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.

[Ann25470]

Hi ,

I tried to join the group conversation by clicking on the join conversation link , tried to send and surprise surprise I got an error message! But seems to accept me if I reply directly to a post.

I am in a similar position to you all and have had many cancellations in the last two weeks my business ( I own one holiday cottage rental which is half of my house) is not going to survive this year.

I have tried to speak to Airbnb to discuss the issue but got through to a call desk support worker who was obviously reading from a script and had no understanding at all of why I was unhappy that I was just supposed to take the full financial hit.

Hilarious that Airbnb promote a ‘COMMUNITY’ apparently us hosts don’t count as part of the community!!

[Rebecca181]

Lives are being destroyed and Airbnb is pretending like it isn't happening. Hosts are road kill once again due to Airbnb's inhumane and devastating policies and practices. And Airbnb Corporate is the vulture picking at the steaming, bleeding carcass. 

[Michael303]

AirBnB's total incompetence is at a new level. THEY ARE REFUNDING 100% TO TRAVELERS THAT HAVE TRAVEL INSURANCE! Travelers have insurance to recoup their money! I don't?! Travel insurance should be covering this loss.. NOT ME. 

Here is from my guest Steven this afternoon, "My travel insurance company say they will only pay out on unrecoverable costs of our trip to New Orleans. As AirBnB are offering a full refund for cancelling I have had to take that option." 

This is from Mellissa: "Yes, I have the Allianz Travel Insurance, but the Air BnB rep said I didn't need to apply it as this fell into the extenuating circumstances policy. I reach out to them, because I could not figure out how to send you the policy stuff. They said that I only needed to go through the site and it would take me through the process..."

They have made this blanket statement to refund 100% of the booking cost. 100% at my expense. Travel insurance is 100% covering this. THERE WILL BE A MONSTROUS LAWSUIT FOLLOWING THIS.

https://community.withairbnb.com/t5/Help/WHY-IS-AIRBNB-REFUNDING-100-TO-TRAVELERS-THAT-HAVE-TRAVEL/m...

[Ian-And-Anne-Marie0]

@Michael303 

THEY ARE REFUNDING 100% TO TRAVELERS THAT HAVE TRAVEL INSURANCE!

Why are they doing that ?!

[Vad254]

A little explainer why Airbnb made this policy.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-03-11/airbnb-refuses-guests-refunds-amid-virus-cancella...

[Carole158]

Does anyone know a reporter? I feel like there's a big story here. While Airbnb basks in the glory of giving guests free cancellations, Hosts bear the burden (and maybe go bankrupt).

[Anonymous]

@Carole158  I don't find that there's any broad public sympathy to Airbnb hosts. If you're a property owner who chose to move viable housing into the more volatile tourism market during a time of crippling housing insecurity, most people will find it poetic justice when you go bankrupt. Go ahead and alert the presses if you want, but if you get coverage I can assure you, you'll be the villain in that narrative. 

[Carole158]

Well you certainly won't be the hero. Good luck to you.

[Anonymous]

I didn't ask to be, but thanks anyway. Go ahead, put your ear to the ground outside of this bubble and report back how much pity you hear for how the crisis is impacting all those people with a surplus of livable housing space whose profits are drying up. We both know that this doesn't describe every Airbnb host - thousands are just renting a room in their house to help make ends meet - but this is catnip for everyone who wants to get you shut down. 

[Sheila22]

I totally agree with Andrew0 in that this is certainly a popular perspective that he describes, probably for the founders of Airbnb who come out of this kind of San Fran millennial culture and actually established Airbnb to reflect this kind of a tone -- "sharing culture."  They do not like Hosts like us, and neither would the media like us, which would favor hipster guests over "greedy" property owners.  But I do believe Airbnb has miscalculated this.  I believe the very type of Host Airbnb is decimating here, the one who books regularly and consistently year round, is the very Host that brings the money in for them, even though I also think these kinds of Hosts are a small percentage of Airbnb Hosts.  I think the majority of the Host accounts are occasional Hosts.  But I think that if this small percentage mobilizes and walks away or at least become multi-platform listers (have little trust in Airbnb and give more of their busy away to other platforms) it will actually really hurt Airbnb in the pocketbook.  They will go back to how they started, sleeping bag on the floor kind of enterprise.  I'm not sure how well that is going to work for their IPO aspirations either.

[Jillian132]

That is quite an unbalanced view point. Many host decide to let their properties to 'make ends meet'. The hosts motivation for letting is irrelevant here. Hosts also have children to feed and mortgages to pay. Airbnb are being socially irresponsible here.

A more balanced result, and one that is socially responsible to all, would be a 50/50 split between host and guest. If Airbnb want to show a morally ethically and socially responsible face to the world then they should take the hit form their §30 billion dollar pot! and refund both guest and host. Hosts are the reason Airbnb exist as we all know.

Something must be done here and I call for all to join me in a Class Action against this.

[Michael303]

Exactly, travel insurance has existed since the beginning of modern travel. And AirBnB refuses to acknowledge the existence of it or guide guests to using it. VRBO, HomeAway, etc. Do a seamless job of adding travel insurance. The arrogance and irresponsibility of AirBnB is shocking.

[Sarah977]

@Jillian132  I don't see it as an unbalanced viewpoint at all. I have huge sympathy for hosts who may lose their primary residence which they host in, won't be able to pay their own utilitiy bills, and may even have a hard time feeding their families, due to all the coronavirus cancellations. But there are also hosts here who own multiple properties that they purchased with the sole intent of using for strs who are outraged that they might not be able to pay the mortgage on all of those properties. That's a first world problem, and one I find it hard to drum up a lot of empathy for, in a world where where most people coud never afford to purchase  home at all, and have difficulty finding a place to even rent at a reasonable price, because of all the "entire house" str rentals out there. Those hosts may be forced to sell one or two of their properties. Like I said, a first world problem.

[Helen3]

Sadly. I don't think that is just not the case @Jillian132

According to research in 2017, an Airbnb landlord in London made £11.9 million in a single year, renting out 881 properties, according to  research by Airdna. That figure represents the most made in revenue by any owner in the world in the last 12 months, but another landlord was not too far behind, raking in £11.8 million through 504 properties in Bali.

Top owners in cities including Cape Town, Paris and Barcelona all banked at least a million pounds through dozens of flats, rooms and houses.

The research shows how Airbnb has shifted from flat-sharing to property management, with single operations turning over huge sums of money.

I think you will find many hosts now are not renting a room in their home, but have bought investment properties, use Airbnb to pay for holiday or second homes, are co-hosts or property management companies. Others have timeshares or offer rooms in hotels.

“Airbnb is no longer a community just for individuals renting out their space or properties on their own".

[Sheila22]

Funny, I was guessing that these Hosts are a small percentage of the Host accounts on Airbnb (though a large portion of the revenue).  I wonder what the figure really is.  At any rate whether they are the level of revenue you are talking about or smaller property owners, this group of Hosts, the ones that book regularly and consistently and make a living from these rentals -- these are the ones that Aribnb has really pissed off right now.  So,  that might make the above commenters Sarah and Andrew smile ('poetic justice') but it is a risky calculation on Airbnb's part to make enemies out of these very active Hosts.