November lockdown calendar block

[Marcus21]

As per their recent email it now seems air bnb have taken it upon themselves to block November supposedly due to the lock down. It hasn’t happened like last time, the dates appear available but I see in my inbox now enquiries for dates that are available have been altered to “not possible” and the statement is “some or all of these dates aren’t available” so I can only presume this is what’s going on. I’m very very unhappy about this, the initial lockdown cost me thousands in lost bookings but I could understand that, we weren’t allowed to host under government guidelines but this is different, we ARE allowed to host work trips and people moving home so why has this been done? Supposedly for the safety of our community? Well I’ve had lots of requests over the past couple of months for people who freely admit they are travelling to the uk and will not be quarantining as they should, I raised this with air bnb expecting them to put a stop to it or  at very least contact the guest and educate them, they wouldn’t intervene at all..so how was that looking out for the community? Almost all my stays since lockdown have been people working or moving/between flats, rates are terrible but I’ve managed to keep going on these payouts by living frugally/selling things off on eBay etc  (air bnb is my only source of income) now I’d expect 3 weeks without bookings will halve what savings I have left. I thought air bnb were going to listen to hosts after the March/Covid cancellation fiasco? How is this listening? I can’t imagine any host would agree this was the right thing to do.

[Helen350]

I agree @Marcus21 !

We ARE allowed 28 day bookings... let's hope you get one of those!

[Emma-and-Mark0]

@Marcus21 there are a few threads on the community discussing this issue. We spent over 2 hours yesterday on chat with Airbnb about this. They have interpreted the rules incorrectly. We have asked for the issue to be escalated but have heard nothing further. We just hope lots of hosts have contacted them about this. If they don't unblock hosts calendars hosts will be forced to use other booking platforms, especially if the lockdown is extended further into December or into the new year. 

[Marcus21]

@Emma-and-Mark0  These are my thoughts exactly guys!

ive been refreshing my calendar every few hours since the announcement..not seeing any of the dreaded  “black squares”and fool that I am I thought...”they are thinking about it..they are seeing how we respond to the email on feed back and in forums  and any time now they will explain they have a route for us to take allowable bookings”

but no! They’ve been spending their time making the calendar LOOK like it’s not blocked..when it is..just sort of levels the surge of protests nicely as not everyone notices at the same time like a lockdown flattens the curve of covid..they are learning a lot from this pandemic! 

Recently I spent so much time helping a guest get themselves straight for lock down, explaining refunds, booking (new user) even giving them a heads up the platform was about to block all business! only to have them not need any accommodation because they were ok to stay where they were (spending a lot of time dealing with dead end enquiries now) they were so enthused they actually asked if they could write a review saying what a helpful member of the community I was without having  stayed to give something back!

when they started talking about “reaching out”..”community” etc etc...I must confess I thought they could be air bnb staff under cover! Who else but they use this weird speak?

I said of course it wasn’t possible but suggested they write to air bnb and explain what a mess they’d have been in if they hadn’t got round to booking until the weekend/last minute when the platform was well and truly closed for business! (This lady was from the u.s. working  still with time to serve with no permanent accommodation and about to lose the option on where she was) and what a terrible idea it was for guests and hosts to block the calendar 

she agreed she would do this.

but returning to your suggestion...air bnb has designed comment out of the platform with the “bottomless black hole/don’t expect a reply” of the “feedback form”...what else can we do?

I’ve had some pretty good rants at support staff (sounds like you did too!) ...who bless them are in Portugal (sometimes) struggling to follow every countries rules and regs and as powerless as we are..

(now would be a good time to provide support for each country in that country air bnb!)

or..we can moan on here..the community forum..in my view this is a bit like a padded cell with a sound proof door which air bnb open only  when they think they might here some praise

[Marcus21]

@Emma-and-Mark0 

i did search yesterday before starting this thread using something like “calendar block november lockdown” everything was about the March lockdown.. I think the idea with getting heard is to get all comments on one thread no?

trouble is I’m not really someone who uses online forums etc etc much so I’ve no idea how to comment effectively ...just like when air bnb called it’s emergency zoom meetings at the start of March lockdown..I was invited and did take part (I think our group of 5 hosts had a whole 15 mins  answer their vague/overly broad questions..most of which was sucked up by one woman wanting to know what they’d do about her situation/losses 😒) but because I’ve never been in a zoom meeting ...it was a bit of a learning curve working out when you could speak/be heard/by whom etc

[Marcus21]

@Emma-and-Mark0 

I don’t even think we can threaten to use another platforms..one nugget I did get from support yesterday was the government have contacted air bnb and “other platforms” to ask if they can “aid them in the spread of Covid” by implementing certain measures I got a list of about 3 things from them..one of which was “blocking calendars” so..I’d imagine all platforms are on the same tip because they are all looking out for their relations with the government rather than their relationships with us..  that’s their long term approach..be seen to be responsible so the government don’t implement counter measures against them like “the 90 day rule” anywhere else..

[Marcus21]

Well unfortunately @Helen350 my listing is very small/a micro let, typically I only take 3 day stays. The wrong person gets in there..I can end up spending a lot of extra time pulling the condition back up.One thing I like about air bnb is I can do short lets and check/clean the place regularly to see it’s not getting trashed. I allow a maximum of 14days stay. With 28 plus ...well it would either work..or it really wouldn’t! 

I just feel any if any other demographic..say..pubs for example are told they need to shut for lock down they have some kind of association which jumps up and argues it with the government “it’s not reasonable..here’s why..we can’t shut at 6 we need to shut at 10..we must offer take aways to survive” Etc

They “make a DEAL “ in the words of the soon to be EX president of the U.S

the government asks air bnb to do anything and they just go

“doh Kay! Would you like ketchup and mayonnaise with that??” 

presumably this is why we are now being canvassed to step up as candidates for “community leaders” to fight our own corner ...but there’s no suggestion of any pay for this! Something tells me other trade reps get a wage...

I mean..They might as well send a “become a community leader” email saying:

”Dead broke with enormous amounts of time on your hands because we blocked your calendar?? We have a pit you can throw all those unpaid hours into! Sign up now to be unpaid staff for air bnb!”

I think I’d prefer that to all the photos of beautiful people from diverse cultures laughing playfully at their lack of income on a spreadsheet together  in some groovy mansion they rent out because

“they just love the stories”

..I have to say despite all this..

I’m on the verge of applying to fill this role...

things are that ludicrous 

[Tony-And-Una0]

I just hope Airbnb does not include Northern Ireland due to  England's restrictions  like they did last time.

Self catering accommodation is allowed to function as normal in Northern Ireland. Only hotels have to close except for the usual exceptions.

[Marcus21]

@Tony-And-Una0 

well lucky you! 

that’s just how it should be! 

air bnb owners (in my view) maintain much higher standards of cleanliness/social distancing etc than hotels 

maybe I’ll move to Northern Ireland..

but really who can feel sure about anything right now..governments all over the world managing this pandemic like some one trying to drive an f1 car around a cul de sac! 

The only controls are full throttle or brake hard..close your eyes and hope for the whole ride.

look at Denmark with the mink! 

[Carol5573]

Totally agree, Airbnb have misinterpreted the UK Government Legislation. I posed this question to Airbnb yesterday:

Please can Airbnb explain why they have blocked the calendars of UK hosts from 6th November until December 2nd who are legally able to accept bookings from guests who are travelling for work, moving home, attending funerals.

Here is their response:

Hi Carol, thank you for your patience and understanding.

I would like to inform you that due to the government restriction in United Kingdom, dates from November 6 to December 2, 2020 were automatically blocked in your calendar. Various governments, such as United Kingdom, have requested support from Airbnb on containment efforts related to COVID-19, and automatically blocking the affected dates is one of the things done to have cooperation with the government. That being said, accepting reservations is not currently possible due to the government restriction. Would totally appreciate your understanding on this matter.

Thanks in advance for your understanding. Please do not hesitate to let us know if you have any other questions—we're always more than happy to help!

Kind Regards.T

Any thoughts from fellow hosts on how to respond.....

[Emma-and-Mark0]

@Carol5573  It's a tricky one if that is what the government have asked them to do. Maybe respond with the exact text from direct gov stating that we are allowed to accept certain bookings and question the logic of this when other booking sites haven't blocked their calendars and when during the last lockdown (that was more strict) we were encouraged to host frontline stays. Airbnb talk a lot about community but they seem to be the only booking platform that are telling hosts we can no longer support our local communities.

[Marcus21]

@Carol5573 it’s been intimated to me by support the issue is they can’t work out how to differentiate which bookings are allowable and they don’t trust guests and hosts to regulate this (and I dont blame them the amount of requests I’ve had that clearly breach quarantine rules) I think we need to start coming up with some physical evidence/criteria  for locations and properties which aren’t being used for holidays. city properties, small properties for solo travellers. That would be a start to working the issue out.

I think air bnb should think in terms of regional blocking or blocking large properties as a start rather than this blanket approach.

it would be nice if there were some meetings/questionaires to actually brainstorm this/collect the info with air bnb..who knows how we get such a thing.

it doesn’t help that air bnb support is not based in any country they seem to be struggling to keep up with different laws in different places 

[Ben-and-Jo2]

As long as it’s allowed under the regulations, Just take a private booking. Not your fault Airbnb won’t follow the rules. 

[Marcus21]

I assume by a private booking you mean off the platform? What if there’s damage or they refuse to leave does @Joey208 have legal cover for this?

[Jacqueline944]

We would do this but the problem is that they are work bookings and so the guests want to pay by credit/debit card which we don't have the ability to process.....