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. 

[Sarah3087]

Your fund plan is too unfair. I was a superhost last year. My superhost status was lost because of one bad guest. However, I always did my best for the guests, and in a month the guests were always full. I think your fund plan should be given equally to all hosts. Because I intend to do Airbnb until I am healthy.

[MariaCarolina3]

I researched the subject and forums carefully and many hosts with flexible cancellations share my feelings. I hope Airbnb realizes how costly will be to exclude a fraction  of the host team in the long term: it will lose revenue, members and trust. No one was expecting a Pandemia and of course we can’t fill the spaces. Hosts that are flexible tend to be invaluable partners too. For me is a matter of fairness.  You can’t compensate ONLY certain hosts. If that’s the case,  I won’t feel right being your business partner anymore.

[Danny37]

Brian, I so appreciate what you've done for me over the years by starting Airbnb. Uncle Mike knows it so well. He we give you details. We never met, but I'm disabled and I am a Super Host for 5 years straight. I live month to month financially but I plan well so that I'm not finding myself in a bind, which if that happened, it would surly stress me out and I could have a heart attack or a stroke from my already high blood pressure that medications just won't control. 

Moving on with my story, I have 3 different locations. 1 is my music studio that I started out with 6 years ago as I slept on the stage to make room for guests just so I could pay my rent. 

I kept the studio going on the platform after I moved my residence to a 3 bedroom townhouse so I could have a bedroom to myself and one for my teenage daughter. I rented the other room out on the platform.

Things got better and I put all my eggs in the Airbnb basket by moving to a 4 bedroom, 2 years ago. while I rented the other two rooms out at the townhouse. Wow, here I was being disabled and still being able to live normally like others as long as I responded and answered guests quickly, stayed on top of my bookings behind a computer screen, and was able to have cleaners go to the other two locations to prep rooms for me. Fantastic, right!??

Well this winter was a very slow winter in Nashville. I struggled so hard and took advances on my 3 credit cards just to pay the bills. No luxury items at all. I maxed them out doing that. My hope was that I could make a come back in March, as we always do.

But wham, slammed in the face with a tornado. Whoa, I took a big hit but I was still hopeful for the new season to begin. Wham another setback hit with the COVID19 and we lost the recovery month of March and now April. 

So when you announced that Super Hosts would be eligible for up to a $5000 grant, I began to have hope again! There is a God looking after me after all! There still is, but then I read the eligibility requirements and it stated that Super Hosts with only up to 2 listings would be eligible. Since I have 3, because that's the only way a person can really make a sustainable income solely on Airbnb income, it seems that I am now ineligible. 

To be honest, I feel that I'd rather not have my hopes built up just to be let down. Had I not read about the offer, I would just have went on my not so merry way and not expected to have a rope thrown my way just to have the end of the thrown my way as well. 

Just saying. Maybe the eligibility can be revamped. We are the staple of Airbnb. And if not, oh well I tried. And I still appreciate you more than you'll ever know.

Danny

PS ... I have a strict cancel policy because it assures me that what I have in bookings will be my income for the next few months and I can base my planning on that. I would have been able to survive if the cancels still paid out what I opted in for, but that's gone as well. That's another thought. 🙂

[Margy6]

@Airbnb Let me make it clear. I do NOT want Airbnb to ask my previous guests to make contributions to me.  This initiative must be OPT-IN, or preferably cancelled. The best support guests can give is to make a future booking when all this is over.

[Tatiana134]

 agree)

[Sarah977]

@Airbnb  DO NOT SEND MY GUESTS ANY MESSAGES ASKING THEM TO DONATE. IT'S UNBELIEVABLY TACKY TO GUILT GUESTS INTO MAKING UP A SHORTFALL YOU ARE NOT WILLING TO COVER. 

[Yan3]

This sounds nice until you read the fine prints. Hosts with moderate cancellation policy are excluded from this offer. The wordings are also so full of date restrictions. Here in Asia, the guests began to cancel back in early February so the offer is completely useless. It is just for show!

[Tatiana134]

Hi)

I don 't have mini, I have micro business.. I rent (I don 't want to say "rented") only one apartment in the house where we live ourselves. But even such a small single object was a significant help to us. Right now, we 've lost even this... I understand that it is hard for everyone, especially those with many objects, I sympathize and hope for the best!

But I am grateful to Airbnb for having the opportunity to have a small but income) I want to express words of support to all owners!

[Jo56]

As it turns out, Airbnb is being even shiftier behind this new "support the hosts by giving them a petty, miniscule part refund" policy. 

We have just supported a guest in cancelling their reservation due to COVID. Given that Airbnb has announced they will be extending their COVID extenuating circumstances policy to offer guests 100% refund for stays beginning before the end of May we advised the guests of the policy extensions and assured the guest that we would support them in getting a full refund for their reservation.

The guest has contacted us to ket us know that the only option offered when doing the online cancellation was CREDIT for their stay,. Airbnb did not offer them the option of a full refund, DESPITE their marketing campaign noting that they have extended the COVID extenuating circumstances policy. The reason provided by Airbnb during online cancellation was "DUE TO THE HOSTS' CANCELLATION POLICY". Hosts are being blamed and thrown under the bus by Airbnb yet again!

We have a Strict cancellation policy. Under the newly released, token "Airbnb are supporting hosts" marketing policy, we would be due some payment (albeit tiny). It seems that Airbnb is trying to avoid having to pay hosts OR guests any money at all by offering only Credit to guests, and then blaming hosts for not offering a full refund, destroying goodwill between hosts and guests, but maintaining Airbnb's image.

Crappy, shoddy, shifty behaviour from Airbnb again.

We are trying to contact Airbnb to support the guest in getting a refund, but of course haven't yet been able to get in contact 

[Annette639]

Airbnb never even contacted me to tell me that they were going to give theirAirbnbAirbnb never even contacted me to tell me that they were going to give My guests a full refund.  I kept communicating with my guest about whether she was canceling or not starting 10 days before her reservation. And she did not communicate for a whole week and canceled only two days before. That’s  I kept communicating with my guest about whether she was canceling or not starting 10 days before her reservation. And she did not communicate for a whole week and canceled only two days before.   I should have been given some money, because my cancellation policy is forI should have been given some money, because my cancellation policy is four days before.  When I contacted Airbnb they just gave me a run around. In essence they change my cancellation policy without asking or even telling me. I am done with them.  Airbnb acted unprofessionally towards me and I do not trust Airbnb anymore.   They screwed me over one time to many, i will be telling friends  and all  about how Airbnb is not to be trusted

[Jason1350]

I am very grateful to fall into the categories for the 25% and up to $5000 grant—it won’t come close to covering my impact but combined with some other strategies it may just help me stay afloat. On the flip side, I’m very disappointed and I strongly believe the qualifications for this assistance should extend to all hosts. I’ve helped so many hosts / friends get started with AirBnB (all Superhosts) and many are equally as burdened by this as myself but for one reason or another won’t qualify — it’s saddening that  they and many others in need will be isolated from the financial support based on the published qualifications. I would ask @Airbnb  to please reconsider these terms or offer a variation that extends to the entire community. I know there is more to these decisions than meets the eye, but from my POV this is AirBnB, where “Everyone’s welcomed”, it doesn’t seem like a time we should be segregating a community and isolating those equally burdened. Thank you to the leadership team for any consideration and to the employees who stepped up to donate $1M. 

Godspeed!

P.S.  @Lizzie there seems to be a lot of discussion on this subject and I’ve first hand had so many disappointing calls with my host peers—is there anyway this can find its way to the leadership for further address and reconsideration?

[Yassin62]

I am one of those who will not benefit of any of the measures:

- the cancellation policy 25% will not help because everyone cancelled all the bookings in Italy very early, and I have a moderate policy so this would apply only to cancellations in the 7 days before the checkin.

I had april and may full, now's all empty...

AirBnb encourages hosts to have flexible cancellation policies and then throws under the bus all the hosts who had flexible/moderate cancellation policies... thanks...

- I am superhost since october (I started the activity in july) so I am not eligible for the "superhost relief" policy.  I put heart and everything in this project and I don't know how the one year criteria discriminates who are in need of the 5000$ and who don't... What I know is that I have a 5 star rating with 0 cancellations, <1hour response time, and >80 stays in the last six months...

Really disappointed: and I don't know if I will be able to continue with AirBnb.

Thanks for your message @Jason1350 

Yassin

[Jason1350]

@Yassin62 I’m really sorry to hear that and trust I know exactly how you feel. What makes the situation even more difficult is a community that really cares about what they do. I do hope there’s a silver lining for you and all of us and wish you the best. 

[Allison17]

Where did you see that you meet the criteria for a grant? I cannot find this eligibility criteria anywhere.

[Jason1350]

I’m just basing that assumption off of what they highlighted in the first communication of the grant —Required to be a super host and have no more than two listings active. However, it’s important to know that what I read says “up to” $5000, so that leads me to believe they’ll be less and that doesn’t really help me plan so hoping they do release details / provide clarification soon.