Please Vote To Remove/Amend Group Payment Option Unfair to Host

[Reina7]

Dear Fellow Hosts, Happy New Years All! I’m requesting your help as I believe our group voice and oppinions as hosts matter. I’ve communicated with Airbnb this evening and received confirmation that if more than one guest makes a reservation request, guests now have the choice to select “Group Payment” all while blocking the host calendar by selecting this new feature and have not the standard 24 hours hosts and guests nit selecting this option must adhere to but have up to 72 hours to make payment PLUS AN ADDITIONAL 24 hours given to the guest submitting the reservation request to make up for any difference in payment. This essentially means a group of any above 1 person can block a host calendar for 96 hours/ 4 DAYS and then not even book at all, all the while blocking those dates on a hosts calendar for other guests willing and able to pay in a timely fashion of 24 hours. The host presently has no options or recourse on this and wont even know when approving a request if the guest will elect group payment option. Please vote thumbs up to this post if you are in favor of removing the group option payment feature AND/OR reducing to the same 24 hours hosts and anyone else has AND/OR or in the least giving the host the option to remove this feature from their profile to book. We have a voice on this important subject if used together. Thank you in advance for your time and consideration! Best, Reina B

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Response from Airbnb

Thanks for your feedback on Group Payments. This is a new feature and we know it needs some refining, so we really value your input. We hear your concerns about having your calendars locked while guests complete their payments. We are actively reviewing ways to address this for hosts and are still collecting feedback before we make our next change. We appreciate your patience as we continue working toward a Group Payments feature that works great for hosts and guests.

[Amy459]

@Reina7, I am curious as to how this has played out with Airbnb. Any progress made? 

I have my own issue with the "Assistance" Animal Policy for US users on Airbnb. This policy essentially allows guests to sneak any animal into almost any, "entire home" listing in the US. No documentation/ proof/ notification to hosts is required.

I am just wondering if having a post voting for change was worth while?

https://community.withairbnb.com/t5/Hosting/Every-Host-Should-Know-About-Assistance-Animal-Policy/m-...

https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/1869/what-is-an-assistance-animal

[Rebecca181]

@Reina7 I wonder if it can be written into our House Rules / 'Additional Rules' section that we are only able to provide groups 48 hours to make their payment due to being listed on other booking channels - Property Managed homes are usually always listed on multiple booking channels, and we already have one property manager who has commented on this thread that this 72 hour 'waiting' period could be very detrimental to her listings. I doubt too many property management firms will like this new and very lenient / liberal 72 hour 'booking process' for groups; I am sure we will be hearing from more property managers and hosts here (and elsewhere) if this doesn't get changed soon. Or will Airbnb deny us the ability to set our own terms, as they have done with several other policies, such as their policy that emotional support animals must always be accepted, even when a host has a 'No Pets' policy and is exempt from FHA laws around service / support animals via "The Mrs. Murphy Exemption" (here in the U.S.)? But that's another story, which I expound upon elsewhere in these forums.

[Raoul3]

i vote !

[Sam-and-Adam0]

@Reina7 I'm currently stuck in split-payment limbo! Totally agreed! 24 hours max!!

But my guest said something very telling- "I chose the split by 6...which says that if you accept then my girlfriends and I have 3 days to all complete the payment in full." 

The kicker is- I never accepted!!!

So I called Airbnb, and they verified exactly what you said- the guests have the 72 hrs, + an additional 24 hours. And as you can see in my pic- as a host we can't even cancel or decline!

It's super tricky for a host like me w multiple listings of the same property (whole house, 'appartment' and 'studio')~ Airbnb said my only recourse now is to block the dates for all 3 of those listings because the 'whole house' is in limbo- so in the end I could be totally without any bookings as I can't even take seperate bookings for both sides of the house from people who are commited and paying upfront.

[Sam-and-Adam0]

(sorry not sure why photo orientation switched)

[Airbnb]

Response from Airbnb:

Thanks for your feedback on Group Payments. This is a new feature and we know it needs some refining, so we really value your input. We hear your concerns about having your calendars locked while guests complete their payments. We are actively reviewing ways to address this for hosts and are still collecting feedback before we make our next change. We appreciate your patience as we continue working toward a Group Payments feature that works great for hosts and guests.

[Michelle-and-Ray0]

 @Airbnb Not sure why a Group Payment "feature" is even needed or necessary. NO OTHER vaction rental or hotel does this. There's a very good reason why and all the hosts here have been trying to tell you that. If guests want to split payments, the tradional way is for one person to book and pay and all the other guests pay him or her. It's not all that difficult to do. In fact, I'd venture to say that it's likely EASIER than what you are implementing here.
All this does is cause issues for the hosts.

When you implement new guest "features", it always seems like that means you take something from hosts. Please stop that. 
Thanks.

[Rebecca181]

@Michelle-and-Ray0 I suspect that Airbnb is seeking to boost its membership by making this ridiculous group payment feature. Meaning, people in the group will have to join Airbnb to pay. Maybe they need a boost in numbers as they head toward their IPO, and once again it is at the expense of us hosts. Enough is enough. We hosts already take countless risks by inviting strangers to sleep in our homes, crossing fingers that they will behave as a trusted Community member  - and this of course is not always the case. We deserve to be treated better than this, there is simply no reason to tie up our calendars for 72 hours  while a group gets its act together. This needs to be fixed ASAP.

[Shelley90]

One hundred percent agree.  I'm experiencing this group payment for the first time and have friends who wanted to book our place for the weekend that's showing as unavailable on my calendar. I've had to put them off for 3 days in a row and counting...the reservation is still not paid or canceled. 

24 hours would be more than reasonable, and I'd prefer to be able to turn off this feature, or at least allow others to book the place before the group payment is fully paid.