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...

[Lawrene0]

I'm okay with it, too, @Helen3 . Host cancellations drive guests to other platforms. Or to sleep in their cars, as I had to once when cancelled on last minute. That host cancelled because she had a chance to leave early for her own holiday. She wanted me to do the cancelling for her. (I didn't.) Had it been my first time using Airbnb, I would never have come back to it.

[Katarina184]

This new rules are crazy. 
I’ve been using airbnb for years and never had a problem until now.

I had a guest who send me an email after one week(not a single complain during this time) claming she got allergic and had to leave and she wanted the money back for the days she booked but didnt want any more.

One other reason she brought up as a reason for the cashback is that she didnt like the beach.

The weather forecast said heavy rain for the rest of the week hmm hmm…

The guest claims she’s allergic to mold and thats the reason she got allergic.

This is an old wooden house thats breathes and is made of eco materials, there is’nt any mold guaranteed.

The funny part is that im allergic myself and i live there permanently without any problem.

When a enter a house i feel it immediately and not after a week.

My mother has Astma and never had a problem either.

None of my previous hundreds of guests had said anything either.

The reason i’ve been using airbnb is that it felt safe but thats not the case anymore.

There are plenty of other communities to use thats also cheaper.

I have multiple good reviews after all the years and the guest had none.

Im depending on the money that i make to be able to keep the house so now im very troubled.

Living with severe nervepain and not being able to work this is s catastrophy for me.

[Chris16856]

There is a small percentage of guests who are whiners and/or think they can cancel with no penalty. Don't give them any leeway. I'll give a guest a refund for a legitimate issue, but not for nonsense.

[David8879]

Yes - there are hosts who do not understand how out of the blue air cancelations affect guests.
But penalizing EVERYONE except few bad apples is so WRONG. That is what they call "legal precedent" and it will become a RULE now.

That is why I never had and never will have instant book, especially after covid since all more or less considerate guests are still scared of virus that did not affect 99.95% and stay home with their Volvos locked in the garage.

Plus there are still some individuals who refuse (yes - till now!) to host "unvaccinated guests" - they are such a specialists in virology and immunology.
CDC recently stopped publishing outbreaks of covid on ships - well - everyone is vaccinated there - aren't they?

So, who is left to travel? The thin minority of misfits who still have some money left from government handouts?

How will the bookings go up???

And I only allow bookings 3 months out for "technology reasons" - I know quality of programming now, MIT types are all but long gone. And I will ookup right now if I can only do 2 months

[Helen3]

There not penalising everyone @David8879 - they are only penalising hosts who choose to cancel because they get a better off/double book etc.

I've never cancelled a guest in six years of hosting and hundreds of guests. 

[Mary419]

@Helen3 They will also be penalizing hosts whose guests cancel due to safety claims that will not be verified by any neutral expert. Furthermore, if never canceling guest plans was newly prioritized by this platform why do we keep seeing dozens of hosts saying their reservations were auto- canceled by Airbnb? 

https://community.withairbnb.com/t5/Help/Airbnb-keeps-canceling-our-guests-bookings/td-p/1615029

Airbnb is auto canceling for all sorts of reasons on a very regular basis

A few months ago I had a couple of cancelations in a row show up as "Host Canceled" on my dashboard when in fact an agent canceled within Airbnb. This happened after a guest saw 1 palmetto bug. Then it happened again after a guest declared my 170 year old tiny cottage had mold (which it does not). I got charged the $100 penalty each time too. I was also supposed to lose super host due to these so-called host cancelations. I did get this reversed by going completely bonkers posting about it (genuinely felt bonkers too I was so upset) and contacting my account manager. However your average smaller host will likely never get anywhere protesting if that happens. And I can tell you it was maddening enough with the $100 penalty on top of the payout going to zero. If I got charged half the booking amount on top of losing the booking amount I cannot imagine the stress of unfairness I would have felt. 

I wonder what AIrbnb plans to do with the income from the penalties.

@Laura2592 I agree the "newer hosts" are the new business model and these are not regular people who would weigh these decisions so carefully like we do... I think they are not actual people they are enormous companies. The design is focused on that type of "host". 

[Laura2592]

@Helen3 I wonder who those hosts are?

I've had Airbnb cancel bookings but it has never once been to "get someone better." Once was the day before when my guest admitted plans to bring 6 people to my 4 people max space  on their 2 person reservation and tried to guilt me into agreeing/got snippy when I politely said no. Another was when a blocked date for a repair to plumbing was inexplicably booked. Airbnb admitted this was a glitch. There's been a few instant bookings here and there which were not a fit based on the comments (plans to host a party etc.) Never once did I cancel because I just thought I could get more money. I've never heard a host say that this was their practice, ever. 

Airbnb on the other hand has cancelled several of my bookings over the years, typically when they don't get full payment timely. In those cases the message to guests is misleading. And if I rebooked quickly it certainly could appear I was being shady. But again, the SYSTEM generated the cancellation in those cases, not me.

[Mark116]

@Helen3  I didn't read the rules that way.   I read it as any cancellation that Airbnb doesn't consider extenuating circumstances which would include things like a missing amenity or an alleged safety issue.  There is someone who posts here who said a tree fell on their house and this was listed as a host cancellation.

I've never cancelled anyone either, but if a tree falls on my house right before a 2 week reservation I would consider it insane for me to be charged 1/2 the cost of the reservation plus other penalties.

[Sybe]

@Mark116  Emergency repairs, such as needed when a tree falls on your house (touch wood), are valid reasons beyond the Host's control. Safety issues, such as serious personal illness or declared emergencies, are as well. 

You can find more information about this here. 🙂

[Mark116]

@Sybe   I'm sorry to say that I do not believe the Airbnb cutomer service staff have sufficient training to adjudicate whether or when something is 'out of the host's control'.  This is amply demonstrated by multiple hosts who have posted here who were given host violations when a tree fell on their house and when an appliance was broken and could not be immediately repaired or replaced.  

[Helen744]

@Mary419 no I agree hosts are not cancelling or listing incorrectly and 'host cancellations' ,which is what this is about are rare for most of us,but you have just suggested something about 'double bookings ' which I personally have never considered and since a calendar can and should be synched both automatically or manually once a booking is confirmed should in fact never arise .I was unaware that hosts were ever cancelling bookings and using two calendars to pick and choose a more lucrative booking.Hosts cancelling for no reason is basically the issue I guess.If people are willy nilly cancelling when they arrive and huffing off and putting their own holidays in jeopardy for no real reason then I am yet to experience it . some hosts are just not good at what they  do , thats a fact,  good hosts will survive this new reg . Good luck to us all. H

[Loretta127]

Helen 744

Who thinks of these schemes!!!?

I must be pretty naive.

I give my word.

I am true to my word.

Most guests are so much fun-

However...

I gave a 2 week-stay guest a screaming deal...it back-fired.

Due to damage They caused, I had to cancel a future booking for Them.

She accused me of trying to make more money.

The thought never occurred to me!

I'm learning; people who ask for more than is offered will come up

with all the reasons why they do not need to take responsibility.

I will rent to a long-term tenant on another forum.

[Mark116]

My issue is that Airbnb is all stick and no carrot when it comes to hosts.  The host is presumed guilty, convicted and sentenced without a trial.  The rules, parameters and penalties continue to become more and more burdensome.  And what are hosts getting in return?  No more free photography.  An absolute debacle of a search function.  A generally incompetent customer service staff.  A kalfaesque 'safety team'.

I can't imagine any host would stay with the platform after being charged 50% of a reservation for cancelling when Airbnb deems it is not extenuating circumstances, which we all know is a completely random call.

The other side of the coin is of course hosts being pressured by Airbnb to give refunds outside of the refund policy, of Airbnb giving refunds to guests who don't follow the guidelines and it goes on and on.  I've said before it's a very, very strange dynamic that Airbnb treats the hosts as the enemy.  

[Kelly149]

@Mark116  Yes, I haven’t seen anyone mention it yet but since this penalty would come from a FUTURE payout then it stands to reason that some hosts will just say forget it, I’ll cancel all my abb reservations and NOT pay this fine. Bc otherwise you could be hosting your next guest for free in order to pay off your debt to abb. 

which sounds pretty funny considering that abb doesn’t believe in enforcing “fines” for bad guest behavior even when hosts write such things in their listings. 

[John5097]

I don't have a real problem with the increase in penalties for host cancellations. But also not sure about this extra clause. 

For example, I try to be as accommodating as possible to guest with allergies. Some have extreme allergies with a medial name for it, and some even in town for surgery. They were just so happy to have a place they could vacation and the place worked out well for them. But some guest only message the night before with all these extra request for fragrance free. I have experience with this, as mentioned, and already fragrance free. But this kind of guest may not have any allergies and its just a fad like gluten free, where vast majority don't have celiac disease. Some of these kind of guest call me after check in, and complain about latex paint, claiming an reaction, when latex paint is 100% acrylic and no latex in the mattress either. The area outside may also be hard for people with allergies, or they see a roach or spider outside. I think that should be guest cancelation and at worst host just doesn't get paid. If there is some other serious heath issue or totally misreprestened there is aleady a process for that and host gets suspended.  

But not going to lose any sleep over it. I suppose some guest and host will always abuse the system. I'm more concerened about not getting enough bookings or guest canceling on short notice.