I looked through posts and don’t see anything recent on this (I’m sorry if I’m missing it. When I got on my Air app this morning to message a guest, I got a message with new Terms of Service that had to be accepted today (Dec. 7th) in order to continue using Airbnb. I read over it on my phone and it’s not clear at all. It say they are making changes regarding Guest Refund Policy and Host guarantee terms, but don’t spell out what the changes are?? So I got on my computer and see what I think may have been the same message (I don’t know, but I had to just hit agree because I needed to message a guest pretty urgently and didn’t have the chance to read it). Anyone else seeing this? This is the 1st time I’ve seen it and it had to be accepted by today?? to continue using Airbnb…this cannot be good.
I saw it. There was no way to save the document. There was a lot about how we are now agreeing to arbitration, the new TOS scurge across the tech industry, and that there are changes. No way to print, save, or really review. I too agreed. What else was I going to do? Had four messages waiting that needed responses. We may provide the spaces; but AirBNB provides the playground. You don’t agree; you don’t play.
I briefly looked around their website for a copy of what I just agreed to, and didn’t have any success. I will try again later, I suspect.
They have it up now… those LEFT coast folks sleep late.
https://www.airbnb.com/home/terms-of-service-event?hide_nav=true
The change that I find disturbing is that if a guest finds your listing to have a “travel issue” including but not limited to: not having listed amenities, pets on the premises that aren’t mentioned in the listing, lack of clean linens, vermin, etc. Airbnb can rehome the guest and charge the host for the difference in price. I can easily envision guests who really want to stay in a hotel scamming this policy.
Yup! No similar protection for hosts, I have noted.
Yes, this thing popped up when I accessed my Airbnb account, and wouldn’t go away till I clicked agree (not that I had any other choice). And I needed to get the phone number of an incoming guest so I could message him.
You’ve got to admire Airbnb’s lack of class. It’s like it’s run by Donald Trump.
I agree that the Travel Issue thing looks disturbing. Airbnb is continuing to find new ways for hosts not to be paid.
It’s worse than hosts not being paid. Airbnb can now have the host pay for the guest’s lodging if the guest finds a “travel issue” at the host’s listing.
This is way too subjective, and it’s weighted too heavily toward the guest’s point of view.
Not only it is too subjective; Airbnb’s language is vague. Animals for example. Here is their language: (iv) has vermin or contains pets not disclosed on the Listing. Does this mean that I have to disclose each individual pet in my listing or just what species of pet? Is Airbnb aware that cats wander, so while I don’t say that I have cats my neighbor’s cat is sometimes in my front yard. Regarding vermin, does this new Terms of Service mean that I need to photograph every time my guests don’t clean up their crumbs or leave food out? The only time I have ants is when guests leave food out.
Oh, I didn’t catch that part. Scary. Thanks for pointing it out…
- Travel Issue. A “Travel Issue” means any one of the following:
[…]
(iv) has vermin or contains pets not disclosed on the Listing.
And this is India. There’s always vermin. Does that mean I need to pay for new accommodation for any/all of my guests if they complain? And in that case, do we even get to review them? I.e. my guest screwed me over - please avoid.
Question for the experts: do other platforms have similar language?
My cynical side thinks that this may be why the Airbnb online community pages have been down. They are not so interested in the feedback that they are going to receive.
Yes, I saw it too and as far as I’m concerned I have two options. Airbnb advertise my rental for free. They charge me a fee when I get bookings. They are the industry leader and according to Alexa (which is in no way the be-all and end-all but it’s an indication) is currently the 166th most popular site in the USA. My own travel site is the 115,556th most popular USA site so I know which does me the most good.
Like all businesses, Airbnb evolves and changes. (Which is a good thing, really). And it will continue to do so. So I can either a) stress about the changes and decide to go it alone or use another platform or b) accept the changes and hope that during the course of its evolution Airbnb will come to value its hosts more and lean more towards their favour. I chose b) and accepted the changes. It’s just easier 
- Wait, didn’t there used to be $1M indemnity policy in case a guest gets hurt in a space that is not covered by my renter’s insurance? (the building stairs)
They recently explained the insurance TO ME and as I read it (on my tiny phone screen ten lines at a time) its gone? That is pretty much the main reason to put up with so much. And I’m 4.9 stars.
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Also no help getting a guest booted off the site if they hurt you, or getting them off the site after? I have to put in my house rules “accommodations do not include ‘favors’ and you must wear clothes and not touch me”? that was part of my deal with another guest. And I was mostly concerned for FUTURE female hosts, he was gone, though all I really wanted was my locks changed since he had my keys, you know, all day.
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also this is a shared space, I have to put in my house rules I may enter the space?
If they tell me there isn’t any extra coverage and I should just call the cops, how is this different than craigslist? An app? To document the correspondence they won’t do anything about?
Other than the app popularity (which seems to make some people treat me less like a person and more like a pizza delivery) what are the advantages? I don’t want to discriminate, but the part that has been most satisfying is making a safe space for women to travel alone without risk in a way that my friends and I did not have. Many guests have commented without prompting that they are really appreciative of this. There are plenty of women’s travel blogs I can post on. Also after mr touchy feely my dad wants NO MORE MEN, though I have had a few, heavily screened. Then that policy came out how they could retroactively sue you for discrimination. You can’t retroactively sue for ****.
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ALSO how can they apply any new terms to bookings already made? I don’t want to click “agree” to someone coming in 2 days, I was coming to check on her ETA. I don’t have any other bookings. There is NO WAY terms are retroactively binding to an agreement already made.
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Has anyone clicked “do not agree”? if so what happens? I don’t want to lose my booking in two days! Of course they don’t say what the consequences are. No way is this binding.
Because I’ll just wait until I get a message from her before her arrival, and I don’t have any other bookings, and for the minimal income, all the aggravation, and the two massive hotels opening in my town by next summer I don’t see much point anyway.
And I can’t go in and review the awesome guest who just departed, so it hurts THAT GUEST TOO?!
jeez. Their legal must think we are really dumb. And none of our family members or friends are lawyers.
@Jen10. There are 6 new policies. Would you be willing to state in which policy you found these changes?
Aren’t those so called travel issues the same ones as before?
Very disturbing, although I haven’t had that many guests just leave, not citing any of those issues, but simply saying it wasn’t a fit.
One Air who left because of no cable TV, two others walked off but they were FlopKey.
Not bad for almost seven years of hosting.
I assume that the “travel issues” are the same as before. What is new is that hosts can be made to pay for different accommodations for unhappy guests. I find this disturbing. I told my husband that if we ever have to pay for a hotel for a guest we’ll stop hosting.
I’m just reading through it
Wait, aren’t these the TOS updates they emailed about in Oct/Nov? I was comfortable with the updated wording.
At least they didn’t spring the really bad stuff on us.
I could be wrong, but I think before, you were responsible for the additional rehoming fees if you canceled… Now you “may” be depending on what the circumstance is.
Sorry, missed this. Just the first page.
Alas it would have been nice if they had sent a push notice of the update, I went too late to be able to view the prior ToS to compare, is ther a link to an anrchive somewhere?
Imagine not all of us are pros and don’t live on the app.
Now if I don’t accept (I am happy to quit since I am not OK with these) I cannot review my last and final two guests. So I guess when I click “Disagree” they are disadvantaged.
As it was I was already too late to be able to communicate directly with the last one. Except that they conveniently, and for the first time, emailed me her phone and email. This should have been my tipoff I guess. Also made her understandably uncomfortable.
Having a money freakout but having my life back not a problem.
Reading this forum is quelling any doubts I may have or reconsideration.
Has anyone clicked “Disagree?” what happened? Its off season and snow time so I’m not expecting any imminent bookings. It is FOUR outside without windchill. Fewer tourists hahahahah.
My only expectation is a holiday family meltdown booking