Hosting in Edinburgh - cancellation of bookings if an STL licence is subsequently refused

[David2905]

I was hoping that another host in Edinburgh might be able to help me with something.

Hosts in Edinburgh have to apply for an STL licence by the start of October. If you don't, you can't host after that. If you *do*, you can. So, you can accept bookings for arrivals after October, if you have applied for a licence and are awaiting the decision, because you can host guests until the point the licence is refused. The problem of course is you don't know when that will happen. You don't know how long the Council will take. It might take weeks or it might take months. So, if you accept bookings for, say, December you might be ok but you run the risk that your application will be refused in November and you have to cancel the booking.

I am certain that I got a message some months ago from AirBnB dealing with exactly this point and they - frankly very helpfully - said that they recognised it and that hosts would be able to cancel, free of penalty, bookings which they had accepted but which they subsequently became unable to fulfil because the licence application was refused.

I can't now find that message and AirBnB support can't find what I am talking about. I'm keen to find it, rather than rely on general policy, because I want to see exactly what AirBnB were offering in what, as I say, was a stand alone message. I think they explained precisely what you would have to do to cancel penalty-free.

I hope someone else has been better than me at keeping important messages and thanks in advance for any assistance anyone can give.

David Halliday

Edinburgh  

[Veronique243 · Accepted solution]

Hi

This is the wording of the  policy they sent us.

Veronique 

Temporary change to our cancellation policy in Scotland

With new rules for short-term lets in Scotland coming into force from October 1, 2022, we’re introducing a temporary change to our cancellation policy.

As a reminder, all listings that started operating before 1 October 2022 should apply for a licence by 1 October 2023. Get more information about applying for a licence. (Please see below for listings that started operating from October 1, 2022).

Please note that the temporary cancellation policy below will only apply if your request for a short-term lets licence, or associated planning permission, is rejected. In any other circumstance, our normal cancellation policies will apply.

If your request for a short-term lets licence is rejected and you’ve been operating the listing on Airbnb before October 1, 2022

Please contact us, and we can cancel all future bookings for your listing and waive any associated cancellation fees and penalties.

In the event that the council has introduced a control zone and your request for planning permission has been rejected, this temporary policy will also apply. For more information on planning permission please visit your local authority website.

To inform us that your licensing or planning application has been rejected, including any appeals (if relevant), please provide documentary evidence from your council to our customer service team. This could be an email or letter confirming the rejection.

If you’re in the process of appealing the decision

If your application is rejected by the council, you can appeal this decision directly. While you’re in the process of appealing, you can continue to take bookings. We’ll keep you updated on the latest developments.

This temporary change to our cancellation policy in Scotland will apply to bookings up to July 1, 2024, when all short-term lets must have a licence. Please note, this policy may be subject to change.

If your appeal is rejected, the temporary policy will apply. Please provide documentary evidence from your council to our customer service team. This could be an email or letter confirming the rejection.

If you wish to cancel future bookings and have not received a rejection message from your council

Our normal cancellation policies will apply. Please note that this temporary change to our cancellation policy will only impact Hosts who have both applied and been rejected for a short-term lets licence and/or planning permission.

If you've started hosting after October 1, 2022

All new Hosts and listings will require a licence to operate before accepting bookings. This means that if you were not using your premises to provide short-term lets before this date, you cannot take bookings or receive guests until you have obtained a licence. Therefore, this temporary change in our cancellation policy will not apply.

[David2905]

Thank you so much - that is really helpful.

David

[Jason-Redman0]

Hi Veronique, 

Just checking, is this still the current AirBnb policy regarding this?

I also have clients that are telling me (as their co-host) to release dates post 1st October, but these client have NOT yet submitted their Licence application.

Do you think that I should wait for an acknowledgement of their STL Licence Application from Edinburgh Council before releasing calendar / dates after 1st October?

Many thanks,

Jason Redman