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

[Sam397]

I see there are more host making comments that why should the guest pay for services they dont receive, since its been pointed out that host do provide services before the stay starts,I wont harp on that, but I will say this . It does make sense that a host who feels that a host doesn't do anything before a stay starts also believes the guest shouldn't bear some of the financial burden. That's because if a host doesn't do anything before the stay starts they probably dont have a lot of business and I bet a majority of host that feel they should take 100% of the loss are people who isn't losing much. (before people start throwing out how busy they are please note I said a majority not all) But there is one more reason why guest should have to pay a portion of their fee  that I havent heard anybody point out. That is because that's what they agreed to do. Its called integrity. By booking the listing a guest gives their word that they will do things according to the policy that the host has and not doing that shows a lack of integrity,. End of the discussion.   

And @Irene879 I think you should be embarrassed by what you said, it was cold hearted and showed absolutely no compassion for what some people are going through. If it someone keeps going on about how they were screwed over let them. It helps them deal with the fact they got screwed over. And to be blunt if you dont want to hear it just stay away.

[Sarah977]

@Sam397  I am one of the hosts who don't think that guests should have to pay what the cancellation policy says during this pandemic. That is not to say I think Airbnb has handled this well- they have handled it horribly, and continue to do so, even apart from the refund policies.

I would have liked to see 25-30% go to the host, and the guests be reimbursed the rest, because they didn't get to enjoy the place they paid to stay. That would have seemed the most fair to both parties, IMO. Any hosts who chose to refund more are free to do so. But that should be up to the host, not Airbnb.

No, I'm not a high volume host, because I only have one private room in my home to let and the viable booking season is only about 5-6 months, not because my calendar isn't open or I don't get guests.

I can tell you that for the $28/night I charge, not only does the guest get a sweet and comfy private room with a private bath and full kitchen usage, I put quite a lot of prep time into each booking. First of all, I don't use IB, so guests have to send me a request message to book. Not only do I answer those promptly, my guests and I exchange, on average, about 3 or 4 further messages prior to their arrival. I don't use any saved messages, I address each guest personally according to their communications. I also send them an email which includes a map to my house and transportation details, depending on their method of arrival. So I have already put in maybe an hour of time on each booking before they even come close to arriving.

Then I spend about an hour and a half cleaning the guest room/bath, (sometimes 2 hours) I gather fresh flowers from my garden for their room, I wash towels and sheets and iron if necessary, and clean the kitchen I share with guests and the outside areas far more thoroughly than if I were here alone.

Then there are the contant upkeep and repairs and so on I do to the guest space.

So no, my attitude that guests shouldn't have to pay 50% of their booking during a world-wide health crisis has zero to do with thinking that "hosts don't do anything before a guest's stay" and I seriously doubt that any other host thinks that either.

What I think and see in my reading here is that the hosts who are insistent that the guests should have been held to the cancellation policy are the ones who had no savings or other income and relied exclusively, or at least heavily, on their bookings for their normal living expenses, not that those who are willing to refund in full think hosts don't do anything if a guest doesn't show up. 

[Sam397]

@Sarah977I am confused , your saying that guest should not be held to the host cancellation policy but you think they should have to pay 25-30%. And then you say that guest shouldnt have to pay for services they dont receive which is saying that a host doesnt do anything before a stay starts and then you say how you do all this stuff before a stay starts.  

[Sarah977]

@Sam397  Yes, you are confused, I thought I was pretty clear, but I guess not. Listing all that I do for each booking was by way of explanation that I certainly am not of the opinion that hosts do nothing unless a guest actually stays.

I don't think a guest should be expected to have to be held to a 50% cancellation policy in regards to coronavirus pandemic. (normally I think host's cancellation policies should definitely be upheld- Airbnb overrides these for many cases that they shouldn't)

That's because the guest will of course not be receiving the service they paid for, through no fault of their own. (lockdowns and self-isolation orders in the midst of a deadly pandemic aren't like a guest simply changing their travel plans) The service they paid for is a comfortable bed, perhaps an entire house with fully equipped kitchen and swimming pool, hot showers, electricity, soap and shampoo, coffee and tea, and all else a host provides, including the host's attention to anything a guest may be having issues with during their stay.

But 25-30% for the host would have been fair, in my mind, to cover all the things a host does do, like communication pre-arrival, whether a guest follows through with their reservation or not. And it wouldn't have left hosts high and dry with no income whatsover.  It also would have been more palatable to more guests than losing 50% of their reservation. 

[Sam397]

@Sarah977 I know you are very familiar with Bnbs policies so you know that all the policies dont pay 50%. But just so I am clear you are saying guest should have to pay 25-30% even if the host cancellation policy doesn't call for that much.  If that's the case that's not fair to the guest. My whole point is that the guest and host should be held to the agreement that both of them agreed to.The extenuating circumstances applies to both host and guest equally, it is no more one sides fault than the others, so how can you change it to favor one side without it being unfair to the other side. Thats why I am saying they should have not made any changes and both side do what they agreed to do..

As for your services provided comment, a service is a anything that you do that needs to be done in order to provide something to someone. It doesnt matter if its sending a confirmation email or making a bed, if you spent time doing this you should be paid for it.

[Sarah977]

@Sam397  I was speaking to the 50% that a host with a strict cancellation policy would normally retain for a cancelled booking, because that has been what the major outcry has been about here. I've always had a moderate policy myself and would refund any guest 100% for this COVID travel lockdown, even if they weren't due a refund, but that's my choice-I can understand that hosts who are seriously dependent on the income might not choose to do that.

And the 25-30% I was suggesting would be applied to all the COVID cancellations depending on the cancellation policy the host uses.

Of course a service is anything that needs to be done to provide something to someone. But hosts don't have to make the bed, do the laundry, clean the place, replace the amenities, check guests in and give them a orientation tour if there aren't any guests, do they? 

Would you want to pay for a main course if all you got was an appetizer?

[Sam397]

@Sarah977 If I agreed to pay for the main course and at no fault of the restaurant I only got the appetizer yes I would pay for it,  even if there was someone at the table next to me saying that its okay if I dont pay. Its called keeping your word, something that dont seem to be very important to some people. As far as the rest of the stuff we discussed we could go back and forth all night and accomplish nothing so I will just leave it as we had different opinions on the subject.   

[Sarah977]

@Sam397  Sorry, but I don't believe you. You go into a restaurant and order the filet minion. The waiter brings you a $5 appetizer. You say, "Excuse me, but I didn't order this, I only ordered the main course." The waiter calls the manager over who says, "Really sorry, sir, but the chef had to go home sick. There's no more entrees tonight." You shrug and say, oh, okay, eat your appetizer and then call for the bill. You've been charged not only for the appetizer, but half the cost of the filet minion plate you never got.  

Like hell you're gonna pay for that.

[Sarah977]

@Jessica-and-Henry0  Wasn't that an Aesop's fable- the ant and the grasshopper?  All about planning for the future. 

This is what the world of living on borrowed money looks like when it all starts to fall apart. People want all the toys, the latest iphone, the nice car, the fancy kitchen gear, the dinners out, the daily Starbucks coffees, the designer brand name clothes, even their kids are dressed in Baby Gap. Heaven forbid you deny yourself anything you want. Just put it on the credit card. Buy 2 more houses to list on Airbnb- no problem, the bookings will pay the mortgages.  Until one day they don't.

[Susan17]

@Sarah977 @Jessica-and-Henry0 

Not everyone who is struggling to stay afloat is "living beyond their means", owns two houses (or any houses), or is flashing the cash on fancy gear and wild nights out. As for those living on "borrowed money"... never, ever in my life - including over two decades as a single parent - did I need to borrow a penny from anyone, for anything. I'm up to my tonsils in debt right now though, after having been forced to borrow for the first time ever, courtesy of Airbnb's shady practices. Please.. quit with the condescending judgement. 

"This reflects just how many Americans are living paycheck to paycheck.

Depending on the survey, that figure runs from half of workers making under $50,000 (according to Nielsen data) to 74% of all employees (per recent reports from both the American Payroll Association and the National Endowment for Financial Education.) And almost three in 10 adults have no emergency savings at all, according to Bankrate’s latest Financial Security Index.

Even many in the upper class are seeing their six-figure incomes slip through their fingers. The Nielsen study found that one in four families making $150,000 a year or more are living paycheck-to-paycheck, while one in three earning between $50,000 and $100,000 also depend on their next check to keep their heads above water

So what’s happening? Stagnant wages coupled with a rising cost of living in many places has hurt some households. A recent Bankrate.com report found that half of American workers didn’t get a pay raise last year. And crippling debt from student loans, credit cards and/or unexpected medical expenses is also taking a huge bite out of many workers’ take-home pay"

[Ginny30]

@Susan17 After reading all of your comments, this is the one that struck me the most. If you are up to your tonsils in debt right now because of Airbnb's response to a worldwide pandemic, than you should reconsider keeping your listing with them.  If Airbnb would have stuck with your cancellation policy, would you not be in debt at this time?

I truly hope you are keeping yourself safe and healthy during the COVID-19 crisis.  

[Susan17]

No @Ginny30, my situation is a lot more complex than that, as regular contributors to the CC would know - and as I've outlined in other threads here. But thank you for the condescending,, judgemental "advice" too. Once again, for the ones at the back - this is not just about people losing a few bookings here and there, it's about them haviing their calendars wiped clean and their entire income decimated for many months into the future, with little or no hope of recovering those losses, necessitating countleas thousands of hosts having to borrow to try and keep them afloat through the summer and quite possibly, the autumn and beyond too.

March is traditionally one of the best-earning months of the year for most Irish hosts, so to answer your question - losing just 50% of my booked reservations for the foreseeable future, with nothing on the horizon to replace them, would have been tight but doable, so no, actually, I wouldn't be in debt now if Airbnb had stuck with my cancellation policy. Bear in mind too that many of us in grossly over-saturated markets where Airbnb have been systematically funnelling the lion's share of available business towards their  "professional partners" and commercial operators, were just emerging from a  long hard winter too, but you're clearly unaffected by and clueless about any of those little nuances, so I'll leave you to luxuriate in your self-satisfied, all-knowing little bubble. 

But thank you again for the so, so helpful and supportive "tip" about reconsidering keeping my listing with Airbnb - after 10 years on the platform, that's truly invaluable advice, and something I'd never have thought of all by my stupid, broke-ass self. Not sure how I'd have got by without it, but hey, hope it makes you feel suitably smug and superior anyway. Oh wait - you obviously felt that way already, because you wouldn't have come here to pontificate to others about what an "embarrassment" they are otherwise, would you? 

Sure are a lot of wolves in sheeps' clothing around these parts lately. 

[Ginny30]

@Susan17 I was not being being smug in any way towards you.  This is the problem with comments instead of face to face communication.  I was simply asking you questions in order to try and understand your situation and why you feel the way you do about this.  I apologize if that's how it came across to you. 

I too will feel the impact of this.  My city thrives in the spring and summer months here.  We are actually also set to host the Democratic National Convention in the upcoming months.  Our most major music festival called Summerfest which runs for 2 weeks in the summer has been cancelled and postponed. 

The point of my original post was meant to get peoples attention and to stop and think before blaming or being upset with Airbnb.  It will not be Airbnb's fault if I end up with minimal bookings over the next 6 months.  But yes,  I am still embarrased by how some hosts have been blasting them here in the community center.  

I hope we can agree that we are all feeling or will feel the impact of the spread of COVID-19, some of us more than others.   

[Dennis16]

I’m also a host that is willing to give full refunds.  My question/suggestion would be why not allow hosts to change their cancellation policy in the “alter reservation” part of the app?  You could only allow a more liberal change in policy - not a more restrictive policy.  In my town we are shut down - nothing is open.  Weddings are cancelled, etc.    I wish I could liberalize my cancellation policy on existing reservations that were booked under a strict policy.

[Sarah977]

@Dennis16  You always have the option to refund guests whatever you want through the resolution center "send money" option. I wouldn't refund, though, until you actually get paid out whatever your cancellation policy would give you, in case they are able to wangle a 100% refund from Airbnb in the meantime.