Covid-19 crisis & why I feel let down by Airbnb!

Yossi8
Level 7
London, United Kingdom

Covid-19 crisis & why I feel let down by Airbnb!

As most of you out there, all of my bookings got cancelled. I don’t blame guests who have to cancel because they have no way of fulfilling their trips. However, Airbnb kept changing the goal posts on a daily basis re what we should be refunding and I feel almost bullied into refunding trips in the future months when we’re not certain what will actually be happening. No help to hosts, being a super-host counts for nothing, is being offered. None whatsoever! Yet it’s us who are taking the brunt! Guests get refunded! Airbnb makes so much money anyway. And lately Airbnb introduced some super flexible cancellation policy filter to entice guests to book. Now how does this benefit us? It benefits Airbnb & only Airbnb because they get their hands on the guests money to help their cash flow. And when guests cancel it’s the hosts who get screwed! Anyone agrees? 

75 Replies 75
Yossi8
Level 7
London, United Kingdom

If travel to Spain for 16th April is still not possible you will get full refund. 

Huma0
Level 10
London, United Kingdom

@Layles0 

 

Sorry for your situation, but what exactly are you disagreeing with in @Yossi8 's post? She is asking what we think about this new super flexible policy that Airbnb are promoting. Whether hosts choose to adopt this new cancellation policy or not would not make any difference to your situation as it would apply to future bookings.

 

Even if some hosts did select the super flexible policy, some future guests will still choose to book listings with flexible, moderate or strict policies, simply because they prefer that listing over the super flexible one. If those policies can be totally disregarded, then what is the point of having them?

 

Airbnb has set the dates for the COVID-19 extenuating circumstances policy, not the hosts. Take out your frustration with them, not @Yossi8 , who has nothing to do with it!

 

It is a shame your host was not willing to change the dates, but if the dates were in the near future, perhaps that is why. Most likely the dates for EC will be extended but, if you want your money back now, perhaps try negotiating with the host for a larger refund, e.g. 75%, so you leave her something to cover her costs (and there are costs even when an accommodation is sitting empty - mortgages, bills and council tax don't just magically pay for themselves) rather than demanding a 100% refund. You may have more luck if you at least appear to see it from both sides.

 

Personally, I would be more likely to 100% refund the guest who understands that I am losing my livelihood than the one who tells me I am 'losing nothing' and clearly has no understanding of the bigger picture.

Huma0
Level 10
London, United Kingdom

Mmm @Layles0 seems to have removed her comment, so you can't even see now what I was responding to...

Katie23
Level 3
Lake Oswego, OR

Some food for thought on this one.

 

We're also superhosts and also getting completely screwed by this situation. Almost all our bookings have been cancelled and it's not like we hosted for fun. We need the income.

 

Airbnb really ought to have offered some sort of opt-in trip insurance for both hosts and guests over the past years, but they didn't and it's too late now. Sure, Airbnb probably has a sizable warchest - but there is no way it's nearly enough to pay hosts to keep them afloat. I get that they are botching their response, but there isn't really much they could to fix the income losses anyway. We have to rely on our respective gov'ts for that (yikes).

 

I made peace with whatever this will do to us after our childcare provider announced that they were closing their doors and understood that many wouldn't pay. I mean, what are childcare providers supposed to do? Just like us, they need the money and they can't watch our kids right now. How many of you with kids are paying your childcare provider full price this month and next?

 

It's a very similar scene to ours - they need the money, but can't provide the service. And, at least in our case, the agreement with families require the family to pay no matter what - but they know they can't really enforce that right now. 

 

It's not just us, everyone is screwed here. Airbnb's move to save the guests and sacrifice the hosts feels like betrayal, but those of us who make it through this really need those guests to come back in the summer.

Couldn't agree more. For many of us Airbnb is not a side income (for a bit of extra cash), it is our only income and with it comes lots of expenses (mortgages, insurances, bills, taxes etc) that don't stop for the Coronavirus. The only thing that stoped is our income and for some it started in early February.

I concur with @Yossi8  and @Katie23.

 

Airbnb is presumably just a platform, not a contract party. However, Airbnb has unilaterally decided to put all burden of the pandemic on the hosts. This seems rather contradictory with their "we're in this together" messages!

 

Hosts are mostly private persons or small entrepreneurs, not airlines that get hit hard with cancellations but will receive bail-out monies from governments.

 

If you look at VRBO, for instance, they seem to have thought it through a little more and came up with a more balanced approach. They suggest(!) hosts to be flexible with rebooking for a period of 12 months and if that is impossible, they suggest a refund of 50% or more. VRBO rewards flexibility and higher refunds with better visibility of your listing in the future (not disclosing any details though). As said, it is a suggestion, they do not unilaterally intervene in the agreement between host and guest.

 

COVID-19 is a pandemic,  a schoolbook example of a force majeure situation. Force majeure means that a party is not liable for not being able to perform their contractual obligations because it is such an extraordinary circumstance that could not be foreseen when the contract was entered into.

 

With flexible rebooking, the guests are still able to enjoy their stay. The host incurs some damage because he is not able to rent out to a new guest on a future date (the higher your occupancy rate, the more likely this loss is), but it is a solution that is much more fair for both guest and host by sharing the burden.

 

Yossi8
Level 7
London, United Kingdom

@Maarten10 I agree. Whilst we all understand  & accept that we are all losers during this pandemic, it would have been more acceptable if Airbnb came up with a solution that doesn't mean that hosts bare 100% of the loss. 

Totally agree!!!

I also agree. I had a very restrictive no refund cancellation policy (for which I pay for with slightly lower rentals), yet was fully booked for March and April. AirBnB overrides my policy and tells all my guests they can get full refunds. I think that should have been my choice and believe to be illegal. Now AirBnB is going around telling the public they are so great because they are giving the people their money back. It was not AirBnB's money to give back. They were just holding it for me. 

 

I was planning to give full refunds and hopefully that would help me get some goodwill with my guests, but AirBnB also steals that goodwill from me. 

 

I want to make a callout to some other owners who have contractors working for us. We need to think of them also. I've been supporting our exceptional cleaning contractors, as they are on very hard times right now. If I get any money (the 25%) back from AirBnB, most of it will go to the cleaners who are struggling right now to pay for basic necessities of life like food and rent.

Yossi8
Level 7
London, United Kingdom

That's really thoughtful of you & a good thing to do if you can afford it. As I understand it Airbnb will pay 25% of the refund amount that the host's cancellation policy allows, which in your case is the full amount. This is going to work in your favour in this case 

What 25% refund policy are you guys talking about? Have I missed something? 😉
Cheers for enlightening me

Yossi8
Level 7
London, United Kingdom

AGAIN A MESSAGE THAT US IN ASIA WE DO NOT GET. WE ARE IMPACTED BY THIS CRISIS SINCE 2 MONTHS ALREADY. ANY THING MORE YOU WANT TO POINT OUT HERE ?

Yossi8
Level 7
London, United Kingdom