LETTER TO BRIAN - Thanks for NOTHING Brian Chesky

[Dylan-and-Lizette0]

Brian Brian Brian… When will you learn? Have you learned nothing from tremendous amount of NEGATIVE feedback you have received from hosts, or as you refer to us “your partners”? You truly think that announcing a $250M fund for hosts impacted by cancellations is a fair and equitable solution to remedy the other wise dissolved relationship you have with hosts (your “partners”).

Knowing that Airbnb will pay 25% of what we as hosts would’ve already received for a cancellation based on OUR cancellation policy is a spit to the face while we are already down. To think that you and your team of cronies have had weeks to devise a real plan of action in order to “make things right” with your “partners” and this is what you come up with make me think you may not be as smart as we thought and really stole the idea for Airbnb from the Winklevoss Twins.

I am only throwing some shade because well, did you really think you weren’t going to get heat after that live session? Joking aside…lets move on to your next hopeless solution and that is to throw the guilt onto the guests, whom you allowed with no repercussion to cancel on your “partners”, asking them to kindly put forward a small sympathy donation amounting to a fraction of the payout that same guest was contractually obligation to pay to us hosts upon cancellation in the first place.

Lest not forget though… you only have done all this after sniveling to Congress asking them to bail you out of hot water and make the government, and ultimately the tax payer clean up your mess. Now Brian… Does any of these seem like a sensible resolution to us as hosts? Or as you refer to us “partners”? Considering we ARE the lifeblood of the revenue stream and with US Airbnb is snuffed out.

I will just wrap this up, since you, your hosts (partners) and the rest of the world knows that everything you and your Airbnb cronies have done up to this point have still done nothing for hosts and merely a massive charade to provide what little positive PR you can muster to stay buoyant.

[Ashley678]

WORD!!!!! 

[Robin4]

@Dylan-and-Lizette0 

I of course did not watch it because, I felt sure I knew how it would go, and by the sound of it, it was almost word for word what we expected we would here!

There comes a point in every task where we have to make a judgement call.....is this working, or is it not!

A few times you will give the benefit of the doubt...'maybe I misinterpreted that', maybe it was just a mistake, a slip of the tongue! But eventually you have to come to the realisation that, it's time to get out of the saddle, the horse is dead.....and no amount of wishing will get you back to the starting barrier to have another crack at it!

I don't  care about the money, lots of businesses are doing it tough and their employees don't have the boss featherbedding their lives with heaps of money. Hosting was always a risk, and one we accepted.

There was always the possibility that local jurisdictions would put a halt to short term renting, and all  reservations current and future would have to be abandoned. Nobody is saying Airbnb should pay out on all those bookings which have been lost through no fault of either the host or Airbnb. This is no different, Airbnb, to the best of my knowledge, did not create the Covid-19 virus, they should not have to accept financial responsibility for it! If you can't afford not to Airbnb host, you should not be an Airbnb host!

What I am annoyed about is that Airbnb have become so guest-centric that they are prepared to make hosting next to impossible, even in good times, let alone bad!

*     If a host lodges a claim against a guest and Airbnb feels the guest has some justification, they will close the hosts listing and account! From what we are hearing, hosts accounts are summarily closed with no explanation or right of appeal! I am not just reading that here, but on 'Airbnbhell' and every site that Airbnb hosts associate with!

*    Airbnb have removed guest verification details prior to a confirmed reservation to limit the scope under which a host can decline a booking. And if more than a handful of declines are enacted, once again the hosts account will be suspended or closed! 

*    Airbnb are penalising hosts who refuse to host a party reservation and they will even go to the extent of trying to relocate the 'party' to another hosts listing. A couple of contributor hosts here on the CC will verify that! It was only a few months ago our CEO said every Airbnb listing would be re-verified by December 15 this year.......Oh, but he said that just after a number of fatalities in an Airbnb party house in San Francisco to quell public sentiment about Airbnb.

We are not running our businesses any more.......Airbnb are, and yet the CEO has the temerity to call us 'Partners'! A partner is someone who has a stake in an organisation and has respected input into how that organisation should should make its decisions.....does that sound like Airbnb? 

The problem is, the lips move, but the hands stay firmly wedged in the pockets....these are changing times Mr Chesky, time to take those earmuffs off and listen.

Cheers......Rob

[Anthony1092]

Yep.

Like we’re supposed to congratulate him for telling us that instead of stealing our entire refund... he’s only going to steal 75% of it.

Gee thanks. 

This dude is just another bro who got lucky with an idea but has no clue how to run a company that big.

But I’m super impressed that he found a way to spin the fact that instead of just letting his stupid extenuating circumstances declaration be what it was (a disaster), he doubled down on it while making it seem like he was doing us a favor.  

Cant wait until Airbnb steals the money that I am already set to receive from guests who canceled and gives me back pennies on the dollar for it.

[Nenad25]

Brian Chesky, GIVE GUESTS A CREDIT for their cancellation!! Just like the airlines. Problem solved. 

[Sharon480]

He is giving a credit voucher! Just that he keeps the cash in his pocket, not us!

[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! At least consult the hosts who provide their beautiful homes.

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. 

[Ian-And-Anne-Marie0]

@Anthony1092 @Nenad25 @Cloud-Nine0 

In many cases travel credits are being given stating that the Hosts cancellation terms decide this. None of mine have ever had that option, but its a good way for Airbnb to sit on our 50% payouts and the guests 50% refunds.

On which, 25% payout is NOT 25%. It is 25% of your cancellation policy payout. Most hosts would expect to receive 50% but they will in fact receive 25% 0f 50% = 12.5%.

Long term letting cancellations made within a month before arrival, their payout being 100% will get 25%.

[Bob40]

Most hosts will receive nothing! Only the ones with the company-discouraged strict cancellation policy will get the 12.5%

[Wendy1071]

When I look up the word 'partner' the first definition in the list I found was this -

A persons or group that takes part with another or others in doing something.

   "China is a major trading partner for Australia and the US" 

This is the type of partnership hosts have with Airbnb.  Too many hosts seem to think their partnership with Airbnb holds another meaning as if they signed up on the corporations Articles of Incorporation and hold rights and entitlements that are held by that type of partnership.  

You can write posts about the unfairness of it all til you're blue in the face but it's never going to make you a partner in the sense of the word you're implying it does.  Your business is your 22 listings on their platform.  You are completely dependent on their policies.  Like it or not.  

[Jeff-and-Pam0]

Hosts also had NO control over COVID-19.  Another fallout: 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 his booking falls into our regular strict cancellation policy and he will only receive a 50% refund, he has decided to wait to see if Airbnb ends up extending its "eligible reservations" policy dates again, past May 31. He isn't coming either way and in the meantime, our calendar is blocked! Once again, Hosts are getting screwed—not by COVID-19, by Airbnb.