challenges and a proactive approach to work

Stakeholder Mobilization: You establish and maintain strategic partnerships to achieve team or functional goals

• Demonstrating a high degree of flexibility, approachability, and integrity when resolving sensitive or complex problems, relying on management in case of doubt

• Writing clearly and concisely, translating complex ideas for different audiences, and knowing which stakeholder to consult and on what subject

• Establishing and maintaining relationships outside of your team

• Being available on call to manage emergency situations in the evenings and on weekends

• Inspiring a culture where quality is a fundamental principle

Your expertise:

• 6 years or more of relevant experience within multicultural customer service teams, ideally in the hospitality sector (experience with high-level and influential clientele is an asset), and in a role involving calls and managing customer contacts

• Hospitality experience is an asset, particularly within technology platforms. Previous experience using telephone, messaging, or live chat to interact with users is preferred.

• Experience interacting with executive-level stakeholders to resolve conflicts in a detailed, efficient, and rapid manner, and a demonstrated ability to explain complex ideas in a simple and clear way.

• Ability to work weekends and holidays, as well as morning or evening shifts. Your schedule may change according to business needs.

Your skills and expertise:

• World-class interpersonal and communication skills, both oral and written, including conflict resolution

• Active listening skills

• Empathy and patience in customer interactions, particularly in high-pressure situations

• Excellent organizational skills, including prioritization, multitasking, attention to detail, and meeting goals and commitments

• Passion for providing exceptional customer service and establishing high standards

• Ability to thrive in an ambiguous, fast-paced, and complex environment, acting proactively to respond quickly and decisively

• Ability to adapt to new tasks and responsibilities as needed

• Proactive attitude toward new challenges and adjusting to changing priorities and environments

• Ability to adapt to evolving roles and functions with openness and flexibility, as well as changing teams

• Experience interacting with executive-level stakeholders, and a demonstrated ability to explain complex ideas in a simple and clear way

• Ability to accurately assess risks, understand the degree of urgency, demonstrate good judgment, and share the most relevant information with stakeholders, including management members

• Advanced computer skills, including Apple/Mac OS, Google Suite, and knowledge of CRM (customer relationship management) systems, as well as the ability to quickly learn new tools

• Proficiency in English, both oral and written, is required.

Your workplace:

This position is eligible for remote work - Canada. The role may include occasional work in an Airbnb office or participation in company events, as agreed upon with your manager. Although the position is eligible for remote work, you must reside in a province where Airbnb Canada, Inc. has a registered entity. We can currently hire in the following provinces: Ontario, British Columbia, Quebec, Alberta, and Saskatchewan. This list is constantly evolving; therefore, please check with your recruiter to find out which provinces you are eligible to work in.

Our commitment to inclusion and belonging:

Airbnb is committed to working with the widest possible talent pool. We believe that diversity of ideas fosters innovation and mobilization, and allows us to attract creative people, as well as to develop the best products, services, and solutions. All qualified persons are encouraged to apply.

We also strive to offer an inclusive application and interview process for persons with disabilities. If you are a candidate with a disability and require reasonable accommodations to submit an application, please contact us at: reasonableaccommodations@airbnb.com. Please include your full name, the position you are applying for, and the accommodation needed to assist you in the recruitment process.

We ask that you contact us only if you are a candidate whose disability prevents you from completing our online application form.

We use automated tools to help our recruitment team efficiently review a large volume of applications. All final hiring decisions are made by a real person.

This position is newly created and does not replace or fill an existing position.

How We'll Take Care of You:

Our job titles may span more than one career level. The actual base pay is dependent upon many factors, such as: training, transferable skills, work experience, business needs and market demands. The base pay range shown below is annualized, is subject to change and may be modified in the future. This role may also be eligible for bonus, equity, benefits, and Employee Travel Credits.

Canada Annual Pay Range $83,000 — $88,000 CAD

Reasonable Accommodations: We are committed to providing reasonable accommodations throughout the recruitment process for applicants with disabilities. If you need assistance, or an accommodation, please let your recruiter know once you are contacted about a role.

A Note on Recruiting Scams: Scammers sometimes pose as Airbnb recruiters to get money or personal information from candidates. A few things that will always be true for Airbnb’s hiring process: our open roles are posted on Airbnb’s Career’s Page at careers.airbnb.com, and our recruiters correspond only from @ airbnb.com or @ ext.airbnb.com email addresses. Our recruiters will never ask for your Social Security number, bank account details, passport, or payment app information while you are interviewing. We’ll also never ask you to pay a fee, send money, deposit or cash a check, or purchase work-related equipment (such as a company laptop) during the interview process. We encourage candidates to remain vigilant of these recruiting scams and not share sensitive information if you do not believe an individual is actually affiliated with Airbnb.