A progress update on the Superhost Relief Fund

[Airbnb]

We announced the $17 million Superhost Relief Fund on March 30th. Our goal with this fund is to help some of the hosts most affected by the impact of COVID-19 on the travel industry. 

We have already awarded $7.4 million in grants and are working to get more grants out as swiftly as possible. We are still inviting more hosts to apply, reviewing applications, and awarding grants. Here are more details on our progress. 

Who can apply

We’ve shared eligibility criteria that determine who qualifies for an invitation. We are limiting eligibility to hosts who have lost a significant percentage of their earnings due to COVID-19.

To make this assessment, we compare a host’s earnings from last year to their earnings this year. We look at the percentage of earnings loss, not the total value of losses. This helps ensure we invite hosts who earn at different rates.

How we send invitations

Among the hosts who qualify, we use additional criteria to prioritize invitations. We’re prioritizing hosts who have had Superhost status for a long time. People who have had Superhost status for 4 and 5 years are the first ones getting invited to apply. So far, the average tenure of hosts who have received grants is 4.5 years of hosting on Airbnb.

Who we’ve reached so far

We send a batch of invitations to apply every week. Each batch reaches about 5,000 people. Every host who applies gets a response within 2 weeks. We’ve already invited about 15,000 hosts to apply for a grant, and 68% of those hosts are outside the United States. 

How much we’ve awarded

So far, nearly half the hosts who got invitations have applied; and the majority of hosts who applied received a grant. The grants range from $1,000 to $5,000. We’ve already awarded over $7.4 million in grants. 

What’s next

We estimate we’ll invite about 20,000 hosts to apply for grants from the fund—that means not all Superhost will receive an invitation. The exact number will depend on how many hosts apply and receive grants. We’ll keep going until we grant the entire $17 million. We plan to send out all invitations by the end of May.

We want to thank all the hosts who have used their applications to share their stories with us. We know it’s a difficult time throughout the global community, and we’ll continue to look for ways to provide support. Looking ahead, we’ll be focusing on helping you get back to hosting. That means offering new ways for you to understand booking trends and prepare for guests as travel returns.

[Daniel431]

@Fred13 I know, right? But seriously though, that had been happening for a long time. I don’t know why that is no longer heard when we call. 

I ask the greeting question because @Airbnb did err on of my eligibility criteria, however; they had me as not being verified when I have been the entire time. This meant that I was most likely overlooked in terms of my being considered as a potential applicant.  I had to keep on top of them for weeks, and they acknowledged their mistake in writing. I fear that this affected me adversely vis-à-vis the relief grant. I’m in the mix of eligible hosts now, whatever that means. I’m still trying to work with them and plead my case. 

How has the process been for you?

[Fred13]

I am not showing a loss since rolled all the bookings except one into the future, so not eligible. I am just rooting for others here, I could only imagine how some need it.

[Sarah977]

@Fred13 @Daniel431 I'm surprised the greeting message doesn't go "Is this really something you need to bother us with, can't you just deal with it yourself?" 

[Fred13]

@Sarah977  Yes, that tone with the proper inflection it's a conversation killer every time.

Come to think about it - I am going to adapt that tone with my Airbnb guests in the future - since they are already used to it. 🙂

[Maia29]

@Fred13 yes, I do every time

[Cindy78]

It's May 25th today and I have not received an invitation.  Should I assume it's not coming?  I live in Belize and our boarders and airport is closed, possibly til the end of the year I'm told. My income had dropped about 80% (luckily I had a good Jan & Feb)  I've been a Superhost since 2016, and after extensive renovations I opened my 2nd property at the end of December-great timing.   Belize is a poor country very much dependent on tourism, there is no "stimulus check coming" even though I pay USA taxes, I don't qualify for the stimulus check because I file a 1040 NR-non resident. I get it.  I can't stimulate the USA economy-I can't leave the country.  I more than qualify for the grant, and I'm hurting.  I got my hopes up.?

[Fred13]

They are opening Gadson International Airport in Belize City (only way to come into the country) on July 1st. Though borders will remain closed, till further notice. To put it simply, the country can't afford to shut down its tourist economy much longer. 

[Stephanie]

Hiya everyone,

For those that have questions about eligibility and priority in regards to the Superhost relief fund, I have the following further details that should add some clarity:

How does the amount of a host’s earnings contribute to your understanding of their financial need?

We don’t want to make assumptions about how hosts use the money they earn from hosting. And we don’t want to ask hosts to share detailed personal financial information as part of the application process. So we use two different types of information:

• To understand the impact to a host’s earnings, we look at their earnings from last year, compare it to their earnings this year, and measure the percentage drop. The actual amount of money isn’t a factor—just the percentage. That helps us make sure the program is fair to every host who is eligible, regardless of their financial situation. 
• To understand a host’s reliance on that income, we ask hosts to share whatever information they’re comfortable sharing in their application. We don’t ask hosts to share bank statements, mortgage statements, or bills. That’s too much to ask. Hosts tell us how they rely on their hosting earnings and we take them at their word. 

We don’t want to make assumptions about hosts’ financial needs or circumstances. In order to keep the process simple and distribute funds as quickly as possible, we decided to use the data we have, and let hosts share what they choose to share.

Thanks,

Stephanie

[Maia29]

I just received notification from Airbnb that I will be receiving $1,000 for the Superhost fund relief grant. Pretty good news; I never expected anything. I'm using it to buy a new washer and dryer set which I stated in the application.

[Fred13]

Good for you @Maia29 ! 

[Saptorshi0]

Congratulation. When did you receive the application? May I know for how long you have been a Superhost?

[Silvi-and-Konztanza0]

@Airbnb The financial help you have offered to the superhost is appreciated.

I can understand that your Airbnb economy cannot help all superhosts.

I just want to remind you that thanks to all of our efforts to become a superhost, it has been a long and hard work.

Thanks to all the hosts and superhosts we have made your Airbnb brand recognized on all continents for having a quality service.

The best financial help would be to include all superhosts.

I do not agree with the filter that you put for superhosts.

At the beginning you said a minimum of one year of superhost.

A week has passed and I find the change for superhosts a minimum of 4 years.

We are all living this pandemic equally in other places that we live only from tourism our economic situation is critical.

They should reassess the situation and come to a balanced conclusion for everyone.

Thanks

[Sebastiaan14]

Dear AirBnB,

I have thought about this for some time and tried to research it but couldn't find any information about it.

When the pandemic hit in full force you implemented a relief fund for hosts who received cancellations but if I am not mistaken there were customers who booked under the "moderate"or "strict" cancellation policy. 

I think that was a nice gesture from AirnBnB but have you also thought about the hosts who have the flexibility cancellation policy? I am one of those hosts who offer it since I want to give the customers the best experience possible. Therefore I want to give them the option to cancel if they don't feel comfortable to come over or in this case due to the pandemic. 

That doesn't mean that I am happy with them cancelling the reservation and in fact earlier this year I had a couple of reservations which were cancelled by the customers due to covid-19 pandemic. As a host I want to provide them the full refund but they also mentioned that they wouldn't have cancelled if covid-19 wasn't there.

However due to my flexibility I am not eligible for the target relief fund or a reimbursement because of my flexibility. As a super host we all contribute to your success as an organization and the next time you have such an initiative you may want to include also the hosts who offer the flexible option to their customers because we were also affected (aka read lost revenue) because customers cancelled their trips and may not come back.  

I just wanted to share this perspective with you since it's one I haven't hear much about

Warm regards from Oro-Valley, Arizona

Sebastiaan