Tune in for a message to our hosts from CEO Brian Chesky at 3 p.m. PT March 30.

[Airbnb]

The coronavirus (COVID-19) has posed unprecedented challenges for the world, including our community of hosts and guests. This is a once-in-a-generation crisis, and we know hosts like you are feeling the biggest impact—so many of you rely on income from your Airbnb properties, and you’re facing a lot of uncertainty right now. 

Over the past three weeks, we’ve hosted more than 50 online listening sessions with hosts from around the world to connect and hear your feedback. As a follow-up, CEO Brian Chesky will be talking to you from his home in San Francisco. He’ll be answering some of the questions you’ve asked about our extenuating circumstances policy, how to host during COVID-19, and more.

Bookmark this page to watch his talk live at 3:00 p.m PT Monday, March 30. Can’t make it at that time? We’ll share a recording with you after the event. 

For more answers to your questions about hosting during this challenging time, please visit Airbnb.com/COVID—we’ll keep updating it with trends, tips, and information on everything we're doing to support our community.

Thank you once again for being a host. We hope you and your loved ones are staying safe and healthy.

[Susan1188]

@Sarah977

It seems to me, it would be like Ebay deciding to reimburse your clients, without asking you first.  They are a platform on which you advertise, and then make a sale based on TOS.  If they change their TOS after the sale is made, that is dishonest and "bait and switch".

Hosts were told they can have "strict" policy or "non refundable".

Many "strict" or "non-refundable" reservations that cancelled out of personal disinclination to travel (which is not an extenuating circumstance).

Several of my guests who were not expecting a full refund, were pro-actively invited by email from the company and encouraged to cancel for free.

[Sarah977]

@Susan1188 We're talking about two different things here. Yes, their TOS gives them far too much power to make unilateral decisions about things that should be left up to the host, and lets them off the hook for virtually any accountability. And much of what they do is illegal.

I was speaking to the concept that a lot of hosts seem to have that Airbnb is their business partner- it never has been. The company's never had an interest in seeing hosts thrive, otherwise, they wouldn't do things like refund guests for whatever sob story the guests came up with (which they have been doing long before this virus), suspend hosts' listings the minute some guest makes some report of unsafe conditions, or discrimination, or hidden cameras, before bothering to investigate, allow retaliation reviews to stand, etc, etc. Airbnb has never cared whether my business or yours survives and thrives- they have a glut of hosts and more signing up all the time-we're expendable. This is not the attitude of a business partner.

[Susan1188]

Agreed!  Just like Uber is not the partner of the Uber drivers.  Exactly.

[Wendy1071]

@Susan1188 

Many "strict" or "non-refundable" reservations that cancelled out of personal disinclination to travel (which is not an extenuating circumstance).

I would argue that it is.  Both of your Airbnb's are in Spain right?  Here's the current situation there.

Spain

A state of emergency has been declared in Spain and strict lockdown policies including restrictions on travel in and out of the country are in place.

Borders between Spain and Portugal are closed, leaving only nine active crossings open to allow for the transit of products and workers who are required to cross the border.

[Wendy1071]

https://www.cnn.com/travel/amp/coronavirus-travel-bans/index.html.                                          This is a good link if you’re wondering why people are cancelling their bookings and why those bookings might be considered covered under the general E/C policy even if the dates don’t align with Airbnb’s first alert to us that they had put out a blanket policy for one specific period of time.   

[Susan1188]

@Wendy1071 

You have investigated my ABB profile and googled the Covid-19 situation in Spain.

Thank you for telling me about Spanish law, of which I am of course aware and respecting.

But you cannot armchair-investigate my personal situation,  and the situation of my guests.

Did you google the situation of my mixed nationality guests, who I helped to escape the lockdown and get back to their country, despite travel restrictions requiring the wife to stay in the country, and the husband to evacuate?

Did you google-investigate the fate of my Canadian guests, retirees with lung condition, present during the travel restriction, flight cancelled because of Trump travel ban thru USA, who I helped reassure and allow longer term stay at no profit to myself?  Reassuring them theat they could stay indefinitely at my property we would find a solution, even if they had checked out and found whatever travel restriction on their way home?

Did you google my guests who cancelled for JULY, AUGUST, and SEPTEMBER, who I agreed 100% refund due to ABB first policy, who cancelled for economic reasons or just plain personal inclination to travel?

Wendy I'm sure you mean well but really it is better to talk about your personal situation than to criticize or attack others for their choices, which you cannot google or armchair-investigate from your confinement in Califronia.

[Wendy1071]

@Susan1188 I can see your message in my email and will answer but other than that I have no longer have time, energy or interest in visiting this 'community' page to read the repeated minutia of how everyone feels hard done by, guests and hosts alike Good for you for doing some good.  I commend you. 

In the same vain, and as a request for any Canadians who may read this and have a sewing machine a spare fabric laying around, I ask for your help in sewing some scrub caps that are in dire need at our hospitals.  The request came to me from a friend whose daughter is an emergency room doctor.  She's going to work wearing a welder's face shield, as there are no masks and these caps are also unavailable.  

Free patterns and demos can be found on line and if you message me I can provide same as well as the address  to send the finished caps.  You can see some of the ones made below.  OR alternatively, a hospital near you may also be in need and would be grateful for your efforts.  

 

I

[Mark116]

@Sarah977  That's the thing though, airbnb wants to be your employer/parent when it suits them to run roughshod over what the individual hosts wish to do and how they wish to offer their space, but then.....when anything bad happens, they're nothing but a booking platform, awe shucks,  with no control over anything and no responsibility either. 

They want to micro manage the listings down to how many towels per person are offered and how much toilet paper is provided per visit, but then, turn around, and claim powerlessness. 

Also worth nothing that airbnb can and has ruined people's businesses by hiding their listings for no one knows why and banning and delisting hosts for no one knows why.  That is not a partner or a neutral platform.  

[Sarah977]

@Mark116  Absolutely. Their TOS says that hosts are entirely responsible for their own listings, then they make arbitrary decisions to paste "Home Highlights" or "Compliments" on our listing pages which we wrote , and which supposedly we have autonomy over,  without even so much as a consultation as to whether we want this on our listings.

What the company reminds me of, more than anything, is a typical teenager, who thinks they should be entitled to all the privileges of an adult, without being willing to take on any of the responsibilities. 

[Susan1188]

@Wendy1071 The extenuating circumstances policy never included personal disinclination to travel.

The extenuating circumstances policy included travel disruptions (real ones, not fear of getting blocked) and sickness (real one, to the guest, not fear of catching something).

I, like @Daniel84  am fully booked for the year by January.  I have strict and non refundable policy, because I am fully booked long time in advance.  I plan my renovations, investments, renewals in December and January, and negotiate my terms with my cleaning company, based on the strict and non-refundable bookings on the calendar in the beginning of the year.  

Numerous of my bookings cancelled out of personal disinclination to travel, before the travel restrictions were in place or for stays after the travel ban is announced over.  They were then able to get a full refund a posteriori.  Other guests cancelled, did not expect or ask for a full refund, then came back wanting one after they got the Airbnb email with the big red "cancellation" button or saw the press about full refunds.  

[Trudi15]

Airbnb takes a % of our revenues, and all the management stand to make a killing from the IPO. The company is valued at $50 billion . They only survive if their hosts survive and stay loyal. Yes I expect them to step up to the plate and save us, we are hundreds of thousands of small businesses. They are a large company with a big IPO coming up, how about 10% of the shares fo the super hosts? They will need to think much bigger and bolder to save them and us

[Fred13]

The upshot is that over the years Airbnb became the most popular STR option in the planet, I always thought for two principal reasons: easy-to-use front end and low ~host~ fees which attracted excellent places; after all, they zoomed passed already more established STR competitors quickly. Their slick 'Host Guarantee' and other 'marketing sales' bs tools certainly helped. The last few years I have talked to countless speculators talking about building 'An Airbnb Rental', sometimes quite a few, the whole Airbnb business has taken a life of its own. 

Perhaps people became complacent over time, and forgot the ~risk~ one is taking by having all their eggs in one basket, which was discussed at neaseum here for years. Also their Political Correctness was also 'uncomfortable' to many as was their capricious customer service that still borders on luck like a lottery chance. Their trump card (Extenuating Circumtances) has always been the one that has made their hosts the most nervous.

Yes indeed, this whole business has been a doze of reality.

[Dawn81]

@Fred13  You got it down! I like the way you think and reason. 

[Ian-And-Anne-Marie0]

Why is nothing happening @ 22.12 GMT?

@Airbnb 

[Ian-And-Anne-Marie0]

Bloody BST GMT... and thats just the time!