Covid Response - A request to the community

[Alex-And-Marcus0]

Image added by OCM

This was a post I made on a social media platform that had really positive response. So I am thought I would share with this community in hopes that its helpful and resonates with this group as well.

Its been a few weeks of the complete chaos that ensued after travel started being shut down across the globe, which cumulated in cities across the world being locked down. I’ve leaned a lot over such a short time about not only this vacation rental industry we all play in, but about the general danger of loud and angry voices overtaking reason and the narrative of a crises.

When this corona stuff first came up, I thought it was ridiculous. I am not going to lie, I thought it was overblown and for a virus that wasn’t all that deadly, that people were just being scared of their own shadow. However, as I learned more, I realized that the true threat was the collapse of the healthcare system that would essentially send everyone into a hellish scenario where there simply wasn’t enough medical capacity to facilitate any sort of fundamental care for the entire country. So, I started taking it seriously, and I think I was late to understand how scary close we have been to a complete disaster that would cost countless lives.

So I was wrong, and I’ll admit that I mistakenly let my vacation rental business and the impact to my profitability and my clients profitability keep me on the “its not a big deal” track for too long. The fact is, that this thing is serious, and most of us were in denial for quite some time, which had the unfortunate side effect of leading us to find someone or something to blame. “If this shouldn’t be happening, if this isn’t a big deal, then I am losing money because of FILL IN THE BLANK”…Well the obvious choice to fill this gap seemed to be Airbnb. “They were the ones that decided to send refunds back to guests. They are the reason I am losing money right now….Airbnb is clearly just trying to screw over hosts.” Well I am here to say that Airbnb did the right thing, We are the ones who were wrong, biased by our survival instincts for our businesses.

Guests who decided not to travel because traveling as normal would literally kill people should not be penalized for that decision. They should not have been pressured into using the reservation either. It is objectively unethical to encourage and/or facilitate behavior that puts millions of lives at risk. We drew a bad hand, sure. Its not fair that the travel industry got completely shut down, but at a certain point, as business people, we have to suck it up and recognize that despite the situation being unfair, the world continues to move and you have to continue to adjust and plan to be successful.

Sadly, I have seen much more of the anger and hosts vs. Airbnb leading to hosts vs hosts and hosts vs. guests. The thing is, if you don’t blame the real culprit here, which is a virus that literally shut down the entire global economy in a couple weeks, then no matter where the finger pointing is directed, it eventually will turn to eachother. As a community of entrepreneurs, this should be our shining moment. A time where the community pulls together and does some amazing things in the face of insane and unprecedented circumstances.  Its been awesome seeing some of that the last 2 weeks, but more often than not its  been more about how to sue Airbnb, how terrible Airbnb is, and just general complaining about cancellations.

I think its normal to go through that type of phase after such a huge shock to the system, but its time to move on for those who want to be apart of what this industry looks like after this is all over. I propose that if you really want to keep complaining about cancellations and how unfair OTAs are being, and how we should be working towards a lawsuit, then go do it somewhere that isn’t meant to be a forum for business owners and entrepreneurs to collectively work towards being better at owning and/or operating vacation rentals.

Fat will be shed during this crises. There is no shame in this not being the space for you anymore if that’s where you feel you’ve landed. I just ask that those who are more focused on complaining than figuring out business solutions (and no, suing Airbnb is not a solution) just stop with the spread of unhelpful rhetoric.. I think there are lots of very bright people in here that would thrive in the new VR world after Corona, but are being directed to instead focus on complaining and being angry vs. proactive and thoughtful about what’s next.

I am looking forward to scrolling through my feed again and seeing great dialogue being exchanged between bright entrepreneurs more than what I have seen the last few weeks. Hopefully that day will be very soon.

[Sarah977]

@Alex-And-Marcus0  Excellent post. Thank you. I hope it makes some people examine thier thinking and behavior.

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Alex-And-Marcus0 

Well said

[Fran81]

Totally  agree with you. All my mid March,  April  and May  bookings have been decimated and no income . But those guests are hopefully  safe at home,  im safer here without interaction.  Airbnb bookings pays for my mortgage, so yes im struggling  but alive. 

[Helen3]

Great post @Alex-And-Marcus0 

I wish all those hosts jumping on the band wagon and promoting their listings as a great destination for 'self-isolating' would stop.

Encouraging people to travel into your area and put your community at risk is an ill thought out approach.

At a time like this we all need to work together to help prevent the spread of the virus. Not encourage it.  

If you want to/need to keep hosting, please use the Airbnb scheme to register to host key workers, or take the initiative and contact your local hospitals and health services yourselves and ask how you can go about promoting your listing to their frontline workers.

[Jessica-and-Henry0]

@Alex-And-Marcus0 

Thanks for posting and sharing.

It's been a little scary seeing so many people angry and upset and seemingly not able to think straight (while to some extent I understand).

It scares me because now more than ever, we all need to think about the (imo) strong possibility that what we are experiencing now will be the new norm for at least the next 6 months. Maybe even for a whole year. Just thinking about the strain of social distancing for such a long period of time..... is daunting.

And even after the pandemic is *officially* over, it will also take time for the economy and individual finances to recover because, let's face it..... no matter what you do for a living, everyone is going to be impacted. One way or another, and some more than others. 

corporate canteen has put up temporary partitions for social distancing during meal times

employees that gather for meetings are required to wear masks

Hand sanitizer everywhere~

[Candee0]

Thank you. We certainly do not want to encourage anyone to travel at this time. 

[Kath9]

@Alex-And-Marcus0 thank you, this is the most coherent and intelligent post on this I've seen. I've basically been saying the same thing all along (and have had to defend my position again and again), but you have put it so much more eloquently. Airbnb are not to blame for people's loss of income and I believe they've done the only possible thing they could in these trying circumstances. And then when they do come out with a $250 million package to help hosts who are struggling (which they didnt have to do), what happens? Nothing but complaints. I feel for hosts who've lost money, but I feel for everyone around the planet who's also lost their livelihoods - the bars and cafes and music venues in my town, my friends who are artists and musicians and massage therapists,  the list goes on and on. Sorry, but the world doesn't revolve around Airbnb hosts.

[Jessica-and-Henry0]

@Kath9 

I think this is the only place I see people talking about legal action to get what they are "owed" regardless of the covid-19 pandemic. 

The CC and my fellow hosts who are active here (many I think of as friends, even though we've never met in person) will always be special to me. But the tone and way people are venting their frustrations here..... makes me sad. 

And can you believe....... I miss the good old days when we used to rant about our messy or clueless guests 🤣

[Sarah977]

@Jessica-and-Henry0  Yeah, and what color linen and towels to use and whether it's absolutely necessary to wash the mattress pad between every guest 🙂

[Kath9]

Haha @Jessica-and-Henry0, indeed! Messy and clueless guests were a breeze compared with this! I agree, I have not seen this level of outrage anywhere else, despite the closures, the lockdowns, the loss of jobs, the travel restrictions. I honestly don't get it. But I do find it interesting to see which side of the fence our fellow hosts/friends are sitting on.

[Kemi6]

@Kath9 @Alex-And-Marcus0 

Reading through the postings and comments about the refunds, especially after Brian’s message, I came to the realization that there’s no step taken that would be enough for some. Sad, but true. 

Our focus  now should be on how we can support each other here on the forum to stay strong while this storm rolls by. One way we can do this is to reach out to Airbnb if we know of any host who is genuinely struggling financially now, and nominate them for the grant. I do believe both the host and Airbnb would appreciate the gesture.

Sending you all virtual hugs from the Rainbow nation of South Africa.

God bless.

[Andrea2090]

I am not encouraging travel to our property at this time but did change my byline to amended cancellation policy. I’ve changed it to be flexible so that people can safely book knowing that if they should continue they can cancel. I also updated my property information to indicate that I would work with guests. 

Maybe Airbnb can propose a way that people can go ahead and still book for 2020 without being afraid of penalties. I would support that as a host. I would rather have bookings that I may have to move or cancel than nothing at all

[Sam397]

@Andrea2090 I see what your saying but whats the sense of tying up the dates on your calendar with bookings that's going to be canceled or could be. Not only do you waste your time but you could miss out on something that's definite. I just checked in someone for a 13 day stay that's coming down to convert one of the local plants over so they can produce respirators, I wouldn't have gotten that booking if I did what you do because it wouldn't have been available. To me I would much rather have an empty calendar than I would a full calendar of guest who is likely going to cancel. 

And in regards to letting guest know that they can cancel without penalties is just begging for abuse. One thing I have learned in life you make it easy for people to take advantage of you, its going to happen. There will be people that wont but there will be more that does..

[Bob40]

Yes indeed, the real culprit is the virus. So why are hosts with full calendars suddenly left with no income for the next 3 months? Because Airbnb is a relative newcomer to the property rental market and didn't think that it needed to build in a Plan B or some sort of insurance for when disaster strikes. The one certainty in life is that disaster will always strike, sooner or later. And it has. So they refunded guests' money and that's that. A tiny minority of hosts, those with a strict cancellation policy, will receive 12.5%, the majority nothing. Why? Because Airbnb didn't know that cancellation insurance should be a requirement for booking. With its market muscle, it even could have negotiated a package of its own.

I ran a villa letting agency for 25 years before selling it in 2018. From the start, we required guests to confirm they had or would have a travel insurance policy including cancellation cover. We did not issue refunds unless the period was subsequently re-let. This was because we had a responsibility to our hosts as well as our guests. The host received the deposit or full payment if cancellation within 8 weeks, the guest claimed on their insurance with supporting documentation from the agency.

So yes, our lack of income is Airbnb's fault to the extent that they did not think ahead to the inevitable disaster and adopt standard travel industry practice to handle it. Brian Chesky mentioned insurance in his message as one of the solutions he was thinking about. I just wish he'd thought about it a little earlier.