How Airbnb could give guests an cancellation insurance option like airlines do

[Susan1188]

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Airbnb should propose a trip cancellation insurance for a small amount, just like airlines propose to guests when paying for their ticket.

It could only cover the cost of the airbnb, so it could be relatively cheap.

Guests could add it on to their cart when booking a listing that is not on "flexible" - an extra fee to "upgrade" their reservation to flexible.

=> VUELING has a GREAT way of doing this, you can "flexibilise" your economy ticket for like 4$ extra.  Just like adding luggage or seat to your cart.

If guests declined, for example, to pay 5,99$ to insure their 400 $ trip and then booked non refundable, it would be a much better argument for hosts to refuse to compensate them beyond the cancellation policy as many are doing today!

It would also remove the need for airbnb to give extenuating circumstances full refund for covid positive.  Require people to take this insurance instead.

If it were a small amount, probably lots of guests would do it and so lots of extra $$$ for airbnb.

[Anonymous]

@Susan1188 I wonder how the numbers would bear out on this. We have some idea of how customers would behave from the experiment Airbnb conducted with letting hosts offer a "non-refundable" pricing option in lieu of a fixed cancellation policy. What happened? Guests preferred to book at the slightly lower price, but those who wanted to cancel still demanded refunds. Every dispute like that costs some service resources in the short term, and potentially loses customers in the long term. Seems like a hard sell for the brokers, when they can just as easily let hosts absorb the loss. 

[John2406]

@Susan1188 I had already suggested insurance as being something that Airbnb should have, in c.May2020, and set out my reasons for their having such as part of their service to Guests.

The cost of travel insurance whether for internal travel and stays, or for overseas travel and stays (whatever type of stays those are) are not exhorbitant, whilst not only do they protect Guests, but when one logically looks at the need for anyone who travels to have insurance in place, such also "protects" both the Company that takes the booking, and/or the Hosts' that do.

I have in the past looked at being able to offer non-Airbnb Guests such insurance, but have had to - for at least the last 7yrs -  resort to suggesting to Guests that having insurance would be in their best interest, although to date, I do t know whether any of them have ever taken out an Insurance policy.

Here in the UK as far as I'm aware most holiday companies (as opposed to Hosts who go through Airbnb, or who deal direct with Guests) automatically include Travel Insurance within the total cost of holidays.

Personally I would have thought that for a small extra charge for Guests' "peace of mind", Airbnb would provide that to everyone (and just think of all the hassle that would immediately be removed from everyone - particularly from Airbnb's Customer Service!

Might even put a lot of smiles on everyone's - including Brian's - face, plus reduce their costs at a stroke!?!

The "secret" is to get Brian and his team on board.