What is going to happen to reservations post 31st May? We need to have a plan.

[Nick-and-Jackie0]

After the initial shock of @Airbnb unilaterally changing the cancellation policies for reservations arriving up to and including 31st May

(which many of us have contrasting views on).

We like many host have been trying to rebuild and recover some sort of order for the remainder of this year.

However we are regularly being contacted by guests whose stays are well after the 31st May deadline (in June, July and August).
They too are asking for 100% refunds. Some are aware of the current policy and ask why we will not offer a 100% refund to them and we have even had a couple of clients who have told us that they will wait until Airbnb extend the date of this policy and then cancel 100% free of any financial burden!

We need to know now what Airbnb's action plan is. We can no longer make plans ourselves as Airbnb have shown that they can and will just rewrite the policies at the drop of a hat and without any consultation, so we must hear from them. 

Will the 100% refund policy be extended past 31st May?

Will a different sliding scale policy be introduced (e.g 50%refund for June reservations, 30% for July and 10% for August)?

Will we return to our normal polices after 31st May?

Will Airbnb offer more protection to its hosts?

We need to know whether we should be trying to encourage the guests to cancel now for them to forfeit their deposits or can we recommend with confidence that they hang on to see how the Covid-19 travel restrictions develop, knowing that then if they still cancel that we will not be left with zero again?

Also what protection do we have if we change the dates for guests? We have some guests who want to deffer their stay to later this year and others want to postpone for 12 months. Effectively they will be extending the cancellation policies.
Will Airbnb guarantee that if at a later date these guests then decide to cancel, that we will still receive the full funds due for these reservations?

We appreciate there is a lot to consider and people from Airbnb are looking into this and are extremely busy, but we do need a plan to move forward.

The loss of nearly three months revenue in our properties has had a massive effect on not only us but the people whom we employ. The season where our homes are is very seasonal. Having lost over 40% of this years season already, we need to be able to limit further damage.

[Marit-Anne0]

@Nick-and-Jackie0 the president of the EU commission has just stated in an interview that we should refrain from booking our summer holiday abroad this year. 

If the travel ban is extended and borders remain closed or border crossings will incur a 2 week quarantine, it is very likely that airbnb will extend their date further. Sweden has already extended their travel ban till mid June.

As situation is evaluated every 2 weeks or so and different countries are in different stages of the pandemic, the whole wide world of airbnb hosts will have to live with a great measure of uncertainty and face many cancellations and severe losses. 

[Nick-and-Jackie0]

Thank you @Marit-Anne0 for your reply.

We are aware that this situation is going to continue and are also aware that it is a very difficult situation for everyone and one that nobody can accurately predict.

We, like other hosts want to know what Airbnb are going to offer the travellers whose reservations are for after 31st May cancel. If their policy of giving 100% refund is extended to include the next 2,3 or even 4 months, we along with many other hosts just will not survive financially. Surely we all need to be consulted and they must make a change to the policy for reservations post 31st May.

As I stated in the post, we also have a number of people whose lively hoods depend on our properties and where we we endeavour to help them as much as we can, we really cannot do enough already. Further losses in revenue is not only going to sink us and them, but as the region has tourism as its main industry, it will sink the entire region. Funds need to be spread.

We certainly are not suggesting the traveller bears the full cost, but if the cost was split even with a  70% Traveller - 30% Host ratio. It could be enough to save off bankruptcy of a lot of people. 

I am sure some people will not understand why we are asking for the cost to be split, but all I can tell them, is we are facing an ever increasing dire situation, which is only looking likely to get worse.

[Helen3]

It is a difficult situation for everyone, but the guests are not cancelling because they are choosing not to travel but simply because they can't.

We can't expect guests to pay for a service that we can't provide because our borders are closed and our communities in lock down.

If you had booked a flight,  an expensive restaurant, or theatre tickets, would you be happy to pay a third of the costs for a service they couldn't provide?

Have you looked at mortgage breaks? what regulations are in place for you to pay your staff, can this be claimed from your government? Have you looked at six month lets or letting to key workers as an income stream?

[Nick-and-Jackie0]

Hi @Helen3 

We agree that normally you would not expect to pay for a service that you cannot use, especially if it is from no fault of your own. The issue is that this is not a normal situation to any degree and we all have been put in a situation where as hosts, we have not removed the properties/taken away the service, just the same as travellers are not saying they don't want to visit. They simply just can't.
Sharing the financial burden is the only way that it can be fair that not one group are punished for this.
Yes the majority of travellers would not want to loose even a small percentage, but just imagine if Airbnb had gone the other way and said, well the properties are still available and issued 100% to the hosts!
If everyone takes a small financial hit, as fair or as unfair as people think, it is the best way to try to make it that the maximum people survive this crisis financially.

In Portugal there is no assistance. Not for those already below the bread line before this crisis and not for those effected by this either. The damage zero revenue for 4 months or so will do to a region like the Algarve will take a couple of decades to fix. Any economy needs money tobe exchanging hands. Even small amounts can keep the cogs turning. When there is none, it grinds to a halt.
Six month lets is no use here. All medium term lets will be seasonal workers and as there is no work, there are no workers looking for accommodation.

[Marit-Anne0]

@Nick-and-Jackie0 I agree, it is an almost impossible situation. Under normal circumstances, guests who cancelled for no  valid reason would be more accepting when it comes to bear some of the expenses. Under normal circumstances there would also be a chance to re-rent should there be a cancellation.  Under the current circumstances I fear that guests would be less willing to pay for a service they do not get and many travel insurances do not cover pandemics.

As for airbnb, giving a full refund will insure good customer service and create goodwill, an investment for the future. airbnb is a hard core business, so any charity from that side is unlikely.

Are there maybe any government or EU grants you could apply for ? Staff could file unemployment I suppose ?

[Nick-and-Jackie0]

Unfortunately @Marit-Anne0 The Portuguese government just do not have the financial backup to be able to assist and support the people who will be effected most by this crisis.
If there is no change to release some of the funds from reservations to the hosts who can then in turn help their staff, the whole region of the Algarve will sink. They rely too heavily on tourism unfortunately.

[Adriano78]

@Nick-and-Jackie0  the same here in Sevilla Spain they rely heavily on tourism and spanish government is not able to assist and support the people who will be effected most by this crisis.

[Gordon0]

I can't imagine Airbnb changing their current policy, preferring to extend the dates (as long as bookings were made pre-CV19). I have a vested interest in this because as well as being a host myself, I've got a few overseas stays booked in late May and June.

While I have insurance, the disclaimer is to approach the accommodation provider (in this case Airbnb) first, only after this has been exhausted will they step in. 

[Nick-and-Jackie0]

@Gordon0 if Airbnb changed the policy that you as a traveller received an 80% refund and you know that the 20% was going to help ease the financial burden on the hosts and their staff from the crisis. Would you object?

Or what if it was an 80% refund with a 10% or 20% travel credit to stay in the same region as your reservation? That way you were to receive the majority of your money back, and still be able to receive a benefit when you re-booked.

Maybe this kind of option could be given to reservations after 31st May. There has to eb a better solution than to just blanket offer 100% refunds.

As a host, you must also be feeling the concern of zero revenue.

[Gordon0]

Of course, @Nick-and-Jackie0, I'm wholly behind a different way, but then I've got insurance. It's just a shame more guests don't. And yes, I'm feeling it, but thankfully it isn't my bread and butter. 

[Nick-and-Jackie0]

But that is just it @Gordon0 why aren't Airbnb asking guests to use their travel insurance if they have it instead of blanket offering 100%refunds?
I know it would be difficult to look at each reservation case by case, but it is still no reason to make the hosts be the only losers.

Sorry I am moaning a bit, but I feel people are not yet realising that as soon as the pandemic is over, things will not just be back to normal. This will effect 2021's reservations and possibly 2022 also.  It really is not a good feeling and one where we feel Airbnb are abandoning the hosts.

[Helen3]

I absolutely would object. Why should a guest subsidise your business operation?

Have you tried claiming on your business disruption insurance?

I understand how difficult times these are...I just don't think it is right to ask our guests to subsidise us.

[Nick-and-Jackie0]

@Helen3 
I am sure that the market in Bristol is a very different one to the Algarve and in the many parts of the world. A city such as Bristol has many different industries or revenue streams to help it and I am sure the host on Airbnb afloat. Talking from a personal level on the Algarve, 95% of industry there is reliant on tourism.

Nobody is asking for a subsidy from guests. But surely you must see the benefit of contributing a small percentage will enable these locations that rely on tourism so heavily to stay afloat.
After the crisis, when normality returns, do you feel people will be happy to return to places that once were a great 'hotspot' for tourism, if 90% of bars, cafes, etc have closed down and there are 10 times more beggars on the streets?
Surely as humans, it is everyone's responsibility to make sure no one is singularly punished for a situation that none of us created.

[Helen3]

No your analysis on the Bristol market is rather off @Nick-and-Jackie0 .  It is illegal to offer short term accommodation in the UK unless to key workers, so there are very limited income stream alternatives for STRs. If you are a host with a room in your home, which many in Bristol are,  you can't do STR at all.

Your posts are a little confusing . Your first post stated you wanted guests to have to pay a host for accommodation that the host can't provide to help out hosts and others like yourself who have property management businesses. Now you are saying no-one is asking for a contribution from guests. Which is it?

As I have already said, no I don't see why a guest should have to contribute to keep your business or your resort afloat. I wouldn't dream of asking guests who aren't able to stay with me to pay me for a service I can't provide.

As humans our responsibility is to stay safe, stay home and protect our health services during the pandemic. It is not my responsibility or that of any other guest to subsidise tourism efforts or your property management business. That is the responsibility of governments and those working in tourism who made lots of profit in the good times.

In Bristol we are putting our efforts into helping those less fortunate than ourselves such as those you mention in the Algarve who may be homeless and those vulnerable in our communities with food parcels, meals being delivered, clothes and toys for families etc. Hopefully you have something similar set up in your location too.

When the pandemic is over then bars, amenities and accommodation will return to tourist resorts and cities. Hopefully though the over saturation of many markets for STR accommodation will not.