Extenuating Circumstances Policy

Denise--Tom-And-Shane0
Level 2
New York, United States

Extenuating Circumstances Policy

Guest booked three months ago for nine days (included two weekends). Our typical guest season is very short; it includes 16 weekends. I sent a message to guest two days before their arrival asking them their approximate time of arrival.  Guest called me the day before their arrival and said they were cancelling because of a sick mother.  The guest is a grandmother and told me that her mother (who is in her 90s) was failing for a while and that they had been communicating with airbnb about their options and told me that she should have let us know sooner.   I communicated our sympathy and told her to cancel the reservation and then I would reimburse her for any days that I was able to rebook.  Since we have a strict cancellation policy, we always offer to reimburse guests who cancel.  We did NOT know that airbnb had an extenuating circumstances policy.  So when 12 hours before her arrival we received a "form letter" announcement from airbnb telling us that the guest cancelled and our payout was $0.00, we were very upset. 

 

Why should a guest be allowed to communicate with airbnb for a week regarding cancelling and then wait until the day before arrival to cancel without any penalty?


Why doesn't airbnb share any of the risk? Airbnb shifts 100% of the financial loss to the host.  

 

The policy creates a loophole for the guest to cancel at the last minute.  We are now wary of booking with airbnb and our relationship with airbnb. Airbnb told us that guests exercising the extenuating circumstances policy is very uncommon but based on the hosts to whom I have spoken and those who have communicated on the community page, it is not uncommon.  And all the hosts did not know about the extenuating circumstances policy until a guest cancelled and used it.

 

 We had to cancel on a guest at the last minute due to a water main break.  A friend of ours and airbnb host had to cancel for a heating/water failure and airbnb financially  penalized them and removed their superhost status. So, when we had to cancel, we communicated directly with the guest, told them not to cancel and booked them directly a week later and gave them an extra free night for their inconvenience.  We practiced good customer service. 

 

We suggested to airbnb that 99% of hosts do not know about the extenuating circumstances policy and there should be a footnote to the strict cancellation policy that lets the host know that airbnb can overide the strict cancellation policy. 

 

Instead of turning off instant booking, we suggested that instant booking be limited to three day or less stays so that we have the option to turn down long term stays.  We also suggested that long term stays be subject to a shared risk between the host, guest and airbnb in the event of extenuating circumstances. 

 

Other hosts suggested trip insurance.  Is there renter insurance available through AAA or other organizations to protect hosts?  If so, I would build the insurance fee into the fee.

 

So what did we protect ourselves from airbnb's policies?  We of course communicated to airbnb.  They did not respond to our suggestions.

We turned off instant booking.  We removed the airbnb icon from our website so guests book directly with us. Our cancellation policy is on our website and we ask all guests to read it when they book. For back up, we enrolled in Glamping Hub and Home Away.  We advertise our farm stay on Instagram and Facebook and have a rack card about our farm stay which we distribute at farmers markets. We are practicing direct marketing.

 

We have always had good experience with airbnb.  We would like to continue working with airbnb as they do a much better job marketing our farm stay than we do. Does anyone have any other suggestions how to further protect ourselves?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

9 Replies 9
Lisa723
Level 10
Quilcene, WA

Thanks for this. You're absolutely right that Airbnb essentially obliges hosts to provide free trip insurance. I haven't been hit with this yet but I am waiting for it. I have no suggestions and I'd love to hear some!

@Denise--Tom-And-Shane0 I am sorry the guest and Airbnb treated you so shabbily. It was unfair.

 

Related to your friend who had to cancel due to a heating / water failure: let them know that the Extenuating Circumstances policy also applies to the host side.

 

If an unexpected major failure makes it impossible to host a confirmed reservation, a host can also apply for an Extenuating Circumstances cancellation. If granted, that avoids the financial penalty and loss of SuperHost status.

 

https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/1320/what-if-i-need-to-cancel-because-of-an-emergency-or-unavoid...

 

I think this can be done retroactively, so if they can document that the cancellation was unexpected and unavoidable, perhaps they can have the penalty removed.

 

It's reasons like this that I only have a small percentage of my business through airbnb. Probably 5-10%.  Other companies do not constantly throw the hosts under the bus the way airbnb does.

Well said!  I just lost over $2100 due to Airbnb's "extenuating circumstances".  I am only going use HomeAway and Trip Advisor to secure my bookings from now on.

Eileen12
Level 3
Grass Valley, CA

Thanks for this post. I had no idea about extenuating circumstances clause. 

David126
Level 10
Como, CO

There is a cost of doing business, all I can suggest is make sure your ABB rates include an element to go towards a fund when it hits you.

David
Helen3
Level 10
Bristol, United Kingdom

Firstly I am sorry that you were messed about by these guests and Airbnb who should have let you know much earlier.

 

However, I am shocked to see two 'superhosts' on this thread say that they aren't familiar with Airbnb's extenuating circumstances policy, which is a key plank of how their platform works  @Eileen12 and @Denise--Tom-And-Shane0.

 

@Denise--Tom-And-Shane0 in both the host cancellation circumstances you mention, the bookings could have been cancelled under 'extenuating circumstances' by yourself and your friend, had you been more familiar with how Airbnb works.

 

Do hosts not read through how Airbnb works before setting up their listing?  Do they not familiarise themselves with the FAQs? You are running a business you need to understand key T&C which affects how you operate your business model.

 

 

 

Yes, this thread has been very informative. As a host, I try to keep up, but the Extenuating Circumstance Clause slipped passed me. Now that I have read the fine print I may not rent to guests of Airbnb during the winter. My cabin is in the mountains and in proximity to many world class ski resorts. If a guest wants to cancel due to a storm or road conditions I would be screwed. VRBO has an "Act of God" clause where guests cannot cancel due to weather. Is there any way we as hosts can protect ourselves against the weather circumstance?

 

 

Fred13
Level 10
Placencia, Belize

   Airbnb's infamous 'Extenuating Circumtances' which could trump any host cancellation policy, extremely non-reliable Customer Service and siding with the guest in the great majority of conflicts, no matter how absurd (forget Host 'Guarantee'), are the three main reasons many fully-aware hosts are always subconciously nervous when dealing with Airbnb. Or should be.

    On the other hand,  for most hosts, Airbnb (by far), does bring the most bookings and charges a very low host fee, with probably 99% going through without a hitch. They also collect money upfront, which they hold and this practice, in all likelihood, probably serves to lessen cancellations on the guest's part.

    In essence, those are the trade offs and ones that every Airbnb host should be aware of. None of this is a secret, since these realities are covered ad nauseam in internet forum after forum concerning Airbnb.