China, Korea, Italy and Japan - 50% refund even with strict cancellation Policy

[Jesse432]

Hello. I just had a guest from South Korea cancel days before a reservation and even though I had a Strict Cancellation policy, they were able to receive 50% refund. I later found out that guests from China, Italy, South Korea and Japan are allowed 50% refund even if they cancel last minute on a Strict Cancellation period. As I make very small profit margins on my inventory, I cannot take this kind of risk with my rentals. How can I see what countries Guests are from? If Airbnb is going to impose these rules on hosts, we have the right to know where guests are from.

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Jesse432 Sorry but you do not have a right to know what country guests are coming from as it might cause you to discriminate against them. You choose to use Airbnb so you have to abide by its rules.

[Jesse432]

I appreciate your response and would like to clarify my viewpoint on the matter. My concern isn't about discriminating against any country but rather understanding the inconsistent implementation of Airbnb's strict cancellation policy.

It's come to my attention that guests from Italy, South Korea, Japan and china can bypass the Strict Cancellation policy and cancel last-minute while only incurring a 50% refund. . This isn't about singling out nationalities, but about ensuring a level playing field for hosts globally. Could you imagine if you were a host and you depended on a couple of high season weeks that made the difference of you keeping your condo or not? For example, Christmas and New Years week in Park City, Utah -- Hosts here can sell weeks for $10,000+ per week, but these rentals are much needed to actually help them with rising costs. So if a guest from say Italy cancels the day before, the host would be out by $5000 and then they would not have time to try to find another buyer. Do you think that would be discrimation if they do not want to take the risk of something like this happening? 

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Jesse432 Yes it would be discrimination I am afraid. It simply comes down to your choice though. You either accept Airbnb's terms or you don't use the platform.

Your info is slightly wrong though. Only South Korean guests get a different strict policy as do STAYS in Italy (not Italian guests) Same goes for China and Germany - I think!

[Quincy]

Hi there @Jesse432, thank you for sharing your message here. May I ask where you found this particular piece of information? 

Also, as @Mike-And-Jane0 has mentioned, the guests country of origin is not disclosed to avoid discrimination—I hope this clarifies.