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. 

[Valerio112]

That’s no answer at all. We need to plan . Knowing what will come in is essential for us. So we know what we fall short. payment can come on an agreed date (from both sides) but how much and when we should know now 

[Gene12]

I am emailed Brian directly. no response, of course. Good leaders listen to everyone internal and external and respond. 

Really upset at the new deadline that was , once again, imposed on all the hosts without ANY communication. I do over 100k in business with you a year. And 4x that on VRBO. After this is over, I am off this platform. Well done @Airbnb, well done. 

[Cloud-Nine0]

We are Superhosts with Airbnb for 6 years now and have worked tirelessly as partners of Airbnb. Yes we totally agree that Airbnb just left the hosts out in the cold. Superhosts with several listings or more, are left out there to suffer the losses on their own. What is the point of having a cancellation policy when you can just decide not to follow it! At least consult the hosts who provide their beautiful homes for your platform.

25% of cancellation fees for hosts? Are you kidding me? What about the other 75%? We, the home providers have to suffer that loss on our own? Airbnb hosts around the world are not happy at all with this. 

We should come together to create a new app and lets say goodbye to Airbnb. 

[Kathy899]

Or we could just all go to VRBO which so far has honored host cancellation policies.  But they are very, very slow to pay out.  So I hope they take this opportunity to improve.

[Andrew1928]

These 3 initiatives fall short and will provide very little support to most hosts!

If you have a strict cancellation policy, you will only get 12.5% instead of 50%. If you have a flexible of moderate policy, you will get nothing from this!

The superhost grant is what many hosts would need to keep hosting. However, it does not extend far enough and I do not agree with the eligibility criteria. E.g. have to be a superhost for more than a year. It will also be very difficult to assess and decide who gets it.

Lastly, I am very pessimistic how many guests will want to contribute to this considering the global recession that the world is about to enter!

Overall, I think too little and too late for most hosts.

[Cloud-Nine0]

We are Superhosts with Airbnb for 6 years now and have worked tirelessly as partners of Airbnb. Yes we totally agree that Airbnb just left the hosts out in the cold. What is the point of having a cancellation policy when you can just decide not to follow it! 

25% of cancellation fees for hosts? Are you kidding me? What about the other 75%? We, the home providers have to suffer that loss on our own?

We should come together to create a new app and lets say goodbye to Airbnb. 

[Christopher996]

Hi everyone, I scanned all the articles, and this discussion here, but with no luck. What I’m wondering is, does the host still get the 25% payout if it is them that cancels? Or does it need to be the guest that cancels in order for the host to receive the 25%?

[Gene12]

No, guest has to cancel. And you will get 25% of "what you normally would have received" given your strict policy. So, say you were expecting $2k for the booking -  if the guest cancels more than 2 weeks out, you'll get 25% of $1000 which is $250. If you can convince the guest to cancel closer to the actual date, you'll get more. Ultimately you will receive 25% of what you should have received.

[Jeff-and-Pam0]

The new Extenuating Circumstances policy is causing Guests to try to game the system. We have a guest who wants to cancel his reservation scheduled in June. Since he falls into our regular cancellation policy and will only receive a 50% refund, he has decided to wait to see if Airbnb ends up extending its policy dates for eligible reservations past May 31. He isn't coming either way and in the meantime, our calendar is blocked! Please help. Once again, Hosts are getting screwed.

[Sarah977]

@Kathy899  "Or we could just all go to VRBO". This has been said many times over the last few weeks by others. One thing it really highlights is that entire home hosts have zero connection with or even acknowledgment that all Airbnb hosts don't have entire house listings. Believe it or not, many of us home-share with our guests, you know, actually have close interactions and make often meaningful connections with our guests- we don't just send the cleaners in, send the guests the door code and collect the money.

VRBO only lists entire homes, so no, "we" can't all go to VRBO.

[Kathy899]

VRBO would be smart to include home-sharing hosts, too.   Using both platforms, my reservations have been evenly split between airbnb and vrbo.  But I appreciate that VRBO collects taxes separately.   And I really, really appreciate that they are honoring the host's cancellation policy during this crisis, willing to take the PR hit from the guests for us, unlike airbnb who threw us under the bus.  If we hosts end up being able to file for unemployment for the loss of income, airbnb strategy may prove to be correct.  But even if I come out of this ok financially, my trust in their company has been severed forever.  

[Marlene324]

Wow!  What am I missing???  When our governor issued a statewide Stay at Home order on March 19th amidst this coronavirus pandemic, I took this order seriously and CLOSED my Airbnb until May 21st.  I thought this was the responsible thing to do.  Granted, I lost some reservations and income due to cancellation but I took that to be responsible Airbnb guests.

When I started looking at what other Airbnb hosts in my area are doing, I found that the majority of them are still open and accepting reservations.  And I am LIVID!  I called and spoke with Airbnb Customer Service about this and their lame response was that many Airbnbs are staying open to host relief medical personnel, first responders, essential personnel, and travelling business people who depend on Airbnb for lodging.

That's all well and good but Grayland is a rural coastal community twenty-five miles away from the nearest small city.  We are right on the Pacific Ocean.  People who book Airbnb in Grayland are not 'essential personnel' - they are beach goers and vacationers.  When the Stay at Home order went into effect and people were no longer going to work, they came to the beach.  And as a result, the county has closed our beautiful beaches.

I started my Airbnb eighteen months ago when I retired to supplement my $1,022 social security income and help defray the cost of running this little hobby farm.  I didn't hesitate for one second to close my Airbnb to do the responsible thing and keep my community safe.  And it makes me furious when I see other hosts putting $$$ ahead of safety during this pandemic and Airbnb making excuses for them.

[Lilly28]

@Marlene324  You did the right thing! The ones who for MONEY only did the opposite - will either catch the virus or expose their comminity and these places will stay closed for much longer time than yours.

@Airbnb  Caren, Brenna and Courtney are thinking that they will not receive 25%. I think they are wrong - they will, because the cancellations were made before 14 of May - am I right? 

As I understood it - the policy has nothing to do with this 25%. The important thing is - when you asked your guests to cancel - or when you refused a cancelation because MONEY was more important for you than health - before 14 of March. 

And the same is for guests - from 14 of March onwards everyone/guests as hosts/ knows it is dangerous to book - there is a pandemia. 

But the interesting thing is - how and when Airbnb will re-start? I read in Internet that guests will no longer be willing to book on platforms like Airbnb because hotels are providing better cleaning. 

I do not agree. Yes, 5-stars hotels are really providing better cleaning - but not 1-2-3 and even 4-stars hotels - at least in my country. 

What I think for the future is the following. First, obligatory Insurance for hosts - say  5$ 4 times per year. Second, no more one day stays or any stays less than 5 days.  Third, obligatory test before entering the country or temperature control sent every day. Instead the third - maybe it is wise at least 15 days journey to be followed, from one point to the other so that everyone having this guest in its home will know his health situation from the beginning till the end of the journey, every host should be aware where his guest has been before going to his home and where he is going after the stay for the next 10 days. In that way hosts must remain in connection with one other...

These are just suggestions. I really do not see how the tourist Industry - and especially Airbnb will be revived into the near future.    

[Patricia-Dianne0]

Airbnb needs to determine what SBA is actually doing to provide EDIL advance or other relief.  As far as I can tell it has not provided any relief to any hosts.  Instead, large hotels are being allowed to be treated as small businesses and sucking up all disaster relief money.  Large companies like Airbnb need to support their supply chain (the hosts) by forcing action by SBA

[Ian-And-Anne-Marie0]

@Patricia-Dianne0 

Large companies like Airbnb need to support their supply chain (the hosts) by forcing action by SBA

It's not always somebody else's problem.. Rather than Airbnb forcing action elsewhere and abdicating responsibility they should just simply step up and do whats right. There was absolutely no need to provide guests 100% refunds and that decision is the one which has caused all the consequential issues.