Airbnb update today 5/13/20

Did anyone else watch today’s update? I was watching but got distracted and missed the percentage of local travel - got the more than doubled from 13% to ____.

Want to be able to give my very numbers oriented OH the right info when we talk about this at dinner!

There was an update? :wink:

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Looks like Airbnb has QUIETLY extended the date until June 30 for guests to cancel under “extenuating circumstances” policy with FULL refund. I’ve got a guest booked for June 18-22 who has been waiting/hoping for this extension, and sure enough he can now cancel without penalty (even though I’ve held his reservation for 5 months, as a host with a “strict” cancel policy, I now get screwed again).

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Just because you know it’s coming doesn’t make it less painful, does it? I haven’t had a reservation since mid March and I’m closed until mid or end July. I’m tempted to open up for this week just to see if anyone passing through would book. But I have a completely different business model than you and a one night cancel that they probably held for a week isn’t so painful.

Are you getting any new reservations? I see articles that say people are going on with their lives but I wonder what the demand for vacation rentals really is.

I was surprised (a little), that Airbnb just silently moved the date out to June 30. The notice does say that the guest has to provide documentation that they can’t travel, but I doubt that will be strict … Airbnb again leaning to side of the guest.

I actually got a booking for this weekend (discounted), and another for next weekend.

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It was updated on the covid EC page yesterday. I got an email cuing me to check that page yesterday morning. It’s the all bold bookmark this Help Center article that links to that page.

I think location is a key factor. Being in a (US) state that’s is “open” seems to draw from those states that are “closed”.

I’ve had recent guests from CA, Oregon, upcoming guests from NYC

I just had another inquiry from someone in NYC looking for at least a month in June or thereafter. Before going further I asked her to make sure she was aware of what summer in AZ is like. :hot_face:

Are you familiar with Scottsdale / Phoenix in the SUMMER? I ask that because it gets pretty damn hot, and I would not want you to commit to something and then ask yourself WTF did we just do. It really is a great place to live except in the dog days of summer.

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yes, that’s what I received as well. They didn’t come right out and say, “hey, heads up we extended the dates… they just said to go to the Covid-19 updated page”, and that’s where you can see that they extended it.

Yeah, but I figured that’s why they were cuing me to go and check it.

You would think that they might at least tell guests that they had to cancel 7 days ahead of time or something since the policy is so far out. It’s really inconvenient for hosts to wait until the last minute to find out if the guests are cancelling or not. Seems like a decent compromise: you can cancel for a full refund but not at the last minute.

I agree!

Now I’m waiting to see if they extend the 25% offer to the hosts with strict cancellation policies through June … they DEFINITELY should.

If the policy holds, you’d be better off having your guests cancel within the 7 days prior to their booking; you’d get 25% of 100% rather than 25% of 50%. That’s assuming you’d not be able to book those dates if they were to cancel now.

If I were in your situation, I’d check in with your guest to assess what they are planning or how they are thinking. I would guess they are waiting to see what conditions will be like in June.

They already said that they are not going to extend that offer. They made a big to-do about it when they gave hosts the option to cancel reservations (that were made before Mar 14) for the rest of 2020 (the deadline for that was yesterday, May 15).

May31

https://www.airbnb.com/resources/hosting-homes/a/250m-to-support-hosts-impacted-by-cancellations-165

Thanks for the clarification. I admittedly have not been following the ongoing updates from AirBNB.

I just had three bookings from New Yorkers. They’re working remotely from their apartments and in their messages they all pretty much said the same thing; just looking for a change of scenery and looking for a place with outdoor seating where they can still work remotely but at least be on the deck or dock instead of being locked in a NYC apartment. My whole house rental is at the Jersey Shore so it’s not a long drive for them. I do feel pretty lucky to get these bookings especially after so many cancellations : )

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I had a guest cancel just over a week before their booking was supposed to start but got 25% the booking price (rather than 25% of 50%). Decided not to inform Air on this occasion!

My area doesn’t officially open for STR properties until May 22 but the inquiries and views are going up like crazy. I’ve had three booking requests that got cancelled out from family visits. Went out to the beach yesterday (which just opened since March 15) and it was like the middle of a normal summer. And our restaurants are all still closed but they can drive 30 minutes To SC/Myrtle Beach and everything is open. I think people are ready to get out of their houses. So, in answer to your question, if you open your calendar, I’m pretty sure you’ll get the bookings as you are always booked!

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I think I could get some bookings. I do think what I do and what tourist locations do (beaches or getaways like HH described) are different. But people are probably going to drive more than ever as opposed to flying. I made a few days available, up until Wed and didn’t get a booking yet. I haven’t looked at the competition, I’m just not that interested in the risk/reward ratio at this time.