Landlord wants to sell bc COVID. How to cancel future bookings without incurring fees?

[Ayontika0]

Our apartment has been empty for months because of COVID.  I live in Melbourne, Australia, where we /just/ came out of a 112 day lockdown. Interstate travel was (and is) banned, and even local Melbournians were forbidden to be out without a valid reason. 

I am the property manager and the Airbnb host, and the landlord is one of my relatives. Given that we've made such a huge loss, the landlord wants to either sell the property or put it up for long term lease (min 1 year). Right now, I have on average just one booking a month till February (people who booked before the pandemic), but I am not sure I'll be able to honor their booking. 

How do I cancel those bookings without incurring a fine from Airbnb? I tried searching for a similar post on this forum, but the only thing I found was this old post from 2016 where the host incurred a $500 fine!
https://community.withairbnb.com/t5/Hosting/Has-anyone-sold-their-home-and-had-to-cancel-reservation...

[Helen3]

You can’t. If you were thinking of selling the property then you should have blocked of the listing from longer term bookings. @Ayontika0 

The fines are relatively small (I believe $100 per booking) 

Block out dates more than three months ahead so you don’t get further bookings and therefore fines. 

[Ayontika0]

As I said, the landlord wasn't "planning on selling" - the COVID pandemic, deep lockdown, and resulting financial hardship is the reason he is being forced to sell.

But thank you for your response.  it is discouraging to hear, but I will keep what you've said in mind. 

[Jessica-and-Henry0]

@Ayontika0 

My understanding is that if you are able to provide proof and IF Airbnb CS  agrees that sale of the home falls under an Extenuating Circumstance, then the bookings can be cancelled with no penalty. 

https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/1320/extenuating-circumstances-policy

Unforeseen property damage, maintenance, and amenity issues to the Airbnb listing that makes it unsafe to host guests, or that prevents guests from accessing basic amenities like running water. This doesn’t include planned renovations. You’ll be asked to provide all of the following documents:

• Proof that the issue is being fixed
• An estimate of when it will be fixed
• An invoice for the repairs being done
• Photos of the damage

While the sale of the home is not damage, I would think your case is somewhat similar. Good luck~

[Helen3]

I know they have turned down the sales of a home before for penalty free cancellations as they say it is not an extenuating circumstance.

Damage to a home or loss of a key amenities  are not in any way the same as choosing to put a property on the market.

There is nothing in what you have quoted that indicates putting a house of the market would be considered as property damage or a missing amenity.  @Jessica-and-Henry0 

@Ayontika0  Why on earth have you still got your calendar open for bookings if you are selling the property? 

[Jessica-and-Henry0]

@Helen3

The only reason I thought this MIGHT apply was because I was under the impression that there is a separate landlord (NOT @Ayontika0 ) that wants to sell and she has no control over the sale. I did say "IF airbnb CS agrees this falls under an Extenuating Circumstance".

I fully agree that no further bookings should be  accepted under these circumstances and it would be completely irresponsible and wrong to knowingly keep the calendar open and accept bookings at this point. 

[Helen3]

I see where you are coming from now @Jessica-and-Henry0  - but that is not the case. 

@Ayontika0  Is the co-host/host for the property owner who’s a relative according to what she says @Jessica-and-Henry0 - so it’s a family concern.

[Jessica-and-Henry0]

@Helen3 

IMO, I wouldn't assume it's a *family concern* just because the owner happens to be a relative. 

@Ayontika0 

Have you contacted the guests about the possibility you may not be able to honor their booking and asked whether they'd be willing to agree to a mutual cancellation? As a guest, I'd hate to be on the receiving end of a last minute cancellation without any communication from the host and without knowing why. Regardless of what you decide to do and how you decide to approach this, the guests should absolutely get prior notice so they don't have to scramble to find a place to stay. 

[Ayontika0]

First of all - the calendar is blocked out and no further bookings are being accepted. These are bookings from about 6 months ago, a couple months before the Melbourne lockdown and before we knew how bad the pandemic was really going to hit us.

Any guest will be given at least a month's notice that we will not be able to honour their booking - so no one will be left scrambling at the last minute. I agree that would be really unethical, and just a bad move to out someone in that position.

The original plan was to try out AirBnB for 1 year (with a 6 month booking window) and see how it went from there. I was confident it would be successful - and in fact we even made superhost at the first possibility - but then COVID threw a wrench in the works!

@Helen3 Can you tell me more about the time they turned someone down for penalty free cancellation due to sale of a home? Was it someone you knew, or a post you saw online...?

@Jessica-and-Henry0 Thank you for the link to the article, that is definitely something I need to check out! As you said, the sale of the property is indeed out of my control - I have tried to talk him out of selling it as I still believe the place is beautiful and has a lot of potential - but the fact of the matter is that I said I could make him some money, and it is unfortunately not making any. 

[Sharon1014]

@Ayontika0   Contact the booked guests and advise them the property is being sold and that they should cancel their bookings.  Under NO circumstances should you do the cancellation.  De-list the property immediately.  End of problem.  (Unless you property manage other Airbnb listings).  If this is the only property you have, and if Airbnb were to penalise you for the cancellation, they typically take that money out of your next booking.  If you don't have any upcoming bookings and you have delisted the property, any "fine" is non-existent since you have exercised your right to exit the contract with Airbnb.  

[Marit-Anne0]

@Sharon1014 I do not think it is possible to delist when there are active bookings present. Blocking the calendar can be done though.

[Helen3]

It would not be fair to ask the guests to cancel as they would be financially penalised. @Sharon1014 . They are not the ones wanting to cancel.

Nor is she able to close down a listing with live bookings 

[Ayontika0]

@Sharon1014 Thank you so much for this response, I really think this might be the way to go. 

@Helen3 I agree that if the guests had to pay a fee, that would be pretty unethical. But since my cancellation policy is pretty lenient (they can cancel penalty free if there's 5 days notice), I am pretty sure they won't be financially penalised... 

@Marit-Anne0 Hopefully if the guests agree to cancel from their end, there won't be any outstanding bookings, and I'll be able to delist the property. I'll give you all an update in a few months once everything is done with!

[Helen3]

As an experienced ‘Superhost’ @Ayontika0  it’s sad to see you don’t understand how Airbnb’s cancellation policies work.

if you try and persuade guests to cancel for you they will lose out twice financially 

1. they will lose the Airbnb fee of up to 20% if they cancel

2. they would lose the 10% credit Airbnb extends to guests to help them fund alternative accommodation 

Do the right thing contact Airbnb ASAP to cancel bookings you can no longer host because your relative has decided to sell.

[Helen427]

Hello @Ayontika0 is it a different property to one on your Profile here?

Or the same?

 I'm asking as it appears that listing that is showing has had many short term guests during Melbourne, Victoria's lockdown.

If you are renting any property, as in a Private Room and don't own it it's wise to adhere to within timeframes of required notice to move agreed in the original tenancy agreement.

e.g no more than 90 days , 3 months at a time, or you will create problems for all parties.