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.

[Bruna-and-Andrew0]

Yes! Please Remove/Amend Group Payment Option 

[Ivana113]

If someone or a group is serious on booking, than 24 hours is more than enough time.

We would like to be able to turn off this feature.

We have double units and lots of last minutes and short stays and this feature just makes it impossible to work.

[Rose-Ann0]

I agree with Reina!!!  We feel 24 hours is more than enough time to pay in full for the reserved stay.    This gives the guest an loophole to get out of the reservation.  During our busy season, its crutial to keep our room booked as much as possible.  If you have a moderate cancellatin policy, a guest could put in reservation 3 days before arriving and still has the ability to back out of the resevation without any penalties!?!?  This new payment method needs refining/change.   

[Yvonne191]

Yes I agree with you 100%!

[Terri76]

I agree with @Reina7!  Thumbs up from me!

[Heather133]

I really like this feature because it adds the other people in the group to the reservation, which I hope leads to more accountability on the part of guests. I've had groups where the other guests accumulated extra cleaning charges or property damage and the review ends up being reflected on only one profile. I agree that 24 hours is plenty time though. I don't think it's fair to tie up the property for four days.

[Deborah1]

24 hours is enough! 

[Maggie92]

I am really frustrated by this, I have instant book and got a group payment booking for early April, they say they have 55 hours to book now, which is reduced from 72 hours. When it came in I got NO NOTIFICATION, that it was booked. No alert, nothing letting me know this was on the "books". I only saw it because another request for May came in and I noticed it. With this booking being such a short time away I'd like to have those dates open for someone to actually book. There is a reason I have the cancellation policy I do. This just allows them to shop around and cancel with no penalty.  For a slim time of year, this is not good for hosts.

My VOTE: I think hosts should be able to opt-out of this option and regardless it should be a 24 hour time limit. If we go off instant book to regulate these requests we get penalized in our ranking, so they need to change the policy. Has Airbnb responded to hosts in anyway about this?

[Rebecca181]

The fact is, even if Airbnb is not so concerned about tying up the calendars of traditional hosts, the property managers they have worked so hard to recruit to the ABB platform these past two years will not accept the terms of the group payment option. They are probably our best hope to get this policy changed, so I hope more property managers add their voices to this post - 24 Hours MAX for the group to pay is long enough.

[Josi8]

I would agree that hosts should be allowed to opt in or out for this option.  And giving a smaller window to confirm is a must. 

I personally don't like the idea of multi-bookers as I always look at whomever booked the stay as the key person that is responsbile for the visit and following the rules.  If the payment and responsiblity is now shared, it will create less ownership and clear lines of accountability... which makes me nervous.  It will likely cause me to decline bookings.  

So 1) enable this to be an opt in and opt out options and 2) limit the commitment window to 24 hours. 

Thanks!