During COVID-19 Fellow Hosts are an embarrassment!!

[Ginny30]

I am embarrassed by the entitlement some of my fellow hosts are having during COVID-19 epidemic.  The world does not revolve around your rental property or mine!  Airbnb has my full support in issuing 100% refunds during this time. 
This entitlement to thinking Airbnb should pay you according to your cancellation policy is absurd.  All of us are “self employed” with Airbnb, we pay them a small percentage to advertise, showcase and handle our bookings.

There is nothing more important to me then my health, the health of others in my community and the health of my guests!  Welcoming guests to my property right now could potentially expose them, myself and my community to this daily growing virus.  We don’t know if they have been exposed to the virus and they don’t know if I have!  
I have a feeling you would still be complaining even if they would go with your cancellation policy.  This is a global problem and their are people out there financially suffering much more than you are!  Airbnb or any other rental company should never be considered your main source of income period!  There...rant over

[Mark1357]

Ditto......

[Luana130]

I personally think that is a bit selfish of you. I agree that with the current situation guests should receive a partial refund, but definatly not 100%, unless the host decides to do so. 

I'm guessing you have other income, and this is just a plus income to you. For some hosts this is their main or only income. So tell me who suffers more from the loss of money, a guest who lost travel money or a host who is going to lose his livelyhood, his ability to pay bills, put food on the table? I think a 50% refund would be the right thing to do. Both parties lose some, but not all.

[Scott1156]

Why did you build a business model around debt?  A quick buck is also a quick way to lose EVERYTHING when you don’t weigh the risks.  You’re about to learn that lesson in full force.

[Scott1156]

Some of you people come in here, take on massive debt to compete with Hotels, trying to make a quick buck, push up housing prices with reckless behavior, screwing those trying to buy a primary residence, and now you want to complain when risks bear fruit?  You get zero sympathy from most of the world.  Your business model is nothing but a get rich quick scheme and you’re going to lose it all.  This is a lesson you need to learn in business and life.

Zero sympathy for some of you.

[Luana130]

@Scott1156 

You shouldn't judge other people, you don't know their situation. I understand there are people doing rental arbritage, I personally would not do that, but to each their own.

I own a house, it has been in my family for over 30 years, it was a big house so I converted the rooms into small studio apartments and such. It was supposed to be a suplemental on my income to help pay for the upkeep of the house, but for the last couple of months it has been my only income. So yeah these cancelations have been really bad for me, as it has been for a lot of hosts who depend on it.

[Sam397]

@Scott1156  you dont know what your talking about, I am serious, your comments are beyond ignorant. How can you say that a host didnt weigh the risks or went for the quick buck, and will learn a lesson in full force, when before the virus so many people were successful at being a host. You cant blame them for the virus, nobody saw this virus coming so how can you accuse them of being any more reckless than someone who bought a house to live in. The only thing host has learned for sure is that your an    , well lets just say that the saying about a knife not being the sharpest in the drawer applies to you.

Do you even know what a business model is, almost every business in the world started off in debt. And how does a person that host drive up prices and screw over someone trying to buy a house?  Also you shouldn't speak for most of the world because I dont think there are as many people as you say that has 0 sympathy for anybody going through rough times right now..  

[Scott1156]

If you went into this buying homes with cash, you did it the right way and this is something you probably have planned for.  You’ll be fine.

If you took out loans on all these properties to fund this, you devised a poor business plan, a dangerous one.  You push house prices to unsustainable levels with your risky purchasing in acquiring cheap loans to build supply for your business and ignore all the risks.  One hiccup comes in and your toast.  You employ almost nobody, maybe a part time housekeeper, and now you want to screw over travelers who are trying to protect their health.

It’s sad to see the lack of self awareness with some of you.  

“Hosts that have been successful.”    If you have 10 mortgages, you aren’t successful, you’re simply buying time before you fail, and that’s exactly what’s going to happen.

[Diane218]

Perhaps, but not everyone's situation is the same. For instance my husband of 30 years divorced me last month. The year prior when we separated this business came out of our separation agreement. This income is to support myself and my adult disabled son. This was not a business model I even dreamt of prior to. A lot to digest in a short period of time! All the while dealing with C-PTSD from a long term marriage of abuse.  So before preaching about lessons I would go from the assumption that not everyone has the circumstances to create the ideal business model!

[Susan17]

Very best of luck to you and your son, @Diane218 . Stay safe, and wishing you brighter days ahead.

[Gerhard4]

@Scott1156 , question, are you actually a host on this platform ?? 

[Latoya20]

This is different.... That's why there is an "extenuating circumstance" policy.  Under normal circumstances, I would agree with you. But in many cases, you cant even get transportation. Why should a host be able to get money for a service that they will not provide? How would you feel if you paid (in my case $1000) for a product that you cannot use. 

[Irene879]

@Luana130 @Luana130 @Mark1357 

Those of you choosing to make AirBnB the main source of your income knew the risk you were taking going in or you should've known it, and you should not be complaining now that the bottom is falling out for you.

One of the main problems is that many people who chose to go with AirBnB as a business had no business experience going into it so they are clueless as to how to handle a business. Business is problem-solving and decision-making on a daily basis, and one rule of thumb is to never put all your eggs in one basket and to hedge against potential catastrophes.

This is no different than one of the many housing bubbles we had where people kept buying property for investment purposes, and then when the market crashed they were left holding the bag and lost everything. But most of what they lost was leveraged money and their credit rating.

No sympathy for those who bet all their money and livelihood on running AirBnB's.  

It was always a way to subsidize your income: it should never have been anyone's main source of income.

Anyone with any sense always knew that AirBnB was an unreliable partner.

So sorry.

[Helen213]

Sorry but I know how to  spread riskwhich is why I chose a strict cancellation policy even though ti cost me bookings and I had to be 15% cheaper than others in my NYC neighborhood.  Airbnb changed the rules on us without my permission.  I am all in for a 50% refund but why am I solely responsible for guests who choose a strict cancellation listing and not take out insurance?

[Juan63]

@Irene879 Mind blowing, is it jealousy or ignorance? No sympathy for people trying to build a future and then to lose it to a worldwide crisis? You don't belong in this community.