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.

[Kim87]

When i first started, the only options were NO PARKING or FREE PARKING ON PREMISES. I pressured airbnb to put more options. We have free parking on the street, but it can be it can be tricky sometimes and guests don't often read all the details i provide about that. Now that i have the street parking setting, no more problem or bad reviews because parking was difficult. I understand that hosts can choose to announce free parking on premises when it's only street parking, but i really don't see how this is in their interest.

[Sean95]

LOL yes OMG Montreal and its irrational parking rules. I don't miss those.

"No parking on the left side of the street on Tuesdays and Thursdays during alternating months between 8h00 and 15h00 to the extent that this in phase with the precession of the equinoxes, at all other times you may park on the right side of the street but only when the sun 15 degrees above the horizon and the forecast predicts less than 10cm of snow within the 24-hour period preceding the moment you wish to park".

"On garbage day, you are free to park anywhere. Don't worry about the waste removal workers, they'll figure it out."

[Marie82]

when I 1st start hosting I had parking on site for a fee but require guests to confirm during the booking process if they needed it or not, 90% will simply ignore and arrival date or when at the door will ask where to park, especially many US guests. 

We needed a special fob to access parking different than the one for the apartment. After a while and having to deal with a bad review and dishonest guests who suddenly forgot to pay the 10AUD daily rates, I lease all my parking space privately, and no more headache to deal with parking.

Now when guests ask about parking, as they are very expensive in the city I provide them links to  nearby parking I don't provide any more info and advice them to carry their own search. Simple reasons if anything goes wrong with the parking/fees they will assimilate with the apartment booking. 

Best decision i have ever made 

[Allan186]

I was told by the host that any vehicle must park inside garage but not in front of garage ,does anyone know why this is and also any other vehicle must park on street

[Sean95]

The problem is that AirBnB tries to pigeonhole parking in an overgeneralized way under amenities. It needs to be its own section entirely and on the same level of importance as "type of property".

I am unable to accurately express the parking situation for my listing using the available options under amenities. The nearest available option that represents my case is "free on-street parking", however, when guests see this on a listing in a major city, certain limitations and challenges are automatically assumed about lack of space, worrying about parking signs, and being too far from the property. None of these apply in my case, as the street parking is so abundant that availability is guaranteed without having to drive in circles, there are no rules, and the street parking at my doorstep is just as close and offers all the same benefits as driveway parking (except the extra security that comes with a private parking spot).

Furthermore, guests don't even have a search filter for "on-street parking". The only way I can show them that I have parking is by selecting "free parking on premises", even though this is not accurate. So my choices become:

1. Lose a huge chunk of prospective guests because they will not see my property when using the parking filter, since AirBnB provides a filter ONLY for "on premises". This is ridiculous, since the vast majority of guests just want free, guaranteed, close parking and don't care whether whether it's actually on land owned by the host or not.

OR

2. Be a deceptive host ( @Ed121 ) by selecting "on premises", knowing that this will anger a very small minority of people who are more concerned with legal accuracy than practical matters.

As someone who's used AirBnB for travelling more than 100 times, I can say that I always hate trying to find a place with parking, due to the spike in the prices that results when enabling the "free parking on premises" filter. Since this filter usually eliminates most of the cheaper options, I always end up having to search without any parking filters, build a short list, and then manually figure out the parking situation for each. It's a very annoying and tiring process.

I recognize that on premises means on the property that you own/rent. However, because AirBnB fails to provide the tools needed to effectively express parking options on listings, the choice becomes to either understate the listing and lose lots of business, or overstate it and still satisfy 99% of people, while pissing off the 1% who want to pin it on the host for being deceptive (which is definitely sometimes the case), rather than looking at the bigger picture, which is that we are all trying to fit vastly dissimilar places into a poorly designed framework.

My listing is airbnb.com/h/mckenziepiping and I have the "parking on premises" inaccurately enabled, then I specify the following details under the "More about this location" (in hosting mode, it's called "Neighbourhood Overview") and also in the House Manual:

-------

"There are 3 types of parking for this listing.

a) ALWAYS FREE: All-day and overnight parking abounds on the streets (1-minute walk) listed below.

i. Judith Dr, between Northridge Ave and Lankin Blvd.
ii. Coxwell Blvd (NOT Coxwell Ave), between Barbara Crescent and Taylor Dr.
iii. Durant Ave, between Judith Dr and Plains Rd.

b) SOMETIMES FREE: Ideal for overnight parking, the diagonal parking spots directly in front of the building are free from Monday - Saturday between 6:00pm - 9:00am and all day Sunday.

c) PAID: My private parking spot is behind the building and this is where I park my car. Guests can have this spot for a surcharge of $10/night, payable via AirBnB. You must request this option at least 24 hours in advance, since I would need to make sure I’m available to guide you to the spot either physically or by video chat. It cannot be explained through photos and written instructions because many other people park in that area and all the spots look the same."

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[Robert906]

So, I have parking spot for apartment. And it has small ramp with keys which I give to guests. It is free of charge.
Parking spot is not next to apartment. it is about 100 m from the apartment. Is that "free parking on permises", or not?
So it is free but it is not next to the apartment? I don't feel that it is "free parking on permises", but there is no box to mark that there is free parking place. What should I do?

[Ian36745]

I would tend to mention it in the description Robert but not the headline. It is dedicated free parking but folks should know it is not next to the property.

It is all about transparency and mentioning it shows integrity and rather than put people off will make it more appealing as nothing is being hidden if that makes sense.  

[Shelly251]

We booked an Airbnb in Savannah Georgia. The listing stated “on premise parking” I passed up a cheaper rental because of street parking. When the host sent me the house rules, I noticed he said there was plenty of street parking. I sent him a message asking if the street parking was In addition to the on premises parking. He said no, what on premise parking meant was we didn’t have to find a parking garage in the area.

This is False Advertising! Shame in these deceptive hosts and for Airbnb encouraging it. 
With other issues we experienced through Airbnb, we are done using this app. We will stick to hotels even if that means we pay more money. 

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Shelly251 Have you asked Airbnb for a cancellation and full refund? To advertise on premise parking and being put on the street is totally unacceptable.

[Ian36745]

Had this last night in Guise, France. It said free parking on premises.

After a 7 hour drive, we arrived at a terraced house in a narrow street on a hill. The 'on premises parking was down the hill and a muddy open patch next to a different house.

So we had to drive on for another 6 hours until we got home. The so called customer support said there was no breach of policy, so no refund!

Airbnb used to be our go to  company for booking accommodation as well as our own hosting. Not anymore, i's a disgrace.  

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Ian36745 fascinating to hear that you abandoned your trip and drove home just because you couldn't park right next to the house. It feels like an overreaction but at least the drive home was an hour quicker.

[Ian36745]

I specifically questioned easy access before booking as I have hip problems.

So you drag large cases and bags  through rocks and mud up a hill on a  freezing night with hip issues  and let me know if it was overreaction folks.

Also not sure where you get the hour quicker part.

[Debra300]

@Ian36745,

Thanks for sharing your experience, because it's a good reminder for folks with special needs to inquire and confirm with hosts that the property is a good fit before booking, especially if there isn't a photo of the required amenity or the photos don't fully depict what's in the listing details.  I likely would have contacted the host since the rental you described was a terrace house so it's more probable that there would be street parking and not on-prem parking unless the front garden had been made into a parking area.  

As a host, I have seen many guests infer or imagine things despite what they've seen or read so I always appreciate it when guests contact us for more information.  

[Ian36745]

As hosts ourselves, we appreciate it is important to be transparent on the property details and consider peoples' needs.

This was not the case on this property. It was blatant misrepresentation and did not show the outside of the property in the listing as many listings don't when less desirable settings.

We did not infer or imagine anything as we did inquire clearly to them before booking.

There was no street parking as there was barely enough room for 2 vehicles to pass despite not being a one way street. No front garden and the front door straight on to the narrow road. 

[Roshanak1]

Thank you for bringing up this issue. I rented a car back in Turkey just based on the “free parking on premises “ and when I got there, the host told me that there is a public parking that I can park the car there and of course I should pay out of pocket. I ended up to take the car back to the airport and take metro and buses to get back to the apartment . The bad point is I had to experience that personally and paid the price for a new experience. Hope others take it to the consideration.