Does anyone like the 48 hour cancellation policy?

[David2023]

Does anyone really like the new 48 hour cancellation policy? When I sigend up with Airbnb 6 years ago I had a 60 day cancellation policy and it worked just fine. Then about 3 years ago they cut it down to 30 days (without even telling me they had made the change). The a few months back they changed it to 7 days and now it is 48 hours? Are you kidding me! Why don't they say guest can cancel anytime they want with out any penalties. No host can re book their property within 48 hours of a arrival date. This is so one sided for the guests!!

I had two cancellations back in January and Decmebr with guets arriving within 48 hours canceling and I took a hit for $6348 in revenue from that experience. Now it is even going to acclerate! 

Add insult to the injury as Airbnb just announced that if a host cancels a guest the first one we get a warning, the second time we are fined $50 the third time we are fined $100 and the fourth time we get kicked off of airbnb? Wow that seems fare doesn't it. I have had more cancellations in the past three months then I had in the prior 6 years before. Does Brian Chesky listen to half of his business partners, the hosts???

[Michal11]

I just had my first 48 hour cancellation.  They cancelled *after* I sent detailed directions to my home and a very long list of toursitic options in my area.  My note even has my wi-fi code.  Now I will have to wait 48 hours before I send the info sheet.  One more thing to keep track of; it was better just to accept, send the info, block my other calendars, and be done with it.  I can't think of one change in the last 7 years that has benefitted the hosts.

[Fred13]

@Michal11 In the future, would you hold up sending such complete information, or be sending still to help 'maintain' the reservation?

[Linda861]

dont block your other calendars until 48 hours has passed.... read above... why block them?

[Barry105]

100% agree.  Just got our first 48 hour cancelation.  I was shocked.

[Ange2]

Tom & Christian

"I want to book and confirm now with no grace period" or "I want to book with a grace period and understand others can rent in the 48 hour window".

I like that idea.

[Lizzie]

Hello @MaryAnn-and-Rich0, @David2023, @Tom-and-Christen0, @Fred13, @Ben-and-Harmony0, @Nick8, @Jeanne15, 

Thank you for all your feedback here regarding the Strict Cancellation (Grace Period) update.

I wanted to let you know, that your feedback has already been really helpful to the Airbnb Team. We have noticed you have a few additional questions and have raised some specific concerns. In light of this, we wanted to come back and provide you with more information.

We have just posted an update in the Airbnb Updates board here in the Community Center. Please do have a look at this post and if you have any further feedback it would be fantastic to hear it on that topic. 

I hope you find the extra information useful.

Thanks,

Lizzie

[Brian493]

If I am a home insurance agent, I would use Airbnb to find new customers. They will know what kind of house do you have and what kind of amenities.

Can you imagine with this information what they can do? 

-Sending a bunch of mail about Insurance

-New products add If they know you don't have washer and dryer.

-Identity theft

-etc

I am really scared.

[Manuela278]

What if I see a room tomorrow free which I'd like to book but the host has 48 hrs cancellation free, that means as a guest I can't cancel the booking? and is it possible to book a room the next day anyway?

thanks

[Geri12]

I have also beeen financially hurt by the new policy. Superhosts are not allowed to cancel AT ALL, and most frequent users of Airbnb platform know that. So, they book with Superhosts who can't cancel, go look for a better "deal" and then cancel the reservation they made with me in the meantime. And, the other guests who were looking to stay with me don't even get the opportunity to book the room, becuase it's already reserved by someone else. Maybe they can "hold" the room and still keep the listing up until the other person confirms that they want it. I'm not sure. But it seems to me to be a BIG problem. I'm tempted to list each room TWICE to make up for this booking nightmare. Of course, being honest about the other reservation in the meantime. 

[Mariann4]

@Geri12

If a guest books with you he can not make another reservation through Airbnb on those dates. They would be blocked. So they can't go shopping for a better deal. Unless they shop on a different platform.

Mariann 🙂

[Letti0]

@Mariann4 I actually had a guest do this to me recently. He booked me and the others in the party booked places too. They then decided on which of the 4 places they reserved they were going to keep. He openly told me this during a ? and A discussion. Granted it was an accident that he revealed it, but they are doing it in some cases. He said unfortunately that he had to reject me due to my requirements for a signed rental agreement and proof of ID. It was an IB and reeked of men's weekend party, so some poor host got them.  

[Mariann4]

Of course there are always someone beating the system @Letti0. And I chose the wrong word with "block". But if these guys were part of the same booking they would have trouble getting refunded what they paid on all the bookings they decided not to keep. If they just booked one each and added the others as anonymous friends then this is do-able. But I doubt it is a big problem that causes many cancellations?

(Did you go and check if he got good reviews after his stay? 😉 )

Mariann 🙂

[Letti0]

Just checked his profile. No review, it was probably under one of the other guys name.

[David2527]

I have three complaints presently that I would like to see addressed:

1.  I believe Strict with Grace Period should be included in the Work Collection. It's pretty lenient when you compare to hotel bookings which would offer no refund.

2.  I keep getting a warning about not accepting enough reservation requests. The problem is most of those requests are either guests attempting to book for a friend or relative, or asking for more people than I accomodate. If a request is outside of listing paramters, it should not count against you.

3.

[David2527]

3. If I begin a conversation with a guest making a reservation request, that should qualify as a response. There are times I need more information because the guest doesn't have reviews. I should not be helo responsible if that guests doesnt reply for a period of time. Same thing for inquiries. An Airbnb message should qualify as a reposne, even if the inquiry or request later expires.

4. (I know I said three): There needs to be a more impartial process  for dealing with guest conflicts such as the removal of a retaliatory or fake review.