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.

[Sharon1014]

@Ceri6 The levels only relate to your activity in the community forum, e.g. posts you make, replies, and thumbs up from other hosts, that's all.  Nothing to be concerned about - not related to you as a host or your listing.

[Sam3638]

Absolutely spot-on we are expected to be everybody's insurance company time and time again!

[Francis93]

I really think we have no choice but to cancel all future bookings. There is a chance that this crisis will continue and Airbnb will not change their policy. This would mean zero income for months and months. At least if our calendar is free, guests can book on other platforms that have fair cancellation policies. 
How can hosts go on paying bills and mortgages with zero income? Have Airbnb not even thought about this? 
@Lizzie and @Stephanie what would you advise hosts to do facing this situation?
Also why is Airbnb the only platform doing this to it's hosts?

[Anna8718]

I am completly agree with you.

I think that airbnb could also offer other kind of purposes to travellers. Instead of refunding 100%, they could offer a voucher of 100%. Voucher could be to book same property or even somewhere else. 
I received cancelations with full refund for travellers that they were start travelling on the 11th of April and decided to cancel before airbnb decided to give full refund to all travellers starting trip before 14th of April. Then the manners. Terrible manners from airbnb that decided without even a communication to the host to cancel with full refund when in my case my policy is extricty. 

[Tiago583]

Yes, a voucher would be an interesting solution.

[Ben3386]

It’s absolutely disgusting how Airbnb are going about this! We are now being seen as the bad guys!! Airbnb and other companies alike (booking.com) are washing their hands of us! 

[Stuart26]

Just told by my UK holiday lettings insurer that a guest cancellation initiated on the direction of Airbnb, without any cancellation fee to the host as compensation, is not covered.

Because unless the cancellation in these circumstances is made by the Government due to a lockdown in the host's city, then the policy is not valid. 

[Ian-And-Anne-Marie0]

@Stuart26 

Just told by my UK holiday lettings insurer that a guest cancellation initiated on the direction of Airbnb, without any cancellation fee to the host as compensation, is not covered.

Because unless the cancellation in these circumstances is made by the Government due to a lockdown in the host's city, then the policy is not valid. 

Airbnb should be taking note that  - as you point out - Regional Government does not have the UK in lockdown, and does not have any city or town in lockdown. The Airbnb policy throughout the UK (specifically here) is illegal.

[Stuart26]

Two minutes after receiving notification of your response @Ian-And-Anne-Marie0 I got the Airbnb founder email from 'Brian' 'Joe' & 'Nate' which concludes: "We are all partners, and we will get through this together." Thanks bro', but I don't think so on the evidence.. Lol

[Ian-And-Anne-Marie0]

@Stuart26 

Evidence? I agree with you.

Airbnb don't operate on evidence. They have a Terms of service which should be a basis to work on. Anything they can do to obfuscate those, happens.

Every cancellation I have imposed which does not fit with the Airbnb Terms and Extenuating Circumstances is going to be fought.

[Rachel1549]

What does this mean to hosts?

Did Airbnb have the right to initiate cancellations  ...and  are they going to initiate more ? 

[Justin100]

absolutely agree.  the minimum fair play is to share the loss between host and guest, then offer guest future credit toward a booking twice or more the value of the part the host was paid.  this is our personal default policy, and is generous from the host perspective.  

[Jon44]

My “Feedback” to Airbnb that I sent them this morning;
Extenuating circumstances policy
I have several properties on Airbnb. I am extremely unhappy about your adoption of extenuating circumstances for people who have bookings during this difficult period; this development was entirely predictable as the crisis in China became apparent to the public.
I have advised all my guests in the past, and still do so, that they should insure their trip as soon as they have booked.
If they choose to ignore this advice, which many of them do, I fail to see why I should take the hit when they suddenly decide to cancel for whatever reason.
Guests need to be more responsible, and they cannot expect holiday let accommodation to behave in the same way as hotels with regard to cancellation.
It is a completely different scenario.
I would like to suggest that Airbnb insist that guests insure for any scenario where they need to cancel, for ANY reason.
And if they do not do this they, the guests, or you, Airbnb, must be prepared to take the consequences, and there should be no extenuating circumstances.
I do not see why hosts have to suffer guests failings.

[Tiago583]

It is deeply troublesome and just a reflex of how a capitalist society works, in which individuals suffer while big corporations profit. It is absolutely unacceptable that Air B'n'b would take the decision of overruling the hosts policies without even reaching to us to know how this will affect us. I, as many more, rely on the income from Air B'n'b as an important source of money to pay my bills. This is not a joke and certainly not something that can be decided so lightly, as Air B'n'b has. They should recognise they have made a mistake and, at the very least, accept to support 50% of the reservation value so that we don't see 100% of our income disappear from one day to the other.

[Dylan-and-Lizette0]

Please sign petition. http://chng.it/srWH2sKY9P (AirBNB's UNFAIR treatment of HOSTS amid COVID-19)