Senior Support Specialist (Premium Support)

Airbnb; Ottawa; On-site; CAD 70,000 - 100,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Paid volunteer time

Health food and snacks

Generous parental and family leave

Learning and development

Annual travel and experiences credit

Job summary

Airbnb is seeking a dedicated Senior Specialist, Premium Support to provide exceptional frontline service to the Airbnb community in Canada. The role focuses on end-to-end case resolution for reservations, including the Luxury segment, with autonomy to adapt workflows as needed.

The ideal candidate will have deep customer service experience, strong communication skills, and a passion for maintaining Airbnb's high hospitality standards.

Qualifications

• Experience delivering high-quality customer service in a fast-paced environment.
• Ability to manage complex cases with strong problem-solving skills.
• Excellent communication, listening, and interpersonal abilities.
• Proven ability to handle sensitive situations with discretion and professionalism.

Responsibilities

• Provide end-to-end support for reservations issues across channels.
• Take ownership of cases and resolve them with the best outcome for guests and hosts.
• Becomes a subject matter expert on Airbnb policies and procedures.
• Explain complex information clearly to diverse audiences and stakeholders.
• Negotiate and mediate between hosts and guests to resolve conflicts.
• Proactively anticipate user needs and manage high-urgency situations with care.
• Collaborate cross-functionally with Legal, Policy, and other teams as needed.
• Operate autonomously, following or adapting workflows to achieve optimal results.
• Contribute to team improvements and share insights with management.
• Onboard new employees and support team scaling during growth.
• Maintain flexibility to move between teams and adapt to changing roles.
• Engage with stakeholders to build effective partnerships and drive performance.
• Communicate with empathy, integrity, and a customer-first mindset.
• Be available for on-call duties during evenings and weekends.

Skills

Customer service

Conflict resolution

Multitasking

Communication

CRM systems

Tools

CRM systems

Job description

• We are seeking a dedicated and enthusiastic candidate to provide exceptional Customer Service support to the Airbnb community as a Senior Specialist, Premium Support
• The Senior Specialist, Premium Support functions on the front line interacting directly with both customers & internal stakeholders
• As a Senior Specialist, Premium Support, you will be primarily responsible for providing end-to-end support to key members of our community experiencing an issue with their reservation, including but not limited to the Luxury segment
• You will take ownership of cases, ensuring complete resolution while fostering strong relationships with our users along the way
• A Senior Specialist, Premium Support needs strong communication skills, problem-solving abilities, and customer service expertise
• They will be expected to work in strong autonomy, being able to assess a case & constantly looking for the right solution for both Host, Users and internal stakeholders
• As part of this role, you are required to be flexible and may be required to move to different teams within Community Support and/or take up different responsibilities from those set out below
• The responsibilities listed below are not exhaustive. Given the fast-moving nature of this work, the responsibilities set out below may change and additional duties may be assigned as needed
• Complex case management: Provide the highest level of service to our community in each and every case, including handling the service’s most severe and urgent cases
• Interact with Airbnb customers and community members through all current and future channels, both inside and outside of Airbnb tools
• Take end-to-end ownership of all assigned cases: ensuring a complete final resolution is reached based on workflows, management guidelines & your own assessment of the case situation
• Become a subject matter expert in Airbnb policies and procedures
• Explains and simplify complex information, provide appropriate context, and address complex questions with confidence
• Ability to negotiate & mediate between Host & Guest in resolving the issues at hand on high-stake & high-value reservations
• Proactively anticipate users expectations regarding case resolution and work towards the best outcome for all parties involved, thinking outside the box & constantly looking for compromises
• Manage highly sensitive cases end to end that might include working cross functionally with Legal, Policy, other services, etc
• Operate in full autonomy, making the decisions to follow or go outside of workflows to resolve our customers issues with the best outcome possible from both our community & business expectations
• Combining efficiency with bespoke quality: Set the gold standard for performance for the service, providing consistently personalized and exceptional customer support to guests and Hosts, ensuring their unique needs and preferences are met with the highest level of care and attention
• Acts consistently impeccably in handling of customer-facing casework, personalizing communications and demonstrating the highest hospitality standards
• Drive cases to conclusion with a sense of urgency and without error, using strong judgment to make exceptions in ambiguous situations
• Participating in your team’s improvement: Leverage your functional operational knowledge to proactively lead the team to succeed
• Provide insights about community experience and continuous improvement opportunities to your Management
• Supports the simplification of complex processes and ways of working within the team
• Supports Management on initiatives as assigned, such as to drive performance improvements, supporting management on consultations, acting as an SME, etc
• Supports onboarding of new employees
• Be a positive force in the team and help management drive & land changes with the least frictions possible
• Willing to take on various tasks and responsibilities as needed (including moving teams) and showing openness to new challenges and a proactive approach to work
• Stakeholder engagement: You build and maintain strategic partnerships to achieve team or functional goals
• Demonstrates a high degree of flexibility, approachability, and integrity when resolving sensitive/complex issues relying on management when in doubt
• Write clearly and concisely, translating complex ideas to multiple audiences, and knowing which stakeholder needs to be consulted about what
• Build & nurture relationships outside of your team
• You are on-call to handle emergency situations in the evenings & weekends
• Inspire a culture where quality is a core principle

Benefits

• Paid volunteer time
• Health food and snacks
• Generous parental and family leave
• Learning and development
• Annual travel and experiences credit

The ideal candidate is flexible, hospitable, analytical, and committed to delivering the highest standards of service in English, spoken and writtenThe ideal candidate will be open to a role which will evolve based on business needs and will be flexible to meet those needsAbility to thrive in an ambiguous, fast-paced, and complex environment, acting proactively to respond quickly and decisivelyEmpathy and patience in dealing with customers, especially in high-pressure situationsWorld class interpersonal and communication skills, both written and spoken, including conflict resolutionCapable of adjusting to evolving roles and job duties with openness and flexibility, as well as moving to a new team6+ years of relevant experience in multicultural customer service teams, preferably in the hospitality industry (experience with high-profile and influential clientele is preferred) and in a role making calls and handling customer/client contactsProactive attitude towards embracing new challenges and adjusting to changing priorities and environmentsFluency in English, spoken and written is requiredAdvanced computer skills, including Apple/Mac OS, Google Suite, and familiarity with CRM systems and the ability to quickly learn new toolsHospitality experience is a plus, in particular working for technology platforms. Prior experience using phone, messaging, or live chat to interact with users/customers is preferredExperience engaging with executive-level stakeholders to resolve conflicts in a detailed, effective and timely manner, and demonstrated ability to explain complex ideas simply and clearlyAble to assess risk accurately, understand level of urgency, exercise good judgment, and share the most pertinent information with stakeholders, including ExecutivesExcellent organizational skills, including prioritization, multitasking, attention to detail, and meeting goals and commitmentsAbility to adapt to new tasks and responsibilities as neededPassion for delivering exceptional customer service and setting a high barAbility to work weekend days and public holidays, as well as early morning / evening shifts. Your schedule can change to meet business needsActive listening skillsExperience engaging with executive-level stakeholders, and demonstrated ability to explain complex ideas simply and clearly