I have had nearly everyone cancel after the first week of March when Airbnb offered 100% refunds to everyone.
Then the cancellations slowed when they stopped doing that and my Strict cancellation policy held up. Only those who came from Italy, China, and S. Korea were allowed a full refund. They now that plus the US and everyone else has cancelled up to and around the April 14th date they set. I have paid the rent for March and will need to pay it again on April 1. So I chose to stay open as a person here and there has needed lodging. I am in New Haven, CT. So, we have folks passing through on their way north or south, picking up their kids at Yale, stranded until they could find permanent housing, etc. I need to still make a living.
When will Airbnb make some adjustments for hosts who are losing money? This way we don’t have to host if we don’t have sufficient space that is separate from others etc? They have added a way for guests and hosts to cancel without penalty and guests get their money back in full. Why not a button for hosts to chose to give a partial refund refund or vice versa? Guests could chose to pay a portion to their host for the work they did up to this point. A host’s job does not begin when a guest enters the code into the door keypad lock. It starts way before… The listings don’t just magically appear ready to go for free.
I had a guest ask if he could get a refund for everything except 50% of the room rate back…NOPE. It is not possible. It is don’t cancel and pay in full or cancel and you get 100% back. So he cancelled. He is a regular guest who stays for 7 to 21 days at a time. So we are talking about me losing a ton of money.
Airbnb is so afraid of losing future guests, but not hosts apparently.
They let everyone get their money back in full so why not still give them their portion and refund the Airbnb service fee or as they have said, in the form of a voucher for a future stay? Then allow the host the get even a 20% payout? Like I said, I have already paid the rent, I have furnished the apartment, have to keep the utilities on, I have spent time corresponding with guests. Now I get ZERO? I am not suggesting I get the full amount I would have. I am not suggesting people travel to avoid losing money. I am just asking for fairness…just a little bit. How could those who agree with me be heard???
Just wondering what makes you think you should be paid for not supplying a service?
I’ve found some people here to be sanctimonious to complaints similar to yours. But the reality is many hosts are in a financial situation where 2 months of lost revenue is just not possible.
At the same time, AirBnB cannot pay hosts for reservations that dont happen, it’s a risk of the short term rental market. It’s not ideal and clearly frustrating, but many hosts will need to evaluate their properties and try to find a way to make them profitable in the near term.
I wish you the best, but looking for help from AirBnB is equivalent to shaking your fist at a cloud
I did provide a service. I paid rent. I paid utilities. I kept a house open for Airbnb guests to find on Airbnb and reserve for their stay. I furnished a house. I listed it. I corresponded with each guest. All of these things took and take time and MUCH effort. It took months to get going before the listing appeared on Airbnb let alone years of experience to be able to deliver a quality listing… that these guests gladly reserved! I spend hours and hours a day hosting, preparing, corresponding. Worth nothing??
In the time of a crisis, yes it is unfortunately worth nothing. Maybe you’ll find solace in the fact you’re not alone. But it’s a crap situation from top down.
People in history thought a lot of things were not possible.
Not being alone does not pay the bills or pay me for the bills already paid.
I understand, and I’m not trying to minimize the financial impact this is having on you. For me, I had an entire place listing that I’ve now successfully converted to a long term rental. I will collect about 3k per month as opposed to 4-5k I was averaging with AirBnB.
Keep in mind my business does long term leasing professionally and currently there are very little landlord protections (for ex: the local sheriff’s office is no longer doing lockouts for successful evictions, and courts are closed until mid April at least so no new evictions can be filed).
So there is risk everywhere in times like this. I hope you find a good plan for your property
Continuing the discussion from Are you sick from losing 100% with full refunds to guests due to Covid-19?:
I understand your frustration. But I think you need to chalk this up as the cost of doing business. There are a lot of ppl going through a vast array of hardships because of this virus. Yes, this is detrimental to all of us in this market and many other vacation rentals, the tourist industry, the retail industry, I could go on. The whole thing sucks! But making someone pay for travel they cancelled due to a international advisory isn’t right either. Just my 2 cents.
Exactly the same as a hotel…they aren’t being booked either.
I am a small business owner…not a hotel chain.
I just believe the guest should not get 100% back. I am not asking for the full amount, but I did do a great amount of work for the guest to even be able to book my listing.
I am in the same boat but thankfully I have a fulltime job as well. I’ve always had the income to pay for my rental property and that’s really how it should be. People shouldn’t be depending on unsecured sources of income to pay bills. I understand this is how the majority of businesses operate, so it’s annoying for all of this to be happening at the moment but I think people who need money will hve to suck it up and find another source of income, which won’t be easy considering a recession appears to be on the horizon. I, like you, put in a ton of work, but that’s my choice. i could probably do almost nothing and get the same # of renters. Unfortunately, my city has quite a bit of paperwork and nonsense to get around so I am always challenged with meeting their requirements.
The bills already paid?? aren’t those the cost of running a house that you own? Regardless of whether I have guests, I have to pay utilities. Why is that someone else’s problem?
I agree with you, they left us high and dry. It would be nice to get a little something to help, but this is an extraordinary situation. I doubt there’s much we can do.
I’m I the same boat as you, but your argument shouldn’t be that you’ve already done the work or that you have your mortgage to pay … those are beside the point. My grip/point with Airbnb’s new policy of refunding 100% to the guest is that I HAVE A STRICT CANCELLATION policy for a reason … I have a narrow season (Spring Break week, Summer, holidays), and I book these in advance and plan on those bookings!!!
The fair thing to do would be a split (maybe 50/50, maybe 75/25 … guest/host for qualified cancellations). Hopefully Airbnb management will acknowledge they need a better system to help protect hosts, and not just guests.
@Jennifer_Jane – You do not work for Airbnb, they are only your marketing arm – advertising your place but not guaranteeing you one penny. They do not pay you to provide a listing – you pay them service fees) to list on their website. Never has been, never will be a guarantee that you will make anything.
It’s not their fault that you and countless others have chosen to try and make a full time job out of short term rentals. But they only owe you when people actually stay at your place. The don’t owe you a thing just because you have a place.
I too have a strict cancellation policy and this is my prime season BUT these are extraordinary times and I find it disheartening to hear complaints like yours when people are just trying to protect themselves (and indirectly their hosts).
Everything around us is being cancelled, governments and municipalities are telling people to stay home. Everyone is having hardships but I am relieved that corporations (like AirBNB) are acting responsibly rather than selfishly. I am also relieved that the rest of my March guests have cancelled.
If you feel you have a marketable offering, then get on another platform and go resell your listing. I will venture to guess there is no longer a lot of demand.
This is exactly it. Very little is going to be done and you are out a ton of money, just like everyone here.
Airbnb is completely aware of our complaint but they aren’t going to do anything. They already sent a message about this today via email and if you didn’t see it, it’s here: