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. 

[Patrick802]

Too little too late airbnb...its always about the guests...without the hosts you don't have a business. Moderate cancellation policy - so will get zero for all the cancellations. Funny how we are suddenly 'your partners' when the s**t hits the fan. Also all the focus on the 'Superhosts' and experiences is wrong. Airbnb as far as I am concerned IS OVER. It will takes years to get it back to where it was. Needed an excuse to stop doing it.  It took a pandemic. 

[Alba160]

https://www.cnbc.com/2020/04/06/airbnb-raising-1-billion-amid-fallout-from-coronanvirus.html

[Robert4731]

As a host that has the most guest friendly policies, I don't charge a deposit for cancellations. And, the purpose of a deposit is to help cover the loss of revenue if someone cancels and it is too late to rebook. The idea that Airbnb is going to provide funds to hosts who complained about Covid 19 cancellations is ridiculous. They could not have booked guests regardless. I didn't expect a penny from Airbnb for my cancellations, but have a real problem with you rewarding hosts with less guest friendly policies under these circumstances. If Airbnb goes forward with this plan AND fails to do the same for hosts that didn't have a deposit policy, I will stop using Airbnb and find a different platform when this is all over.

[Leslie582]

What a Pandora's Box! We are new hosts and were finally getting our bookings and nightly rate up to where it should be when all this hit.  We also chose the AirBNB recommended flexible cancellation policy, and I have offered a couple of full refunds on moral grounds.  Of course, we have been hurt by all the cancellations and no new bookings due to the pandemic.  Initially I was impressed by AirBNB's seemingly innovative ideas to help hosts, but soon learned the devil is in the details and many of us won't benefit from these plans.  Initially I wondered why the company didn't consider a credit rather than full refund, then realized that that wouldn't work.  Hosts are essentially independent contractors, not 'partners'.  If someone cancelled with me and got credit for a future stay, it would only work if the future stay was also with me.  If they booked with another host using their credit, that host wouldn't get paid.  I fault AirBNB for not being more forthcoming in their announcements and for apparently not collecting input from hosts prior to enacting their penalty free cancellation policy.  It may have seemed the best idea at the time, but is getting severe backlash.  Undoubtedly, AirBNB will lose many hosts from this.  All the same I do hope AirBNB survives this.  I have since looked into other platform options and found most won't work for our situation.   I hope when this passes that we'll be able to start anew, from a more transparent and wiser position,  so we can support each other and begin to prosper again. 

[Sarah977]

@Leslie582  "If someone cancelled with me and got credit for a future stay, it would only work if the future stay was also with me.  If they booked with another host using their credit, that host wouldn't get paid. "

??? If a guest used a credit to pay for a different place in the future, of course that host would get paid. When a guest uses a travel voucher, the guest gets the voucher deducted from their total payment. But the host gets paid as normal.

[Leslie582]

Sarah977 ~ If AirBNB initiated a policy through this pandemic where I get paid in full when a guest cancels (regardless of my cancellation policy), and the guest gets credit for a future stay, the guest doesn't pay again when they re-book - they use their credit.  That works if they re-book with me, because I was essentially pre-paid by that guest for a stay they didn't complete.  If the credit is open to use with any host, then the host who takes the booking using the credit wouldn't get paid because I already received payment from that guest when they cancelled.   

[Sarah977]

@Leslie582  It depends what you are talking about as "credit". If you mean that you make an arrangement with the guest to alter the dates, but retain the money now that they paid, then yes, you would be paid.

If it's Airbnb giving a travel voucher in lieu of a cash refund, to be used at any Airbnb in the future, then you wouldn't have been paid for that reservation.

[Leslie582]

@Sarah977  ~  Hosts weren't given the option to make alternate date arrangements with guests in lieu of the penalty free cancellation.   To your point: If the company had retained the income from the booking and offered the guest a travel voucher/credit for a future booking with any host, then I agree the new host would have been paid.  However I thought the idea was to support hosts who lost income due to the policy change.  The travel voucher scenario doesn't do that; though it could have provided AirBNB with funds to offer some kind of payout to a broader base of hosts who experienced COVID-19 cancellations.  Who's to know though if they considered that.  If they used those funds to provide support to hosts, then the company would take a hit when the guest ultimately re-booked, but based on the payouts they offered on the call they clearly have access to very large pools of money and are willing to use them to shore up company needs.  Using the travel voucher idea along with a broader payout option could have conceivably retained guests and ameliorated hosts - at least to some extent.  

[Paola80]

Ciao io sono Paola A. host Svizzero.
Hai pienamente raggione.
Sembrerebbe che il consigliere di Airbnb sia la loro concorrenza, è stranissimo il loro procedere.
Accettano cancellazione COVID19 con ampio anticipo e senza consultare l'host, ma cosa succede se domani mattina trovano il giusto farmaco e le prenotazioni cancellate non avranno più un motivo epidemico?
I Vaucher sono un blef.
Potevano offrire un rimborso del 50% + spese, ed un Vaucher dell'alto 50% rimanente.
Creare una piattaforma per scambio o frazionamento di vaucher.
Avrebbero dato un imput a riprendere i viaggi

[Liv]

Hi @Paola80! It's nice to meet you 🙂

Thanks for your contribution to the CC! I'd like to invite you to also get to know the Italian Airbnb Community Centre. I hope this is helpful.

Thanks,

Liv

[Audrey455]

Can you STOP raising money and actually GIVE out some of it????  Who the heck is actually being help?????

[Nick656]

I've read hundreds of these sad comments. We must face the reality. Airbnb have screwed their hosts. At best 12.5% on cancellations if you had a strict policy - nothing otherwise. Has anyone received anything yet? And only Superhost's of more than 1 year eligible for the Superhost Fund. So some Superhost's are more equal than others??? Where did it ever say that? Hosts are the backbone of Airbnb business yet we have been shafted here. 

[Sunny175]

Interesting point about the 'mass arbitration' actions for USA members. Interestingly too, in European 'Terms and Conditions' no such 'class action' restriction exists.

[Marina901]

I’m super appreciative of this and am curious when the 25% will be sent. We really need it and it will really help! 

[Joshua194]

I’ve decided to no longer use Air B and B to host.   It’s a joke.  I’m trying to cancel June and July resos but I’m going to be penalized for cancelling because extenuating circumstances  only extend until May 31 st?   Maybe we should drop all the dead bodies At the CEO’s home?!?!  

Granted a couple of

my guests are out to lunch “hoping Covid” will disappear by then, so they haven’t cancelled, even when I’ve informed them of this, but does it really have to come to this ? Have they not read/ seen/ observed the rest of the world ?   I didn’t realize how much air B and B tries to enslave the property owners.   All good. I’m taking it to LinkedIn as a case study of how good this platform is at “shifting left” and also how they have applied the Big agriculture model enslave property owners.  Who would have thought ?! Going to VRBO