HOSTMAKER Reviews

The bulk of this review is inevitably the cons. Starting from the top down, the 'CEO' whilst mostly correct and steering the company in the right direction 2/3 years ago is now completely out of his depth. The size and scope of the business just does not fit into the frequent and now often incorrect whims of the CEO. A team of 50-100 long serving employees is much more able to pivot and change business direction at the speed wanted than a team of 200-250 as it is now. The level of micromanagement from the 'Big 3' managers is unsustainable and is holding back the business. This trickles down to the middle management, who are more likely to be in their position due to nepotism and favoritism than any kind of meritocracy or actual ability. They learn their trade on the job and learn from the top, their management style reflects the CEO/Co-Founder and unless you have fallen in line with these values and resign yourself to the system in place, you have no chance to build a career. The lower tier employees are restricted and silenced whilst the blame almost inevitably runs down to this level, a mistake is made at a very basic level and no responsibility falls on the manager, their manager, the business itself or the training provided. With the sheer level of turnover at this level it is shocking how little blame falls higher up the chain for this ridiculous churn. If you do not align yourself fully with the values, buzzwords, toeing the legal grey area, blame culture then you are seen as toxic and expendable and told to 'Leave as we don't need you here'. Following mass Firing/Redundancy in Feb 2019, the moral has dropped to a record low in this level of the business. The CEO informed two entire departments that they were surplus to requirements in a company wide meeting and this has not been forgotten. Any attempts from the top to raise moral, whitewash this period or lift spirits is taken in the most cynical way from those who survived. Whilst they do recognise this lack of moral and confidence, the CEO/Co-Founder have done very little meaningful work to rectify or apologise for this, either to those still here or those who have left.

I worked in the Hostmaker full-time for a year. Unfortunately, from a professional perspective, it had been the worst experience I have ever had. Personally, I had always been used to working hard and long hours, but this was paired with respect from colleagues and the Management, something that does not happen in Hostmaker. There will be no genuine thank you, there will be no pat on the back, there might be a shout out in a global hub but this is to benefit the CEO/COO and not the individuals at all (then they can say how supportive they are, do not be fooled they are not). Employees of the business are also often pretty rude but what can you expect if this is what they are taught. Whilst, initially top Management are welcoming and seemed to take on board the expertise and input provided, it is all about the ‘seem’. The CEO is very opinionated (but not open minded at all) and very irrational (same with the co-founder, however they are very different characters), in reality he only deals well with people that do not oppose his decisions and behaviors. Being an entrepreneur is no easy task (I do think that the idea of Hostmaker is great, it is the execution that lacks any solid grounds), however having anger fits, screaming and shouting at your Management Team should not be acceptable at all – you are at work not at home even if you own the business. The fact that the CEO has an ‘MBA’ does not mean that he knows how to run a business and the best leaders acknowledge their weaknesses and surround themselves with people who do have the right skills. The fact that top Management walked around to ask for glassdoor results is shameful however not surprising as the business had been also actively making fake bookings to add positive reviews on Trustpilot / Airbnb.