May 31 Update Impact on Host

[Anita1091]

Hi all,

I am quite new to hosting on Air Bnb and would love your feedback on a recent issue I had.  I tested positive for covid and had a guest staying in my separate cottage and a new guest arriving in a couple of days.  According to Vic, Australia's govt regulations, I was required to isolate in my home. I was not permitted to clean my cottage (fair enough!).   I hadn't realised that the May 31 update meant that I could not cancel the upcoming guest without incurring a $100 fee.  (I checked with Air Bnb and it is definiteley what they would have done.)  I suggested to the guest that she cancel as it was 2 days away and I adjusted my policy so she could cancel with a full refund. She decided to come 😞

This meant I had to scramble to find someone to come round and clean the cottage for me. A commercial cleaner would have been too expensive, particularly at such short notice and a Sat morning.  I only add $20 for cleaning to my listing, so can't afford a whole lot on paying a cleaner...

Do you all have someone as "back-up" to do a clean for you????   Obviously, this issue is highly unlikely to ever happen again as hopefully getting covid is a one time thing for me. 

Thanks for anyone who can share some wisdom here.

[Kate867]

@Anita1091   This is an interesting one, because it will depend on when your guest made her reservation.  If she made the reservation before the end of May then as I understand it and according to the attached link, then the Covid extenuating circumstances policy should apply to her… and also to you.  In which case you should have been able to cancel penalty free.  However, that is not always the best way to go as Airbnb would then most likely block your calendar for a period of time which would obviously impact on your following bookings when you may well be clear of Covid and well enough to continue.

I am a remote host so rely on other people to clean for us.  However, I always have a ‘back up’ plan and also have a list of tradespeople such as plumber, electrician, tree surgeon, gardener etc as well.  All of which will do their absolute best to deal with any emergencies as a matter of priority.   It is well worth taking the time to find people who can deal with these issues on your behalf and maintain regular contact with them.

[Kate867]

@Anita1091 

https://www.airbnb.co.uk/help/article/2701/extenuating-circumstances-policy-and-the-coronavirus-covi...

[Anita1091]

Thanks @Kate867 

It was booked after 31 May...  and I stupidly hadn't read that update properly, so didn't have a back-up cleaner.  

[Anonymous]

@Anita1091 In the past, I've usually found that friends who live nearby and know my home very well were happy to do an occasional bit of co-hosting for a solid cut of the earnings. But I wouldn't expect anyone to be on call for emergency cleanings, as they have their own scheduling commitments. In that situation, I'd bite the bullet and pay the commercial cleaner, even if it zeroed out the profit from the stay. That automated host-cancellation message that gets slapped onto the reviews is a huge deterrent to future guests.

With regard to pricing, the so-called "cleaning fee" is really just a short-stay penalty. It has nothing to do with the cost of cleaning. Without knowing what room rates are like in your area, your pricing seems unusually low for all the amenities you offer (and the cleaning they require). 

[Anita1091]

Hi @Anonymous 

Thank you for your reply.

It has been difficult to know what to charge for my place… There isn’t anything close to the centre of town like mine that is a self-contained cottage with only one bed, for 1 person.  It is rented out full-time to a uni student during semester, so going on Air Bnb has been a bit of a small trial for me, for 2 months..

[Anita1091]

* by trial, I mean Im trialling the platform, not a trial as in burden