Airbnb completely threw their hosts under a bus regarding Covid-19

[James207]

Why exactly are we being told to bear 100% of the financial burden of this? Oh, right, because Airbnb doesn't actually care about the hosts or their financial well being.

And we aren't Marriott, or United or Airbnb that will probably get bail outs from the government.  We just get slammed with the fall out.

The costs for cancellation should be split 50/50. If the guest took out travel insurance then it won't be an issue for them. It always, always seems to fall on the hosts to eat the costs if there's adverse weather or events and guests want to cancel. It's incredibly frustrating.

[Michelle982]

@Dylan-and-Lizette0 

I agree 100% that VRBO is offering what they should be offering, the only issue I have is that they are rewarding hosts who can afford to go without money and punishing those who cannot. Why can't it just be left up to the host which option to take without being penalised? Or better yet, let their hosting status shine through by how good a host they are via reviews. Not by how much money they are able to lose at this time.

Other than that, well done VRBO.

[Luke17]

100% Airbnb has made this ridiculous decision when airlines are giving credits not full refunds... why should we give full refunds! 

[Brian1613]

Thus far, since joining Airbnb:

1. They’ve posted misleading, incomplete, and inaccurate information about licensure and that we have to manually pay the tourist taxes for Palm Beach County.  Cost?  Six months of fines ($420), and about $3,000 in back taxes.
2. Because of the tax snafu, they also delisted a bunch of hosts, and superhosts, including me, without giving us clue one as to why.
3. Many of us found the Catch-22 with county licensing, and fixed it ourselves, with no help from Airbnb Tax. Cost? 35 Days delisted, and going from 70% to 90% occupancy,  June to February, to 60% from prior bookings in March, to zero in April, May, or June.
4. Now COVID comes along, and, for the four or so cancellations that I’ve had, I do not get any compensation at all for the cancellations?  In reading Airbnb’s policies, I see nothing that gives them the right to create special policies, without prior notification to the hosts.  As I can see from the frustrated posts, no one seems to care.
5. Airbnb does not collect Palm Beach County Tax. They tell us, and the guests, that they do. I put in a 6% community fee, to recoup the tax, per Airbnb staff. THEY DON’T COLLECT IT, even on my bookings that are upcoming. So on top of everything else, I have to eat the 6% out of my “net” bookings.

So, Airbnb has cost me, conservatively, about $4,000 minimally, because of taxes, fines, lying to the guests, misinforming us.  

Perhaps their legal department should explain the concept of contractural “consideration.”  They need far better communication with hosts. If we’re really partners, how about acting like it, Airbnb?

[Adriano78]

i receive today en email from VRBO/ABRITEL (France)/Homeaway

Management of cancellations due to COVID-19
Hello Adriano,
In the 25 years that Abritel has been in existence, we have never faced the challenges that our vacationers, owners, property managers and teams around the world face today. Abritel is a platform for both vacationers and homeowners. And for every holidaymaker who must now cancel a rental he has reserved, there is an owner who loses this reservation and who must also manage a large number of cancellations.

In this context, the majority of you have taken the lead in offering credits in the form of credit and / or reimbursements to vacationers. Thank you for giving this example of flexibility and hospitality, even if it forces you into financial difficulty.

Here are our emergency measures related to COVID-19, designed to help you overcome these extraordinary circumstances.

On the Abritel side, we reimburse 100% of the service charges to vacationers if they have to cancel a reservation due to COVID-19.

For your part, we ask you to cancel reservations made before March 13, 2020 for stays between March 13 and April 30, 2020, by proceeding in two possible ways (even if these stays do not fall under the as part of your cancellation policy):

    Option 1 (by default): you offer holidaymakers who must cancel their stay due to COVID-19 a credit for the amount of the reservation, for dates of stay over the coming year.
    Option 2: If a holidaymaker is not willing to accept this credit, we advise you to reimburse it. If you cannot reimburse it in full, we strongly recommend that you reimburse it at least up to 50% of the amount of your reservation.

Our intention is to reward Abritel property owners and managers who will be the most flexible with their vacationers. We will give more visibility to the owners' announcements that are the most generous (a 100% credit or refund will be better rewarded than a 50% refund for example).

Property owners and managers who do not comply with these measures will be at a disadvantage vis-à-vis those who follow our policy. Any attempt to intimidate holidaymakers (such as suggesting that traveling is safer than staying at home or disregarding the severity of this unprecedented crisis) will result in the permanent withdrawal of your advertisement from the Abritel site and from all of the HomeAway and Expedia group sites. Here are also some details on Abritel's policy in this context:

    We reimburse 100% of the service charges to holidaymakers if they cancel a reservation due to COVID-19, whether the cancellation is mandated by the government or not, for all reservations made before March 13, 2020 for stays between March 13 and April 30, 2020. Reimbursement will be made automatically in the coming weeks without the vacationer having anything to do.
    Automatic reimbursement: our teams are working to simplify the reimbursement and change of reservation dates. All details on these new processes will be communicated to you in the coming days, so in the meantime we thank you for not contacting our customer service. We emphasize that the assets / postponements of stays to later dates will have to be decided between you owners and vacationers, we advise you to indicate all these details to vacationers in writing ideally via our secure internal messaging.
    Automatic exemption from any penalty for cancellations: if you have to make a cancellation related to COVID-19, you will be automatically exempt from any penalty for these cancellations, which will not affect your ad's ranking or your status. Premium member. You do not need to contact customer service for this, you just need to select the reason COVID-19 as the reason for cancellation and make at least 50% of the refund to be eligible for this exemption.

The new policy we are implementing may not be perfect, but in this unprecedented period, we believe it offers the best balance to protect vacationers and homeowners. If you have any questions, feel free to visit our help page and / or our Discovery Center, which will be updated every 48 hours.

We have been in contact with thousands of owners over the past few days and I am impressed by your responsiveness in this difficult environment. It is certain that the situation will eventually change and that families will want to go on vacation again. Know that we will be at your side to help you provide them with the best service.

Thank you for your involvement and I express my admiration for your commitment.

Jeff Hurst, President of Abritel HomeAway

[Sheila22]

If you are setting up a listing on VRBO/Home Away and you need to talk to them, do not call the Customer Service number on the website, it is a very long hold time.  Instead you can call this number for the Sales Dept.  and they will help Hosts set up new accounts or get help with already existing accounts.  It's much nicer.  VRBO sales (open Mon-Fr 8am -5pm): 877-226-3657

[Thomas977]

https://youtu.be/D4T1k9SJFds

[Kristin108]

Thank you Thomas977 for sharing this link!!!

[Sheila22]

Thomas977 This video is spot on!!  Love it!

[Donald28]

that guy and his 100 listings on airbnb is the problem with airbnb. 

[Karen503]

I have just had two cancellations because of this message. I asked the first guest ‘what incident in Amble’? Until today, we has zero incidence of coronavirus in Northumberland. I couldn’t imagine a safer place to be: by the sea, very scarcely populated. My 2 holiday lets are my sole source of income!

[Alison695]

My sympathy Karen... there is no correlation between their absurd ‘incident’ message and what’s happening on the ground. 

[Sheila22]

Anybody except Donald28 please come join us on a private FB page to discuss these issues (not on this Airbnb owned forum) called "Airbnb Hosts United."  It is a forum for those who've been *bleep* by Airbnb as they illegally and unethically  violated contracts with us over the last several weeks into the next few months (and frankly have been doing it long before COVID-19).   If you aren't this Host, please do not ask to join this forum.

[Donald28]

@Sheila22 believe me I don't want to go to FB and listen to you all whine about how unfair airbnb is. I hear it enough here. Just move to a different platform if you hate it so much. Airbnb doesnt need YOU, you need them. 

[Kristin108]

@Donald28 

You have been reported to the powers that be...

You are inappropriate!

[Dorothy60]

I 100% agree. This is my full time job and the only way I can support my family as a single mama. This is devastating for me and my family. I’m not sure why I have to bare the full burden rather than sharing the responsibility with the guests.