Double standard on cancellation policy for Guest vs Host

[Bill289]

I just got my reservation cancelled as guest, I am furious. Apparently Airbnb policy on cancellation is a slap on the hand for hosts and HUGE penalty for guests. I am referring to long term reservation. I booked month to month on airbnb because I do not know the place I am staying and lets be honest the penalty for guest cancellation is HUGELY unfair. The policy for guest cancellation policy is that we lose the first month rent, now for a 1 month rental, that's the ENTIRE reservation is non-refundable. This places HUGE stress and anxiety on me as guest booking which cost 2k for monthly rental. That's 2k thrown into the fire, POOOFFFF.

Now what's the penalty for host cancellation? A slap on the hand. Per Airbnb policy they MAY receive a penalty fee after repeated cancellation. My host apparently cancelled the my monthly reservation (which was at discount due to being a long term) and rebook other people to get more $$. Now if we have the same policy for both host and guests, do you think hosts can cancel so easily and rebook other people to make regular nightly rate rather my discounted monthly rate? This is UNFAIR. Apparently Airbnb protect their host more than their guest. 

Anyone else ran into the same experience? 

[Bill289]

Please do not tell me how I should feel. I feel insulted as result of their statements. You do not have any right to tell people how they should feel. To response to your question, so are you saying people have years of experiences in certain topic and they are NEVER wrong? I do not need to have years of experience and I already proved them wrong with my sceenshots. I do not like people who think they are above everyone else and talk in condescending way. You keep saying Host are penalized do you even understand the case I experienced? I highly doubt. Did you have any evidence to your statement? you did not. Let me educate you what applied to my case using screenshot of airbnb policy, you are welcome to refute if you can provide evidence:

**P.S. respect is earned and not demanded. You did not spend the time to read throught the post and apparently you could not spend time to provide any evidences to support your statement. 

I will take host's penalty anytime anyday:

[Kathie21]

@Bill289  If you don't like Airbnb's policies, don't use it!  It's really designed for holiday lets, not as a substitute for a residential lease (under which you would normally have to give a month's notice or forfeit a month's rent if you walk out without notice).  In that respect the Airbnb long term canceallation policy is similar.  If it is a holiday then take out holiday insurance that covers you for loss of accommodation costs if you cancel for a good reason.  And actually, if you do have a good reason to cancel, the Extenuating Circumstances Policy, (which Airbnb interprets in a VERY generous way for guests), would mean that you get a full refund.  If you cancel without a good reason, then it's reasonable that you lose the money as you have prevented the host fom renting to someone else. 

Hosts do not cancel bookings without a very good reason - they get delisted if they do it more than once or twice.  You might also want to bear in mind that some hosts would be very uncomfortable accepting a long booking from a new user with no reviews and not even a bio.  

And ranting about a policy that you are unhappy with to other Airbnb users, then accusing them of insulting you when they did nothing but try to help, is not going to achieve anything.  However good your English, you clearly do not really understand how Airbnb, or this forum, works.

[Bill289]

Kathie I do not agree with your statement but will tell you that if you do not agree with what I said you are welcome to move along and not post. I asked if people have similar experience but apparently most people here are hosts and not a single person here stood in the shoes of guests and say this is unfair. If you cannot put yourself in other people's shoe you have zero compassion and I do not want to even bother responding except for this post. 

Also like I said in previous post, you did not read through the whole post and have absolutely zero understanding of my experience. Just move along.

[Bill289]

To prove that you are very ignorant of my case and what is happening and very condescending:

You wrote: """You might also want to bear in mind that some hosts would be very uncomfortable accepting a long booking from a new user with no reviews and not even a bio"""

My argument: the host already accepted my reservation. cancellation policy only kicks in AFTER reservation confirmation. 

Just proved that your opinion has zero value. Please stop posting. 

[Kathie21]

@Bill0  1) I was a guest long before I was a host. 2) I did read the whole post  3) It's a forum - you don't get to say who answers your posts, or how.  That's how forums work.  4)  You're still ranting.  You are not going to get the outpouring of agreement that you clearly expected.  Give it up now, you are starting to make yourself look unhinged.

[Quincy]

Hello everyone,

Nice to meet you @Bill289 and thank you for coming to the Community Center to share your experience.

I've seen the conversation here is moving directions. I am really sorry to hear that you're unhappy with the way things have gone. 

The Airbnb Community Center is a place where hosts can share their experiences and help each other out where possible. In the Community Center, there a lot of different opinions but that's the great part of a community. As long as we keep the conversation respectful, then I'm sure we can all find this beneficial. 

Thank you,

Quincy