Non refundable reservations

[Jeff158]

Has any one any idea how we implement this, I would be happy to put my prices up and give a discount for non refundable reservations.

non_refundable_reservations

[Jeff158]

@Kelly149 after a bit more thinking the discount must be coming out of airbnb booking fees and then like you say, they take control of the cancellation & we get nothing or 50% and abb gets to keep the rest of the guests money.

Its a bit flippin cheeky

[Steve143]

When you see that little discount box and click on the "Get details" link it says:

"By waiving the host’s cancellation policy, the guest is assigning their refund rights against the host to Airbnb in return for a discount on the total booking amount."

So, in the event of a cancellation, the host should still get the same amount irrespective of whether the guest opted for the discount or not. If the guest cancels, having opted for the discount, Airbnb will keep what would otherwise have been refunded to the guest.

I presume that they've calculated the discount % so that the average refund which they keep will more than compensate for the amount lost to them in discounts and the salaries for the mathematicians they contract.

If it helps, as a side effect of earning more for Airbnb, to reduce the number of cancellations it will do some good 🙂

Steve.

[Ben205]

@Steve143I agree, I'd like to think the positive for me as a host is that guests will be more sure when they book and therefore less likely to cancel (not that we have a problem with that - 1 time in the past year).

Doesn't it seem to contradict the 'grace period' change, though? On one hand, they are rewarding a guest for making a booking and sticking to it while they simultaneously make it easier for guests to cancel by giving them 48-hours penalty free?

[Cristina-And-Daniel0]

it looks like it comes out of the Guest's service fee. Airbnb keeps the discount. You can see this too if you try to book your own listing. Before I checked the box it said $18 service fee. After i checked the box it says $11 service fee. See screenshot:

[Ange2]

@Cristina-And-Daniel0  Ultimately it comes off the host end, in a roundabout way,  because apparently the host service fees are going up 4% and 5% for moderate and strict respectively.  I cannot understand why, except as a deterrent to choosing anything but the flexible cancellation policy.  Airbnb get paid 100% if the guest waives their right to a refund but the host still only gets 50% (with a strict cancellation), so Airbnb gets to keeps the other 50% ?

[Cristina-And-Daniel0]

Ok i just got a response for Airbnb Support. Here is what they say:

- "the host service fee will not increase and will remain as 3%

- As of right now, your guest would be able to choose this option should their reservation be confirmed and booked within 60 days of the check-in date. However, we are hoping to be able to have this feature released to all listings later on this year

- The discount does not affect the hosts' payout at all, however, it does come out of the Airbnb service fee for the 5% discount that the Guest pays when booking their reservation"

[Crystal98]

I just received a notification to join a beta version of the non-refundable reservation. I agree that the information does not tell you where the discount is coming from. Thank you for sharing your support message. So if our payout is not affected, I am in favour of trying this out. EDIT: I found this in my settings:

[Jeff158]

@Crystal98 Thats a different offer where the host gives a 10% discount, its being discussed on the thread below:

https://community.withairbnb.com/t5/Hosting/Beta-Make-guest-stays-non-refundable-for-10-discount/m-p...

[Zojka0]

It seems it aplies even to bookings who are already nonrefundable according to the cancellation policy. i am turning it off until Airbnb fixes this discrepancy.

[Christine1]

I haven't looked at the detail for a while but my recollection is that the stricter cancellation policies attract a higher fee from the Host to Airbnb. I would have been informed of this at the time I moved from Moderate to Strict.  And I decided it was worth paying a higher levy to AirBnb  in return for the right to advertise a Strict policy.

Even so, I still give refunds under this policy. I do use  my Host tools to exercise discretion on behalf of my guests.

Regards Christine 

[Lucy99]

Beware this functionality is not working correctly and proving a much greater discount to guests, close to 20% rather than the 10%... it in "Beta"mode and it's not working. Review your reservation and calculate it offline.

[PuntaParaiso0]

Can anyone explain this to me? I am confused by the wording on what happens at the 5 day before check in part. What will be available? Can the guest cancel? The wording doesn't make sense to me.

"The non-refundable option can only be offered with the Flexible and Moderate policies. When paired with Moderate, it will be available to guests up to 5 days before their desired check-in date."

[Sarah977]

@PuntaParaiso0   "When paired with Moderate, it will be available to guests up to 5 days before their desired check-in date."

I take this to mean that guests can't choose the non-refundable option if they book less than 5 days before the dates they want.

But as usual, Airbnb's wording is less than clear. 

[PuntaParaiso0]

Sorry forgot to mention where this came from... it is a new option under cancellation policy named 

Moderate or Non-refundable 

[Jeanette279]

I have a question on this. If someone books last minute within the period of the moderate cancellation policy surely the 10% nonrefundable discount should not apply?