Guests allowed to pay per month when it violates host's cancellation policy

[Robert375]

I have a strict cancellation policy. There are no refunds and guests can only reserve a room if they pay for it. Given my situation I cannot offer the flexibility to guests to make payments or reserve rooms without paying. This never works out anyway. In the past I had people just reserve the room while they made there plans and then many would cancel last minute with no penalty. So my policy is strict. 

I now have a guest who booked over a month. The app says the guest paid in full, YET there is a 'show breakdowns' dropdown which then shows the payments. Seemingly this would be a 'fees breakdown'... Without opening this dropdown one would just go by the 'guest paid this amount' communication thinking the guest paid what airbnb is saying. So airbnb is being shady and trying to hide the fact they are accepting payments. This should not be a dropdown OR at minimum it should be called 'payment breakdowns' which is what it actually is. Its this sort of thing which makes me consider leaving the platform and going elsewhere where hosts have control over this sort of thing. 

So the guest in discussion does not have the second payment. He is asking for an extension and was told by airbnb an extension is not allowed and that the reservation will be cancelled during his stay. I am now in a situation where I am airbnbing elsewhere and will most likely not be able to rent out the place in the short amount of time and also will need to pay astronomical cleaning fees. So long story short I will be at a financial loss. 

Given my policy requires payment up front and no cancellations, I believe there is a case here for a lawsuit. To date, has there been any class action suits regarding this?

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Robert375 long stays have a cancellation policy that overrides that which the host sets for short stays. Given this and the fact that a months stay creates a tenancy in many states (including yours I think) long stays are probably best avoided.

[Robert375]

Good point Mike. I do ensure that longer stay guest are not pursuing tenancy before they book and I have means to do deal with such a situation. e.g. Have a few of my most obnoxious friends move in with them...

I do actually know the policies, though admittedly I do not read all the fine print. I've been airbnbing for 11 years. A cancellation two weeks before the guests stay(which is how the payments work) violates my strict policy of no cancellations. So there is a conflict between how airbnb is collecting payments and my 'strict' policy. So essentially airbnb is violating my policy with a forced cancellation. 

[Helen3]

I think the issue here is that what you're finding confusing,  is that you need to start from the point that it's Airbnb's policies you need to follow when marketing your STR through them.

They offer you a choice of policies for short term bookings, but if you choose to take longer term stays their long term policy kicks in, which is  guests are able to give one month notice to cancel and your are paid out monthly. This is not small print but a key area you need to consider when deciding to take longer term bookings on Airbnb.

Airbnb is not violating any policy it is enforcing its long term cancellation policy.

Of course you have no case for a law suit. It's not Airbnb's fault you didn't familiarise yourself with their long term cancellation policy when choosing to accept longer term guests @Robert375 

[Huma0 · Accepted solution]

@Robert375 

I am sorry for your situation but, when you host on Airbnb, it's a good idea to first familiarise yourself with its policies regarding cancellations and also how the payments work.

Long term stays above one month are always paid in instalments. That has been the case for years. There are different cancellation policies in place for short stays and stays of a month or more, as @Mike-And-Jane0 point out.

This information is all available on the website. Before you choose the cancellation policies in place, you should read them! Strict for short stays and Strict for long stays are not the same. Go to your listing's settings and click on the edit button by the cancellation policy and you will see the options for both short stays and long term ones. 

While it is extremely annoying that there is no guarantee that Airbnb will be able to collect the second payment from a guest, I am afraid this is a risk you take with long term stays. Personally, I think if a guest is booking for a longer period, Airbnb should take the instalments a month in advance, not at the start of the month being rented, so that the host is covered to some extent if the guest defaults on payment but, unfortunately, it's just not like that.

[Bhumika]

Hi @Robert375 ,

Really sorry for the late response! Were you able to connect with Airbnb Customer Support to ask for more clarity on this?

Regardless, I have escalated your concern to the related team as well, just in case, they could reach out to you for any help.

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