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...

[Kate867]

@Mary419   Perhaps I am just being cynical, but earlier in the year when Airbnb introduced the 72 hour instead of 24 hour ‘window of opportunity’ for guests to complain, they also wanted to introduce a rule that if a guest was relocated then the original host not only lost the income from the booking, but they would also be responsible for additional fees for the relocation (at least that is how I read it)… to equal or better accommodation.  That wording was ultimately removed due to the many complaints from the Hosts.  I just see this as a ‘workaround’ by Airbnb.  As I understand it, a complaint, if serious enough, will lead to a cancellation attributed to the host… and of course we all know how unbiased customer support can be at times… and how creative guests can be?

[Laura2592]

@Mary419 hosts need to realize that ABB now believes it has a right to control when you open your property, and charge you if you don't allow them access. 

"Avoidable" reasons? How about if I need to sell it unexpectedly because I am having financial hardship? Do guests "right" to a vacation override my financial well being?

How about if a friend needs a place to stay to escape an abusive situation? Again, a stranger's weekend away is more important?

How about if a parent or sibling is evicted? Or if my marriage breaks up? You are calling denying my own access to MY property without financial penalty on the basis of those circumstances "avoidable?" Let's be real here-- whose name is on the deed again?  A. Mine, B. Someone at ABB corporate, C. Some random guest? 

Just when you think it doesn't get more absurd, it really manages to reach a new level of crazy.

[Gary1059]

They say timing is everything!  With this new punitive rule introduction aimed at property owners, I just have had the experience as a super host this past week where a guest book for 2 women for quite mother’s getaway.  4 women  & 3 men arrived , partied all night, neighbors complained, smoked in nonsmoking property.  Airbnb makes decision to cancel reservation and has them leave in less than 24 hours into 3 night reservation due to “partying rule “.  

Then Airbnb allows them to post review with all  1 star ratings lowering our rating from 4.97 to 4.8 with an entirely false review.  Airbnb refuses to take down because they did not use vulgar language. Yet Airbnb says will not let this guest book with them again but let them impugn our property & Host rating.  

They protect themselves but not the source of their ability to make income off of property owners.

[Mary419]

@Gary1059 Did they pay you for the entire reservation or did you get financially penalized due to the guest having the party? The party ban seems to penalize hosts way too often which is why I wanted to clarify what happened with the money. The review is obviously a lasting unwarranted penalty as well

[Gary1059]

Mary419 we received payout but with a notice that a penalty may be withheld on future payout.

[Sybe]

@Gary1059 I'm sorry to hear you had this experience and I can imagine the review doesn't help either!

The policy around reviews, specifically those left by guests who violated the party ban, has changed recently so you might be able to dispute this review. You can find some more info about that here: https://www.airbnb.co.uk/resources/hosting-homes/a/dispute-reviews-from-guests-who-violate-our-party...

[Loretta127]

When a review by a 'guest' is negative, untrue, and retaliatory, it should be obvious to AirBnB, and should've removed. Especially if there is a claim being worked out.

Enough to cause one to find a different listing program for housing guests.

[Chris16856]

Set your book ahead time to like 60 days, and surely you're not going to sell and close in that time. And if your parent is evicted? Use the AirBnB money to rent them another AirBnB. You should take other people's bookings more seriously.

[Laura2592]

@Chris16856 respectfully, I sold my Airbnb without ever disturbing a guest cancellation. But there are people who get a cash offer and need to shutter quickly. Escrow is only 15 days in some states. A good friend had this happen during a contentious divorce and Airbnb penalized her like mad. 

I've only ever cancelled reservations when either a glitch allowed one to book on a blocked date (it happens fairly often. The platform is notorious for bugs) or the guest was clearly not going to be a good fit. At all times customer service was involved. No one here is cancelling guests willy nilly. 

When you have a bit more time on the platform you will understand that there are indeed many things more important than a vacation weekend for a random stranger. Emergencies happen. Marriages dissolve. Financial circumstances change. And again if I own the place I don't agree that my advertising platform gets to decide what constitutes an "avoidable reason." I own the place. Its my decision. Period. 

I sold my Airbnb because I had some guest experiences that were dangerous and frightening. The money wasn't worth the risk. We made a tidy profit, bought another property and are renting it with a traditional tenant. I keep an eye on what's going on here because I actually would not mind hosting again one day if the platform made appropriate changes to protect both guest AND host. We have the opportunity to invest in another property and are mulling it over. Right now I would not be interested in returning to Airbnb. 

[Chris16856]

If other people's plans are not important to you, then its hard to have sympathy when AirBnB hammers you hard. If you're looking to dump your property with a 15 day handover, then stop making promises you don't plan to keep and stop renting it, simple.

[Laura2592]

I guess if I was doing rental arbitration or something like that and totally desperate for the income to offset multiple leases I would put the vacation plans of a stranger far above my own life events. But as a property owner my right to use their property in an emergency circumstance supercedes any and all other matters. In fact, I'm not even sure that penalizing hosts under the conditions outlined is legal everywhere in the US. If a property is no longer owned by the same person who put it up for rent in the first place, say in a change of marital status, I fail to see how Airbnb can force a different owner to uphold the commitments of the previous one. The stakes aren't high enough for most people to take this to court, so they just count on not being challenged very often.

No host wants to lose money. Cancelling stays results in the loss of income and now hefty financial penalties. I don't know a single host who arbitrarily cancels stays. I'm not sure who this policy is aimed at. Wouldn't it just be easier to suspend those hosts? There's threads every day where listings are shut down for no reason with no notice. We know that ABB has no issues with that. There simply can't be such a critical mass of hosts canceling with no notice that this policy needs to exist. I think it's more about Airbnb changing the landscape of ownership rights into one where hosts need to check in with them before making any decisions about the use of their own property. And as I say, I doubt that will hold up legally.

[Sybe]

Hey everyone @Mary419 @Laura2592 @Gary1059 @Chris16856 

I just wanted to pop in and clear up some confusion regarding platform bugs. If you need to cancel a booking due to an outage or an Airbnb side bug that's known/verifiable, the booking can be cancelled through an Airbnb Ambassador without penalties.

I've asked for more clarity around the situation of selling your house and I'll keep you posted once I have more info. 🙂

[Mary419]

@Sybe Can you ask for more clarity about who determines if a house has severe mold? 

[Sybe]

@Mary419 The Community Support team will be investigating these issues. You'll have the opportunity to provide evidence during the investigation.