A recap of the April 9 Host Update with CEO Brian Chesky

[Airbnb]

CEO Brian Chesky kicked off this week’s talk with an update on the state of global travel: 4 billion people around the world are now staying at home, borders continue to close, and many airlines have grounded their flights. The travel industry is struggling, and we know hosts are feeling the impact.

But there’s still a lot to be hopeful about, especially when we look at what’s happening right here in our community. From offering accommodations to COVID-19 responders to sharing the magic of Airbnb Experiences from your homes, so many of you continue to find ways to host and connect.

Brian talked about all of this and more—here are some of the key takeaways from his latest Host Update:

An exciting milestone for our Frontline Stays program

Just two weeks ago, we launched our Frontline Stays program to offer accommodations for healthcare professionals responding to COVID-19 around the world. And we have been so inspired by the incredible response from our host community. As of today, you’ve already offered over 100,000 places to stay for COVID-19 responders.

The Frontline Stays program is just one more example of the tenacity and generosity of Airbnb hosts. We’re incredibly grateful for all you do. 

Clarity around our Superhost Relief Fund eligibility requirements

We’re happy to share that the Superhost Relief Fund is expanding by an extra $7 million USD, bringing it to a total of $17 million USD of support. Many of you are wondering why hosts with more than two listings aren’t eligible to apply. The spirit of this program is to help people who host in their primary homes, and we’ll be prioritizing hosts based on their tenure with Airbnb and how much their earnings have declined due to COVID-19. We’re planning to invite eligible hosts by May 15 and distribute grants by May 31.

In the meantime, we’re finding other ways to help our diverse community of hosts, starting with auto-granting Superhost status in July for anyone who was a Superhost in our April 1 assessment. That means if you were a Superhost in April, you’ll maintain your status regardless of your cancellation or booking rate. Learn more about the Superhost Relief Fund

Support for hosts who have Flexible cancellation policies

Last week, we announced that we’ll be investing $250 million USD to share in the cost of COVID-19-related cancellations. For hosts impacted by these cancellations under our extenuating circumstances policy, we’ll pay 25% of what you would have received through your own cancellation policy.

Since these cash disbursements depend on the amount you would have retained under your cancellation policy, those of you with Flexible and Moderate policies may be less likely to benefit from them. But we’re working on other ways to support you, starting with getting you more bookings as quickly as we can. We've rolled out a new search filter so guests can find your listings more easily, and we're making your listings more visible in other ways, too. We’re seeing signs that this is what guests want—the share of bookings with a Flexible policy is now 15% higher than it was before COVID-19.

A new way to connect: Online Experiences

After pausing Airbnb Experiences last month, we heard from countless hosts who wanted to keep hosting and who believed they could offer a similar level of connection online. So we’re excited to announce the launch of Online Experiences—an idea that came directly from our hosts! Online Experiences will allow hosts to earn money, share their passions, and connect with others, whether it’s an individual hoping to learn a new skill or a group of colleagues doing a team-building exercise. We’re also partnering with local organizations to bring Online Experiences to senior citizens who may be feeling lonely and isolated right now. Hosts are already offering Online Experiences like magic lessons, cooking classes, guided meditations, and more.

Interested in hosting an Online Experience? We'll be offering hosts personalized support services for curating, capturing, and sharing their online content. Learn more at Airbnb.com/onlinehost

Let’s stay connected

Your feedback has been more important than ever as we navigate this unprecedented time. So much of our response has been guided by your personal stories, questions, and suggestions, and we’re going to keep finding ways to connect with you.

We’ll continue to hold listening sessions with hosts around the world, and we’ll be bringing you a Host Update with Brian at Airbnb.com/live every week for a while. Next Tuesday, April 14, Brian will be getting insights about hosting and staying safe during the COVID-19 pandemic from Dr. Larry Brilliant, the epidemiologist who is best known for helping to eradicate smallpox. 

Thank you once again for being an Airbnb host. Please continue to share your thoughts and questions in the comments below, and we’ll do our best to address them in future Airbnb.com/live events.

[Huma0]

Thanks @Sarah977 

That's certainly interesting. I wonder where that was hidden as I haven't seen it anywhere on Airbnb communication. Then again, it's hard to keep up!

Well, let's see if I am one of the (I assume small fraction of) hosts that get 'invited' to apply...

[Sarah977]

@Huma0  Here's the link. They definitely didn't make it easy to find.

https://www.airbnb.com/resources/hosting-homes/a/answers-to-your-questions-about-the-superhost-relie...

[Huma0]

@Sarah977 

It is strange. You'd think given how many hosts have been asking about this that they would have highlighted this article rather than hidden it!

So, apparently I do qualify, but I'm not expecting an invitation. I understand that they are going to be comparing this year's earnings to last, but still not sure if they are going to base their selection on the hosts that have lost the most in terms of percentage of earnings or the largest amount in $. If it's the latter, a small host like me who does not charge much for the rooms might not appear as in need, even though it's a big loss to me.

[Nicole613]

I also share te community concern regarding the timeline set by @Airbnb  for the relief fund being granted by may 31st, many of us depend on airbnb hosting as main source of income, our families have responsibilities and payments due now that won’t/can’t way until may. My other concern is that the fund will cover us hosts that are located in Latin America, knowing that mosts Airbnb hosts are located in Europe and North America. Hope @Airbnb doesn’t leave us out of the equation! 

[Nicole613]

I also found that in @Brian ‘s announcements @Airbnb hasn't been very clear regarding the criteria for choosing/“inviting” superhosts for the relief fund and the amount each person will get. As I’ve said before, many of us depend on Airbnb hosting as a main source of income and not knowing if we’ll be eligible for this fund  generates a mental and emotional environment that instead of offering relief is full of anxiety and worry, because at the moment some of us don’t have the option/privilege of waiting! Every day we’re looking for immediate solutions, ways we and our families find daily sustenance and make it through these hard times. 

[3-Little-Birds0]

I remember when i was first setting up my listing, I was constantly prompted to change my strict cancellation policy to flexible for a numerous list of reasons they sited. 

It seems only fair to now stand behind their guidelines and make those that accepted their expert opinion and chose the flexible cancellation policy be included in the fund.  

These are the times that really matter, when we get to see the truth and honor of people / corporations.  I'm not naive enough to think that this was a purely altruistic move on their part and the impending public offering didn't factor into their decision, but due to their short-sightedness it doesn't seem to be having the positive media spin I'm sure they were banking on.

[Paul60]

The BIG problem if the original decision made was wrong its very difficult to patch it up afterrwards

' We've rolled out a new search filter so guests can find your listings more easily, and we're making your listings more visible in other ways, too.'

So now you're promoting flexible hosts ahead of hosts with strict cancelation policy.  The original penalty free cancelation policy was wrong and all these poor patches are not going to work.

[Nina69]

You're launching new programs while hosts are waiting to be paid their 25% it has now been 4 weeks and 2 days since my first cancellation and no one can tell me when I will get the 25% no one knows

[Roberta700]

I'm also concerned that when a booking is cancelled because of COVID-19 and a full refund is given, as a host, my reservations are completely zeroed, so I can't see the payout, what the breakdown was, nothing.  There is no way for me to see just exactly what I have lost.  So, how will I know that I will receive 25% of my cancellation policy for each booking now that the information is gone.  And, when are we going to even see this money?  And, because I can't see what I lost, how can I apply for the SBA grant when I can't show proof of losing over $10,000 for these two months?  I will be asking these questions directly.  But, if anyone knows how I can still view a breakdown of each booking I lost, please let me know.

[Sabine31]

Yes, Roberta, very interested in an answer to your questions, too!

[Roberta700]

Hi Sabine,

I spoke at length with a representative and she found the same thing.  Could not find anyway for me to find the original booking breakdowns. All bookings are zeroed out with no history.  She was going to push the question up the chain and asked me to email a feedback.  But, essentially she didn't have an answer for me.  

[Denise1112]

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/airbnb-ceo-brian-chesky-actively-004045849.html

[Denise1112]

Some Airbnb investors reportedly want to oust CEO Brian Chesky, blaming him for spiraling costs and a 'hasty' move to give full refunds on coronavirus cancellation

https://www.businessinsider.com/airbnb-shareholders-have-called-on-brian-chesky-to-step-down-2020-4

[Roberta700]

What do we do with customers wanting to cancel in July because of COVID-19 and wanting a full refund?  I know we just don't know how long this will go on, but should we be expected to give full refunds for June, July and August.  We are on a slippery slope here as us hosts are losing so much.  I don't think we should have to continue to lose because people are using this to back out of bookings.

[Rich111]

We own 5 properties and the reality is, no one knows other than Airbnb and if they don't hold to their word in it;s entirety without the legalese language, they will lose a ton of hosts as I've seen forums that are over 100k hosts complaining about how this was handled. We all saw the CEO's video on how he wants to make this a partnership after kicking our past partnership to the curb without as much as a warning to hosts. If he makes good on the 25% for ALL cancellations they decided to cancel, I will take that as a good faith cure whereby we get some back as we never even had a chance to negotiate new dates with customers, they just handed them a free pass while having us hold the entire loss. He makes good on the 25% I'm staying with Airbnb. If not, there's a ton of people that will never come back. We host on Homeaway as well and were on there over 12 years ago. They gave us all options to give back at least 50% back or reschedule. We had a lot of hosts say they understood this wasn't our fault and asked for another week or weekend or a voucher type thing for the future which means we still would lose the current dates, but at least knew there was income for down the road. We also gave 100% back to a lot as we figured the charma thing would come back some day 🙂 With Airbnb, we didn't have any option or say and "that" is "not" a partnership. Let's see what Brian does and "if" he does the right thing. If he does, I will chalk it up as a bad decision on his part that will make for a learning opportunity for next decisions. He is getting bashed everywhere on the net, so hopefully it will sink in that without the hosts (partners), he has no Airbnb biz. We'll see as he's already missed the initial deadline that he said we would know in early April. Today is the 13th, so let's go Brian.