Why Airbnb’s new cancelation policies are absolutely wrong

[Andrea374]

Many hosts woke up this morning having received an email from Airbnb informing them that there would be some “minor” changes to the cancellation policies on the website.

As you may know, the world-famous online platform for vacation rentals offers three different policies for guests’ cancellations:

• Flexible: Full refund 24 hours prior to arrival, except fees
• Moderate: Full refund 5 days prior to arrival, except fees
• Strict: 50% refund up to 1 week prior to arrival, except fees

The Airbnb commission for any of those cancellation policies was 3%.

The email received this morning informs us that the commission will change based on the cancellation policy we apply to our listing(s).

If we choose the Flexible one, allowing our guests to cancel with a full refund up to 24 hours before their arrival, the commission will remain the same: 3%, whereas if we choose the Moderate it will be 4% and up to 5% if we choose the strict one.

In addition, guests will no longer have to pay the service fee to Airbnb if they decide to cancel!

It goes without saying, that this unilateral change in the company’s policy is absolutely wrong, and here is why:

Airbnb has once again decided to overprotect guests in damage to the hundreds of thousands of hosts who literally are the backbone of the website and of the industry in general.

Management is clearly forgetting that we, house-owners and managers, are not hotel-like accommodations and that we do not have all the tools, nor the client-base, to have new reservations in a matter of minutes when a guest cancels only 24 hours before.

This new policy will only create damages to the whole system, with guests feeling free to reserve the house and then cancel at the very last minute by choosing another cheaper accommodation, without any consequence.

I, for one, am feeling very frustrated by this sudden change, and consider this only a subtle and not so honest way to simply raise the commission to the hosts, without really considering the consequences.

I do really hope Airbnb’s management will hear our voices, through the feedbacks we are sending to the website and through our social media comments on the official page, and will decide to take a step back and restore the old policy which has led this company the become the world phenomenon it has been for the past five years.

Andrea ***

[Villa-Rental0]

@Marina-and-Stefano0 yes very sad indeed !

We are about to cancel 20+ properties which for the past 5 years we have rent throughout the year; reason why we have not yet done so is that we have a booking this week, so as soon as we receive payment from them it will be bye bye to all 🙂

[Andrew90]

@Marina-and-Stefano0 Why not just snooze your listing? This will prevent any new bookings but keep your listing available in case you find te grass is not greener on the other side. I personally just singned up this year with Airbnb since inquiries and booking rates declined after HomeAway changed to be more like Airbnb. 

[Pilar1]

Although I don't do Airbnb as a business, rather because I enjoy the variety of people I get to meet, this will put me literally 'out of business' as I can't afford to pay full monthly rent on my own; back to long term renting I'm afraid!

[Amy38]

I am not a lawyer, but it seems to me that we signed a contract with Abb and they are unilaterally changing the terms...not so sure if this isnt a court case.

@Inna8 As for people who just book a bunch of places and then change their minds, this is a very low way to operate.  Even hotels have to make plans. This kind of behaviour is why airlines so drastically raised their prices on < one month advance booking .  If Abb is now attracting that kind of person, they have to find a way to make some money.

And for hosts who have invested in mutple properties, I hope you don't owe too much on them, because as this gets to be the thing, the guests are going to become much worse.

[Eric-and-Brooke0]

Hey everyone! I just wanted to chime in on this topic. We are trying to reach out to other hosts to help us with a situation we are currently dealing with. We are Super Hosts and have a strict cancellation policy in place due to several instances in the past where guests have canceled last minute and we were not able to re-book those dates. We are consistently 95% booked all year round, hence the strict cancellation policy. We had a guest book $1450 worth of dates but then cancel well beyond our strict cancellation window. The guest was refunded half of the reservation per our strict cancelation policy. He then reached out to me asking for a full refund. I told him that I would consider this request IF we were able to re-book those dates with other guests. The dates that he originally booked were the only open dates over a 3 month span and we were not able to re-book due to it being a last minute cancellation. So instead of being out $1450, we were out $725. The guest still requested we give him the remaining refund because he had to cancel this reservation because a continuous education class he was going to attend was cancelled. I appologized to the guest, but told him that I think it is fair that we split the difference because I was unable to book these dates, and was still ultimately losing money because of his cancellation. The guest then escalated the case to Airbnb.

I received a phone call almost 2 months after this reservation from an Airbnb representative stating the guest is still requesting the full refund. I stated that this was almost 2 months ago and had no idea this was even still an issue because 1.) the guest agreed that a full refund would be considered if I booked those dates, 2.) I was protected by the strict cancellation policy, and 3.) the amount of time that has passed. The representative (Hazzle) was extremely RUDE, unprofessional, arguementative, and tried to coerce me into refunding the guest throughout the entire conversation. She was trying to put words into my mouth the entire conversation and was using intimadation techniques stating that it is our obligation to refund the guest and repeating that a "real" super host would "do the right thing and issue the refund." Rather than trying to understand our point of view and hear both sides of the story, she was one sided the entire conversation even though we are the SUPER HOSTS and this guest had 0 reviews. Why would she only be concerned with making the guest happy and not a host that has been a super host for over a year?! I thought splitting the difference 50/50 was more than fair instead of 100% in either direction. I told her that I was willing to work with the guest even though I did not technically have to IF we booked those dates. She continued to put pressure on me throughout the conversation but ulitmately told me it was up to me, but that she had confidence that I would make the "right" decsision and do the "right" thing, as any other super host would.

A couple of weeks later I get an EMAIL stating that Airbnb had ruled in the guest's favor and issued the guest a full refund. I immediately responded asking Hazzle for an explanation, and she replied via email that the guest provided appropriate paperwork that fell into the extenuating circumstances clause (which supercedes the strict cancellation policy). This was the same documentation that was submitted weeks ago when the orignal case was open at the same time I spoke with her over the phone, and she did not mention anything at that time about the documentation qualifying for the extenuating circumstances clasue. Furthermore, the document provided by the guest was simply a generic letter stating the employer canceled the continous classes and apologizing for any inconveninces this may have caused the employees. The employer in this case is the Canadian government and the guest was traveling to Florida for the class. I immediately replied to Hazzle's response asking her to please call me to discuss the situation over the phone and at least offer me an explanation of why she felt it qualified as an exenuating circumstance. She replied that she is disengaging from this email chain and refused to call me stating that the decision was already made and was now irreversible. I replied back immediately asking her one more time to please give me a call and that it is extremely unprofessional to just make a decision via email and not honor my request to speak with her over the phone regarding the matter. I called the Airbnb superhost hotline right away requesting to speak to a manager/supervisor and was told nobody was around and that someone would call me back. Fast forward 5 days later and 3 call backs by me and I can not get a supervisor to even call me back. Keep in mind that the government paid for the guest's trip and the trip that he had to re-book at a later date so the guest was NEVER out of pocket for anything. The money that he received as a refund from this booking went directly into his pocket and then booked other dates at a future time that the government paid for. So the guest personally profited $1450 and we are out $1450.

I am absolutely appalled that this is how Airbnb is treating Super hosts, or any hosts for that matter. Why do we have cancellation policies? Why do we bother doing everything we can to go above and beyond for our guests and earn super host status when this company does not have our back? Why should someone that is employed by the government have special privileges and our cancelation polices do not apply to them. Does this mean I should never accept a government employee's reservation since they are above the law? Now, I feel as though their inadequate system is encouraging discrimination, which goes against my personal beliefs and the mission statement Airbnb has clearly laid out to all hosts across the world. It is not fair that government employees and military personnel get this special treatment. If I booked an Airbnb with a strict cancellation policy for a work conference in California for my job but I cancel a few days before because of a work conflict, would this too fall under their extenuating circumstances policy (if I was able to provide documentation stating that my employer changed the travel dates)? Or did this guest receive preferential treatment because he happend to be a government/military employee? I've read through the extenuating circumstances policy and the list of reasons that qualify does not include anything about work conflicts. The types of circumstances that they outline in the written policy and deem valid include (and are limited to): -Unexpected death or serious illness of a host, guest, or immediate family member, -Serious injury that directly restricts a guest's ability to travel, - Significant natural disasters or severe weather incidents impacting the location of destination or location of departure, -Urgent travel restrictions or severe security advisories issued after the time of booking, by an appropriate nation or internation authority, -Endemic disease declared by a credible national or internation authority, -Severe property damage or unforseen maintenance issues that directly impact the ability to host safely, -Government-mandated obligations issued after the time of booking (ex: jury duty).

We rely on this income to help pay our mortgage and it is absurd that AirBnb would do this to a host that has represented their company in a very professional and positive manner. I apologize for the lengthly post and we really appreciate any help or insight from other hosts. I am not going to give up until this matter is resolved. Thank you!

[Amy38]

A prior person complaining that abnb would not collect the security deposit from a guest who had caused considerable damage.  He got satisfaction through repeated letters to both the CEo and CFO of abnb plus ome final leter threatening legal action.

honestly, it seems to me that we have a contract with Abnb and they consistently fail to live up to their side of the bargain....this Uber all over again.

I really feel this is an issue for contract law.

Indidually, no one loses that much, but collectively people have been done out of millions...and Abnb still keeps the guests' booking fees.

[Helen3]

I would raise this with Airbnb via social media. It is appalling.

If they want to consider it after all this time then they should pay.

[Julia66]

@Amy38  I know you posted a while ago about having a contract with Airbnb, that they have now changed, but in their terms and conditions they say:

'Airbnb reserves the right, at its sole discretion, to modify the Site, Application or Services or to modify these Terms, including the Service Fees, at any time and without prior notice.'

Sadly this isn't the first time and won't be the last time the contract is changed.

[Amy38]

@Julia66. What you say is true, but changing without notification is another matter.

and my issue is that they are not living up to stated policy.  If someone cancels outside the terms agreed upon, they should be reqired to pay the penalty rather than getting the refunds abnb seems to be giving everyone who claims anything.  

Many of the complaints here, if accurate say that Abnb is penalizing the host for flaky guests.  And twhat they are doing is in direct contradiction of the printed policy.

[Lorenzo133]

I termini di Cancellazione Rigidi, che rigidi non sono affatto, e che avete imposto solo per l'Italia fanno schifo e penalizzano gli host che fanno questo per professione.
Non è accettabile che l'ospite possa cancellare la prenotazione dopo il check-in e pagare solo il 50% sulle notti rimanenti.
Senza contare che il link da informazioni diverse.
https://www.airbnb.it/home/cancellation_policies#strict
Così facendo darete spazio solo ad host occasionali e il servizio globale ne risentirà penalizzano anche gli ospiti.

[Monica4]

When Airbnb increases your cost, you raise your prices. It is as simple as that. Your prices can remain at the old rates on other websites. People can always book your listing at the lower rate on other sites.

[Andrea31]

You don't understand. The problem is the policy of cancellation of Airbnb. It is not the price. In italy every guest Can delete his reservation at the last minute and he pay nothing

[Lorenzo133]

Event after the check-in they pay only the 50% if they delete! WTF.

[Indre1]

Agree

[Lorenzo133]

Please let them know what we think about the new cancellation policies

Primary Contact
Aisling Hassell
Global Head of Customer Experience
aisling.hassell@airbnb.com

Chief Executive
Brian Chesky
CEO
brian@airbnb.com

http://twitter.com/@bchesky