Regarding the “extenuating circumstances” cancelation policy, This policy is extremely unfair to the Host who currently takes the full financial impact of this form of cancelation. It makes no sense whatsoever. At the very least, if a Guest cancels with an “extenuating circumstance” and the Host is unable to rebook the dates canceled, then 50% of the booking could be refunded which is a fair solution to both Host & Guest. Another option which would also generate additional income for Airbnb would be if Airbnb were to offer Guests (at the time of booking) an insurance option which would offer Guests the piece of mind and insurance if an “extenuating circumstance” were to arise.
The “Long-term Cancelation” policy needs to be updated as well. Many Hosts offer additional discounts for long stays on top of their already discounted monthly rates for the piece of mind and the assumption that they won't have to deal with a lot of turnover and cleanings involved in shorter stays. Because of this, simply doing a prorated refund for the Guest doesn't make sense, especially considering that many accommodations have seasonal rates that can vary substantially. That is why if a long term booking is cancelled, any additional discounts need to be taken into consideration and reversed. Also, either a cancelation penalty which goes to the Host should be applied to compensate the Host and the pricing should be reverted back to the monthly pricing and calculated per month and Not prorated.
As both an Airbnb Guest & Host, I currently feel that there is too much risk on the Host side which makes me extremely hesitant with offering long term bookings and also less willing to work amicably with a Guest during a cancelation as I constantly find myself in a situation where I am the one as a Host that is losing money and who is expected to make all of the sacrifices which is unacceptable.
Thank you for taking the time and I strongly urge Airbnb to consider these changes in making Airbnb a better experience for both the Guest & Host.
