As a host with a flexible cancellation policy, I'm not eligible for any of the money that Airbnb is offering hosts who suffered cancellations. I had nine cancellations beginning in January through March, amounting to almost $5,000 dollars in losses. My home is located in Vietnam, so I'm also not eligible for the small loans being offered to Super Hosts.
If Airbnb cares so much about its hosts, there is one thing that they can do to really help. They can reduce their fees by 50%. Currently the host and the guests combined have to pay 17.2 % of the price in fees. Guests are taking advantage of the pandemic and are nickel and diming the hosts for lower prices. There are some places in Vietnam charging $10 dollars a night for two bedrooms! That won't even pay my electricity. Now during this difficult period, I would of course lower my price, but it would be less painful if the fees were also lowered.
So how bout it Airbnb? Are you listening? Let's agree to work together and let's lower the fees for the months of April, May, and June.
Thanks.
