WHY WILL COVID-19 BANKRUPT HOSTS AROUND THE WORLD?

[Michael303]

COVID-19 WILL BANKRUPT HOSTS AROUND THE WORLD BECAUSE AIRBNB REFUSES TO ACKNOWLEDGE THE EXISTENCE OF TRAVEL INSURANCE!

Travel Insurance is easy and inexpensive for Guests to purchase. The lack of travel insurance protection is completely devastating for Hosts!

For 3 1/2 years I have been trying to get AirBnB to listen. Well, unfortunately, a global pandemic is going to bankrupt hosts around the world because AirBnB refuses to make legitimate travel insurance available for booking guests.

VRBO and HomeAway do such a superior job offering travel insurance to their/ our guests.

1. If you drive a car without insurance and get into an "unforeseen" accident, you are responsible, not the person you ran into. If you book a trip without travel insurance and something "unforeseen" happens, you are responsible, not the person who is hosting you. 

2. I have to carry liability insurance, flood insurance, homeowners insurance with an added hotel policy on top of that on my building to protect me and my guests for short term rentals. I would carry travel insurance for all my guests if I could... no wait it do?! It is AirBnB's insane policy of refunds?! Hosts are not Insurance companies. 

3. I think it's beyond unfortunate for Airbnb, hosts and guests that Airbnb does on hold guest accountable for travel insurance. The simplest way to handle this is to explain travel insurance up front - prior to booking and let guests know it's their responsibility to purchase it or guests will be taking the risk themselves. Travel insurance has existed since the beginning of modern travel. 

4. Airbnb Actually Recommends Travel Insurance. (the AirBnB link is blocked by AirBnB) Airbnb offers refunds at the host’s expense. It is completely unacceptable as a policy and puts the hosts in an untenable situation of loss that cannot be recouped for last minute cancellations – which, by the way, is why trip insurance exists.

5. Suggestion: if Airbnb wants to act like an insurance company and refund guests their money then charge a fee ($35 – $45 to be competitive with trip insurance companies) for that service.

This part of the Airbnb & Host relationship is 100% unfair and 100% unprofessional. Hosts are not Insurance companies. This policy is insane. Travel insurance has existed since the beginning of modern travel.

Airbnb is hurting the small business owners who are the reason Airbnb is in business at all. Shame on them for allowing this and for interfering with legitimate trip insurance companies who protect the owners as well as the traveler when situations happen outside of either parties control. Airbnb clearly is not protecting owners and their businesses with this kind of policy.

[Thomas977]

Please sign http://chng.it/Sj9nRW7VDn

[Simon198]

Lets share the petition in more groups and SM!!! 

[Michael303]

This is enough to infuriate Gandhi: “We cancellation refund policy is not bound with any travel insurance our guest may have. Please see our webite for the information.” Notice it says “OUR GUEST” - where does the AirBnB guest stay? Oh right, at your host’s accommodations.

[Ben3385]

The reason Airbnb is now, as always, putting themselves squarely on the side of the guests, is that they derive all of their market power, and thus their profits, from guests.  Once this all shakes out, guests will be happy with Airbnb, angry at VRBO, booking, etc.  All the hosts that got screwed over by Airbnb will thus end up having to stay on Airbnb (because that's where all the guests will be.)  Also, Airbnb is the only platform that can do this, because they are the only ones who collect the full booking fees at time of booking, and don't release to hosts until after check-in.  At an annual revenue of ~$3 B, and average advance booking time of 1.5 months, this leaves them with a cash hoard of Hosts' funds of around $400M. From this hoard, they refund money that belongs to hosts, but which hosts do not control, thereby securing the goodwill of guests that will allow them to further screw over hosts.  Airbnb is a VERY VERY smart company.  The policy of angering and bankrupting hosts through the extenuating circumstances clause is EXACTLY the right policy to increase their value…and it makes me madder than a stuck pig.

[Adriano78]

@Ben3385  thank you, you resume very well the situation.

[Michael303]

@Ben3385 Ben, Wow, thank you for your insight. Top of the feed for your answer!  I feel like an ostrich with my head in a sand. Clearly you have excellent insight - what do you think we can do as hosts struggling to make ends meet?

[Rebecca181]

@Ben3385 Brilliant.

I have often commented here that Airbnb knows it can screw over it's hosts repeatedly and most hosts will remain on the platform because under 'ordinary' circumstances it works for them better than VRBO, Booking, etc. So Corporate know they can get away with. 

Sadly, I don't think this will be any different. 

[Emma690]

So I just had a booking cancelled by Airbnb that was not flagged as qualifying for the extenuating circumstances policy.  The guest was given an instant refund even though they were travelling within the UK to my property.  It was given on the basis that there is Covid-19 in The City of Brighton & Hove.  Well, yes, there is just as there is in the rest of the UK.  In the time it took me to write an email to them asking them to please check if they could use their travel insurance for a refund, I then received a notification from Airbnb that they had given them a full refund.  I had no say in the matter.  All but one of my bookings until this September are from guests within the UK.  I had hoped to be able to keep at least some of them but I know think that they will all end up with instant cancellations, whether or not they fall within the criteria of the policy.  How can Airbnb get away with this???

[Adriano78]

@Emma690 with this madness of refunds from Airbnb I am sure that the hosts will lose 100% of their money until the end of May .

Hosts can do nothing with this SCAM company, the only solution is to work with other platforms Vrbo, booking,Expedia.

Today is Covid, before was General transport strike in France  or fire in California, or......... Tomorrow is.........,it is almost impossible to work seriously with this kind of company. Every year   Airbnb makes hosts lose thousands of euros.

it's the only platform in the world that refund host 100%

[Ian-And-Anne-Marie0]

@Emma690 

The guest was given an instant refund even though they were travelling within the UK to my property.  It was given on the basis that there is Covid-19 in The City of Brighton & Hove. 

Exactly the same here. Except for the use of words "incident in Kendal". 

[Emma690]

@Ian-And-Anne-Marie0   Was your cancellation flagged up as qualifying?  None of mine currently are so I was completely caught off guard and it made me look like I was trying to deny the refund and Airbnb stepped in and gave it anyway.  This guest wanted to rebook later in the year but I might have lost this goodwill now because Airbnb's policy seems to be being randomly applied whenever anyone mentions Covid-19!

[Ian-And-Anne-Marie0]

@Emma690 

Was your cancellation flagged up as qualifying?

Not that I could see, I cannot see this currently on even a booking 28-29 March.

Likewise, this guest was waiting for an excuse to cancel. I heard on the radio the PM's address yesterday at approx. 16.40, that "non-essential travel should be avoided..." 5 minutes later, cancelled.

[Emma690]

@Ian-And-Anne-Marie0   So I can assume that all my bookings are now qualified for cancellation and I'll be getting lots of last minute cancellations cos there's no reason to do it in advance!  This is going to mean my whole year profits (my wages!) will go.  I will be lucky if I can pay the mortgage each month.

[Ian-And-Anne-Marie0]

@Emma690 

I just re-read the email directive from Airbnb, it states this:

"eligible reservations (are those) booked on or before 14 March, and with at least one night between 14 March and 14 April."

At this moment in time... bookings after 14th April are not 'eligible'. In time however, they might become eligible.

[Emma690]

@Ian-And-Anne-Marie0  I expect they will be made eligible in the next couple of weeks.  All my bookings right up to September were made before March this year so that's my lot gone.  Just had yet another conversation with my insurance company who have confirmed that I am definitely not covered.