Superhost and cancellation rate policy

Russell3
Level 2
London, United Kingdom

Superhost and cancellation rate policy

Does anyone else find the requirement that you can only cancel one in 100 bookings to maintain SH status really mean? We all have things that might very rarely come up in life (I had an accident when I had to cancel). This doesn’t mean we are less great hosts. It should be one in ten or one in twenty. It makes me feel that I don’t like being part of Airbnb so much because it’s a bit unreasonable. Cheers, Russell

14 Replies 14
Sarah977
Level 10
Sayulita, Mexico

@Russell3  Did you try to get it cancelled under the EC policy? If not, that would have been worth a try, providing documentation of the accident. 

I have never had to cancel a booking, but I agree that 1% is a bit harsh, especially if one isn't a high-volume host. I would never get 100 bookings a year, for instance, because rentals are quite seasonal for me, with 5 months of the year being pretty much dead, and since my guests stay an average of 1 to 2 weeks,  even if I had full occupancy, that amounts to 15- 25 bookings per year.

Pat271
Level 10
Greenville, SC

Although my original reaction was that the host cancellation policy was quite severe, upon reflection I recognized that host cancellations can be devastating to guests.

 

If Airbnb’s strategy is to take business away from hotels, they would naturally severely penalize host cancellations, since host cancellations would rarely happen in hotels. If I were a new guest, and had my accommodations yanked out from under me, I might very well flee back to hotels, and vow to never rent an Airbnb again.

 

As a host, while I sympathize that “life happens”, and that a guest should intuitively recognize the difference between a hotel and a single host’s Airbnb, emotions likely trump logic when a guest’s vacation plans get turned upside-down.

 

So, in summary, there are many Airbnb policies that I think are unreasonable to hosts, but this one I can accept when I consider both sides.

Russell3
Level 2
London, United Kingdom

Yeah good points. I can totally see what you are saying Pat. Still hotels have the capacity to get around it and airbnb is supposed to be (or was, I guess) about people being decent to each other. Just feel like the whole operation isn't being decent to me on this one because they want to squeeze us so they make more profits. Just doesn't sit well really. But i guess it doesn't matter either way - don't suppose the punters really think about it that much. I'm now wondering what our 'levels' are and what the hell is going on there! 🙂 R

@Russell3  The levels are nothing. They are just something that exists on this forum- an indication of activity on the forum- how often you post, how many thumbs up you get. Just a nothing burger social media thing. Has zero to do with your hosting account, expertise, or anything else. 

Well  this could be something that they could even give bonus points for, lol! I mean if there were some thing you could do as an awesome super host that had one cancellation and lost your status, surely there is some kind of remedial Airbnb  course or forum reading or forum posting that you could do to make up extra credit!

Marci729
Level 2
Geneseo, NY

As I host I have about 50 visits a year.  Last year (may 2021) I canceled one reservation.  Because airbnb bases everything on 100 visits, I am over my %limit for cancellations and will loose my superhost status in 2022.  I do not see the logic in this at all besides that fact that airbnb is loosing $$. 

 

@Russell3  I agree. I was remodeling my home to update the fireplace and flooring - so my guests would have a better experience! Once I realized my contractor was not going to finish as expected, I responsibly canceled the reservation (1 month out) so my guest wouldn’t be scrambling to find new accommodations. I have been sitting in superhost purgatory ever since despite being booked solid for the last 4 months and great reviews. 

I won’t even start in on how many times guests have canceled on me last minute. 

It’s also unclear if this “rate” is reset at any point or you just sit with it until you have 100 bookings in the books. I wish they would give actual homeowners a voice when creating these policies. 

my advice for future cancellations is to give the guest the opportunity to cancel first. 

I am in the exact same situation! And no they do not reset it after 12 months! They only reset it after 100 stays. It is a mathematical error in their system in my opinion. Or at least they are falsely stating how it is calculated. Also why not take into account the quantity of stays times the quantity of nights or at least just the quantity of nights to or some other metric. Maybe even take into account the dollar amount. At least make it a more complex system that takes more factors into account. I agree the opinion of a homeowner that is providing the base to their business might be important… 

 

I have been doing Airbnb for almost 6 years, and every year they Lessen and loosen the policies for the guests. And ask us to be more flexible for the guests. I agree that there should be an easier way to present your reasons to cancel to the guests. I feel like if there are policies in place for the guests to be able to cancel then we should also have policies that we can cancel with, albeit they could be more strict than the ones for the guests. 

M199
Level 10
South Bruce Peninsula, Canada

@Marci729 

 

You are not alone.  It's all about the numbers and there is no consideration for seasonal listings.  I'm in the exact same boat.  I've given up the fight.  2023, my Airbnb will be sold, just for this reason.

John5097
Level 10
Charleston, SC

@Russell3 

Sorry about the injury. 

For Request to Book that's been the policy, 1%. For Instant Book host are allowed three cancelations within 12 months. Airbnb also modified the Extenuating Circumstances Policy that became more restrictive. 

https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/1320/extenuating-circumstances-policy 

I would be very reluctant to cancel with penalty. For this I would try and find a cleaner and someone you can count on incase of emergency or to go by and check to see if everything is in order. Then if you want start using IB for the added flexibility. 

I've found Customer Service to be very helpful. I'm not sure maybe everyone else is calling the wrong number? My impression is that its a business, they can keep you booked, and they don't want to lose the very best host who work extra hard to maintain the highest standards over an isolated incident. Twice I've called them when I was stressed out, once for a scammer, and once for jury duty and they were very accommodating and supportive, although may need to submit documents. I also don't beat around the bush and get straight to the point. 

Hope it all works out for you! 

 

Francisca61
Level 2
Cascais, Portugal

This 1% policy is totally irrational because it implies that  to get SH status you will need to take 100 bookings to recover and with none cancellation. I have been a SH from the first quarter with 10 bookings 

I host since 2017, Have 4,95 rating, 220 reviews and i am in a seasonal destination, meaning I host 50 times/year. I lost SH status in July due to one cancellation for which I found my guest a great option nex door. He was happy. I called airbnb before cancelling explaining the reason ( unnaounced urgent works in the garage of the building of my airbnb). 

Anyway the point is in July I had 1,42% cancellation rate, in September i had 1,52 and today I have 1,83% and it will keep on rising since summer season has finished. I keep asking them to tell me when is it predictable that I get MY SH back based on my 50 bookings a year.....and they just cant answer. 

As per my math most likely in 2024! Does that make sense? it doesnt specially because you are awarded SH status with 10 bookings!!

And support does not help at all. They either dont ndertsan the math or they simply stick to the policy.

I totally agree! We have two very large houses around Louisiana State University that both have pools, and we only rent them seasonally for university events. We host very large groups and only about 25 to 35 per year. We have done literally hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of business through Airbnb with never a complaint or a subpar rating. But one cancellation literally two years ago (because yet again I do not think they understand the math nor do they demonstrate it properly… It does not reset after 12 months) has caused us to lose super host status. Yet a junkie one bedroom filthy Airbnb in New Orleans that we stayed in had super host status with 12 bookings! They are totally out to lunch! 

 

Rob8903
Level 1
Lake Worth, FL

I have the same issue. I needed to cancel a guest 70 days prior to the 1 day stay. It was because of the need going to Europe to take care of my mom's surgery. This was not valid reason for Airbnb to cancel. I have 200 nights stay with only 12 bookings (as I have long term guests). I will never recover from this 1 day canceling (or maybe in 5 years). Support was of no help at all. Not counting for the length of stay is unreasonable. I only have 5* ratings but it feels a lost case staying with AirBnB.

Ben5865
Level 2
Arlington, TX

Agree.  It's really bad.  It favors high trafficked accommodations/hosts at the expense of anyone small.  If you have just one situation that requires a cancellation during the year, you would need more than 100 bookings (averaging 8.3 reservations per month) to be below 1%.  It's a really bad policy.  

 

Should consider the situation.  Cancelled on guest that day versus cancelled a couple of days in advance (giving a guest time to modify their plans).  Also, beyond that it should consider shorter timeframes - like have you had a cancellation in last 3 months or 6 months.  And then beyond that the threshold should be considered to be modified.  I can see somewhere between 2-3% as being more realistic.  To say that someone isn't a "Superhost" because they had one unfortunate situation during a year is stupid.