I happened to notice today that a new option has been added to the list of cancellation policies available to hosts. I am not aware that there was any communication from Airbnb regarding this, however, the most disturbing part is that the help attached to this option applies to a different policy instead. Seems Airbnb has only done half a job and can't be bothered to provide any information about the workings of the new option.
However, not to be deterred, we are used to working in the dark when it comes to Airbnb, I have to ask, is this new cancellation option subject to the Extenuating Circumstances Policy along with the others? I suspect the answer is yes, in which case, we are now being asked to offer 10% discounts for accepting non-refundable reservations which can be cancelled and refunded in full if granny dies, the flight is cancelled or someone digs up the road.
This is nothing but a ploy to generate more revenue for Airbnb at the expense of the host. If it were truly of benefit to the host to operate this policy then non refundable would mean just that whereas at the moment it means non refundable until Airbnb decides otherwise. So, for the host the situation is simply take your normal rate and cancellation policy that can be cancelled on a whim by Airbnb, or, offer a 10% under the new policy that can be cancelled by Airbnb on a whim.
Perhaps someone can tell me I got it all wrong here and that we have a true non refundable policy which means our livelihoods are safe from events which should be covered by guests insurance.
Thank you @Debra300 for that one, I only clicked the more details link contained in the description of the policy in settings. The help there just goes to the standard graphic depicting the cancellation policy time frames. This hasn't been updated to include the 10%/non refundable option but I suppose it is too much to expect the site to be operated on a professional basis and for these things to be thought through before going live. Airbnb must think we have all the time in the world to go hunting for stuff.
@Sarah977 , thanks for your input, I had no idea that this option had been made available, perhaps hosts were told and I missed it but it doesn't ring a bell. In any event, since the EC policy applies to this cancellation option too, why any host would want to forego 10% of their revenue just for Airbnb to cancel the booking on a whim is beyond me. It seems to be very misleading in that it is implied in the description that by opting for this cancellation option, the host is protected from frivolous cancellation. Someone digging up a road or missing a flight is hardly attributable to a host failing yet the host seems to be underwriting the losses in such eventulities.
@Mike-And-Jane0 Clearly where a host is unable to host then I suspect most reasonable people would agree that a refund should be forthcoming. However, what Airbnb has been doing in forcing hosts to underwrite the cost of the actions outside of the host country, or by simply accepting cancellations that are elective and based upon an inclination not to travel, is not acceptable. Guests have to accept that if they fail to insure their trip, then they have to take some of the pain since they benefit from not paying the insurance premium if the trip goes exactly as planned. It is wholly unreasonable for the host to take the fall when there's a problem. Airbnb never took into consideration the actual reason for any of the cancellations and I had plenty where the guest indicated before the EC policy came into being that they wanted to cancel because they were unhappy or didn't feel comfortable to travel yet I took the hit simply because Airbnb put everyone in the same category.
@Melodie-And-John0 I quite agree, VRBO/Homeaway offers the guest an option to purchase cancellation insurance or trip insurance when the guest makes a reservation. I had several cancelled because of Covid restrictions and since the insurance was taken out when the reservation was made, the insurance company accepted liability. I suspect one of the problems with Airbnb is that as an organisation, it still has little experience of the real world and it operating on an old ethos of airbeds on spare room floors and insurance wouldn't perhaps be relevant to that. It is clear when talking to the support staff that none of them have any real hosting experience, they operate purely from a script and the script frequently doesn't cover the reason for the call and so they can't deal with it. Maybe one day the organisation will grow up a little, certainly VRBO customer service is more on the ball so to speak and the staff are far more competent when it comes to speedy issue resolution.
