Changing our policy on avoidable Host cancellations

[Airbnb]

As our partners on Airbnb, Hosts do an incredible job of honoring reservations and going above and beyond to support guests every day. That’s why guests from around the world trust complete strangers with some of the most important days of their lives—from summer vacations and staycations to honeymoons and anniversary celebrations. 

But when Hosts cancel on guests for preventable reasons—like accidentally double-booking or wanting to host friends and family instead—guests lose the confidence to book on Airbnb, and this impacts all Hosts and hurts our entire community. 

Starting August 22, 2022, we’re updating our Host Cancellation Policy. The existing policy has been in place for many years and included small fees if you had to cancel a reservation. 

Get the full details on the Resource Center.

[Kate867]

I have been reading through the new cancellation policy, and slowly trying to digest it.  I can live with the majority of the changes although I do feel that the financial  penalties are too extreme and will possibly cause some Hosts to flee Airbnb in favour of other platforms.

My particular issue is the ‘missing amenity’ part.  Suppose a Host has a Hot tub, the hot tub breaks and the replacement part required is not available to effect a repair for a few weeks or the Host cannot find someone to repair quickly.  The incoming/current guest wants a Hot tub and only booked for this reason.  Is this now a host violation/cancellation, a host penalty and a way for Airbnb to sneak back in that plan they tried to introduce earlier on this year to make hosts responsible to pay for better accommodation for guests?

Another issue, A few years ago a tree fell on our cottage while we had guests.  We asked the guests to leave for their own safety, contacted support, sent photos and were told that the cancellation on this occasion would be penalty free but it was still a Host violation and a note would be on our file!  

I have read many posts both here and on social media where hosts struggle to get help and answers from Airbnbs Customer Support, and in many cases find that they get different answers depending on who they speak to or get their case closed quickly and with no right to appeal.  I am also very much aware that some guests can become extremely ‘creative’ in order to get refunds etc.  Consequently, I have very little faith that Airbnbs Staff, many of which seem to lack adequate training, will make the correct and fair decisions with regards to this.

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Kate867 Other platforms have even more severe penalties for host cancellation.

[Toetsie0]

not my own, soon to be up in the air, website! 

[Toetsie0]

at Mike and Jane 😉

[Mary996]

Hi @Toetsie0 ....If you use the @ symbol plus a few letters or slowly typing out the full name you'll get to the person you're responding to. I made this mistake (still do) and it becomes an oddity as our comments are disconnected!! Hope this helps. Best wishes

[Dana1176]

Yup. Cost almost nothing to have you own website these days. Whitespace platforms make it super easy.

[Jenny]

Hi @Kate867 

Thanks for your feedback on the policy change.

As always, we're capturing any feedback and questions, so I've asked for some clarity around the scenario that you've set out above.

Jenny

[Jill299]

Yes this is happening to me right now somebody booked months earlier and there was a pool a small pool which was taken down and it was not in the amenities and when they showed up they were angry and Airbnb just canceled it on me charged me $100 without even letting me try to resolve it without all this other stuff that is messed up!!

[Patricia3116]

The new policy on cancellations where we get penalised for accidently approving a reservation is ridiculous. There is no wriggle room with Airbnb . Their customer service is woeful. The support team don't seem to understand english as I have found many tomes over having to repeat the same thing again and again. Thinking of leaving. No real genuine support for hosts.

[Jenny]

Hi @Kate867 

A quick update for you.

If something unexpected happens to an amenity, such as a pool, and you need to obtain emergency repairs, please contact Community Support with evidence of the emergency repair. If the evidence is validated and Airbnb determines the circumstance qualifies, Airbnb will process a consequence free cancellation.

If you wish to retain the reservation, Airbnb’s Guest refund and rebooking policy will apply. The size of a refund depends on the severity of the issue, the impact on the guests, whether the guests remain in the space, and the portion of the stay affected. 

Jenny

[Kate867]

@Jenny   Thank you for your response.  However I still have doubts with regards to Airbnbs Community Support.  Having a poorly trained or untrained member of their team making the decisions is of great concern.  All too frequently we see bad decisions made or people getting different answers or another one I have seen recently is something akin to ‘This is our internal policy, and no we do not have a link to send you’. Hopefully I will not be subjected to this at some point in the future .. presuming I can some bookings which are still mysteriously absent following the summer upgrade.

[Mike-And-Jane0]

I guess this was inevitable and will help finance the Aircover for guests concept recently launched by Airbnb. As always it looks fair and reasonable but time will tell if Customer Services are properly applying it .

[Dana1176]

It hardly seems fair and reasonable when you consider the extremes to which it goes. There is no wiggle room. It is absolute.

[Mike-And-Jane0]

I should have said that I am not sure it is legal for Airbnb to impose this on reservations already taken. Usually policy changes apply to reservations taken after a certain date.

Anyway not overly relevant to us as we are moving away from Airbnb as we are not getting bookings post the summer update