New strict cancellation policy update

[Lizzie]

Hello everyone,

The Airbnb team heard feedback from you and the host community about the upcoming change to our Strict cancellation policy. In order to address your concerns, we’re delaying the change until May 1, 2018.

Before the change goes into effect, we’ll share more about what we’re doing to address your concerns, particularly around protecting your listing details from being shared with guests who cancel. But for now, we’d like to clear up some confusion and help you better understand the new policy and how it will benefit the whole community:

Here’s how the new grace period policy will work—and some of the protections we have in place for hosts:

Limited-time refund within 48 hours after booking when the check-in date is at least 14 days away

Guests must cancel within 48 hours after booking and can only cancel if their check-in date is 14+ days away. This means that no matter how far out your guests book, they only have 48 hours from the time they book to cancel for free. We want to make sure that if guests change their mind, you have enough time to get another booking.

Three refunds per year per guest

To prevent abuse, guests are limited to three fully refunded cancellations a year.

No full refunds for overlapping bookings

To make sure guests are not making multiple bookings and then cancelling, any booking made by a guest when they already have an active booking for those dates will not be covered under our grace period policy.

Your hosting success is top of mind for us, and tests of this policy—including among hosts with strict cancellation policies in place—strongly suggest the change will result in increased bookings and successful stays. With this grace period, not only do guests book with more confidence, but they also have the ability to resolve booking mistakes without requiring your valuable time and intervention.

We value your feedback, and will follow up shortly with more insight into how your ideas are shaping this policy.

Thanks,

Lizzie

----------Update April 24th, 2018----------

Hello everyone,

Just to let you know there is now an update regarding protecting your listing details, as mentioned above. 

Here is the link to take a look: An update on the Strict Cancellation Policy

Thanks,

Lizzie

[Lizzie]

Hello @Zojka0,

I am really sorry to see you frustration here. I know this probably doesn't help to change your feelings, but it down to the feedback and voice of community members here, that the new feature update regarding the release of listing details has been brought in. Your voices are having an impact.  

I understand that you and other hosts want more changes to this, but this isn't the end of our conversation here, I want you and everyone else to keep sharing your feedback once this policy comes in. So please do.

In terms of not being able to post on the other topic, that topic is open and you should be able to post there. I want to hear your thoughts. If you receive an error message (which is something I am actively talking through with our tech team), then copy your message and refresh the page, I have my fingers and toes crossed this works.  

Speak to you soon.

Thanks,

Lizzie

[Ignas5]

Please make sure guests do not have the details of property (adresse, phone number etc.) until the booking becomes definitive. Thank you /Ig

[Lizzie]

Hello @Ignas5,

Nice to meet you. Since posting my opinion response here, there is an update on listing details. To find out more take a look here.

Thanks,

Lizzie

[Colleen47]

I'm going to try it out. I like the 48 hour rule. They feel confident that if a mistake was make it can be fixed. @Lizzie

[Lizzie]

Thanks @Colleen47 for sharing your outlook on this here, it is great to hear you are going to give it a try and please do let me know how you get on. 🙂

[Gail32]

Hi Lizzie:

I agree with what the airbnb hosts have said about the new strict cancellation policy.

Here in Vancouver we tend to get people who want to book, come over and look at the home, and then cancel.

I too don't want to give out my personal information unless I have a true booking.

I know I could go to Moderate on cancellation policies but because we only have traffic here between May-Sept.............it seems only right to lean towards Strict policy.

Once the dates are set I make sure everything is ready for our guests.

Perhaps management should look at Strict one more time...............there are lots of Airbnb hosts that use Moderate and people can book with them.

Thank you for listening.....................Cheers..........Gail (Langley,BC)

[Lizzie]

Hello @Gail32,

Thanks for your message here.

I understand your concern about privacy and due to the feedback received from hosts here in the Community Center, we have implemented an option which you can select which delays your listing details until the free cancellation policy is over. I'm not sure if you have seen my post on this, if not, take a look here. 

It would be great to hear your thoughts on this. 

Hope to speak with you soon.

Lizzie

[Barbara979]

   I agree Airbnb should not give out the property address until after their no fee cancellation period.  Too much information on entering property is shared to early and could be used to enter property for criminal reasons.

    I believe each renter should be able to decide how strict their cancellation period should be.  Vacationer should take the responsibility for planning their trips.  The airlines and hotels have strict refund policies, so why shouldn't we?

[Lizzie]

Hello @Barbara979,

Thanks for your response here. I understand you worry over the lease of your listing details. I just wanted to check if you have seen this post, where I mention that we have just implemented a new option for hosts who wish to delay their listing details being released until the free cancellation policy has passed. 

The post provide more information around how you can select this. 

I hope this helps.

Lizzie

[Martha216]

Hey @Lizzie, we're all still waiting to hear back from you when you, especially since now it's 852 posts in this forum, all dedicated Hosts, and since major number of us are upset with this change which was imposed on us as of May 1st.

***************************************************************************************

Good morning fellow Hosts!  So yesterday I did a little research into how to reach the CEOs and email them directly. 

Just figured I'd hit their inbox with the subject reading "IMPT-from a SUPERHOST (since August 2015)"  

Here's what I found:  

chip@airbnb.com,
chip.conley@airbnb.com,
brian.chesky@airbnb.com,
brian@airbnb.com

And here's an excerpt from my email to them:

"For the sake of brevity, the point of this email is to beseech you to please listen to us HOSTS who are deeply frustrated by recent changes imposed on our ability to select a CANCELLATION policy that in congruent with our, personal, individual Host needs and logistics.  

We were asked to participate in an online Community feedback forum https://community.withairbnb.com/t5/Airbnb-Updates/New-strict-cancellation-policy-update/m-p/688081#  ONLY TO END UP FEELING (FOR THE MOST PART BY ALL) COMPLETELY IGNORED AND DISREGARDED.  

Many of us are upset and feel that we've lost TRUST in our quality of relationship with you, and AirBnb Headquarters.

Despite the fact as of now there 849 replies and comments from all over this beautiful planet, we are seemingly unheard."

Of course I was not expecting a personal reply from the Airbnb CEOs, but at least it made me feel better messaging them directly.  I expected them to pass off my email to an underling and below is the response I received this morning.  I laughed out loud when I read the part that says, "We appreciate everyone’s inputs. It, unfortunately, is very difficult to cater every input."

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hi Martha,

Thank you for contacting Airbnb. My name is Prateek and I would love to assist you with your feedback related to the change in the terms of Strict cancellation policy. I appreciate your commitment with Airbnb as you have been hosting with us for 3 long years and have served several guests with tremendous reviews.

We have several platforms or forums wherein we involve our super hosts to know their valuable feedback and see if we can incorporate their inputs into our decisions. I have read many reviews in the forum you mentioned and they all are mixed ones. There are few hosts who are happy and few who aren’t. We pick pointers and feedback and then analyze from business perspective considering the standpoint of host and guest both. We appreciate everyone’s inputs. It, unfortunately, is very difficult to cater every input.

Your hosting success is top of mind for us, and tests of this policy—including among hosts with strict cancellation policies in place—strongly suggest the change will result in increased bookings and successful stays. With this grace period, not only do guests book with more confidence, but they also have the ability to resolve booking mistakes without requiring your valuable time and intervention.

The benefit for you is that no matter how far out your guest's book, they only have 48 hours from the time they book to cancel for free. We want to make sure that if guests change their mind, you have enough time to get another booking.

I am here for your prompt support. At any point of time, you face any difficulties you may reply to the same message.

Your friend at Airbnb,

Prateek

Today at 7:17 AM

[Lizzie]

Hello @Martha216,

Thanks for mentioning me here. I just wanted to check, I have posted it several times here in this thread, but there are a lot of comments now, so I am not sure whether you have seen my most recent update? If not here is the link. 

If you were referring to something else, please let me know. 

Also, it is great that you are continue to provide feedback on this, as we now passed May 1st, I feel it is as important now that you continue to fed back what you are experiencing, now that the changes are in place.

Thanks,

Lizzie

[Zoya-and-Julija0]

Question: can potential guests see the House Manual during the initial 48 hrs period?

[Lizzie]

Hello @Zoya-and-Julija0,

I just wanted to check you have seen @Ange2's reply here regarding the option you can select, in regards to delaying the release of your listing details until the free cancellation period has been. 

More information can be found in this post. 

Thanks,
Lizzie

[Ange2]

@Nora36  There is a box at the bottom of the location page, you can click to not share details with guests  until the  48hours freebie has elapsed.

Go to LIstings

Choose Listing

Choose Edit

Choose "Edit Location" - scroll down to bottom of page there is a box you can click.

I don't know if it works.  I will need to ask someone to book for an experiment and tell me if they receive my address straightaway.

[Lizzie]

Thanks @Ange2 for sharing this more wider. 🙂