Beware offering generous price reductions for long term stays ...

[Jon50]

...because if the guest cancels early on, Airbnb forces you to honour the reduced long term nightly price for the shorter stay, even though it is no longer a long term stay.

For instance, your usual short let rate is 250/day but you agree a lump sum equivalent to 80/day for a 4 month booking. Upon arrival the guest advises that they only want to stay for 30 days instead of 120 and cancels the remainder of the booking. However long the agreed term, Airbnb's long term cancellation policy only makes the guest liable for a maximum 30 days after notification of the cancellation, whether they retain occupancy for that period or not. The guest effectively gets a 30 day stay at a bargain 80/day.

I don't have a problem with the cancellation policy allowing the guest some flexibility to shorten the agreement but I would argue that in such an event it would be fair for pricing to fall back to the advertised short term rates. However Airbnb argue that it would be unfair to increase the price above the reduced price agreed in respect of a long let, even if the guest is only staying for only a fraction of the time they said they would. This does not make sense to me.

[Jon50]

This also creates a secondary issue in London where planning rules only allow you to let your property on short term lets for 90 days of the year. Bookings of three months or more are classified as long term so do not count toward the 90 days allowance. Let's say that you have had bookings for 80 short term let days, you can still reasonably accept any long term booking. But if you do agree a long term let through Airbnb and it is cut short to less than three months, then those dates count towards your annual short term limit. If that puts the host in breach of the 90 day limit, then the host is in breach of the planning legislation and becomes liable for a £20,000 fine. 

[Emiel1]

@Jon50 

Long term stays start at 28 nights (not at 30) and have automatically the "long term stay" cancellation policy attached (overruling the default policy set).

If a guest cancels, 30 nights after date of cancellation are not refunded. So in your example they pay for 2 months. If the reservation needs to be shortened: be aware of bugs in the shortening form especailly when it comes to 'long term stays", so always such a shortening must be done by the host (after cummunication about it with the guest), as the host can amend the calculated price in the "shortening form", if not correct,  or change to the amount the host thinks is a fair deal.

BTW This issue has been brought up multiple times in the community.

[Jon50]

Hi @Emiel1.

Thanks for your reply. I did not mean to define long term by 30 days - 30 days is the max liability after cancellation for which the guest can be liable. I am interested in what you say about the guest being liable for 2 months in my example. Below follows an exchange with Airbnb support this afternoon which seems to contradict what you are saying (I have no idea what is right):

ME:

The policy says that if notice is given to end the agreement early then only the next 30 days are non-refundable. What is not clear is whether that is 30 days from the date the notice is given, or 30 days from the new end date. For example, if my guest gave notice today that they planned to move out in a week, would I expect to receive 30 days or would I receive 30+7days?"

AIRBNB:

It is 30 days from the date notice is given. So if the guest gave notice today (Dec 17th), they owe thru Jan 17th, even if they were to leave earlier.

ME:

Is that the same whether they give notice to end the term from today or give notice to end the term on 17 Jan?

(In both cases giving notice today)

AIRBNB:

It is the same. Again, they owe for 30 days from the moment they give notice, regardless of when they actually plan to depart.

I'm confused!

[Jon50]

I was also advised that cancellation is at the choice of the guest and calculation of the 30 days payment is automated. I would have no say in it.

Me:

So they would in effect get their shorter stay at a longer term discount which has been applied to the period expired and paid for?

Community Expert:

Yes, pricing will not change.

Me:

So I could book a big discount on a place for 6 months, give one month notice when I move in and only pay the 6 months rate for that one month?

Community Expert:

Yes

[Emilia42]

@Jon50 Unfortunately, the Airbnb system does work this way. A monthly discount is calculated for a stay over 28 days. So if you indicate a 20% monthly discount it doesn't matter if the stay is 30 days or 82 days. The guest will still pay the same nightly rate (20% off.) You can send the guest a special deal beyond this, which it sounds like you did, but as you experienced that nightly rate is lock-in as long as the stay is over 28 days (long term.) You are right, you should beware about offering deep discounts on the Airbnb platform.

[Elena87]

@Emilia42 

There is a customised discount facility available to hosts, it's possible to give a varying level of discount for 4, 8 and 12 week bookings using pro tools.

I've sympathy for @Jon50 situation, whether the guest used this loophole intentionally or not, the long term cancellation arrangements and payment methods haven't evolved over the years and are no longer fit for purpose, especially taking into account the London 90 stl rules. 

[Ricardo85]

Rather than reducing the number of days in the reservation, wouldn't it be more interesting for the guest to cancel the reservation?

[Robin4]

@Jon50 

This Jon is precisely why I do not offer upfront discounts for longer stays. That is not to say I don't offer discounts, I will assess the situation at the end of the stay, and if a discount is warranted I will offer it in the form of a refund!

Jon, most of us have been caught by the guest who books for an eighteen night stay to get the hosts 15%  for a fortnight + discount, cancels after 6 and get refunded 12 less one night (11 nights) at the proportion of what they paid, and the host gets stiffed into supplying a 6 night booking at a 14 night discounted rate, and an empty 12 nights on the booking calendar just to add the final insult.

Yeah, I have had that one out with support but, for some really strange reason which in the end no doubt involves their booking fee, they will not budge!

Once that happened to me I instantly removed any length of stay discounts amid heaps of protest from the  Airbnb bot, and I now say in my house rules under 'Other things to note'........

There is no way Airbnb or any guest will do that to me again.

I sympathise with you Jon, but take comfort you are not the first this has happened to, and you sure as hell won't be the last.

Cheers.........Rob

[Ricardo85]

@Robin4 

The request to change the date requires the agreement of the host and the guest.

Wouldn't it be easier to deny this request?

Ricardo

[Robin4]

@Ricardo85 

Sure you can do that Ricardo but, it just leads to lots of bitterness, a bad review and the involvement of the Resolution Centre.

Best to lay down the ground rules before the booking even takes place....that way everyone knows where they stand.

You have to remember Ricardo I am speaking from experience here. I have handled this problem both ways and I can assure you if a guest books at your full nightly rate and gets a bit back at the end of the stay, it comes as a pleasant surprise...they are delighted. When the host refuses to cooperate with the guests request to alter the reservation, you can be sure the guest will get agro!

Cheers.......Rob

[Wade32]

This seems unfair to the host and I would expect most to be very disgruntled.   Maybe ABNB will reconsider when other platforms (for mid term rentals) start to compete. 

[Wade32]

Robin,

Can you give an example how you calculate it?  Is it on YOUR total days + cleaning fees?   Guessing you do not get into taxes and other fees when you do the rebate?

Thanks!

Wade

[Helen427]

Hello @Wade32 , a heads up, when replying to people or asking a specific person a question add the @

@Robin4 

Can you help @Wade32 ?

Cheers

[Robin4]

@Wade32 

Wade, I assess every situation on its merits, I will not have a guest ask me for a discount.....if there is going to be a discount involved, I will offer it, not be asked for it!

If I have had a 7-8 or 14 night stay and the guest has been pleasant and cooperative, I will, at the conclusion of their stay, tell them I will be refunding 10% on what I have been paid for the duration of their stay and that amount will be refunded to their Airbnb payment method. Any discount I offer does not include Airbnb service fees or any taxes involved......it relates to what I have been paid. 

In general Guests are delighted with this because they were not expecting it.

I do not offer anything above a 10% refund. I go out of my way to provide good value with my hosting and I run a spreadsheet relating to the cost of hosting guests on my property. To take any notice of Airbnb prompts to offer up to a 35% discount for extended stays is simply ridiculous, a shortcut to financial ruin. You are running your hosting business, not Airbnb, you set the financial return you require, and stick to it.

Wade, experience teaches us that guests who actively chase discounts, in general, turn out to be less than satisfactory guests to host. They are the guests that will mark you down for value and take whatever they can with them when they leave....their way of getting that discount they were chasing!

If a guest tries to potentially put me in that situation I suggest that my listing might not be a good fit for them and suggest they look for other listings in my area! Doing that firmly sets the grounds rules, the guest either says " Fine with that, just thought there was no harm in asking"......or, I won't hear anything back from them and they will go somewhere else.

Either way, they have not compromised what I do here!

Wade you have to all the time remain in control, not hand it to Airbnb or the guest!

Cheers.........Rob