Plan ahead to reduce the risks of severe weather

[Airbnb]

Being prepared for weather emergencies helps protect you, your guests, and your property.

Airbnb is partnering with Americares, a health-focused relief and development organization, to offer resources for you and your guests in case of a hurricane, tornado, or heat wave. If you host in a location that’s affected by severe weather, you can take steps now to get ready for seasonal threats.

Remember that guests may be unfamiliar with the local climate or what to do in a weather emergency. As a Host, you can provide helpful information by:

• Leaving emergency contacts in a prominent place, like on the fridge.
• Acknowledging seasonal weather with your listing, messages, and cancellation policy.
• Sharing local advisories, resources, and tips for preparing for seasonal weather.

You’ll find more preparedness tips on the Resource Center.

How do you prepare your guests and your space for seasonal weather?

[Bhumika]

Hello everyone, thank you for visiting this post and having a read of these useful preparedness tips.  

Earlier, one of the Host Advisory Board member @Daniel1651 had shared a thoughtful guide on the above topic, that elaborates on  👉 "How can we help as Hosts in cases of natural disasters? " 👈 based on a few personal experiences as a Host. I hope the guide is helpful with providing more insights on how to prepare guests and your listing for seasonal weather. 

[Marketting0]

Thank you, @Daniel1651, for sharing your valuable insights on host preparedness during natural disasters. Your guide will undoubtedly assist hosts in enhancing guest safety and listing readiness for seasonal weather challenges.

[Clay29]

Having just been through this and having to cancel  on a guest, I'd say Airbnb the company also needs to be prepared  to help guests find new accommodations when a storm has rendered a particular location not safe or habitable. Speaking to the guest later, they were not. There are certain things we hosts can take on the chin as our responsibility but this is not one of them. Dealing with safety first is the paramount concern, but I too am concerned for the guest who is now hanging in limbo and I have no way to help them.

The story: As a result of a late evening straight-line windstorm lasting less than 10 minutes, multiple trees went down, houses lost rooves, power went out to huge blocks of the city, streets were impassible, gas was leaking and I had a guest due to arrive on a flight already past check-in time and I had to cancel. Yes, I felt for them and would like to do something but the first thing is to try to get some modicum of safety back.

I heard from the guest much later who was understandably very irate and still did not have a place to stay. I needed Airbnb to be there for the guest and as I last heard, they were not.

[Elsie125]

Hi Clay29! Sorry to hear this happened to you.  It is disappointing.  I am in Florida and this is my biggest fear for this year's hurricane season.  In 2022 I lost Super Host status after having to cancel 6 upcoming reservations for our glamping site.  Located in Orlando, our yurt is made of thick vinyl and canvas, can sustain up to 50 MPH and is waterproof.  This was Hurricane Ian, a destructive Category 5 Atlantic hurricane with sustained winds of 160 MPH.  Ian ripped through Orlando and our glamping site at 75 MPH sustained winds.  We are lakefront property and our lake flooded the site.  I was monetarily penalized and super host status removed.  Gracious guests, lucky for me, were understanding of the process and of course were compensated in full.  This year I am not confident in AirBnBs support so I am only opening my calendar one week at a time.  It has significantly reversed my monetary advantage  😞

[Samantha1434]

I am a future guest that is trying to plan ahead in order to stay safe.  I can’t get anyone at Airbnb or my host Hector in South Padre Island to acknowledge that the Mayors visitor evacuation and Highway closures is enough to get a full refund for our reserved dates of July 7 - 10, 2024, the exact dates that hurricane Beryl is expected to hit San Padre Island.

I want to protect my family and reroute to someplace safe so we can enjoy or vacation, especially since it’s to visit my husband who is currently deployed to Texas for over a year.

I’m very disappointed in Airbnb in that they aren’t being proactive in helping their guests stay safe….this completely contradicts your core values published of community, safety, trust…and your mission to provide support in times of need.   Is this only after the hurricane hits?

[Raquel1039]

Same here! I can't get a full refund either.

[Clay29]

As a guest? I was not aware any fees were kept if you, as a guest, had to cancel for this reason.

[Clay29]

I can't blame you at all. I had not considered hurricanes at the time. There's no way you can safely invite guests when one is coming or even make time for it as you need to protect yourself and your family. Hopefully, someone higher up will read this and come up with a better plan than not having any at all as it is now. 

[Clay29]

I am sorry to hear that. I always worry about SH status but I've heard many times it's not all it's cracked up to be, particularly with desired listings like yours. Guests will still find it. In the end, I hope it proves freeing to have lost it but not really affect your bookings. Many say it's not all it's cracked up to be.

[Rose422]

Great article and very relevant to Florida hosts like me. I am just praying for hurricanes and floods to stay away from my location, Fort Lauderdale, the city that suffered heavy consequences the last few years. I host on boats and it has been particularly challenging as guests left windows open during a tornado and all I could do was to message them to ask if they could close them for me but they were not onsite. I have another guest booked and it's extremely hot and stuffy here so wondering if I should ask him to move to my neighbour's listing I am cohosting which is better equipped for a heat wave as it feels more like an apartment than a boat. 

I just wish airbnb had this feature so in the future hosts are able to request a change to a booking to move their own guest into a cohost listing without having to ask a guest to cancel and rebook. This would streamline so much work for both the hosts and the cohosts as well as for guests! 

I hope airbnb is able to integrate this feedback into future changes. 

Rose. 

[Linda-and-Peter0]

I agree!  The procedure to request a change in booking is too cumbersome and guests often feel uncomfortable chancelling their booking.  I hope Airbnb will  give hosts the option to manage these changes themselves or just streamline the process.    

[Linda-and-Peter0]

chancelling = cancelling !

[Linda-and-Peter0]

@Clay29 @Rose422 

Your comment on cancellation and rebooking when there is a change is such an important point.  It is very frustrating to manage this and a real pain for our guests.  Hope Airbnb will address this rather sooner than later