Key takeaways from CEO Brian Chesky’s message to our hosts

[Airbnb]

Over the past three weeks, we've held more than 50 online listening sessions with hosts from around the world, tracking every suggestion to learn where you’re hurting the most and how Airbnb can support you. 

Speaking from his home in San Francisco on Monday, CEO Brian Chesky announced three key initiatives and programs aimed specifically at helping our hosts:

1. We’re investing $250 million USD to share in the cost of COVID-19 cancellations.

We’re providing updated coverage under our extenuating circumstances policy for accommodation reservations booked on or before March 14 and with a check-in between March 14 and May 31, 2020. If a guest cancels an eligible reservation in this window, we’ll pay you 25% of what you would normally receive through your cancellation policy. For example, if you would’ve received $400 USD for a normal cancellation, we'll pay you 25% of that—or $100 USD. This cost will be covered entirely by Airbnb, with no impact to the guest. We view this as an investment in our future together.

Reservations booked after March 14 will not qualify for the COVID-19-related extenuating circumstances cancellations. Learn more at Airbnb.com/250MSupport.

2. We’re creating a $10 million USD relief fund for Superhosts and Airbnb Experiences hosts.

We know some of you are facing serious financial hardships, and we want to help. This fund will offer grants to Superhosts and Experiences hosts who need money to stay in the homes they live in. 

Our employees started the fund by raising the first $1 million USD, and our founders contributed the additional $9 million USD. Learn more about who is eligible at Airbnb.com/superhostrelief.

3. We’re making it easy for your previous guests to add contributions that go to you directly.

Just a few weeks ago, our global community was bringing more than 2 million people together every day. Collectively, you've made many millions of people feel at home. And thousands of them have told us how grateful they are for your flexibility—so we’re making it easy for them to help. We'll reach out to guests who’ve stayed with you recently and left 5-star reviews to ask if they want to send a note and a contribution in connection with a previous reservation. You will receive 100% of any guest contributions. 

This is just a start

We know many of you want—or need—to host right now, whether on the front lines or for people who live nearby. To help further support you, we’re also working on the following:

• Insurance options for you and your guests
• Programs to drive demand during the recovery period
• Airbnb housing for COVID-19 responders
• Cleaning guidelines and protocols informed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

 We will get through this together

Airbnb and our community are facing this challenging time together. We’ll continue working day and night toward solutions, and we’ll communicate regularly and transparently on the steps we’re taking to help you. We’re adapting in real time to the changing situation, but what doesn’t change is that when travel returns, your homes are the places where people want to stay.

At the core of our business is what is core to the human experience—that fundamental desire to connect and explore. It will take time to bounce back, but we will bounce back together. As always, thank you for being part of the Airbnb community, and thank you for all that you do to help us create a world where anyone can belong anywhere. 

[Leslie----Tony0]

Why can't we cancel our guests past May?

That doesn't make any sense!

Beaches, states, hosts, restaurants, boardwalks, retail stores, possibly Walmart will continue to be closed well into the summer in every resort town in the country.

[Roderick8]

Sorry, but my vacancy has consistently been under 10% with a strict cancellation policy.

[Samantha-and-Bruce0]

Agreed, this is SO frustrating!  The hosts that try to attract the most bookings with flexible or moderate cancellation policies get nothing for their willingness to be flexible.  Maddening!!

[Martin-And-Jamie0]

I knew I wasn’t the only one that caught that! Once again AirBnB makes a grand gesture of doing little to nothing. Do they really think hosts are stupid and that some of them have owned businesses before? Always read every line and what is actually being said. Never count on things as they APPEAR!

[Jessica1878]

Exactly. So frustrating. Feels more like a publicity stunt to me.

[Tiff0]

@Susan17  What Brian Chesky seems to keep failing to realize is that AirBNB can protect public health, look out for guests, AND PROTECT HOSTS.  AirBNB determining "that we had to allow your guests to cancel and receive a full refund—including all our fees" is a bad decision and not a decision that is often made in the hospitality industry.  It is a one sided, selfish decision that violates the terms and agreements made to its partners--us. AirBNB did not verify the cancellations in COVID 19. For reservations to be cancelled under the extenuating circumstances policy, AirBNB promises to verify those cancellations. AirBNB did not. 

There is an obious win-win solution here that AirBNB overlooks and continues to overlook at the expense of hosts AGAIN. Delta is allowing travelers to get a coupon for future travel. I am allowing my VRBO guests to travel in the future BECAUSE VRBO is honoring my cancellation policy. In both scenerios, the underlying companies keep their money, clients do not lose the value of their payments, and their partners do not go bankrupt in the process. AirBNB is abusing us by giving us 25 percent of the original value of some of the cancelled reservations now and in the future. This announcment hurts us again. Who ever came up with this offer is not trying hard enough. This offer is ridicolous and worth very little. 

Please do not continue to make the same bad mistakes you have made. Please honor our cancellation policies and pay us for the value are reservations are worth. Please issue future credit coupons to guests. Please stop robbing us of the money we signed up for by taking a risk on your platform. PLEASE STOP VIOLATING OUR TRUST AND PLEASE MAKE SOUND BUSINESS DECISIONS. This announcement further exploits us. 

[Karen2410]

In early March (before March 13) we acted in good faith, part of global community, proactive; we offered the guests full refund (or change booking to future) BECAUSE it was obvious that SF Bay Area was in a pandemic in early March, headed for serious lock-down mojo in early March-visible, escalating situation.
But new "rules" w/ 25% refund, it seems that cancellations before the arbitrary March 13/14 won't qualify (in California, at least). Not Fair. We are a superhost since 2013.
Pls note we offered full refund to guests who trusted us for their holiday/honeymoon/ retreat. Vacation dreams gone. I wasn't going to screw guests over by keeping part of their deposit. We are a semi-retired elder couple running our vacation cabin on a shoestring. Down thousands of $. Asking bank for a mortgage workaround, and think AirBnB should share our pain by paying out 25% of the cancelled stay, on all 8 of our March cancelled reservations.

[Courtney172]

Same here - I was proactive with a guest because her mother was coming from Germany and Trump closed down travel from there on/around 3/11 - so I let my guest cancel 100% on 3/12.  In fact, I MADE THE CALL FOR HER SO SHE WOULDN'T HAVE TO SIT ON HOLD.  I sat on hold for an hour, because I'm a super host and I figured I'd get through before she would, and that reservation isn't covered by the policy.  So here we are, having been good hosts, not  being forced at all by Airbnb to do the right thing, and their attitude is "too bad, so sad."  

I think the hosts would have mostly all handled this better than ABB did.  All they had to do was give the reservation a button to request a resolution from the host.  We all (most of us) would have worked it out fairly without Airbnb making us feel like we can't be trusted to be good human beings.  I bet you my guests would have been happy to let me keep $100-$200 of their reservation - I know I did that with a host who I had to cancel on due to CV19.  We split the cost 50/50 because I, as the guest, thought that was fair and offered to do so.

[Mandrake-And-Karen0]

I listened to Brian,  the CEO of Airbnb,  say he was sorry for making a unilateral decision without consulting hosts on refunding guests money over Covid 19.  He lost perspective that hosts are the lifeline to Airbnb a long time ago and I don't think this event has changed anything.  This practice of Airbnb's unilateral decision making  is nothing new.  They have been pushing, manipulating, and forcing decisions  on us hosts for a long time.  This includes Brian's declaration that Airbnb would host 100,000 responders to Covid 19.  Will he be housing Covid19 responders? Will his staff be? Who did he consult with then before making that bold statement? Was it  die-hard, financially struggling superhosts who he felt had nothing to lose? Flip forward, all of Airbnb's efforts will be showcased online with just the right lighting and creative spin on Covid 19 to turn this into a Corporate Responsibility event! No doubt  Airbnb will try to appear not only sanitary but glistening with good will.  While all along they still don't get it.  Corporate greed is at the base of this relationship.  Airbnb treats hosts like they would necessary but unliked and exploited employees.  I don't think that is going to change.  

[Joy989]

ALL Superhosts should be included...not just those with a year or more under their belts. What if someone had 11 1/2 months? They are out of luck by two weeks?   This Superhost fund should be offered to ALL Superhosts, regardless of how  long they have been Superhosts.  We did our due diligience to make become a Superhost and now it's not enough? 

[Michelle627]

I agree with you, we receive superhost off and on as we host long term and often don't meet all the guidelines.  It's very frustrating as usual with them though.    So while we don't have it for over a year we have had it a few times over the year. 

[Maria481]

All hosts, period. If we are good enough to pay their fees and stay on the platform then we are worthy of the same level of compensation because we gave Airbnb the same level of trust. 

[Andrew1928]

Totally agree!

[Roderick8]

What a load of crap. What does offering a full refund have to do with protecting public health?

[Erin-and-Austin0]

Unbelievable that Airbnb expects past guests to send money!  You are the ones with all of the service fees.