Cancellation policy too strict on hosts who sublease

[Richard2964]

We own some of our offers and lease others. We have a blended strategy and have found great success with Airbnb. However, recent crackdowns have caused us to have to alter our offerings. This is business, it happens. While we’ve given ample time to affected guests to make accommodations. Airbnb has chosen to become adversarial with us by advising guests not to cancel, thereby subjecting us to their overly strict cancellation policy where their goal is to charge fees and make money not only from the cancelled booking but also the new booking. Their greed is going to be their undoing. You are too lax on the onboarding and too strict when trying to claim your fees. Add to that the political fallout and your bungling of customer service, including the mishandling of the short term cleaning fee, many are starting to second guess your platform. 

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Richard2964 I am with Airbnb on this one. Guests need to trust that Airbnb hosts will not cancel on them. Hosts that do, without good reason, do need to be financially punished as they are often ruining the guest's trip.

[Richard2964]

So if they have ample time to find a new property, what is the harm? Your tone seems very aggressive when this is supposed to be about support. Thank you for your perspective. I’m seeking resolution and clarity, not a fight. With all due respect, there exist ample “good reason(s)” for cancellation outside of the short list provided by the company. 

[Helen3]

If you need to cancel say  because you are operating against the STR regulations in your location or your local HOA why would you expect guests to cancel for you @Richard2964 ?

when hosts cancel guests  for a non emergency reason it affects us all by discrediting the platform . 

By the way - this is a community for hosts and guests not Airbnb

what do you mean by 'recent crackdowns have caused us to alter our offerings ' ??

[Richard2964]

You are making assumptions. Which is fine. We worked very hard to reach Superhost status successfully hosting over 100 guests and received 5 star reviews on nearly half. What’s discrediting the platform is the horrible customer support and erroneous handling of funds. By “crackdowns” I am specifically speaking about the negative backlash to Airbnb as a platform. Don’t read into it too much. Obviously, you have an agenda. Thank you for your participation 😊

[Helen3]

What agenda would that be @Richard2964  I don't know you 😀

I responded based on the information you provided  - - you said you asked guests to cancel. I gave examples of situations which might have caused a host to have to do this.

If you weren't able to host because of bad weather (something you didn't mention in your initial post)? Which then made it impossible to host /  this would have been something you could have looked at under Airbnb's EC policy for hosts . 

I can't imagine a situation where I'd ask a guest to cancel. 

[Richard2964]

Just because you cannot imagine it does not mean it does not exist 😊

[Richard2964]

Instead of making assumptions, please keep an open mind. Our property is located on a hill and the recent ice storms that have hit the Pacific Northwest ravaged the entire coast especially where our properties are located. This conversation was about a larger conversation regarding Airbnb’s lack of accountability, profit grab and mishandling of funds, most especially the short term cleaning fee debacle. 

[Rebecca]

Hey there @Richard2964, 

I'm sorry to read your recent experience. 

I was looking at the Host Cancellation Policy and I saw this: 

We will waive the fees and, in some cases, the other consequences, if the Host cancels because of Extenuating Circumstances or certain valid reasons beyond the Host’s control.

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More info on this here: 
✨ Cancelling a reservation as a Host without adverse consequences

✨ Extenuating Circumstances Policy

I hope this helps. 

Just a little reminder that this is a support forum and all discussions should be respectful and encouraging of each other, even if your opinions differ. You can read more about this in the Community Center Guidelines 😊