Official: "free parking on premises" means "free parking in the area"

[Laiha0]

I have had official confirmation that the listing facility described as 'free parking on premises' means "as long as there is free parking available in the area that is all we require of our hosts [airbnb]." 'On premises' means 'private' and therefore airbnb is actually encouraging hosts to use inaccurate and legally false information. Why name a dog 'a cat' if all that you require is that it be a pet - in other words why not use 'free parking in the area' instead of 'free parking on premises' to mean free parking in the area?

It seems to me so obvious that whoever first came up with the term intended it to refer to private parking that it beggars belief that airbnb would try to argue otherwise. Not only does it open up the whole parking situation to abuse (who doesn't live somewhere where there is free parking somewhere in the 'area' however it is defined? is it still 'free parking' if it is not free 24/h or if there is never a space) but it also deprives hosts with private parking of making this clear in the pre-chosen tick boxes. Of course details can be provided in the listing but the whole point of the tick-boxes is that they can be used to filter unsuitable properties.

So I would assume that this is another instance of poor customer service rather than a deliberate attempt to undermine the transparancy and honesty of the system. I hope someone with more experience of airbnb can take this up and have it resolved so we can continue to have confidence in the system.

[Todd-and-Reese0]

If we will have a car on our trip, we always check for free parking and then we scour the listing details and all the guest reviews. That is where you will get the true feedback on parking. For example, we stayed in Seattle and the host had the "free parking on premises" box ticked but in the details it said there is "usually free street parking nearby" and in some of the guest comments they mentioned not being able to find parking late at night. It really is up to the guests to read everything in the listing description. They usually don't, but then it's on them.

As hosts, we have tons of free street parking, almost always right in front of our house. It isn't in a driveway or garage, but it is free 24-hour parking 15 ft from our front door, so....gray area? We have the "free parking on premises" box checked and we explain it in the listing details. We've never, ever, not even once had a complaint from a guest, usually the opposite of "wow, free parking right in front of the house, even at 1am!".

[Jakub20]

I agree with you Laiha. Not always you will find free parking slot on the street e.g. in bigger cities and those who own parking and what to provide it to their guests should have the possibility to distinct it from the free parkings on the streets. Should be regulated by airbnb.

[Itai3]

I agree 100% with Laiha. Having access to free parking 24/7 is a reasonable requirement by which to filter assets. When I tick the "Free parking on premises" checkbox, this is what I excpect the listings to be filtered by. If AirBnB want, they can add another option named "Free parking in the area", but if I filter by "Free parking on premises" and book and apartment, I expect there to be free parking on premises. Just as when I tick "Washer", I expect there to be a washer in the apartment, not in a store down the street.

[Sean95]

The problem is that the only filter shown to guests is "free parking on premises". So if it's free street parking directly in front of the listing and there are always enough spaces, there is no communicate this without falsely selecting "free parking on premises"

[Mohammed29]

This might be a bit off topic, what if the posting did mention "free parking on premises" and then the host communicates that there's a parking garage nearby that is not free? I booked the accomodation around free parking and the information was provided by the host following the booking shows parking for a very high charge. 

[Willow3]

@Mohammed29 - if you've not yet taken the trip, I would cancel.  Mostly on principal of deception.  Contact Airbnb if necessary if you risk loosing money.  I would be beyond irritated if I showed up and had to pay expensive parking after selecting a place based on parking.  When I travel, I always hire a car, and the LAST thing I want to do, is drive in circles in an unfamiliar area searching for parking, or end up in an expensive lot and then have to lug my gear to the hosts house.  

[Mohammed29]

@Willow3 I was really annoyed to find out it's not free, I'm just trying to confirm with the host that there isn't free parking. I would cancel except she has a strict cancellation policy and I want to try and resolve this with the host before getting into the hassle of requesting money back. 

[Kerri70]

I just cancelled a reservation for that very reason.

Just booked for free parking on premises...

...then owner said it's city parking with a fee. Then states it's only 10 euro a day, which would be an additional 20 euro on top of my rental.

On principal. Annoyed. Put-off. Canceled. 
Especially when one adds that to fees and cleaning, which are entirely arbitrary. 
After a long trip, I can get pissy about extra costs. 

Personally, I would not want to mess with people choosing to stay at my place. Who does that?

[Kira32]

Don't book! Or cancel with all money returned to you!

If not, let this person confirm that parking is for free if it is not stated on the listing. 

You should not pay extra for a free parking spot. 

Good luck!

[Steve378]

Yes, I completley agree. I'm going through this now and finding dozens and dozens of listings that say "free on premises" when then only have street parking at best. I've contacted many hosts and some actually seem confused. I think the language "premises" isn't clear to many people.  I think "on site" is more clear.

I think that parking is so important, especially in dense areas, that AirBNB should separate the parking from the basic amenities and treat parking separately. They should also add more details to disambiguate what they mean for both the hosts and guests.

Parking (only one can be selected):

- Free parking on site (private parking space, garage, or driveway)

- Free street parking (in nearby area)

- Paid parking in area (nearby parking garage or lot)

[Ed121]

the legal definition of the premise "property". Any host who lists on-premise parking and does not provide a parking space on the property which they own or rent or a condo is being deceptively dishonest and will get a bad review from me

[Koko28]

totally agree. 

Yet, this below is what I experienced. 

yes, there were parking spaces inside the premise.

but they were full with host and other guest and we were told to park outside, on the road.

If I were the host, I would shift my car to the street and let the guest to use the space.

The guest is usually not local. It is 100 times harder for guests to find a parking space on the street. 

Unfortunately, none of the hosts have offered this yet. Am I too kind?

Another question is, (this is more of a question from English-as-2nd-language person)

What does "on premises" mean?

Why is it "premises" instead of "premise"?

When we say "on the table" it means the cup or whatever is touching the table.

Do we call the space "on premise" if the space is outside of the property but next to the property hedge? like street beside it?

[Ute42]

.

@Koko28 

Free parking on premises to me means, that I can

• park a standard automobile including SUVs (without a trailer)

• on a piece of land that is owned by the host

• in close proximity to the entrance of the listing

• free of charge

Also I would expect that this parking-lot is for my personal use only and accessable 24/7, so I would not have to wake up the owner at 2pm and ask him to move his car so that I can pull into my parking-lot.

Anything else is something else to me.

[Rob-and-Anne0]

Just had exactly the same issue in San Diego. Used he filter for on premixes parking. Received a message from the host saying here NO parking on premises but “generally” there is street parking available. 

We immediately contacted the host who refused to refund and basically told us to p!ss off and it wa sour problem. Contacted Airbnb and they said the same.  WTF we had three kids, tons of ski equipment and seven bags we wanted on premakes parking NOT “maybe” on the street somewhere. 

It is simply dishonest and deceptive advertising by the host and deceptive conduct supported by Airbnb as ‘policy’. 

We are hosts and would NOT in a fit device gusted in such a manner. 

We we found the behaviors and attitude of Airbnb and the host disgusting.