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

[Wendy1071]

@Ginny30 There seems to be two types of hosts:  Those a little more insulated from a couple months of income loss and those counting on the income to cover the expenses.  You're right, that was a choice.  Some of us are business owners or have had the life experience in other areas that saw a big hit to our income due to circumstances completely beyond our control.  It sucks.  I know first hand from other 'black swans'.  Although no one knows what black swan will happen, those with forethought or past experience will know that they unfortunately happen and they will set up their lives to be prepared for it.  Our society on the whole is set up for people to overextend themselves financially.   I'm sorry that many hosts are now learning first hand - this type of lesson is a tough one to learn.   Airbnb isn't the culpret.  It's the unforeseen black swan - AKA Covid-19.   Everyone, do what you can to prepare yourselves.  You will come out the other end, whatever that looks like.  And remember this going forward.

[Sarah977]

"one in four families making $150,000 a year or more are living paycheck-to-paycheck"

What on earth are people spending money on that they are living paycheck to paycheck when they pull in $150,000 a year???? 

I raised 3 kids on what would today be the equivalent of about $1500/month. No one went hungry, no one had to wear broken-down shoes, we had a decent roof over our heads, my old beater was ugly but got us from point A to point B. Of course there were no restaurant dinners, designer-label jeans, no trips to Disneyland, no well-stocked liquor cabinet.

I'm not anyone special- lots of families did and do live like that. $150,000 year?  We would have considered ourselves rich.

[Marlene323]

@Sarah977 I read the Aesop fable as a child and have never forgotten it and the warning that living beyond your means is a risky business.

This is a real global pandemic. its not business as usual. We have not seen this scenario before but its been on the cards for a long time in the health related professions, as we keep increasing our travel globally, now more than ever, yet continue to degrade and abuse our natural environment. Yes there is an evidence based relationship.

Why should I be entitled to keep someones money for a service they can no longer access due to a circumstance beyond their control? The picture is changing from day to day and responsible governments globally are already disallowing travel and people movement as more information comes to light. We do not yet even know if the virus can be spread before symptoms emerge. Think about that with a virus that can remain active for 9 days within your holiday rental environment. I keep my BNB spotless but I know I cannot be sure I have effectively removed all traces of the SARSCoV2 virus. But we do know it is highly contagious. It is a terrible situation, I know but I have pulled my listing for now as, on evidence, for me, it seemed the most responsible action. understand it may not be so for others.

[Daiana43]

Finally. Somebody with a spine and a heart

[Marg11]

Fortunately, we do not rely on our Airbnb to live as we are self funded retirees and not pensioners. If you set up a business, that is you are self employed then there are inevitable risks. I'm more concerned about those who have suddenly become unemployed, without massive savings but a mortgage and children to feed. With schools closed or closing they will at least be home to supervise online lessons. However, they will be mostly managing on far less, after they have used up holidays and long service leave. 

[Sam397]

@Ginny30 , I admit that a lot of people are complaining a lot about the same thing but you know what they have a right to, what has happened to them gives them the right. But to say you are embarrassed by them doing that  should be much more embarrassing to you than what they are doing. To say that there are people out there thats suffering financially much more than them is ridiculous  There are host that has no money coming in and there is a good chance they may lose their house and their ability to provide for their family, so just what exactly is much worse financially than that? .

And then to belittle them because they are bitter because they were put in that position because a company didnt do what they agreed to do and unfairly put other peoples needs over theirs shows very little class on your part. IMO.  You talk about being entitled, have you ever not gotten your way or not had everything handed to you? I am not trying to fault you in any way, I am glad you dont need need to rely on your income from hosting to survive but to shame  people who are stressing because they cant afford to lose the income is much more embarrassing for me as a host as well as a person than someone who's complaining a lot. And then to say that they its their fault they are in this position because their only income comes from BnB is not only classless but ignorant as well. You dont know these people, maybe hosting is the only option they have and instead of being ridiculed the should be praised. So no, in my opinion you and the 28 people who gave you a thumbs up need only to look in the mirror if they want to be embarrassed of something.

[Wayne128]

Agree whole heartedly with the original poster. This is about more than money, this is about peoples lives.  If you didn't factor in extenuating circumstances into your business model even with a strict cancellation policy, i am sorry you have only yourself to blame. You are happy to take the rewards of using Airbnb but when the shoe is on the other foot then, Airbnb is ruining your lives. I actually want Airbnb to extend this for another month, till Mid May, my issue is dealing with people who have booked after the date set. What I also don't understand is why these people complaining haven't taken out additional insurances to cover this, Mine doesn't cover it but that's my issue and mine alone and i will have to deal with the outfall of it. Also having all your eggs in one basket (Airbnb) as good as it is, clearly isn't the way forward, but in this circumstance I would fully refund anyone who wants to cancel no matter what service they were booking through.

[Sarah225]

I need to apply for hardship alleviation funds from Airbnb.
Since Airbnb's unilateral alteration of cancellation policies I, along with many other hosts, have been forced into financial crisis.

[Wendy1071]

@Sarah225   "Airbnb's unilateral alteration of cancellation policies"

This is the main theme in so many Covid related threads on this forum.  Hosts who believe Airbnb has gone beyond their legal rights and changed cancellation policies are thinking only of what's happening with the contract between themselves and the guest.  

Airbnb hasn't changed your policies.  They're still there.  They've overrided them with the EC terms in the contracts all hosts agree to and have with Airbnb simply by using the ABB platform.   Ultimate control over all hosts and guests activity lay with Airbnb.  Period.

Hosts demanding enforcement of cancellation funding in the middle of a pandemic with many countries, airports, travel etc are all closed is not realistic.  Threats of class action are also going to go no where.  Only people making money in that case are the lawyers.  And since the courts are shut due to Covid-19 (in this country anyway) not even possible currently.

People are frustrated, venting.. I get it.  But there will be no magic bailout here so get to plan 'B' - ASAP!  

[Jasmin483]

A few questions:

1. Why we, hosts, with strict cancellation policy, have to refund guests 100% of the money. Why Airbnb does not help out with at least 50%?

2. Why guests didn't get a travel insurance? Why they don't claim this money from their insurance? I'm not an insurance to cover their extenuating circumstances ? I'm already willing to pay more than 50%? 

3. Airbnb came up with Covid-19 policy on March 19, right? This is just created to invalidates their Strict Cancellation policy, and get a reason to take our money, so their support people can refer to this link when they tell us they are taking our money.

I think all this is illegal and Airbnb should be investigated. We should not allow this injustice, and allow Airbnb to create policies on the fly, as it pleases them.

They racked up billions from us hosts and guests, and now they should pay their fair share.

Contact your senator here and report Airbnb.

https://click.airbnbmail.com/u/?qs=3fec2dbdaddf322e2dc7e221328e2db030f22db71654170f42cb305ac3c36ebe2...

[Cari3]

I'm totally with you.  This is no-one's fault.  We're all in it together, and this puts everyone including

Airbnb in a difficult situation.  I don't know about everyone else, but I still want them around when this is all over.  It also puts our guests in a difficult position - many are having their hopes and dreams of their planned trips crushed.  But we can get through it with kindness and grace.

[Roderick8]

Spare me the nonsense Cari3. The guests have small amounts of money at stake, but we end up with zero monthly revenue. As far as I am concerned, you are just engaging in moral grandstanding. Based on Booking.com's public financial information, both AirBnB and Booking.com are money printing presses. They are both hugely profitable because they can charge 15% commissions, which would not happen in a competitive market. And now both are crucifying the rental providers on the Cross of Good Public Relations. We are not in it together. These two companies use their dominant market positions to extract  between 15% and 20% of our gross revenues and dictate virtually all policies. And then throw us under the bus in a crisis so they can maintain their public image.

For my part a half refund is far fairer than expecting one party to shoulder the entire financial hardship. My business has no debts and will emerge unscathed, but that is not the case for the majority of owners who have debt to service.

[Jessica-and-Henry0]

@Roderick8 

Host service fee is usually only about 3%. Guests pay a higher % service fee (usually about 13~15%) but I would not consider including the guest service fee in the host's "gross revenue" category. 

It's surprising how much people seem to expect to get from paying a 3% service fee. 

[Roderick8]

You are wrong. If the guests pays a 100€ per night, I get 85€. It does not matter from which party AirBnB collects that money - the result is the same. It is not a coincidence that both AirBnB and Booking.com charge total service fees of 15%. They are not competing on price.

[Sarah977]

@Roderick8  No, Jessica isn't wrong. Host service fees are 3%. You may have chosen the option to incorporate all the service fees into your listing so guests see no separate service fees, but 15% is certainly not what most hosts get deducted from their bookings.

If hosts are employing that option, the intelligent business approach is to add the guest service fee the host is paying to the nightly rental price, so you aren't "losing" anything.