How do hosts seek help after COVID19 Cancellation Policy?

[Julia628]

Aussie host here: I'm sure most hosts are like me and floundering a lot at the moment. I've just lost yet another 7-day booking that was due to arrive in 2 days' time, and despite having a strict cancellation policy, I have no financial recourse now after Airbnb's unilateral cancellation policy. The likelihood of me getting that time booked at this late stage is very low, so now I have to find a way to pay the bills without an income stream. I'm feeling very lost, and incredibly unsupported by Airbnb. I would have expected someone to at least reach out to offer some kind of support. 

So now my question is - where do we go from here, as hosts? Is there a complaints procedure that we can take up with Airbnb and just flood their inbox? I plan on leaving feedback, but what will that achieve?

Is it up to us as hosts in individual countries to band together? How do we manage this? Like many have said, guests are losing out on largely discretionary income, whereas hosts are losing out on essential income used to pay mortgages, electricity, cleaners etc. Surely a large multinational corporation should be considering some kind of support for so many hosts in the same position?

What do we do now???? Any ideas???

[Anonymous]

@Michelle53   Hotel chains are quite accustomed to being held aloft by tax breaks and other subsidies. Independent hotels are definitely going to suffer, as they always do in unexpected downturns. But part of their problem is that purpose-built hotels can't easily be converted into anything else.

Airbnb hosts are having a very rough time in the short term now, but undeniably, it's a crazy privilege to be in possession of a surplus of livable housing space, considering that holiday rentals are just one of many things that can be done with it. I don't see it as such a bad thing if this bubble bursts and a significant portion of properties return to the residential market. 

[Michelle53]

@Anonymous  I agree - big hotel chains are in a position to lobby for "bailouts".   

Also, I don't think anyone is going to cry for the people who are, wholesale, renting apartments, in order to turn around and list them as STRs. 

There's suddenly, more than ever, an argument to be made for the small, independent host, trying to make ends meet. 

I got an email today, basically asking me to call my Congressperson and Senator (US only) to lobby for this :-

As US policymakers consider how to aid economic recovery, Airbnb is asking Congress to include you, Airbnb hosts—who share their homes or offer local tourist experiences to earn income, who make up the backbone of the Airbnb community, and of whom more than half depend on Airbnb income to pay the bills. To ease the financial strain of decreased travel, we believe Congress should:

•	Expand federal short-term rental tax exemptions from 14 days to 60 days to help you keep more of the income you earn.
•	Introduce a federal tax credit, deduction or deferral of taxes on the 1099 income earned by Home and Experience hosts.
•	Ensure hosts qualify for expanded US Small Business Administration economic injury disaster loans.
•	Encourage lenders to make available low-interest loans that assist your small business needs as a host.

[Julia628]

@Anonymous Brutal, but true.

[Julia628]

We've made the difficult decision to sell our property, and I've submitted an application for a mortgage freeze. A very tough call given that I basically spent my 20s sinking money into my unit rather than my superannuation fund...

[Shey5]

  PRIVATE FB GROUP FOR HOSTS ONLY!!! Join us for discussions, community support and UNITY!!!! https://www.facebook.com/groups/861430217655400/

[Huma0]

I would not expect any help from Airbnb, for the reasons that @Anonymous and others have very clearly explained. I've listed my rooms for long-term rental, but don't expect to get any responses to that anytime soon either, now that the market is flooded with cut-price Airbnbs.

I will also be listing on other STR sites and contacting location agencies (I was listed with one in the past, but they didn't like me doing Airbnb at the same time). None of these are solutions for the short-term though. For the short-term, I am expecting no income from my house and no income as a self-employed journalist. All I can do is plan for future months, but the economic fall out of all of this is going to go on for much longer than that.

I have learnt an important lesson, i.e. that I should not have put all those eggs in the Airbnb basket. Airbnb will have no qualms about trampling on those eggs on its march to save itself.

[Carol302]

Please just don't accept ANY guest from ANYWHERE at ANY TIME until this pandemic ends. Join Airbnb Hosts United on Facebook for sensible discussions amongst hosts.