No strict cancellation policy

[Cameron---RD0]

Hi Fellow Airbnb Hosts,

For those of you who have strict cancellation policies - This is a note to appeal to you all to write airbnb here:  and complain about the lack of enforcement for the strict policy.

https://airbnb.com/help/feedback

We are struggling with a very serious problem - people book long stays then cancel them a day or two before check in.  AirbNB says that we can have a strict policy but in fact they don’t have a policy that’s strict because the moment a guest produces a doctor’s note the entire policy is thrown out. For hosts this is a very serious serious problem. For any stay longer than 4 days it can have devastating effects. For example we had a guest in October cancel a 10 day stay two days before arrival because she had decided to go to Hawaii with her family. When she asked for a full refund and we explained that we have a strict cancellation policy but that if another guest booked for her days we would refund her, the guest’s response was to create a doctor’s note, send it to Airbnb and we received nothing. 

And this exact story has happened 3 other times in this fall already. A two or three day booking cancellation is frustrating but it’s not going to take us down but a 5 day or 30 day booking cancellation has painful consequences. 

This week alone we’ve had two massive cancellations. One for 31 days and the other for 7 days. Our fear of guests using doctor’s notes is so huge that we now offer 50% refund but guests can still turn around send airbnb a doctor’s note and leave us with a month hole and no compensation. Guests now expect a refund regardless and this is creating a tremendous business challenge for us. Frankly - It is not a business we can continue with. Other vacation rental companies require guests to purchase travel insurance to cover illness. If the guest refuses to purchase the insurance then they understand that there is no refund. I am begging you all to write airbnb and ask that they implement the same policy.

We now have a guest that wants to book a whole month over summer for our house and we are terrified to accept. This is our busiest time and the guest could message us the day before check in and cancel, send airbnb a “doctor’s note” and without the income from summer we could lose our home.

Airbnb’s cancellation policy should have no backdoor. We love our guests and take this job very seriously. We should not be responsible for a guest’s travel changes. If airbNB insists on allowing doctor’s notes then hosts should still be protected and paid for cancellations.

if you agree please write a note to airbnb too: https://airbnb.com/help/feedback

[Mike-And-Helen0]

@Cameron---RD0 how frustrating.

I guess one practical way to protect yourself would be to limit the maximum stay you allow?

[Paula593]

I don't think limiting the length of stays solves this problem as even many late cancellations of short stays can be a severe financial hit.  I just wrote a note about the same issue to the feedback link.   I am relatively new to AirBnB and over the past week experienced a last minute 3 night cancellation during my prime booking season.   I had a family with 5 young children cancel and get a full refund because at the last minute two children had runny noses.   All it takes is the cost of a visit to a doctors office or an online visit with Doc in a Box to get a note (at a cost far less than a stay at a property) and the full refund is made by AirBnB.  This provides no protection for the host.  I have rented with other online companies and they provide an insurance option for guests who need to be covered should an unexpected issue arise.  At AirBnB we as hosts are expected to underwrite that expense.   Our profits are not that great and we are not hotels with a large number of rooms and an expected vacancy rate each night.  Our bills must often be covered by only one or two properties that need to be full to cover costs and produce even a small profit.

It does seem like offering guests an insurance option would be a great revenue source for AirBnB and would eliminate this problem.

I hope that AirBnB will re-examine the company  policies toward late cancellations.   As it stands the current policies do not provide a viable long term option for many of us.

[Ange2]

@Paula593 

I agree, there are a ton of travel insurance companies Airbnb could partner with instead of forcing hosts to be de facto travel insurance companies.  I have had people cancel because their unnamed guest has allegedly injured themselves, how does Airbnb prove the person who was allegedly injured is the guest if they have no name, no account and no verifications?

What I will never understand is people who travel without insurance especially as it is very affordable and is also offered on most major credit cards for as little as $9.00 for pretty good coverage.  Maybe people do have travel insurance and since Airbnb makes it so very easy for guests to be refunded they double their payout. It would not surprise me.

[Paula593]

Update based upon new announcement earlier today:  It appears a major AirBnB competitor now offers a guest the opportunity to buy travel insurance up to a day before arrival which is a fantastic way of handling this issue and taking the burden off of the host as it is honestly a guest issue.  Here's hoping this will help convince AirBnB to do something similar.

[Luana130]

It's what they call extenuating circunstances. I think it is valid to have exceptions, but a doctor's notice is not one of them, unless it is something life threatening. Natural disaster etc yes of course. But someone missing the plane, definatly no, that is what travel insurance is for.

[Mike-And-Jane0]

I love Paula's idea of ABB changing the policy and offering insurance. MOST tour companies do not refund as they encourage insurance and rightly so. The only time I think a refund should be made is if a host manages to re-sell the cancelled days.

[Cormac0]

@Cameron---RD0 

The most galling thing about this whole fiasco is Airbnb keep their booking fee one way or the other, and their at no financial loss.

[Ute42]

.

I have one of the best booked places in my area. Today, december 31st 2019, my entire peak season from mid june to the end of august 2020 is already completely booked out, but not through airbnb. I started renting through airbnb 2 years ago, ever since I have only hosted 6 stays through them, but I do many rentals through all kinds of distribution channels. The main reason for this policy of mine is airbnb's extenuating circumstances cancellation clause.

I am sorry airbnb, but I can't have a 1 week peak season rental worth 2000 USD go bust bc some kid of a guest cought a cold. This is not how business works for me.

Airbnb could make 6000+ USD in Service fees with my property alone per year. I have told them about this several times but they're not interested.

[Cameron---RD0]

What other channels do you use?

[Ute42]

.

@Cameron---RD0 

Google Adwords.

[Denice0]

It just happened to me for a New year's eve reservation.   The Case Manager with Airbnb already refunded him, and they are just now notifying me they are going to deduct the money from my account!  The emails are below.

I’m writing on behalf of your guest David , who will be unable to complete their reservation with you.

Extenuating circumstances sometimes come up that affect guests' travel plans. Depending on the case, a refund may be authorized outside of the reservation's cancellation policy, as explained in our extenuating circumstances policy:


David was able to provide sufficient documentation of an extenuating circumstance, we have cleared your calendar for these dates, and refunded your guest in full. As such, we will not be able to provide you a payout for this reservation.

As you have already been paid out for this reservation, we have applied an adjustment to your account. This amount will be deducted from your next payout until it has been reconciled. Please plan accordingly.

If you'd like, you can review our extenuating circumstances policy here:

www.airbnb.com/help/article/1320

We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience, and appreciate your understanding of these circumstances.

Regards,
 Airbnb 5:11 PM

Hello Airbnb,
David was a no show. He texted and said his flight was late and he would be at the property between 10 - 11:00 pm. No more information from David, on his late check-in, he just didn't show up on Dec. 29th.
Then on Dec. 30th he emailed he had the flu, when he cancelled his reservation for the remaining 3 nights. I was kind enough to offer him to reschedule his stay with us, but still not a single word from him. Then you step in and give him a full refund, when he was a no show, and was so impolite to not even communicate with the host. You didn't even contact me, a superhost, with 3 listings with AIRBNB for 7 years. You also invited him to write a review, on my listing, and this guest didn't even stay at my property.

Type a message

[Cameron---RD0]

This is awful. You should definitely ask for a case manager to review this situation. The guest clearly sent a fake doctor’s letter. This makes me so frustrated for you and all hosts. There shouldn’t be an “extenuating circumstance” policy. Airbnb should offer trip insurance. 

[Denice0]

Yes, the same case manager called me today, informing me they were going to refund the guest, and withdraw the funds they have already paid me, from my account.  He said he spoke to the guest on the phone and could not disclose the reason for him being a no-show and canceling the booking; but it was an "extenuating circumstance" and he got a verification.  So I get no verification that this guest even asked for a refund from Airbnb, or what the extenuating circumstances were that voided my strict cancellation policy.

What is unacceptable is the case manager did not bother to contact me when the guest called him to cancel the booking, and before he refunded him 100% of my funds.  I would have explained the conflicting excuses I had received from the guest.  

Beware, David is the new "Super Guest" he has 160+ reviews.  I've never in 7 years of hosting, had a guest with that many reviews.  A "Super Guest" can tell a host conflicting excuses for not showing up, cancel his reservation a day after his check-in date,  stop communicating with the host and go directly to an Airbnb case manger and get a full refund on a strict cancellation policy.  The case manager won't even contact the "Super Host" to verify the circumstances.    A "Super Host" would be charged a cancellation fee and loose their "Super Host" status for a year, if they cancelled a guest; but there are no penalties for the new "Super Guest".

[Cor3]

Hi @Cameron---RD0,

Yes, that’s unfortunately indeed exactly how it’s working.

Even with a strict cancellation policy, the host is basically considered, the free of charge travel-insurance.

Last time, this happened to us (we have a strict cancellation policy too): The lady in the couple was apparently pregnant for the first time, and she’d rather be at home (they were already staying with us, and they had been travelling all over Europe for the past 3 months).

They never told us, the lady was pregnant (neither is there a real need for us to be aware of such a condition).

Next, she got in touch with Airbnb. Followed by a message from Airbnb CS: basically telling us the stay would be shortened. And what consequences this did have to us.

To Airbnb: The guests stands tall (the source of all the money).

And the hosts are just providing bricks for free. And even paying for the usage of the platform.