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You don’t seem to understand- guests who don’t understand the non-relationship of the cancellation policies to what they have paid upfront (i.e. it’s simply a convenience to them and doesn’t change the refund they would get which is based on the entire cost of the booking) do not expect to get a refund that is twice what they paid- they mistakenly think they will get back half of the half they paid- that isn’t twice what they paid.
And while you say the link shows up when they choose the split-pay option, anything that requires a click-through, instead of the info itself, is going to be something many guests don’t bother to do.
I’m certainly not saying it’s excusable that they don’t bother to click through, or inform themselves, but it is a reality.
You happen to be a seasoned host as well as guest, and you are the kind of person who reads everything, but I wouldn’t characterize all guests who don’t understand something as stupid or pretending to be stupid.
I hear you. But you can’t put all of the information in the same place because then no one will read anything at all because it will just be a wall of text, like the Terms of Service page. What you’re describing wouldn’t be more helpful because it would be too much information on one page rendering all of it useless.
And, besides, it is an established standard of website user interface to include links for further details (back in the day, they were called ‘footnotes’, lol). Most people who use the Airbnb website also use other websites so there’s no reason to think that they don’t know how websites work. And even if they don’t understand how websites work it doesn’t excuse them from using the website incorrectly. There’s only so much you can do for people. And re-inventing how websites work is not one of those things. You can’t put all of the information on one page and you can’t make people read things.
Honestly, I don’t even understand why you care. It is not your responsibility and you have no control over it. In the words of the great @KenH , this is what we pay Airbnb to do. They do the money. If I could, I would disallow partial payments for my listing because I think the option is dumb all the way around but I can’t so I’ll pay my 3% and not worry about it.
I’m sorry, I don’t even remember where this thread started but I can’t imagine how it rose to such importance. And BTW, I noticed when I checked the process for the partial payment today that they are no longer including the house rules on the payment page, but instead just a note, “Follow the house rules” which I did find interesting.
Only when my hard-earned money is involved Is that no longer being encouraged or is it just because I grew up poor?
I wouldn’t either and I didn’t. I have no issue with stupid. But I have every issue with people who act stupid, which isn’t stupid but manipulative.
I am truly trying to understand where you are coming from on this. Do you feel that there is something subversive about it? That it is tricky somehow? That seems to be the implication and I just don’t see how it is tricky.
Not at all. Just think that Airbnb could make info more easily available to guests at the appropriate junctures. (Perhaps it is more evident now, as Airbnb is always changing things)
I’ve just read so many posts over the years from guests who couldn’t understand why they didn’t get 50% of the 50% they paid up front back as a refund, that the info obviously wasn’t that easy for them to be aware of. Now some of those complaining guests were ranters, just outraged that they didn’t get any $ back, IT ISN"T FAIR! types, but some simply didn’t understand it, but did when it was explained to them on a forum. Some of these guests had called CS about it, but as we know, CS isn’t good at explaining things in a simple, easily understandable way.
And I really don’t particularly care about this specific issue. I just think Airbnb could be clearer about how they present info, in general, both to hosts and guests. Like their stupid wording about what prep day blocks do. “Block one night before and after a reservation”. To almost everyone, that makes it sound like you would lose 2 nights of bookings between each reservation, one after booking A. and another one before booking B. How would anyone know that the 1 night after doubles as the one night before? If they just said “Block one night between bookings”, which is exactly what that setting does, it would be perfectly clear to everyone.
I can understand partial payments as I made a booking as a guest over a month ago and I don’t go for another month. The booking is for 5 nights. Why would I want Air to hold onto $500+ for 2 months? That’s why I made the reservation that way.
I can certainly understand why a guest would choose a partial payment option. Both for the reason you state, and also because some people’s finances are such that they really can’t easily come up with all the $ at once. There are also people who prefer to pay all upfront, so it’s out of the way and they don’t have to think about it anymore, or if they’re the type who isn’t that good with budgeting, to make sure they aren’t caught short when the time comes for the second payment.
Is that no longer being encouraged or is it just because I grew up poor?
I just think Airbnb could be clearer about how they present info, in general, both to hosts and guests. Like their stupid wording about what prep day blocks do. “Block one night before and after a reservation”. To almost everyone, that makes it sound like you would lose 2 nights of bookings between each reservation, one after booking A. and another one before booking B. How would anyone know that the 1 night after doubles as the one night before? If they just said “Block one night between bookings”, which is exactly what that setting does, it would be perfectly clear to everyone.