An update on changes to the Strict cancellation policy

[Lizzie]

Hello everyone,

We recently announced that we’re updating our Strict cancellation policy. Starting May 1, 2018, guests will have the option to cancel for free within 48 hours of booking, as long as their check-in date is at least 14 days away.

In response to this announcement, many of you voiced concerns about Airbnb sharing your details with guests who may cancel. We take your privacy very seriously, so thank you for that feedback—it inspired important updates that give you more control over when your listing details and contact information are shared with guests.  

Here’s how we’re addressing your concerns

You can choose not to share your address, phone number, and last name with guests during the period that they can cancel for free. Guests will never see these details if they cancel their reservation during the free cancellation window.

To use this feature, go to Listing > Listing details > Edit location in your Airbnb account. Under Visibility for booked guests, check the box next to Share details with guests after the free cancellation period.  

This feature will be available to all hosts on May 1, regardless of their cancellation policy (Strict, Flexible, Moderate). And just in case you missed the announcement, here’s what’s changing for hosts who have a Strict cancellation policy:

• Guests will get a full refund if they cancel within 48 hours of booking, as long as their check-in date is at least 14 days away. This means that even if a guest books a reservation months in advance, they’re only able to get a full refund if they cancel within the first 48 hours after booking.  
• Guests can only get 3 full refunds per year. After that, guests will no longer be able to cancel for free.
• To discourage guests from making multiple reservations for the same dates and then cancelling, overlapping reservations aren’t eligible for a full refund.

This change helps hosts with a Strict cancellation policy compete with listings that offer guests more flexibility. Guests feel more confident booking reservations that give them room to make changes or fix booking mistakes immediately. The updated policy gives guests this flexibility, but only for 48 hours after they book.

Airbnb is committed to the success of all hosts and we know changes impact how you work. We don’t make changes like these without extensive testing, and after we change the policy on May 1st, we’ll continue to monitor the impact by providing the grace period to a portion of guests before making it available to all guests. As we roll this out, we’ll continue to listen to your valuable feedback.

Thanks,

Lizzie

[Ann10]

@

Shannon-I also have no problem getting booked w a stict policy. In fact, when I'm not booked, there is a little note that says "Rare Find" on my listing. How is it going to look, saying you can cancel on a "Rare Find"? On Home Away, my cancellation policy for both of my listings is 60 days, and I still get booked. I don't have a problem getting booked. People like my places. My reviews speak for themselves. People can buy travel insurance. Business' have insurance so we don't need to change to "Moderate" and have someone who isn't even a business cancel 5 days out. 

The people I get w strict are the kind of people I want to book my place. I think the only way ABB will listen is if we all unlist. They are saying, they don't need us. They have said it to me. I used to be on the 1st page even though I refuse IB, SP, Moderate, and now this. Now, even though I'm a SH who is supposed to make 22% more, I'm drowning in the back pages, no where to be found. As I said, I did an experiement where I accepted everything they have been pushing on me, and boom I was literally #1 again. I found accepting IB was the #1 most important factor in placement. Now, it doesn't matter how great of a host you are, or how much money you have made for them. If you don't do what they want, they don't need you anymore. There are a lot of other sites, wimdu, 9flats, home away, trip advisor, 

 misterbandb, and more. Someone posted a link on the thread that was ended.  I think if everyone unlisted until we get what we need that would do the trick, but a lot of hosts are already falling in line.

[Ann10]

@

David @Lizzie-What they are saying is that if we don't want to fall in line w whatever they want us to do, they don't need us anymore. My experiment showed me that. I posted about my experiment in the other thread and above in this one. @Lizzie-They should have been more honest w us and told us from the get go that they already made up their minds and we would be wasting our time talking about our our opposition. I have been doing my own testing w strict and I was booked all the time. I don't need help from ABB. I don't want to be canceled on and only have 12 days, most likely and a different(cheaper) rate to find someone and who knows if it will be someone as desirable.  They had to hide our info for legal reasons. There was no way that was going to fly. 

[Ann10]

@David0-Don't you see? Whatever problematic issue arises, it will be decided in favor of the guest. So, forget about clocks, science, logic, and all that. Doesn't this show you that? Tisk, Tisk...David!

David

[Sean119]

@Lizzie  LOL.  You do your job well by continuing to tell hosts they matter to AirBnB.  I, personally, don't care much as we will be fully booked for the season with little help from ABB.  At this rate we can phase them out completely in the future seasons.  Good luck to all you other hosts! 

[Zappa0]

Here's a question...if someone books 14 days out, but selects group payment and doesn't get the money together until the 71st hour (of the 72 hours) is the 48 hour cancellation policy available to them up to two days after their payment goes through, or do you base this 48 hours on the hosts' acceptance of the request?

Or would it not apply at all because the guest waited until hour 71, or techinally day what..11?

[Matthew406]

@Lizzie Airbnb has always favored guests over hosts. That's why I never have and never will use Instant Book. If I get screwed by a guest, you guys aren't going to have my back, you're going to try and find some middle ground that more or less lets them get away with screwing me. Why? Because guests are your real customers. They pay you. Host's are a cost center. 

Now with this new policy, you're incentivizing guests to frivolously make bookings. It's basically Amazon's free return policy only the product is people's homes. It's quite clear what happens in online retail. People order stuff they're not even sure they want because they know they can just send it back. 

It's likely going to be the same here. People will just book something because they know they can cancel and keep shopping around. They will book, cancel, wash, rinse, repeat because they can (3x per year). Yet, somehow, without releasing a shred of evidence and the methodology behind how you know this policy is going to lead to better outcomes for hosts, you expect people to just take your word for it that it's going to be good for them.

With all the negative feedback from users, you're moving forward full-steam ahead. Chesky is fronting on Twitter doing AMA's like he takes feedback seriously, yet here you have an outpouring of concern from the people that make your machine work, and the best you can do is agree to protect our privacy as if that's some kind of concession. 

I really hope you have good data that this going to work. If it doesn't, your credibility is going to be shot.

[KandT0]

Still no new options at https://www.airbnb.com/manage-your-space/XXXXXXXX/details/location-details that will permit us to withhold contact info during the grace period.

[Shannon199]

Matthew,

Not sure how to tag you so you get this, but I think they did just hire some major executive from Amazon Prime to run their business, so you are spot on with your assessment with Amazon return policy. 

This 'sharing economy' is now turning into a major corporation that operates on the backs of the little people while instituting harsh policies that are serving only itself. 

[Katie193]

@@Lizzie posted yesterday that the new changes except for us manually going in to click on a visibility link, will still go into effect on May 1.

53 pages of hosts vehemently opposed to these policies that benefit Airbnb and Airbnb only, apparently mean nothing to them. She states “Airbnb is committed to the success of all hosts and we know changes impact how you work. We don’t make changes like these without extensive testing, and after we change the policy on May 1st, we’ll continue to monitor the impact by providing the grace period to a portion of guests before making it available to all guests. As we roll this out, we’ll continue to listen to your valuable feedback.” Which guests?Hosts have clearly stated the number of bookings did not change when they tried this. Hosts have clearly stated 48 hours is too long. Hosts clearly stated there should be equal generosity to hosts and to guests. Hosts CLEARLY stated they don’t want more bookings-just quality bookings, and hosts have clearly stated they want to be in control of how they run their bookings, not have something forced upon them. I don’t know what could be clearer about the feedback we’ve given so far and why more needs to be collected. There are 53 pages all saying the same things! Why do we continue to need to be listened to? Why haven’t we been already?  I have been with Airbnb for less than a year, had guests lie about smoking and Airbnb side with them and I cannot understand and  I don’t know why Airbnb does not care about hosts-the ones who have created their business and keep it going. I thought this was supposed to be a community ordeal where we offer our homes and they get a piece for allowing us to list on their platform. And this BS about riding to the top of the stack for complying with what they want is ridiculous! I’m even thinking they are sinking those of us who have spoken our mind on this forum.  I am so disappointed in the business practices of this corporation. I hope everyone pulls out and they finally see the mistakes they are making since they clearly are not seeing it from all these posts. 

Thanks,

[Zojka0]

Again AirBnB did not listen to owners and did whatever the heck you wanted to do... proving again that you do not care about owners at all and we are losing control over our own properties. This 48 hrs policy is horrible and does nothing but causes damage, pain and suffering to hosts. Further disappointment with AirBnB...

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[#12]

Again AirBnB did not listen to owners and did whatever the heck you wanted to do... proving again that you do not care about owners at all and we are losing control over our own properties. This 48 hrs policy is horrible and does nothing but causes damage, pain and suffering to hosts. Further disappointment with AirBnB...

[KandT0]

@Shannon199 Re the Amazon analogy: If only we could have their quality of customer service, in place of what we have now. I often have to point our "specialists" to the correct information on the Airbnb site. They are the only outfit that has ever driven me to raise my voice on the phone. If Airbnb wants to import Amazon, they need to bring in their customer-service training and acumen.

[KandT0]

BTW, folks, the checkbox is now available for you to withhold contact info. Scroll down to the bottom of the page at https://www.airbnb.com/manage-your-space/XXXXXXXX/details/location-details -- replace ths X's with your listing number, of course.

[Alice-and-Jeff0]

Isn't this exactly right, @KandT0, just 3 weeks ago we received a 3rd party booking and I sent the client to the Customer Service center to get this resolved.  The CS rep said they had "never heard of this policy" or about the "Airbnb for Work" program.  100% horrible! 

[Alice-and-Jeff0]

@Lizzie - So you are saying that the Strict policy holders will be able to withhold their personal information for 48 hours, during the "grace period", but a host with a Moderate or Flexible policy will have their information sent out immediately, like you have always done?  There is a 48 hour "grace period" for both Moderate and Flexible policies as well where Airbnb has committed to returning their fees to the guest in case of a change of mind.

The issue in the other thread with releasing information to guests was the "lack of committment" on the guest's part which, seemed to me sitting here on the sidelines, to be directly proportional to the amount of refund a guest would get for a cancellation post 48 hours (conversely, it was totally okay if the host was going to get 50% because a 50% payout meant that any risk was mitigated). Everyone was all up in arms about the guest getting personal information when their reservation was not "secured", meaning if there was a 100% refund, it was not secured.  Clearly, Airbnb, based on this new option, seems to have agreed.

With this new option, Airbnb is conceeding that there may be some cause for concern that a guest who could cancel without any financial penalty may, somehow, be more likely to need personal host information restricted from them.  This security comes directly from the refund period/penalty starting.  In this case, the refund period/penalty starts way, way later for Moderate and Flexible hosts.  

Logically, this cause for concern should be extended to the Moderate and Flexible policies.  If Airbnb is going to withhold personal information until the host can be paid part of the reservation fee for the risk of exposure and liability, then they MUST extend that to ALL hosts.  You cannot provide security to one segment of the hosting group that would make the other 2 hosting groups more vulnerable.  You've just moved all the theives, rapists, and drug-adled guests that were willing to make a reservation and cancel during the free period just to get addresses and security codes to our properties!  All those wishy-washy, make-multiple-reservations-while-shopping-for-a-better- rate guests will start booking up our calendars for months! By limiting the exposure during the free period to only that of Strict hosts, you have made the risk of harm to hosts in other policies greater.  

You HAD to know this was coming .... I've been sitting here biding my time until they came up with a policy exception that would put purposely put hosts in different conditions. You cannot extend safety options to some hosts and not to others. They have not thought this through.  AGAIN, Airbnb has done something knee-jerk that will result in more dissatisfaction. 

As noted many times, since this "free policy" has gone into effect, cancellations are way up for hosts like me.  And because the "fee" to cancel post 48 hours is limited to only the 12% Airbnb fee, in many cases that's less than a trip to McDonalds (12% of $50 = $6),  we've seen reservations held for months only to be cancelled a week out.  Many get rebooked at cheaper accommodations as Airbnb pushes down the price using Smart Pricing. Certainly if you're a thief who's scoping out Airbnb's to rob (and that includes booking a higher price to last minute book a cheaper one - and sometimes the same group who is waiting on that extra 10% offer!), that's a small price to pay for security codes and addresses, right?

Makes me sad, really, that Airbnb has been so thoughtless. 

[cannot reply to individual posts using the "reply" button - getting error message]

[Lizzie]

Hello @Alice-and-Jeff0,

As I mention in my original post here, this option will be available for hosts regardless of your cancellation policy (Strict, Flexible, Moderate), therefore even if you are not on Strict you will still be able to select this option. 

When looking at the option to select this, you will see it shows that once the free cancellation period is oven (length depends on your policy) then your listing details will be released to your guest. 

This 'Visibility to booked guest' option has been introduced by our Product Team after listening to the feedback given around this by many hosts here in the Community Center. This option is an opt-in and you as a host have the decision over whether you are happy for the information to be released at the time of booking or once the free cancellation period is over. 

If you can't see this option on your account, it will show from May 1st.

I hope this helps.

Lizzie