Airbnb Superhost $100 Travel Coupon EXCHANGE

[Julie1484]

I received a 100 USD travel coupon for being a Superhost last year but because of the current unfortunate situation with the COVID virus I won’t be able to travel and therefore redeem it. I am looking for someone with the same situation who would like to exchange these coupons with me - meaning we would book each other's listings for one night when they are not booked by guests and redeem the coupons this way while at the same time getting most of the coupon money back from the reservation. 

Please let me know, my coupon expires on July 1, 2020.

[Ria16]

@Julie1484   I have one too and wondered if I could donate it to somebody and not really turn up there or leave a review 🙂 

[Julie1484]

@Ria16 Thank you for your reply. Yes that's what I did with my smaller coupon last week, but I would be really grateful if I could exchange this bigger one with someone

[Sarah977]

@Julie1484  That's a really good idea. It doesn't necessarily even have to be an exchange- since no one can actually travel right now and for the near future, those $100 coupons shouldn't just go to waste when we could be helping each other out with them. 

I would certainly be willing to do this for another host who's really suffering financially- I don't rely on my airbnb income for essentials, so I wouldn't even care if it was an exchange. 

The only problem I see is that we would still get charged Airbnb service fees, and that would come out of our pockets. 

I also wonder if Airbnb would see all these hosts suddenly using the coupons to book each other's places and somehow not honor the payments, saying the bookings are bogus as no one can be travelling or hosting anyone other than front-line esential workers right now.

[Julie1484]

@Sarah977  Yes unfortunately Airbnb will charge the extra fees and all, but it's still better to get the coupon amount minus 15% or so that they charge, than to leave all of it to the Airbnb platform. I actually contacted Airbnb Support Team because of the coupon and asked them to extend its validity considering the circumstances, but they were completely unwilling to offer any help/compensation saying that the coupon cannot be prolonged once it has been issued, not even under circumstances such as these. They basically suggested I book a trip a long time away from now and hope I can actually go, which seems super unfair to me. If there is a possibility for guests to cancel trips (which is 100% right), there should be a possibility for hosts to prolong their coupons, otherwise it's just a way for Airbnb to keep the bonus with no benefit for the host who worked hard to get it. I don't think Airbnb will have a problem with hosts using coupons to book each other's places, since they will still be getting their 15% or so, moreover they provided no other solution, so I don't think they would interfere with the bookings in any way.

[Irina536]

Yep, I did it and it worked for me !!!  

have coupons Made $200  (yes -fees)

[Kath9]

@Julie1484 @Sarah977 @Ria16 at the live listening session, I suggested exactly this, that Airbnb should waive the expiry dates of travel coupons so that we can use them once this is all over. It was definitely noted, so I'm surprised to hear that they are telling you Julie that they cannot be prolonged (although CS doesn't necessarily know what is going on at the top). I might email the host of the live listening session and ask whether this is being discussed. Otherwise, yes, I'd be interested in doing a swap with someone.

[Jessica-and-Henry0]

@Julie1484 @Kath9 @Sarah977 @Ria16 

If the expiry dates aren't extended, then I would also be interested in doing a swap. But I would prefer to keep the total paid for the booking (including all fees) under the value of the coupon because under the current circumstances I absolutely do not want Airbnb to be able to *charge* anything to my credit/debit card.  

[Sarah977]

@Jessica-and-Henry0  Good point. But can you use the voucher to cover the entire cost? I've never traveled as a guest before, but was under the impression that the service fees were never included in what you had available from the voucher, that the voucher could only be used for the nightly payments. Maybe I'm totally wrong on that.

[Ria16]

@Sarah977 @Jessica-and-Henry0 @Kath9 Theres definitely a booking charge 🙂 so you have to keep it under the US $100 and make sure the total is $0.00 to the user of the voucher 🙂 

[Jessica-and-Henry0]

@Sarah977 @Ria16 

Based on what a former guest told me, my understanding was that the voucher/credit can be used to pay for nights as well as any associated fees. So if the guest's booking total (including ALL fees) is kept below $100 (=superhost gift coupon) then there is no need for any out-of-pocket payments. 

[Dinesh-and-Sumudu0]

Yes, this is right. I have used coupons several times. If you keep the total cost is. Room rate + Airbnb service below 100 you will not get charged. Only thing is it's almost impossible to balance it to exactly 100 therefore you may loose a few cents. In any case you will have to coordinate with the host to get the right price to match USD 100. 

[Kath9]

@Ria16 @Julie1484 @Jessica-and-Henry0 @Sarah977 this is the response I received by email this morning:

Thanks for the idea, Kath - it's definitely something we've been exploring. While I'm not sure we're going to get it sorted in time for the assessment that starts tomorrow, I do think we'll be looking at other ways to reward and support Superhosts, to make sure the program accounts for changes in the travel landscape. I've shared your note with the Superhost program leader to inform her further explorations.

Hope you're feeling well.

So, reading between the lines, I'm not sure we can count on them extending the date (although I don't understand how hard this could be).

[Sarah977]

@Kath9  Reading between the lines that say pretty much nothing? Wouldn't be in the least bit hard- they could simply issue new ones with a new expiry date and void the old ones. But of course they couldn't conceive of something being simple  in concept and execution- they have to think about things in the most convoluted way possible and that takes a lot of time.

[Ria16]

Thanks for that @Kath9 

It’s a nice thing they can do for Superhosts.