Airbnb blocked all calendars in Mexico

[Josh1072]

Airbnb blocked all calendars in Mexico! 

I lost 2 hosting opportunities during this time when I need it most because of this.

Its ridiculous because they say that the government asked the to do it but I haven´t found a single official government request to do this. So they are either lying or it was a closed door deal without consulting their partners (us hosts!)

The mexican government is not giving ANY relief to its citizens

And Airbnb risks nothing and just watch us lose what we have

- Airbnb doesn´t risk foreclosure
- Airbnb doesn´t risk getting thrown out for not paying rent
- Airbnb doesn´t risk a higher interest rate for falling behind on mortgage

There are so many ways this could have been done while still supporting us and keeping people safe.

- Block calendars of people that have shared spaces
- Leave the calendars of hosts who have an entire place dedicated to guests open
- Make sure the calendar is blocked 3 days before guest arrives and 3 days after guests leave

I have been a superhost 3 years running and now when I desperately need support, Airbnb just turns a blind eye and says "you´re on your own"

[Helen350]

Same in UK @Josh1072 ! - Since 23 March here 😞  - Even as a shared home host, I would like to host essential workers, as our government allows (but not people on holiday.) But the calendar is blocked, so we can't even host  legal stays.

[Alon1]

@Helen350 

I think you can.

There was an email tonight re calendar block till 4th July, presume we all got it.

But there are exceptions:

Bookings in listings made as part of the Frontline Stays programme won’t be affected. If you’re interested in supporting healthcare workers, you can register here.

I don't know if includes homeshares?

I'm out of touch with it, coz basically given up for the foreseeable future.

[Helen350]

Thanks @Alon1 - Someone said the frontline stays didn't cover the UK... I haven't checked, but I'm pretty sure homestays aren't allowed... Thankfully , I've got a 2 day a week lodger, & have hosted an ex-airbnber who had my number for 24 days on & off during lockdown. My point is, we should be free to make our own arrangements with potential guests, not have the Airbnb one-size-fits-all approach....

[Alon1]

@Helen350 

As far as I understand Airbnb are simply following UK Government guidelines.

No STRs till July 4th. 

[Helen350]

Yes, but that only applies to holiday bookings, jollies, non-essential travel. The workers I accommodate ARE allowed by UK legislation.

To show I DO have regard for the current emergency laws, @Alon1 , I recently reported a SpareRoom wanted ad from someone who was naughtily using the platform to find somewhere for a few days break! Tempted as I was, to have accomodated her 'for a break' would have been illegal!

- But I've accommodated a social worker, a carer, & a doctor during lockdown with a clear conscience. - And a nuclear decommissioning safety bod in the first week of lockdown, (had been here 5 months) - making everything safe before they all downed tools for the duration.

[Alon1]

@Helen350 

I'm confused by what you are saying because Airbnb emails are saying exactly as you are saying, namely that you can accommodate essential workers. That's the 'exceptions' referred to in Airbnb emails. So I don't understand what you are trying to say differently?

[Helen350]

Airbnb have blocked calendars, so I can only host off platform, eliminating the chance to host newcomers via Airbnb.

Tbh I haven't TRIED to sign up with Frontline stays, cos I'm fairly sure, it's not allowed in shared homes.... I think one UK host might have said it was only possible here if you hosted for free...?

- I'll have to explore the sign up steps, to see how far I get, & get a definitive answer on whether it can be done a) in the UK, b) in a shared home, c) for money!

Oh dear @Alon1 , we've highjacked a post about MEXICO!

[Josh1072]

I´m not saying differently, the thing is that there is no chance to host anyone else, even if it´s for work and they are travelling alone and staying for a week.

Nothing, I tried talking with 3 reps and 1 supervisor, they all said "yeah it´s nice that you have to make payments on the mortgage but we wont unlock the calendar so the only way the guests can stay is if they rent for 28 days"

I really tried everything I could and couldn´t get anyone to understand how crucial it was to have more than just one huge ban on everything less than 28 days.

[Josh1072]

This is what makes me so angry, no flexibility or options, just a giant NO, so I really wish they could have spoken to us hosts to find better solutions.

Another option could have been to limit travel to 1 person per reservation.

Every tourist spot was closed, people were definitely NOT travelling for tourism or pleasure.

It was just so frustrating that no one could see that working together was better than just one side deciding how to handle everything. I thought we are partners with Airbnb.

[Branka-and-Silvia0]

@Josh1072  it didn't, there are many units available including yours, I can find it in a search in June.

[Josh1072]

Yes but guess what, it was blocked without notice during April and May

Even if a guest was travelling alone, was staying for a week or more and needed it for work.

So we lost, we weren´t part of the conversation, and nobody asked us.

[Sarah977]

@Josh1072 Yes, the calendars were blocked for awhile, but are open again. And this was mandated by the Mexican federal govt.- it was considered a non-essential service and I'm quite glad it was- we shouldn't have been encouraging people to travel around spreading the virus, and in my opinion, we still shouldn't be- the infection rate in Mexico continues to climb and the death rate is one of the highest in the world.

[Josh1072]

Nobody was encouraging anyone to travel around.

Do you really think a person was travelling for pleasure or on vacation when every major event was cancelled? These people needed to travel for work and were travelling alone.

I´m glad that you don´t need the money but a lot of us do, anything helps towards paying the mortgage. And there wasn´t even a little bit of flexibility. 

Airbnb gets to look responsible while throwing us hosts under the bus without even an option into whether I wanted to have my calendar blocked off or if I even agreed to it. It was just like:

"well it´s nice that you are a partner with us but you don´t get to say anything about when or how we block the platform, good luck with the crisis"

[Sarah977]

@Josh1072  Airbnb has never considered hosts to be their partners. They consider us to be expendable. Despite their feel-good fluffy rhetoric to the contrary. 

And in my personal experience, there were tons of people who acted like they'd never heard of coronavirus, or didn't consider it any big deal, and were travelling for pleasure. My town blocked tour buses full of vacationers from entering for Semana Santa. Had they not done that, we would have a hotbed of virus cases here, while thus far we haven't had any that I am aware of. Even if Airbnb hadn't blocked our calendars, the locals haven't been letting anyone but residents and delivery vehicles in. For good reason.