AirBnB’s 25% compensation for canceled reservations

[Niklas24]

I was very impressed when I received Brian Chesky’s video message that AirBnB would compensate hosts for 25% of canceled reservations in the period 14.3-31.5. Or so I thought, however, reading the fine print I am very disappointed to realize that this program is very poorly conceived, and most hosts will receive far less than the 25% and many will receive nothing.

The issue is that AirBnB’s 25% compensation is based on what the host would get through their cancellation policy, which means that hosts that have had a strict cancellation policy are much more likely to benefit. Another factor, although less important, is that cancellations of short stays are more readily compensated than the longer stays.

I believe an almost universal experience for hosts was that in 2-3 weeks after around mid-March the vast majority of stays for the period 14.3-31.5 were canceled. It feels unfair that AirBnB’s compensation policy favors certain hosts with certain policies and certain type of stays. In my case, I had maybe 80% reservation rate for 14.3-31.5 with reservations worth thousands of euros. Every single reservation has been canceled by now, yet I am receiving zero compensation because I had a moderate cancellation policy. Had I realized this in time, I would have at least reached out to guests and asked them to cancel closer to their arrival date in order to make me eligible for the 25% (which is an insane incentive in the compensation policy).

A much fairer solution would have been to compensate for every cancellation regardless of hosts’ policy even if that would mean a smaller compensation percentage. I hope that AirBnB would still revisit their approach.

[Susan17]

@Niklas24 @Trygve2 @Dan12442 @Almudena36 et al..

$250 Million Host Aid

Message from Airbnb - 20/04/20

* Hosts will receive an email when a support payment is issued.

* This email will have an attached csv file which they can open in  Excel or Google sheets to review details of all the reservations that were included in the disbursement

* If a host hasn't received an email yet, their disbursement hasn't been issued yet

Timeline for next waves of hosts to receive payments and emails

1. 20 April 2020 - 20K hosts
2. 21 April 2020 - 145K hosts
3. 22 April 2020 - 150K hosts
4. 23 April 2020 - 184K hosts

Thanks again for being a valued Airbnb host.

Superhost Relief Fund

Starting on April 10, 2020, a specialized team at Airbnb will be inviting eligible Superhosts and hosts of experiences to apply for a relief grant via email.  Invitations to apply will go out first to long-standing Superhosts who are in the greatest financial need, by looking at the earnings decline from this year to last. This same team will evaluate applications and get in touch with hosts to let them know whether their applications are approved. All invitations will be sent out by May 15, 2020.

[Niklas24]

Thank you for the information! That is a lot of hosts - half a million! If the estimate of 665k hosts in total is correct, this number means that AirBnB must have provided compensation with much looser criteria than they announced originally. The average refund would be $500.

[Susan17]

You're welcome, @Niklas24

Disclaimer - those are Airbnb's figures. I can't vouch for their accuracy! 🙂

The hosts I've heard from so far who have received their disbursements  - have almost all received a lower amount than they themselves had calculated/estimated with cancelled  booking amounts being zeroed by Airbnb.

Everyone should screenshot and document any remaining bookings they may have left, with particular attention to payout amount, guet contact details and canx policy, just in case you may need to refer to them at a later date

[Niklas24]

That will be a lot of screenshots 😉

[Susan17]

Lol! I hear you @Niklas24, but this is Airbnb we're talking about. It needs to be done, including (especially) in relation to message threads with Customer support, which have a nasty little habit of suddenly vanishing into thin air, with alarming regularity. Those screenshots may be your only line of defence, if/when a dispute arises at a later date. 

[Niklas24]

@Susan17seems like the schedule you posted doesn't hold, since there are not more people writing about the refunds they have received. Or perhaps I am mistaken - what do you think is the situation?

[Susan17]

Hi @Niklas24, I'd have to agree with you there. I'm in close and constant contact with a huge network of hosts, all based in different markets around the world, and had already asked them to keep me posted if/when they received their "25%" (12.5%) payouts.

As of this morning, April 23, only a small percentage have reported receiving any payouts at all, and those who did, have mostly received piddling amounts, and nowhere near the amounts they were expecting.

Additionally, when the discrepancies have been queried, CX are trotting out a range of excuses for cancelled bookings being excluded from recompense under the (alleged) $250 million fund, ranging from "mutual cancellation" (host pressed the "Issue Full Refund" button), to "reservation was booked under the Pay Less Upfront option" (host is given no prior knowledge - or proof - of this), to "host error/.must be mistaken" (??!),  to that favourite old Airbnb chestnut.. 'glitches".

Another day, another sh*t-show. 

[Susan17]

@Niklas24

Below is a hard-hitting piece, published yesterday by CNBC investigative reporter Sal Rodriguez, who has been looking into this issue for several weeks now, with more to follow in the coming days/weeks.. 

Airbnb Hosts Say They're Getting Nothing Or Comically Small Amounts From $250 Million Relief Fund, Calling It 'Publicity Stunt'
https://www.cnbc.com/2020/04/22/airbnb-hosts-getting-almost-nothing-from-250-million-relief-fund.htm...

[Vanessa589]

I'm so glad to see that someone else has had this happen!  I began taking screenshots of EVERY interaction I had with support about 18 months ago when messages began disappearing.... It's a pain in the *** to keep it all straight but now I have them, and they have actually come in useful already once when a support person tried to give me some BS.... it's ridiculous.  To be honest, this is a company that I'd just as soon see crash and burn.  At least in the market I rent in, we were better off before they came to town.

[Yves114]

I agree completely, as we always wanna to give a fair and best service to our guests and had Flexible cancelation, and even before this we would give full refunds to Asians during January and February. And our support from being Super-hosts is nothing!!!

[Niklas24]

Seems like I am after all getting a refund. A mysterious additional payout field appeared in my earnings dashboard for April.  $18! Apparently I had a reservation that qualifies. Still waiting to get an e-mail about this.

[Alexandra316]

I found out this morning that I'm getting a payout of $30.26. Wow. That's really going to take the edge off the thousands of dollars in reservations that I've lost. I presumably won't get it for months either, because they're only going to tag it onto my next payout: they won't send it as a separate payment. Right now, that means I won't see the money until July, another interesting loophole in this scheme I thought. 

Something else that came up in this process. I got an email encouraging me to cancel upcoming reservations. I'm wondering if this could be a ploy to avoid paying out, because presumably, even if we cancel due to COVID-19, we won't be getting a payout from this fund. I also had to cancel a reservation as a guest recently because my event was cancelled, and I found it impossible to cancel on the Android app. Guests have been saying the same - that they can't figure out how to cancel - and I'm wondering why this is suddenly the case. 

I

[Tim670]

I got a COVID-19 payment from AirBnB today. It was 25% of the booking amount that I should have received but did not because of the extenuating circumstance clause instituted by airbnb. Proof it is rolling out and they are trying. 

[Helen350]

I've had a sudden thought @Alexandra316 .....  So many hosts, especially the big time 'professionals' with multiple listings,and/or high end places have expressed here that they will jump ship & no longer host with Airbnb..... These hosts are the ones with 'strict' cancellation policies, who would have expected the bulk of the Covid 19 payouts, i.e. 25% of 50% of their listing price. BUT IF the multihosts have left the platform then their promised 12.5% of thousands of dollars becomes NIL, ZERO, if it's to be added to the next payout, cos of course there won't be a next payout for those that have ceased to host with Airbnb.............................................

And hosts with flexible/moderate cancellation policies get nothing, unless the cancellation was (very) last minute - so the pool of those who benefit grows ever smaller.... (I get nothing, as I don't get advance bookings,  but personally I'm OK with that.)

[Kerry320]

When are payments going to be made to eligible hosts, I've had nothing yet, and no further info from Airbnb about the  25% compensation or more info on the loss of business grant to eligible superhosts, which I understand we have to wait for an email to be able to apply