Transfer of Property Ownership

[Kevin475]

How do I simply transfer my AirBnB account with write up, pictures, descriptions, etc. to the new owners of the property ??

I sold property.  How do I transfer all contacts, etc. ??

[Alexandra316]

@Connie17 That's a lot of reservations to take care of. There is no easy way to transfer reservations from one host to another, unfortunately. 

The person purchasing the property will need to set up a new listing for the space. Then I would send all of your guests a message letting them know what is happening: that you're sellling the property and giving them the link to the new listing. You will likely get some people cancelling of their own accord. After you've given guests a few days to read the message, you will need to contact Airbnb and let them know that the property has been sold and you would like to cancel all the reservations without penalty. The guests can then re-book with the new host. 

[Helen3]

When I was selling my property I set my listing so I only took bookings within three months of arrival to minimise the risk of accepting bookings I couldn't honour @Connie17 

If you didn't want to have cancel guests and take the hit - this is the best approach .  

hopefully you've stopped taking longer term bookings now . 

if you can't swop these guests into one of your other properties it sounds like you will need to learn the lesson and take the hit .

@Alexandra316 why do you feel Airbnb will cancel these 26 bookings penalty free 

[Wendy1275]

the new host can set up an new account for the listing, block the dates that you have bookings already and just allow airbnb to pay you and you pay them.    You as a current host should unlist your property to keep any more bookings from happening

[Sarah977]

@Wendy1275  That would be a work-around, but not an ethical one unless the guests were informed that the property has been sold and given the choice. I wouldn't necessarily want to be held to a booking if the property had changed hands, and I had no  reviews to go on for the new host.

[Ann36406]

Because they should transfer them for free and have a way to do that. It is part of how business works.

[Kelly1511]

What is clear to me is that Airbnb is not responsive to potential hosts who want to transfer existing bookings when buying a short term rental property. This thread was started over three years ago. I have been corresponding with an Airbnb representative and they still have no practical  solution to this problem. It is very unprofessional and unfair to all paries: existing host, new host/purchasing party, and guests. It is driving me to VRBO.

[Sarah977]

@Kelly1511  How is it fair to guests? Guests book properties in large part based on the reviews. The new owner may not be a good host. They may turn out not to properly maintain the property, not be responsive to issues or communicate well with guests. How would it be fair to simply transfer their bookings to the new owner? 

You can't sell an Airbnb business, you are only selling the house, which is why you can't just transfer guest bookings. The business is the host, not the property.  If the new owner wants to use it as an Airbnb, he is starting a new business.

The only party transferring bookings would really benefit is the buyer, who hasn't proven themselves as a host yet, unless they already have other listings and good reviews. So why should they benefit from bookings made based on another host's ratings and reviews that the previous host earned?

Now if the guests wish to keep their reservation, after being informed of the change of ownership and host, then I agree that Airbnb should facilitate that process for them, so they don't lose the service fees they paid on the original booking. But that should be a process between the guest and Airbnb, not the original host just shifting all the bookings to the new host.

[Ann36406]

Unfortunately it is not fair to the guest to have their vacation cancelled either, but that is what is happening when you can't transfer. Airbnb doesn't help facilitate anything. So, sorry guest you get screwed.

[Connie17]

I sold (2) large guesthouses in June 2021. I also had others I did not sell so I did not want to tarnish my status as a host. I worked with the guests who had booking beyond the sale as well as the new owners. 
The new owners agreed to honor the upcoming booking as well as honor the price they were booked at. They set up their website & had a list ( furnished by me) of the upcoming bookings, their names & the $ amount.

We choose a day & I personally contacted each upcoming guest & told them of the sale. At that time I furnished them with the new owners info & how to contact them. So they had to cancel with me & turn around & re -book with the new host.

We had (6) months of bookings ( it was part of the sale) but you cannot force the guests to go with the new owners I am told or just automatically transfer them. The reason I was told is that they booked with you based partly on your track record & reviews. They know nothing about the new upcoming hosts.

That said … after contacts the guests we had all (6) months of guests turn around & re - book with new hosts… with the exception of 2. 
I think the key is to contact the guests personally & give them good, straight forward info to easily re- book, reminding them that the price would be the same & that you have confidence in the new owners to give them a great experience.

[Tony1008]

And if you sell, take over the login codes from the airbnb host? Does that not do the job?

[Sarah977]

@Tony1008  Why would the seller give over their log-in info to the buyer? An Airbnb account belongs to the user. The reviews and ratings belong to the account holder, why would they hand that over to someone else? And it wouldn't be fair to the guests, because the ratings and reviews reflect the way the original account holder ran their business.

You can't pretend to be someone else, that's against Airbnb policy.

[Tony1008]

because its part of the deal. 

[Sarah977]

@Tony1008  No, it isn't part of the deal. You can't sell an Airbnb business, all you are selling is the property. The business belongs to the host, not the property.

[Tony1008]

my question is still not answered.

[Sarah977]

@Tony1008  You just don't like the answer.