***WE CANNOT PAY OUR RENT WITH BIG IDEAS: AN OPEN LETTER TO BRIAN CHESKY***

[Rose123]

On March 14, 2020, Airbnb changed policy to allow guests full compensation for cancelled bookings as a result of the current COVID-19 health crisis. This policy overrides existing policies hosts have in place to protect their homes and livelihoods, placing the responsibility of an entire global health pandemic on their shoulders.

Brian, you say your hosts are “heroes”, but everyday heroism can take many forms, and among these is corporate social responsibility. You tweet that Airbnb is concocting “big ideas” to help hosts, but we cannot pay our mortgages, rent, staff and bills with big ideas.

The impact of your March 14 policy change will be rapid and far-reaching. The diverse individuals who comprise your host community will face the very real prospect of eviction. This impacts individuals who may not have another source of income. Or, they may have a hosting income, but are also active participants in creative industries. They are poets, painters, artists, writers, academics, musicians, dancers, ceramicists, bloggers and others who balance the economic precarity of creative work with hosting as a matter of necessity, not luxury. They are the same individuals who, reliant on a gig economy, do not have access to health insurance, nor the protection of employer benefits and sick leave.

Your guests have a refund at stake: your hosts, their homes and livelihoods. We ask you to protect hosts as well as guests. We urge you to reimburse hosts for cancelled reservations according to their cancellation policies. We as a host community do not believe that guests should be traveling in the current health crisis. We also do not think that hosts should suffer crippling losses. We ask you to acknowledge the loyalty – and the revenue – of the hosts who built you. And we ask you to consider how to best support your most precarious hosts, those who will soon be on the verge of eviction.

*** Airbnb hosts, feel free to copy, paste and share. Use the hashtag: helpyourhosts ***

[Juan63]

@Danielle476 Donald is passed his prime, he doesn't see beyond how it used to be. I have several streams of income and that doesn't stop me from protecting this one. His posts are self-serving and isn't here to help anyone but his ego.

[Levon-and-Ashley0]

I don't think you were listening. Most of us have jobs. They just aren't enough to cover all of life's expenses, thus the supplemental income of Airbnb. And now the economy is going under and lots of people are not getting paid from their jobs. Or Airbnb. That's creating more stress than COVID-19!

[Donald28]

If you can't afford to live where you're living then you move to a less expensive area! It's an obvious pattern that the airbnb hosts complaining the loudest about this pandemic are all from the super expensive places to live. Rose is in soho nyc, you're in san fran, danielle is in toronto. 

I can highly recommend Ga. for bang for your buck. 

In 2015, we moved to Ga. from NY state where we owned and lived in a tiny 900 sq ft home in a crappy part of an upstate city for 10 years.  In Ga, we bought a 2700 sq ft mediterranean style home with 3/4 acre fenced lot, an inground pool, 600 sq ft movie theater, 2 garages (1800 sq ft total), screened room and a huge built in outdoor BBQ/kitchen area... for $175,000 and total taxes are $3200 annually. If this property were in NY where we lived, it would be $1 million dollars or more. You can live like kings and queens on the same income if you move to less expensive areas without relying on airbnb income to pay the rent. Then the income actually becomes just "extra income" that you don't "need".

[Danielle476]

Donald, if you tell us all to 'pull ourselves up by our bootstraps', I'll have a full Boomer Bingo card!  *crosses fingers*

[Jean-Pierre198]

This last remark is quite out of subject - Airbnb cannot ovveride a cancellation policy agreement between Host and Guest - This is illegal and discriminatory favouring one side over the other - As airbnb stated - we are all in this together -

A binding Contract where one side agrees with the other has to be honoured no matter what the situation is - whether it is Extenuating circumstances or not .. What is legal is that the 2 parties can only agree to override the previous agreement with a new agreement. What airbnb is doing is outright illegal and cannot favour one side from the other or override an agreed policy . The Extenuating circumstances are not a fault of the Host, the Traveller or Airbnb itself and no party can decide to favour one or the other in this case. If there is an agreed cancellation policy , it has to be honoured unless all parties agree to override any new agreement .

The full terms and conditions are a general guideline for hosts and travellers when signing up. However when 2 parties go in to a transaction agreement between themselves based on what is advertised, that agrement superceeds and must be honoured. Airbnb are not a goverment or allowed to take control of the law in to their own hands. Airbnb does not own the property rental or the travellers rights. It merely offers a latform for travellers and hosts to communicate and negotiate between each other and collects a fee from both sides for using their platform.

[Amir0]

that pretty arrogant&ignorant and shows no empathy and solidarity - you might be a bot

[Jane1049]

Planes - Trains - Automobiles 

• Cheapest - no refund 

• Middle [Moderate] - flexible change.

• Expensive - Full Flexibility

SIMPLE: The reason being people need to live, eat, support families.

By choosing STRICT people chose the one with most risk but greatest value and return for the buyer.

These people should have TRAVEL INSURANCE. Travel insurance covers government directives.

This situation is not PERSONAL EXTENUATING circumstance it is a GLOBAL issue & there are government decisions in play. 

THIS IS WHAT TRAVEL INSURANCE is for. 

Hosts’ strict cancellation policies should have been upheld. To each individual traveller taking that risk, they should have been told to contact their insurance. 

This policy could see AIRBNB fail. 

The 1st port of call should have been travel insurance. 

How many airlines, car hire, budget hotels send refunds? 

They don’t because the element of risk is something you take when you book the budget price seat - car - bed 

😞 

[Rose123]

Wow - this is so well put! I didn't even address this, but for sure. Feel free to copy, paste, tweet, and I've got a load of graphics on my instagram if you would like to share them (@ rose vickers) 

[William1258]

Exactly

[Sudsrung0]

From what I can see most airlines are not giving refunds what they are doing is giving travel credits to be used in the next 12 months I think also airbnb should do something similar.

Also if there is No Travel ban between them countries and if it is the guest choice not to travel then there should be no refunds their loss! Thats what the airlines do some of my friends decided not to fly to Japan it was their loss not the airline.

I also believe you shouldn't be running a business like STR industry mortgaged upto the hilt to me you are placing your neck on the block and you put all your eggs in airbnb's basket in times like this you will not survive

[Rose123]

@Sudsrung0 hmmm I don't know about "no refunds". I think that some refund, or a credit, or simply Airbnb intervention to help hosts would all have been good ideas. I can see both sides. But I don't think that a policy which will result in mass evictions come April 1 is a good policy. Nor the loss of life savings without so much as a consult. I really do hope this brings Airbnb to their knees at some future stage, and the conversation can become a little more levelled out. Personally I'm amongst the hosts have lost their life savings, may face eviction, etc etc. and it's really devastating. It's very hard seeing the guests "waiting a few days for Airbnb to extend the deadline" do that they can recoup their 100%. Because I know that will result in the loss of my home.

[Yamileth-And-Jimmy0]

Come On @Rose123 you need to be more creative than that!. Get up of the victimization bed and lower the price of your place and get new bookings! simple like that.  People is still travelling many are scared but soooo many are adventurous and want to defeat this plague which by the way attacks more to the elderly.  

And YES,  Life should be taken with simplicity as @Donald28  said if you lose your job you get another one. There is no time to waist in crying the lost and complaining because others did not make us happy or gave us what we wanted. Move on!  get what you need and the life itself will take care of the people who did you wrong, in this case Airbnb. God has its ways of fixing and straightening people, businesses and governments. We just have to take action with Faith and Gratitude for what we have received and been able to give.  

[Sudsrung0]

Dont rely on airbnb there many things you can do first look at your competition see what prices they are charging and adjust yours to suit, Take a look at your place is there something you can do to change? take a look at your profile change your title before you blame others look at what you can change.

How many other OTA's are you on? None? then get yourself on there if you dont try then you will never know,

Are you on Booking.com? if not why not? I am a preferred partner on there I can send you a link that will give you your first 5 bookings commission Free, how good is that please dont tell me it's to difficult,

For anybody else who would like the link for your first 5 bookings on BDC drop me a message,

Nung

[HaoKang0]

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[Bea1791]

Well said I’m sharing as I’m so unhappy about it too !