Finding new cancellation rules: is Airbnb joking with hosts? in this period??

[Mattia178]

Hi guys!

I have been managing a few apartments and have been working with Airbnb for years, but I lived this beautiful situation, especially in the difficult period we are living in (and we overlook the assistance that Airbnb has made to hosts in this period).
It happened that a guest decided after checking in to leave a day early: he tells me that there are no problems with the apartment but there are personal reasons. Okay I think, there were no shortcomings so he will pay for the full reservation ... and here I find that Airbnb gives guests the possibility to cancel their reservation after check in and entitles them to a refund decided unilaterally by Airbnb.
Has something similar happened to you? Do you find this normal ???

[Caren12]

No, i don't - its not the company I signed up with anymore!

[Alexandra316]

@Mattia178They fully refunded the whole stay, or just the one day?

[Mattia178]

They refunded the guests the night they didn't sleep (booking for 4 nights, on the third they decide to leave and Airbnb allows them to refund that).

But with the rules I read, a guest can book a week or more, come on the first day, decide to leave on the second and can pay only for one night.
It seems absurd to me, plus there is no way for the host to change these rules.
And that no one at Airbnb answers the phone to explain what's going on is on the verge of scam

[Alexandra316]

@Mattia178 You have a flexible cancellation policy. It seems like they might just have been refunded in line with your policy:

https://www.airbnb.com/home/cancellation_policies. 

Maybe choose the moderate or strict policy instead?

[Mattia178]

Hi Alexandra,

I read the cancellation policy and I'm up to date with Airbnb's cancellation policies.
The problem is when we started we chose flexible cancellation policies as we gave our customers the possibility to cancel for free until the day before. Otherwise they would have paid for the entire stay.
From here Airbnb passed to a reduction of the penalty in a percentage.
From here Airbnb moved on to the wonderful rule of being able to cancel the reservation after check in (I challenge you to book any hotel or other structure, check in, and the next day you decide to leave for personal reasons and tell them that you will not pay the rest of the reservation).
All these evolutions have been unilateral and we as hosts do NOT have the possibility to intervene promptly on this rule. We have three general cancellation options that do not allow us to change the details and which in any case only concern a percentage of the penalty and not complete.
I understand that chasing customers is difficult, but sacrificing the work of those who build the product you sell and from which you earn a very high percentage is not the right way.
Furthermore, answering that it is their fault because they don't know how to read the cancellation conditions is trivial, cowardly and not very constructive.

[Alexandra316]

@Mattia178 Dude... you may want to take it easy there with the insults. You made it sound in your initial post like Airbnb went outside your policy to refund the guest. You're mad that the cancellation policy you selected refunded the guest. If you want to retain the whole booking fee if the guest cancels part way through their stay, choose the strict policy. That's not victim blaming or being "cowardly": that's pointing out the obvious. I don't work for Airbnb.

[Danielle476]

LOL seriously!  "Furthermore, answering that it is their fault because they don't know how to read the cancellation conditions is trivial, cowardly and not very constructive."

Uhhh...but lashing out at people trying to help you is what, exactly?  🙄

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Mattia178 You said you read the policy and yet are complaining that it has been applied. Caveat Emptor as they used to say in Italy.

On your hotel point I have stayed in many and left early many times and I have not been charged for the days I didn't stay.

Have you changed your policy back to Strict for future bookings?

[Mattia178]

I'm glad this overall outcry but the problem remains the same. And needing to specify you don't work for Airbnb makes it more suspicious, but that's not important.
I am very happy that the places where you stayed did not ask you for a penalty, but I hope they were able to decide directly and not find it imposed. If they unilaterally change the cancellation rules and don't leave hosts the ability to decide whether to refund or not, it can happen, as I wrote above, that a customer books a week in a crowded period, decides to stay only one day and then leaves. paying only one night. Can I have the ability to decide if those days and lost money are a problem for me or not?
And I am happy that the proposed solution continues to be to change my cancellation rules even in a challenging tone. But I repeat: I am organized for cancellations on the penultimate day, but I am not able to occupy an apartment suddenly left empty with new customers in few hours. You will all be better and more capable than us in doing it I'm sure, but I'm also sure it's a problem for many hosts.
I'm very sorry that you found my previous messages offensive, but changing the rules to attract more customers at the expense of the people who work to better build the product Airbnb sells and makes money from, is literally cowardly. Especially by leveraging the power it holds. it's the same thing older kids do when they bully the smaller, weaker one: isn't it cowardice? And if you want to proceed with the discussion on what you call insults instead of addressing the problem I am available.

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Mattia178 As far as I know Airbnb have not changed the rules. The cancellation policy you want is just not available from Airbnb. You can either change to Moderate or Strict, leave it as Flexible and accept the consequences or find a different listing site that perhaps offers what you want.

I fully agree it is impossible to find new guests at short notice hence my cancellation policy is Strict. I may lose a few bookings as a result but once a guest checks in they have no ability to cancel.

[Fred13]

@Mattia178 When working with Airbnb nowadays, especially during these times,  one has a wide range of emotional choices to pick from: stay relaxed by being grateful for what goes right,  all the way to be angry and constantly fighting them over every issue. Or even not deal with them at all.

[Mattia178]

Dear Fred and Mike&Jane,

it's obvious that I adapt to the situation and take home what I can, mine is obviously a losing position.

I just have a hard time understanding why I should also shut up. And I find it even harder to understand why you, as I understand you are hosts like me, insist on the need to remain silent and accept the rules that exist, which I repeat are not the ones we started with in 2017. Forgive me, but the doubt that your interest is in defending the good name of Airbnb at all costs is great.

Why here no one tried to say: certainly it would be a nice idea to be able to collaborate on the cancellation rules instead of imposing them in order to direct hosts towards cancellation policies in favor of customers with damages that fall exclusively on the hosts?
What is your purpose in making me understand to shut up, accept these new rules, not ask the problem openly and also have to feel lucky for it? I do not understand

[Ian-And-Anne-Marie0]

@Mattia178 

Why here no one tried to say: certainly it would be a nice idea to be able to collaborate on the cancellation rules instead of imposing them in order to direct hosts towards cancellation policies in favor of customers with damages that fall exclusively on the hosts?

What have I missed? I'd be there stating that, and I'd agree with you as you'd be right. And it's not normal.

Hosts have gone all soft in allowing the many changes you would have seen happen here over your three years of hosting. Hosts have no balls when it comes to standing up for themselves - look at what has been posted here;

One host commenting here was on an Airbnb "Host Advisory Council" - a 'setup' which achieved NOTHING - an arrangement with no balls (and no teeth). Why did nothing come of this council? It was because the schmoozing was part of keeping the voices of hosts under control, by making them feel important. Another has barely been hosting a year and can't muster an opinion to even review their guests, no balls, and likewise, no teeth - also likes to believe if you're walked all over by the 'bosses' they'll like you for that and you might get to be milk monitor for a week! 

The rules on Airbnb are absurd. It's a company trait. They try to control everything to the n'th degree but don't do it as well as they'd like. Covid-EC case and point. They leave gaping holes in their planning, but knowing full well that milk monitors will just float along playing happy balls and not biting anybody. With those type of people in tow - nothing changes to any hosts' benefit.

You hit the nail on the head; "in favor of customers with damages that fall exclusively on the hosts." EXACTLY. That not only happens with the cancellation policies you stated have eroded over the years, but in every aspect which could be regarded as a benefit to guests. To enable this, hosts are subjected to punitive penalties, whether they're financially imposed or just by deduction of milk monitor points and badges.

Collaboration on the cancellation rules may have been something you would have thought possible at the inception of Airbnb, but not now. The relationship of this 'sharing' platform has become dictatorial and controlling. Never is anything 'sharing' or 'collaborative' or 'community' focussed. History shows that. It may be marketed that way on the outside, but underneath it is far from that advertised.

Your listings don't look like they need to be exclusively Airbnb listings and I'm sure you would be well aware that going elsewhere is a viable and profitable option for you too, we travelled Italy a few years back and never ventured anywhere near an Airbnb with the prominence of other Booking platforms, so you should fear no loss and not need to suffer any of the  lack of holding damage deposits, refunding on a whim, overriding of cancellation policies, guest centric policies etc.. etc.. If you so wish. If you do wish to stay connected here, then this is one of the most onerous platforms to be part of. 

It would be better if a change within could happen, but if the biases don't change fast enough then it's far easier to just transition out.

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Mattia178 The way big business works is

1) Companies make the rules

2) Individuals either accept the companies rules or go elsewhere

The only exception is where a company breaks consumer laws and then they can be challenged.

It is not worth the energy trying to fight for changes that just won't happen.

Airbnb have given you three choices for your cancellation policy. Clearly you have bought into the Flexible cancellation policy or you would have changed it in your listing by now.