Another update which will increase guest refund requests

[Mary419]

I’m very concerned to see this new update.

Giving a guest 72 hours to report problems instead of 24 hours is going to make the free stay scammers ecstatic. 24 hours was plenty. Why should a guest get to complain about cleanliness after staying for over 2 days?

After hosting thousands of guests I can give many examples including once when I went to re-clean a kitchen floor for a family who clearly had spilled their own takeout food sauces all over it and then told me the floor was dirty. I’m getting very worried about the future of this business when I see changes like this:

 

[Debra300]

@Mary419,

How did you come upon this information?  Would you please share if this was an email sent to you from Airbnb, or the link to an online post from Airbnb?  I think it's not an official announcement.

I am asking for this, because the message isn't written with American English spelling and grammar (assuming that your account is in the US based upon the location of your listings) e.g., honour instead of honor, and the word guests is not capitalize but says Hosts.  Also, in US English, the term "for example" is always the start of a sentence and is written after the period (full stop) of the preceding sentence like this, "For example,".  Lastly, another red flags, is that it says "72** hours".  This is not how any English grammar is written to denote the amount of hours.  I'll also that it says the change will become in effect next month instead of a specific date, and Airbnb always states a date for a policy (new or update) implemented.  This is required to allow hosts an opportunity to opt out, if they so choose.

[Sarah977]

@Debra300  Airbnb Resource Center article, dated March 17th. 

https://www.airbnb.com/resources/hosting-homes/a/how-were-holding-guests-responsible-for-damage-503?...

[Debra300]

Thanks, @Sarah977.  I did a search, and hadn't found this post.  It is still quite nebulous, because next month leaves the window open for when the change will be implemented.  It is so poorly written that I thought it came from a hacker/spammer.

[Sarah977]

**[Content removed in line with the Community Center Guidelines] - Please note that our policy doesn’t allow for discrimination based on race, ethnicity, national origin, religious affiliation, disability, gender or sex. You can find more info by visiting our Non-discrimination Policy.

[Charles224]

Is Putin blocking your comments @Sarah977 ?   

I see that Brave New World is no longer a novel - and  that so many IT folks have never read it. 

[Sarah977]

@Charles224  Not only was it removed, I got an email from an Airbnb employee who told me he was on a special team and that my post had come to their attention as  "discriminatory", that they have made a note on my file, and that he was giving me a warning about being banned if it ever happened again.

All because I made a tongue in cheek post about the poorly written policy being written by their CS reps and, horror of horrors, mentioned the nationality of their outsourced CS dept, which isn't discriminatory at all, but a simple fact.

[Paul1255]

@Sarah977  A warning about being banned from the community centre or Airbnb?

[Sarah977]

@Paul1255  It sounded more like closing my account entirely.

[Paul1255]

Hmmm interesting @Sarah977 thanks for confirming 

[Paul1255]

@Sarah977 are you still here?

[Stephanie365]

But it does allow for dystopian totalitarianism by the Mods.

[Mary419]

I found it easily going back and searching again… 

https://www.airbnb.com/resources/hosting-homes/a/how-were-holding-guests-responsible-for-damage-503

[Lorna170]

@Mary419 , @Debra300 , @Ryan2594 , @Andri1190   Click on the link provided by @Sarah977  and leave feedback!

[Huma0]

@Lorna170 

Done.

[Donna1157]

The official email came out 3/30 titled: Explore updates to features and policies:

Our community of Hosts and guests is founded on trust and we are always working on ways to strengthen that foundation.

In the coming weeks, we will be making the changes described below.

Airbnb is taking further steps to hold guests responsible for damage they cause to your listing.

• By the end of May, guests will be informed that their payment method may be charged if they cause damage to a listing. As part of this update, security deposits will be removed from the listing settings page.
   

  Airbnb is updating how rebooking assistance and refunds work for guests.

  • We are updating our guest refund policy for stays to allow 72 hours to report travel issues and clarify how refunds and rebooking assistance are handled. Review the updated and renamed Rebooking and Refund Policy here for details.
     

    In November, we launched AirCover for Hosts, inspired by your input. We’re committed to continuing our work to advance our pr...

    Thanks,
    
    The Airbnb Team

     

     

    Airbnb, Inc.

    888 Brannan St.

    San Francisco, CA 94103, USA