A recap of last week’s coronavirus host listening sessions

[Airbnb]

Last week, we held another series of global listening sessions to hear your recommendations, make sure your feedback is taken into account, and give you another way to directly connect with us and one another. This kind of face-to-face communication is always important, but it’s especially crucial now as the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic continues. We know this has been a difficult and confusing time for Airbnb hosts, and we’re working around the clock to give you the support you need.

We’d like to thank all the hosts who joined and provided valuable feedback. Here are five main takeaways from last week’s sessions:

• You have questions about our extenuating circumstances policy, and you’re hurting because of cancellations.
  Whether it’s policy updates, unemployment benefits, or a crisis fund that guests can contribute to, many of you asked about how Airbnb is going to help you get through these tough times. You also want more transparency around how our extenuating circumstances policy is determined.

• You want more clarity and help around local laws and Airbnb policies.
  Economic-relief plans for small business owners vary so much by country. Many of you requested that Airbnb provide more clarity on what you might expect as a host—and you asked for more help in advocating for you. Many of you also wanted to learn more about hosting guests during local “shelter-in-place” and “quarantine” orders, and you offered helpful suggestions for how Airbnb should handle cancellations and refunds.

• You want better tools to help you continue hosting during the pandemic.
  From getting help marketing your listing to reducing guest fees right now to encourage more bookings, you offered valuable ideas for how Airbnb can better support you.

• You want more education and clearer communication, now more than ever.
  Specifically, many hosts requested a standardized COVID-19 cleaning checklist for their listings and asked for more host involvement in decision-making. (We’ve since created the cleaning checklist for you.)

• You want to stay connected with other hosts and help support your community.
  We heard great suggestions about how we can help hosts stay in touch with each other virtually, and many of you asked about offering your homes to healthcare professionals, relief workers, and first responders. (In response to that request, we recently expanded our program to help house more than 100,000 COVID-19 responders.)

You also gave us helpful feedback on how to improve the listening sessions themselves. Moving forward, we’ll plan on devoting more time to small group discussions.

Some hosts also offered words of encouragement. Here are two quotes we found particularly inspiring: 

• “Guys, let's stick together and learn from what has happened here. We are a great community and if all we can do is offer moral encouragement, that will help to get us through this rough patch where we are all feeling a bit abandoned!”
  
  
• “Thanks so much for putting this together. I know it is hard in unprecedented times to even know what to do. Really appreciated being part of it. I do love this community!"

Thanks so much again to all of the hosts who joined. You’ve told us these listening sessions are helpful, and we’d love the chance to hear from more of you, too, so we’ll be offering additional sessions in the coming weeks. Stay tuned for the schedule. 

In the meantime, if you’d like to connect with other hosts about COVID-19, visit our dedicated Community Center board, which we’ll continue to monitor for more helpful feedback.

[HomeGrown-HideAways0]

@Airbnb 

Can you offer more clarification about the grant criteria listed below? They seem to contradict each other. 

To qualify, hosts who offer a place to stay must:

• Only share their primary or secondary residence—no more than 2 active listings
• Show a reliance on Airbnb as a vital source of income

I have 22 listings on Airbnb (ALL of which are located at my private residence - a farm with a variety of campsites) and I rely almost solely on my ~$30k income from Airbnb. I've already lost an entire mortgage payment due to cancellations. I've been a Superhost for more than 3 consecutive years with over 600 reviews and a 5-star average. I have no hired help and work my ass off to curate an amazing experience for my guests (nearly 1500 last year). How am I not eligible?

Don't get me wrong, I appreciate that you all are doing anything for the hosts, but how does someone making some side cash off 1 or 2 rentals "show a reliance on Airbnb as a vital source of income" more than someone like me? 

Please and thank you for the clarification.

Jessa Turner

HomeGrown HideAways

Berea, Ky.

[Todji--Gisele-And-Hobie0]

A flat $5000 might be helpful to some, and not nearly enough to others.  Guests were returned their money in percentages against my cancellation policy, yet I am being offered a flat amount that is not fitting to my circumstance for all the debt that I took on to build our short term rental business. 

Please offer help that is helpful based on percentages based on host's realities, so that  hosts like myself and my wife dont stand to lose our life's work with a $5000 rope when the reality is that the titanic is taking on water fast. 

Thank you for your help Airbnb.  Please tailor your help so that it is fitting to your hosts who have taken on debt to build their Airbnb business.  As a self employed artist at age 50 my entire life's work is at risk right now, as my wife and I invested everything into building our Airbnb since 2015.  Thank you.

[Sheila22]

This is Airbnb's take-away from listening sessions with Hosts?  I've been communicating with a large number of Hosts, and this doesn't sound anything like what they are talking about.  These 'listening sessions' sound like more phony PR nonsense.

[Miguel459]

Frankly like Sheilla just express , you lost most of the credibility You had with most of the Host , I been in contact with, what You did with unilateral cancellations is irresponsible and illegal, You violated the contract we had regarding the cancellation policy, you acted like attorney representing the guests and the Host been the counter part, all You are doing with these public statements are phony PR moves to make is or anybody else that you think will listen and be helpful for You , wish I had the time and money to take a legal action , but right know all am trying to do is put food money on the table for my family, and see how to get my mortgage payments for the next few months, I am am a Superhost with more than 120 percent reviews, if You tread You best Host, I don't even want to think how You treat the rest of Your hosts, l lost all the trust I had on Airbnb, hope you improve on the way You treat your Host, because I don't think you can do any any worse, thanks.

[Sheila22]

@Miguel459   I do know one lawyer who is taking on some clients on a contingency basis to file arbitration cases against Airbnb. If you want to reach out to me (private message me).  It's worth it to reach out to him and at least have the initial phone call...he's very knowledgeable about this and is a Host himself, so he's passionate about this issue.  (This is not a sales pitch -- I am not saying what to do, but just saying it doesn't hurt to talk to a lawyer before deciding what you may or may not do moving forward. I met him on another Host forum.)

[Amanda-and--Dave0]

As a host I have been disappointed from day 1 of Airbnb's handling of reservations and lack of communication as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. I learned about the unilateral decision to refund all guest cancellations from family members who sent me links to USAToday articles. This was a huge failure and epic breach of trust between Airbnb and it's hosts. While I disagree completely with the decision to refund guests only, as a host, I should have at least been sent an email with the decision prior to a press release. As far as these 'listening sessions", when and how were people notified to participate? I never received a notification or an option to participate or even an email communication to let me know they were happening. Again, an epic failure and breach of trust by Airbnb. And now, as of the most recent update I am being asked as a host to "reach out and assure guests during this difficult time", while simultaneously learning that again Airbnb has favored guests and left hosts with mounting losses due to their own cancellation policies. Those of us who have flexible and moderate cancellation policies already assumed risk of guest cancellations and now we are being penalized further by not even qualifying for the 25% refund. And it gets worse. Airbnb emposing an April 30th deadline for hosts to be able to take advantage of penalty-free cancellations is an outrage. You are forcing hosts to make decisions about their businesses with no new concrete information about the impact the virus will have on future travel. This is a disgrace to your company and your personal business ethic. You have failed an entire set of your critical partners. At this time, I am seriously considering shutting down this business I have worked so hard to build and leave a community I had been so proud to be a part of. In these unprecedented circumstances Airbnb has left a valuable community in shambles and pitted us against one another. Shame on you.

[Brooke228]

My sentiments exactly.  I am so disgusted with this company. 

[Brooke228]

hello

[Brooke228]

I find it absolutely abhorrent how CEO changed policy on 25% refund for Superhost who had cancellations for COVID.  THE ONLY PEOPLE WHO RECEIVED THAT MONEY WERE HOSTS WITH A STRICT CANCELLATION POLICY.  

[Brooke228]

I have lost to date, almost 3, 000 dollars of money from a room I rent in my house. I am receiving 124 dollars, because, as they agent stated, "unfortunately you have a moderate cancellation policy."  This is so wrong,  She tried to justify it by saying, "We had to return guests all their money."  My reaction, "You had to return all  money whether or not hosts have strict, moderate or flexible.  The fact that hosts with strict cancellation policies are entitled to the 25% of all reservations is nothing short of discriminatory." 

She suggested I change my policy to strict.  I responded that your CEO told us in his live stream to go to flexible to encourage people to book, and furthermore, that didn't address the egregious policy and the fact Chesky changed from all hosts one week to only hosts with strict policies the next week.  That is just bad business.   They have received a huge amount of money from the government.  

  Furthermore, as a Superhost of 3 years who rents just a room in her house to help supplement a Florida teaching salary, and who has lost over half of my annual revenue from COVID, I have yet to receive an invite to apply for a grant.  She said, "We are working on it.  You have a good chance." That's hilarious since they are just running algorithms and I will never get a hit on that algorithm since I charge so little for my room.  The big players, those who have a second home and earn thousands per month will be invited.  So much for those of us who don't have the money to purchase a second home and work themselves to death with a full time job and additionally all the preparation to provide Superhost quality for their guests. Almost everything I make goes to improving my guest's room.   I have done everything this company has asked me: writing to state reps and congressmen and women to ask they continue to support an amazing community.  And this is what I get.  I am truly considering no longer contributing to Chesky's millions by being a part of this.  This would truly be a very sad point in my life.  The guests that have come into my home have been so wonderful and I have shared so many special memories with them.  I am beside myself.