Another update, another huge added risk for hosts at the mercy of Airbnb glitches & false claims by guests

[Mary419]

Today Airbnb emailed their new (much higher) penalties for hosts canceling on guests. Anyone who follows the host forums has seen the multiple red flags raised by hosts seeing glitches in AIRBNB's system that allow either double bookings or bookings that do not match the host's settings in some other way. Yet here we are with the new policy specifically saying "accidentally double booking" will result in this enormous new penalty. Trying to explain to Airbnb that it is their fault not yours that there was an ical synch failure allowing their system is just about as much fun as beating your head into a brick wall.  

But the next one is even worse. 

We have all seen plenty of false accusation situations regarding mold or pests. Especially people who live in tropical environments can easily have random mildew or bugs pop up. Now if you have a guest claim your house has "mold" you can not only lose your booking income will be charged additional fees when that guest cancels (tells Airbnb they are "unable to stay") just as if YOU canceled on the guest!  And how do they determine if it is "severe" mold do they send an expert before charging you the penalty? 

These new penalties are steep: 

Take note, I have had thousands of reservations and personally have never once canceled just because I could get a better booking or wanted to use it or host friends instead. I have a perfect track record regarding zero cancelations and that was with "only $100" at stake that was plenty to deter me. Plus the loss of super host (and I have been one for years).  So I am not one who wanted to be able to cancel willy nilly. But I see ALL the angles about how this new policy is going to be super dangerous for hosts and their income. And I am curious about all the angles regarding why they are doing this. 

What on earth is causing this policy change right now? Hosts are actually out there listing a 1 bedroom as a 3 bedroom? That is the example and shouldn't that listing/host just be kicked off as a fraudulent listing? Why should those of us who have been here and working hard for years to be respectable be given this new dire warning with lots of hidden risks for us too? No legitimate host with long standing usage of this site would list a place as something totally different from what it is. What does this tell us about the overall site and who is listing things right now? 

What do you all think about this? The entire thing is on the Policy Updates page or on this link https://www.airbnb.com/resources/hosting-homes/a/changing-our-policy-on-avoidable-host-cancellations...

[Mary419]

@Sybe Why did they feel the need to loop in this type of "cancellation" which is actually initiated by guests with this updated host cancelation penalty plan?

Does Airbnb not realize that losing a payout when a guest claims the house is "not safe" is already enough to drive a good normal host off the platform? Adding an additional penalty to put a host in the red after losing a booking is really interesting to me. 

[Mary419]

Rebutting these accusations is time consuming and stressful and as @Mark116 pointed out it is dependent on staff members with  random levels of credentials/judgement analyzing situations. If diagnosing mold by photos was really a correct method then people would not have to conduct the elaborate inspections that exist for such things.

I wonder about the host getting their payout back and then an additional fee of similar % bonus (a reverse penalty) for the host's time and stress if the mold accusation is proven false? Obviously I know that will not happen I am just pointing out the fairness factor. 

I had a horrible experience with a woman booking multiple months at a place I knew was too rugged for her and her elderly mother. I advised her not to book it. I said it was more like camping and told her if she did not like it I would not be refunding her because I had clearly recommended to her that it was not a fit. I told her I had a man coming to work on a film who wanted to book it and was for sure a good fit for him he was just waiting for approval on the expense, so please not to book it out from under him if she was going to come check it out and decide she needed something nicer. She did EXACTLY that. She realized it was not a fit and she snapped a couple of pictures of mildew on the porch ceiling and not only got all her money back, got my listing suspended and blocked out while Airbnb waited for me to send them a mold test! I removed the listing and never put it back on Airbnb. It rented just fine on other sites for years after that. But this new rule has me reliving that horrible experience and imagining how much worse it would be if I was also charged $1,000 which is exactly what would happen now. 

[Chris16856]

That sounds good in theory, but proving the platform bug was AirBnB's bug is tricky (as opposed to some other platform). As an IT professional, last time AirBnB had an issue I was able to provide evidence it was AirBnB not working, but a non IT professional wouldn't be able to. Plus if the bug happened weeks ago resulting in the double booking, evidence of whose platform had the bug has now evaporated. Plus you don't usually get to choose whose booking you cancel, you end up cancelling whoever came last (because that's when you find out about the double booking).

[Quincy]

Hi @Chris16856! When a 3rd party platform or software is involved it can definitely be tricky to determine whether the bug originated from the Airbnb platform, the 3rd party, or even user error. It's always a good idea to take screenshots and collect evidence if you suspect something is wrong.

[Wende2]

@Laura5292..Hey there, hope you're making out with a tenant, when they're good it's great having that money coming in.  Frankly, I'm losing interest in ABnB myself, I find most of what they claim to do as a benefit for us hosts rather insulting.  I'm giving vrbo a try.

[Mary419]

As I have had time to digest this I believe the biggest OMG of this announcement is the part about us hosts being penalized if a guest is "unable" to stay for something like "mold". Many of you may not be worried about things that have not yet happened to you but this can happen to anyone any time. 

I literally just had guests message me yesterday saying a house smelled musty and they asserted it was moldy and that it was not safe to stay there. They said their daughter has "PANDA" syndrome which apparently made it extra unsafe. This happened  at a listing which has been running for over 10 years and has constant happy guests all year long. 

The message was clearly a threat so I did tell them to checkout if they did not like it and I would refund the unused nights only. They were not happy with that. They wanted a full refund even after staying one night and leaving their full bag of kitchen trash for us 🙂 and next they told me they will be reporting my listing to the platform. This is on another platform btw. So I do not have this extra penalty and total loss of control which I would have if it were on Airbnb. 

I tell this story because this can happen at any listing at any time.   

[Laura2592]

@Mary419 we pretty much invest exclusively in historic properties. The "mold" thing is right up there with "I think it's haunted" ridiculous complaints. Some guests believe that if a place is older it's automatically coming with issues. I do wonder why these guests book older homes. I suppose in some cities you don't have a lot of choice. 

We used to have a disclaimer about using scented products, hosting pets who may leave dander, and that we were not appropriate for sensitive or allergic guests. I would probably add something like that to every listing as mold has now been planted into guest consciousness as a way to get a free stay.  

[Helen744]

@Laura 2592 the new regs will require the gust to vacate not to continue with the stay or not to receive a refund H

[Loretta127]

Yes.

I have found an intentionally retaliatory review can be full of misleading and untrue statements; with no place to put a response.

I'm glad to be shed of the terrible guest who complained and said it was the worst experience they've ever had- claiming bugs and spying...

Still, They stayed for 10 nights and begged to come back - for a second stay of 18 nights,  after I discovered a filthy bathtub and kitchen, food crumbs throughout, food left in the fridge, dirty pans in the cupboard, and a cookie stuck to the bedroom wall... all this before finding the water damage done to the wood floor and door during their stay...

[Helen744]

@Loretta127 this is one reason to always do 'housekeeping ' at an intervals that suit you ,and arranged with the guest . It is after all 'your stuff' and sheets bathrooms , kitchens and vacumning must be done periodically to maintain any home . People who turn up for a couple of days and leave a mess, so why on earth dont people institute housekeeping . We are as Airbnb ' serviced accomodation' as far as I am concerned, and as for hosts not cancelling when too many people turn up , I thought the 'party ban' cleared that up years ago. Read the cancellation policy 'evidence of a party' H

[Marie409]

I find the new cancelation policy threatening. I once had a woman book my place for just herself. She showed up quite late with five family members waiting in the car!! I was foolish to not cancel as I now know she scammed me. If I had, under the current system, I would either pay a fine or have to argue my case. I don’t make enough to make this worthwhile. I’m considering pulling out though I have become a Super host recently. Sadly Airbnb is overstepping my comfort zone. 

[Helen3]

Under the new cancellation policy and under the existing one you would have been within your rights to cancel as she had broken your house rules. ie booking for one and having five stay.

[Elena2720]

The same here. Airbnb should consider a legal cancellation to tenants that book with a number of guests and then they show up with a much different number. 

[Helen744]

@Elena2720 I would flag this as a reason to cancel on arrival ,unless both you and the guest agree and extra fees can be applied . This is a good reason to have the extra person fee charge and a limit on the guest numbers .Also a good reason to meet guests and check in on guests . An on ground host prevents these things H

[Property2]

It sure looks like whoever is making these rules did not fully recover from the unsuccessful brain surgery. I already removed 2 of my properties from Airbnb and 2 more are to follow after this summer season. I have no intention of putting up with this nonsense. Regretfully, what started like a great idea of a hosting community turned into a hosts hostile environment where a half-educated "ambassador" who can't even read the script decides how I need to run my business and handle something that I own...