New strict cancellation policy update

[Lizzie]

Hello everyone,

The Airbnb team heard feedback from you and the host community about the upcoming change to our Strict cancellation policy. In order to address your concerns, we’re delaying the change until May 1, 2018.

Before the change goes into effect, we’ll share more about what we’re doing to address your concerns, particularly around protecting your listing details from being shared with guests who cancel. But for now, we’d like to clear up some confusion and help you better understand the new policy and how it will benefit the whole community:

Here’s how the new grace period policy will work—and some of the protections we have in place for hosts:

Limited-time refund within 48 hours after booking when the check-in date is at least 14 days away

Guests must cancel within 48 hours after booking and can only cancel if their check-in date is 14+ days away. This means that no matter how far out your guests book, they only have 48 hours from the time they book to cancel for free. We want to make sure that if guests change their mind, you have enough time to get another booking.

Three refunds per year per guest

To prevent abuse, guests are limited to three fully refunded cancellations a year.

No full refunds for overlapping bookings

To make sure guests are not making multiple bookings and then cancelling, any booking made by a guest when they already have an active booking for those dates will not be covered under our grace period policy.

Your hosting success is top of mind for us, and tests of this policy—including among hosts with strict cancellation policies in place—strongly suggest the change will result in increased bookings and successful stays. With this grace period, not only do guests book with more confidence, but they also have the ability to resolve booking mistakes without requiring your valuable time and intervention.

We value your feedback, and will follow up shortly with more insight into how your ideas are shaping this policy.

Thanks,

Lizzie

----------Update April 24th, 2018----------

Hello everyone,

Just to let you know there is now an update regarding protecting your listing details, as mentioned above. 

Here is the link to take a look: An update on the Strict Cancellation Policy

Thanks,

Lizzie

[Gary285]

Airbnb definitley favors the traveller.  I have been trying and trying to get them to let me add in taxes that are due on the Island of Ambergris Caye and they steadfastly refuse.  I should be able to charge my guest at their point of considering my home for a reservation.  They only allow cleaning and a few other minute indicies as variables to the nightly charge - unlike VRBO that lets me put in any additional charges I feel are necessary.

When I spoke to to Airbnb about this they told me I could, after already confirming a reservation and the cost, contact the guest AGAIN and request additional funds for the taxes I have to presently pay on behalf of the guest OR they suggested I include it in my nightly rate which makes it look like I am benefiting from the taxes and not being transparent to my guest about expenses I am legitmately incurring on their behalf.  Ridiculous.  I don't understand the Control they are constantly imposing on Host.  Let US make the decisions on how to run our business and we will suffer the consequences good or bad. Airbnb "Step Aside" and let the cost manage and run their business

[Leah50]

IM NOT IMPRESSED WITH THE STRICT CANCELLATION POLICY!

I should have control over MY HOME'S availabilty to humans who aren't me! If people want to attract guests to their homes then they can shange to a moderate cancellation policy!

I DONT HAVE THE RESOURCES OR THE TIME TO WASTE ON cancellations without cause.

Right now they just book to scope it out bargain on price and cancel, while taking up space on my calendar for a serious adult who needs a place to stay!

Sunday I had a booking take up a place that later couldve been taken by someone escaping the floods in NC.

UNFORTUNATLEY, the room was booked within an hour of the evacuees contacting me,  just to be cancelled a day later. CHANGE MINE BACK! ITS MY HOME! 

[Jennifer1301]

Well I would love the guests to have our contact information and go back to the good old days when I controlled my business. The guest can then deal with me direct. They save money, I increase my returns.  I get back control to vet potential guests and I get the deposit in MY account for weeks/months - not in ABB coffers. Plus I can set whatever cancellation policy I want.

Bring it on, please give out my addresses and my contact details. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE. 

[Trin1]

I have a big house, which requires a big group to book for a family reunion, wedding or other special occasions. It requires several months for a big group to plan a head. When the guests have an emergency, I would work with them to move their reservation to different dates. Owners should be allowed to set "No Cancellations" period.

[Bruce102]

I dont operate a hotel.  Airbnb does not generate the hotel daily rates for my properties.  I cannot offer hotel cancellation terms.  If Guests want CHEAP, non-hotel rates, then something has to give and that is no cancellations permitted.

[Mark1171]

I can see this policy being useful to guest planning with multiple families or getting time off work to be assured they have there, accommodations locked in

but as a host it seems they should have to pay a small fee at least to hold their dates and remove the property from potential other bookings

[Debra74]

I think it is pretty clear that Airbnb no longer cares about this conversation and isn't going to respond to any of the hosts concerns on this topic.  There is no one listening on their end.  They have made their decision and that is the end of the discussion.  We, the "super-host" community, are not their priority.

[Dd4]

Airbnb no longer cares about this conversation, that's a fact. I had many exchanges with a customer support person that said there was no other option by now, that I should accept one of the cancellation policies available.

Then she kept coming back to me asking me if there was anything she could do for me?

A waste of time and a complete lack of respect for hosts and super- host in particular.

I just unlisted my flat till this is solved. I’m getting requests for july 2019, 10 months from now, am I supposed to keep the palce reserved till July, just to learn that guests changed their mind?

No way. Exploring other options till this is resolved...

[Christine1]

While I  preferred the old terms on the strict policy and don't favour recent changes, it appears that a large number of writers are under the impression that the new conditions allow a penalty free period within 2 weeks of arrival time.  Whereas the penalty free cancellation period is only for 48 hours after the booking is "requested./accepted".

I guess the reality is that the new policy means a booking is not actually confirmed during the first 48 hours after mutual acceptance. Instead it is on hold. It is actuaĺly confirmed after a 48 hr waiting period. Following the 48 hr waiting period, the selected policy conditions will then apply, and if a guest cancels many months down the track, the policy is enacted. 

Btw, this forum is a discussion room, it's not actually a formal feedback site. No doubt there is some listening, but its primary purpose is to be a safe zone to vent and share information,  provide mutual support and education.

@ if you dont want a reservation on your calendar for 10 months ahead, you can use your tools to limit the release of future dates. For example limiting so that only the next 3 or 6 months is showing as available to accept bookings. Look under the FAQs, Help, calendar tools topics to discover how to select this option.

[Harmony-And-Yulia0]

Over this last year i have had many problems with aggressive male guest. I would really like airbnb to side more with the host. I have been on the phone many many times with airbnb about what steps i need to take to make sure this doesn't happen. I have been told to make sure the house rules are very clear and if the guest breaks the rules then airbnb can cancel on behalf  the guests and the host receives the full pay out. This happens sometimes but not always. I just had to call the police on guest late sunday night, i received the full payout for that but i feel like if i didn't call the police i would be fighting for the payout right now.  I think airbnb needs to put the host ahead of the guest. I have been following the only the primary guest can check in, i have checked ID's and had the primary guest send me a list of names.  I was told by airbnb to print out the house rules and have the primary guest read and sign them again when they checked in.  Then we lost the booking for doing that exact thing, airbnb said would couldn't have them sign a thrid party agreement, we would have never done that if we were not told to by airbnb.  I also don't like that late at night when i have had problems and called airbnb you get someone in the south pacific. It's very difficult to explane curtian events, places or how dangerous the situation is to someone that does live in the US or has been to a large city before. Airbnb should always have a few people working the call center in the US at all hours.  This can be a very scary bussiness for the host. Without us you would have no bussiness. I follow the rules, i live in my airbnb and i would like to feel like this company has our families back.

[John305]

14 days out is way way too short. PLEASE LOOK AT HOW MANY SUPERHOSTS STATE THIS!! It needs to be AT LEAST 30 DAYS. I know all markets are not the same but many do have similairities.

Here is my example: Chirstmas is HUGE for a ski market. Most guests plan WAY ahead for this very important family holiday. Getting everyone together for this holiday can be very challenging. If I get a cancellation with ONLY 14 days notice, it can be VERY HARD TO GET A FULL-PRICE BOOKING with that short notice.

[Jon309]

It is good to see Airbnb standing up for the concerns of their only asset, the hosts and their assets.

After all Airbnb is just an algoritm to connect guests and hosts, the real property is that which is held by us, the hosts. However well meant the intention this strict cancelation policy appears a smoke cover to bigger problems like guests abusing the blurred legalities of the rights of the guests, in which lacks in Airbnb protection for hosts becomes very clear.

So, my question to Lizzie:

When is Airbnb going to help hosts versus to long term guests in CA that under CA law are allowed to stay in our homes for as long as agreed initially, when guests cancel reservation after 30 days of occupancy and choose not to vacate?

(I see that you have UK affiliation so if CA is outside your field, please forward the inquiry to CA USA office.)

And for the information to all Airbnb hosts:

As per a recent catastrophic personal experience with Airbnb resolution center that offered no help, I have just recovered my apartment through LA city court and managed to evict a guest that had stellar airbnb reviews (surely fake) who chose to stay after cancelation, not paying any rent. Court procedure and sheriff lockout takes abour 5 months, costs a lot of money. The guest is allowed to stay during the whole process, without paying rent! The misuse of this tenant protection has become very much easier through airbnb and looking at the hitherto unprecedented backup of eviction cases in LA court, something quite common.

The much advertised host policy of 1mill does NOT cover the cost of evicting such guests, merely (I am yet so see if that is the fact and/or if there is anything to their 1mill claim) the damages that guests cause within the four walls of your home, not damages that guests cause in common areas or entry points.

[Kim622]

AIRBNB should understand that a city lising is way more easy to fill up last moment then a non city listing. but i dont see them to care that much about this difference. 

[Johanna-and-Cameron0]

I'm happy to see there are some restrictions being placed with cancellations. I just had 2 guests book and than cancel within a 24-48 hour period without any really good reason and it seems to me that guests now think this is allowing them to shop around. Our place is in a high season area where we are in demand and get a lot of bookings, but our guests come from all over and need to book months in advance. I'm not super pleased to have people booking and than unbooking for their own convenience, and I was happy to see that airbnb had an option that protected their hosts. I am a big of the strict policy because I know of the challenges our family has faced for decades with last moment cancellations and loss of income. Being a host requires a lot of planning, especially if it is a full-time operation with multiple units as we have. I'm curious to see how this works out this winter, because last minute cancellations are very difficult to fill.

[Susan1350]

Does that mean that the 30-day cancellation policy is no longer in effect? A 48-hour cancellation policy is not good for me as a host as I am not using ABB to make a profit but rather to help pay my rent every month. Please clarify.

And I agree with a comment above - as a host, I want quality over quantity, especially as most of my bookings are for 1 -3 months.

Thanks.