Airbnb is not helping hosts with new policy

[Jane2808]

Airbnb touts its new multi-million policy to help hosts experiencing cancellations. The reality is that it will only help hosts with a "strict" policy. I have lost all my reservations over three months (here in Brooklyn) but guests are canceling well in advance of their reservation so I won't receive a cent. I have a flexible policy, which is what guests prefer and Airbnb encourages (it's a policy Airbnb promotes on listings). Few of my guests have canceled in the decade of my Airbnb space. So the most accommodating hosts are being left out of this financial assistance. I wonder what percentage of hosts have strict policies, and how much aid this actually comes to.

Airbnb should be helping all its hosts whose guests have canceled because of the virus, not just those with the most restrictive policies.

[Anonymous]

@Jane2808   i don't understand what your complaint is. The refunds were remitted according to the terms of the cancellation policy that you chose...so all the terms of your contracts with the guests were fulfilled.

And as a host in NYC, even if your guests hadn't cancelled, you still wouldn't have been able to fulfill their reservations anyway...and therefore it would have been your legal obligation to refund them, even if you had a Strict policy.

Do you feel that someone owes you something here, despite no party having an agreement to provide it to you?

[Jane2808]

My error in not being clear. My complaint is not about refunds to guests. It is about this new policy below that Airbnb is touting. It will likely not benefit a host with moderate or flexible cancellation policies. My guests haven't waited until one day afore to cancel (flexible) or within five days afore (moderate). They have canceled weeks and even months in advance (through June). I notice others complaining on this forum that they won't qualify.

We will pay $250 million to hosts to help cover the cost of COVID-19 cancellations.
When a guest cancels an accommodation reservation due to a COVID-19 related circumstance, with a check-in between March 14 and May 31, we will pay you 25% of what you would normally receive through your cancellation policy. This applies retroactively to all COVID-19 related cancellations during this period. This cost will be covered entirely by Airbnb. 

[Nanxing0]

@Jane2808 This is indeed an issue we have been talking about. My suggestion is to wait. I believe Airbnb will soon release something to reward hosts with flexible cancellation. I don't think they are willing to see everyone switching to strict in the future to avoid such unfairness.

[Jane2808]

Nanxing0 

,I hope you are right. I changed my policy to "strict" and then realized no one in their right mind would book.

[Nanxing0]

@Jane2808 Well then that's a marketing problem. I have strict for most my properties and a couple of moderate and I get almost 100% occupancy for 9 months of each year before the pandemic started. Try Airbnb plus they will give you some professional advice.

[Jane2808]

Andrew, My error in not being clear. My complaint is not about refunds to guests. It is about this new policy below that Airbnb is touting. It will likely not benefit a host with moderate or flexible cancellation policies. My guests haven't waited until one day afore to cancel (flexible) or within five days afore (moderate). They have canceled weeks and even months in advance (through June). I notice others complaining on this forum that they won't qualify.

We will pay $250 million to hosts to help cover the cost of COVID-19 cancellations.
When a guest cancels an accommodation reservation due to a COVID-19 related circumstance, with a check-in between March 14 and May 31, we will pay you 25% of what you would normally receive through your cancellation policy. This applies retroactively to all COVID-19 related cancellations during this period. This cost will be covered entirely by Airbnb. 

[Jane2808]

@Anonymous , My error in not being clear. My complaint is not about refunds to guests. It is about this new policy below that Airbnb is touting. It will likely not benefit a host with moderate or flexible cancellation policies. My guests haven't waited until one day afore to cancel (flexible) or within five days afore (moderate). They have canceled weeks and even months in advance (through June). I notice others complaining on this forum that they won't qualify.

We will pay $250 million to hosts to help cover the cost of COVID-19 cancellations.
When a guest cancels an accommodation reservation due to a COVID-19 related circumstance, with a check-in between March 14 and May 31, we will pay you 25% of what you would normally receive through your cancellation policy. This applies retroactively to all COVID-19 related cancellations during this period. This cost will be covered entirely by Airbnb. 

[Anonymous]

@Jane2808  It seems that you've had some technical errors in posting, as the same message has come through three times and it still doesn't add up to me.

If a guest is able to get a refund based on the terms that you mutually agreed to, why is it that you feel you're still entitled to some kind of additional money?

[Jane2808]

@Anonymous, Airbnb is saying it is trying to help hosts impacted by the virus, and it is limiting that to only those with a "strict" cancellation policy. The most accommodating hosts don't have a strict cancellation policy. All hosts are struggling. I didn't expect anything, but if they are choosing to help people, why not include all cancellations as a result of the virus?

(And yes, am having a tech issue. But your reply has also appeared twice.)

[Sarah977]

@Jane2808  No, it is not limited to those with strict cancellation policies. Doesn't say that anywhere. If you had a moderate policy, and the guest cancelled less than 5 days before check-in, you would be as entitled to receive the paltry 25% of 50% as any host with a strict policy.

And no, Andrew's reply doesn't appear twice- he posted 3 separate replies in this thread. The "accepted" solution appears twice because one is his original reply and one shows as the "accepted" reply.

[Jane2808]

@Sarah977 Here you go, twice. The way guests are canceling is not just before their trip but weeks  and even months before, as I said. (And in the 11 years I've done Airbnb, cancellations were rare.)

[Sarah977]

@Jane2808 You didn't understand any of what I said. I'm well aware that guests are cancelling long before their booked dates. What I said was that nowhere does this announcement say that it is limited to only those with a strict policy. 

And I explained why that post that is blue appears twice- not because Andrew posted it twice, but because he posted it once, and then you clicked on it as the accepted solution, whether you intended to or not.

Whereas you posted exactly the same response 3 times, whether you intended to or not.

But hey, I'm no tech wizard, either.

[Anonymous]

@Jane2808  Airbnb is having a big moment in the press and trying to do damage control . But they are a multibillion dollar company angling toward an IPO and their primary focus is obviously going to be on calming the nerves of their investors. They're nice people but they haven't rewritten the rules of capitalism, and I'm sure you've been around the block to know that nobody on Wall Street cares whether you're struggling. 

I'm truly sorry about what you're going through. It's an awful situation for literally billions of people. But you have to do whatever it takes to survive now. There was never a time when posting a listing on a website meant that the website was supposed to take care of you in hard times, and even the horror of present circumstances is not going to change that.