Well, I think most other people will appreciate that fact. Here seems to be more of an echo chamber where nobody had financial obligations. All the best
What do you mean by ‘helping new users who are looking for an exit’. ?? What sort of help are you looking @Getoffmylawndummy.
I am not aware of any sources of help for businesses in our situation?
By the way just because someone is letting their place stay empty for a few months doesn’t mean they don’t have a mortgage, just that they are using some of their STR profits to cover costs.
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We are a entire place listing in Los Angeles, my current guest inquired about staying for 6 months and so I needed to find out what I could do to cancel the rest of my reservations and preserve my superhost status if I wanted to come back after 6 months. The impression I got is that I should message my guests and let them know we are closing, and ask them to cancel their reservations.
I think I have 2 reservations that have not cancelled to this point, I plan to wait to Friday and then cancel them from my end. I’m not sure if that will impact my reviews or superhost status.
I get that a lot of people dont’ want people coming in and dumping on the community. That’s not my intent either. Maybe a sticky post with some helpful information for people like me that may be delisting temporarily might help but i dunno. Anyway all the best.
Why do you think there would be any impact on your reviews if you cancelled under Airbnb’s EC policy @Getoffmylawndummy
Have you looked at the detail of Airbnb’s EC policy for the virus. It makes it quite clear hosts can also cancel penalty free.
Quite honestly I don’t give a fig about my superhost status at the moment. Far more important things to worry about it.
Sorry I have racked my brains, but I still don’t quite understand what sort of help you are looking for which you feel this forum has the expertise/knowledge to provide.
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These reservations are further out, do not fall unde E&C. Anyways thanks.
Section 9.5 says “cancel a pending or confirmed booking and initiate corresponding refunds and payouts”. This clause doesn’t have anything to do with Airbnb unilaterally deciding that 100% refunds can be issued. The word “corresponding” is key. It’s just saying that the cancellation itself can be issued by Airbnb, and would adhere to the corresponding cancellation policy in effect.
Ah I think I understand now. So you have your current guest wanting to stay for a further six months, but you also have some bookings in the diary for post April via Airbnb, so want to cancel these so you can take the six month booking? @Getoffmylawndummy
I would say only you can make the decision as to whether you feel it would be worth cancelling your upcoming guests and taking the small financial hit and other penalties Airbnb imposes for a six month booking.
Personally if I was considering this I would have a proper contract drawn up with guests wanting to stay six months, with previous references and a deposit to minimise the risk of them not completing their tenancy.
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And in 6 months you will be back whining that you have a squatter, who is not paying rent and completely trashed the place.
LTR has not better or worse than STR.
And then you will be completely on your own.
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Actually if you re-read the TOS you will see that Airbnb states in more than one place that they can, “in their sole discretion,” change the policy. We have even had someone post here who sued Airbnb in small claims court (US state of Maryland) and lost. The judge was sympathetic (as are almost all of us here!) but said the TOS is the TOS.
People don’t seem to understand that Airbnb actually has a legal team that advises them on their policies. These same people almost certainly didn’t read the TOS when they signed on, they don’t read the updates or emails, they just click the little pop up boxes. But now they are experts.
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@KKC, I am only referring to section 9.5, referenced by the OP. That section is not a good example of Airbnb’s ability to provide full refunds to guests, which is what a class action lawsuit would be about.
I actually agree with you that the TOS allows Airbnb to take the actions they have taken regarding refunds. But section 9.5 isn’t the correct section to illustrate that.
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Let’s not go around calling people ‘stupid’ for business decisions that don’t concern us directly.
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Thanks for the help. Long term leasing is not my concern as that is my primary business, we run our applicants through Appfolio so we have background checks, leases, methods of payment etc.
It is the STR market that we are less experienced in (AirBnB being our only platform with a singular property). We also have our reasons for not wanting to use other listing sites, we have found our guests to be better from AirBnB.
We had a good experience on AirBnB until recently. I dont blame them for anything other than their lack of support for hosts, but this is a trying time for guests as well and they are walking a balancing act. Ultimately we will need to go where we can make money.
That’s mainly the reason I want to preserve my superhost status, as we were fairly profitable and enjoyed the experience (we were superhosts for a reason!). I may give it some more time so my last two guests can cancel on their end without incurring penalties.
Anyways, appreciate you
I wouldn’t worry about SH status had it within three months of starting four or five years ago and retained it ever since. @Getoffmylawndummy
Ask all guests what made them choose my place SH status has only come up once or twice amongst reasons.
If that is all that is holding you back consider the longer term rental.
This situation isn’t going to be changing anytime soon.
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I have both STR and LTR. I’m sure it depends on our location, but I’m more concerned about my LT tenants being able to come up with their rent next month, than I am about STR cancellations. At least one of my LT renters will be very strapped with this financial situation and probably will have issues with paying their entire rent until this is over.
Like any business, there is always the risk of loss and few of us will be unaffected by this in the long run. Best of luck, whichever route you choose.
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Thanks, but I think it definitely depends on the market. Having 2 months of cancellations (loss of about 8k) with no new reservations does not inspire any confidence in the STR market for us, but again we are an entire place luxury listing in LA so ymmv. That being said, I don’t expect to get market rates for my LTR for 6 months, but I value the stability more than anything else at the moment.
What frosts my cookies is that the fragile ones are usually the most blunt/rude themselves. I make adult statements and ask adult questions. I’m adult enough to take “no” well. Just don’t beat up the hibiscus (it beats back, it’s so huge)…
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Post of the day. …
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Thanks… I should have put the word fragile in quotes. Because they’re only fragile if they are told something they don’t like.
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Cancelling your confirmed reservations to make room for a 6 month lease seems really inconsiderate to those you want to cancel. I would never not honor a reservation just to make more money. A reservation is a commitment.
Imagine if that was an accepted practice at other businesses:
- Sorry, your dinner reservation for 2 on Friday is cancelled, we have a family of 8 coming in.
- Sorry, your car rental for next week is cancelled, IBM is in town and they want the same car but for more days.
- Sorry, your hotel reservation for New Year’s Eve is cancelled, we have someone who wants to stay through the first week of January.
- Sorry, but your catered event is cancelled because we have a larger party who will pay us more.
- Sorry, we want to maximize our profits at your expense, and we want to retain our superhost rating alone so in 6 months we can pick up where we left off.
It’s about treating people fairly, not in a manner that’s most beneficial to you. If you do this, you should have to post on your ad that this is your policy.
That’s not what a superhost does.
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I cant even begin to unpack how absurdly short sighted you are being. Yes, let us all go down on sinking ship together for honor. Lmao