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Since events are getting canceled, I’ve had guests cancel their booking. One of them canceled without much push-back. I have a strict policy and while I understand the current travel climate is unexpected and unfair, it’s not covered under Airbnb’s EC policy. This is a business for me and I depend on these rentals.
Another guest went to Airbnb, which I thought was a good idea, but now Airbnb is asking me: “is there anything you can do to make this fair to the guest but also to yourself?”.
I don’t know what they want me to say?
I wish they offered some potential solutions instead of a vague note.
I wish the guests had read the policy or had travel insurance to cover their costs.
I am new to this so I’ve never experienced any type of cancellation before.
If you want to stick hard to your refund policy, maybe offer to refund your guests if the dates are rebooked and after you have received payment from the replacement booking. That seems perfectly fair to me.
Just be prepared for Airbnb to refund the guests anyway.
Air is trying to guilt you into saying “It’s OK they can cancel without penalty.”
Don’t do it!! Air wrote their Corona policy; it’s their job to enforce it or not; it’s not your job!
BTW – if you depend on Airbnb income, I strongly suggest that you find another basket or two to put your eggs in. Airbnb was never intended to be a full-time make all your living from it sort of thing. It was intended as a way for people to make some extra cash.
I have a full-time job as well and I do quite well. I can afford all the bills without the supplementary income, but it certainly helps and I am appreciative of it!
I think you’re right, they are guilting and I think they think I will give-in because I am new.
They posted a net loss last year. But even if they did make a profit why should they go into the host income guarantee business? Think of it this way: if Airbnb refuses to refund thousands of guests during this time, especially when other businesses in the travel industry are being flexible, what will that do to their business going forward?
Nothing about this is “fair” and I wish Airbnb would avoid that language.
What is fair? Do you think what georgiahost said is fair? Should I offer them a partial refund? Should I stick to my guns and see if i can get Airbnb to hold up their end as they should? I am not sure what’s fair but I think what’s fair to me, and what’s fair to the guest are very different.
I know they’ve collected a few 1000 from me in booking fees, use that to pay these people.
I think you should follow Airbnb policy and hope for the best. I think you are going to have to refund most people but maybe you will win a case here or there. I’m not sure charging people full price in exchange for nothing, especially when people’s lives are being disrupted by events outside their control, is the best policy.
And you got nothing in return?
I have an idea. Pause your listing on Airbnb, make your own website, do your own marketing, process your own payment and set up your own policies. Hopefully you’ll be a smashing success, you can come back and throw it in my face and give Airbnb the big middle finger. Or you might find that you got something in return for those fees you paid Airbnb. I’m open to persuasion.
Regardless, it’s not a lot of money we are talking about in the bigger picture.
It’s 50% they would get back. It’s a lot to pay for nothing… I agree with that. I just don’t know what to say. I think everyone is right though, ultimately Airbnb will probably refund the guest regardless and I will end up without any bookings. Knowing that makes me feel like there’s no point in putting up the fight for what’s in the policy.
We should always go back to the policy, this is the thing that everyone has already agreed to, the host, guests and Air. We just need to remind Air of this from time to time and we need to know the TOS better than the CS agents.
Personally, I would just refund any guest that wanted to cancel for COVID-19 reasons. But I also have the least-strict (“flexible cancellation”) refund policy.
I had a guest that cancelled the day of her check-in, because of the hurricane last year. I refunded all of her money, out of my own pocket, before I was even paid by Airbnb.
I was rebooked within the hour, with another hurricane evacuee.
You have to make your own call, for your own circumstances.
It’s tough when the Airbnb TOS says, in effect, that they can change policy to whatever they want at their sole discretion whenever they want. I think they are in more danger from guests leaving en masse than from hosts leaving en masse. In fact, I’m wondering if this mess will result not in fewer hosts but in more people trying to supplement their income with hosting.
I wish they would change the policy, that way it would be the same for everyone. Maybe if these people wait a little while, everyone will be eligible for a full refund.
These aren’t people impacted by the coronavirus technically, they were going to an event that was cancelled. There is no reason they can’t enjoy a trip.
Perhaps you’re right and I should just give in. I wasn’t expecting to make nothing for those weeks but i guess you win some, you lose some. I haven’t gotten a rebooking from the other one yet and it’s been a while…
I do however know that when these things happen to me, no one ever gives me my money back.
I would rather refund and have the good feeling that comes with it. But lots of hosts would disagree with me, and everyone’s circumstances are different.
I just had my 1st cancellation. Army guy living in Tennessee coming to visit local family (he grew up around the corner from my house!) with girlfriend flying in from Poland. Today her flight was canceled and he canceled. My strict policy has me getting a 50% payout, but I’m wondering if I shouldn’t just refund it all despite the fact that he booked mid-week, one night, high season, making it impossible for me to get a longer-term guest.
It’s $29 and the prinicple of the thing. But it’s $29… so I’m on permahold to authorize his 50% refund.
We messaged all our upcoming guests to say that we’d understand if they cancel. We said we couldn’t say whether Airbnb would refund all the fees they paid, but we are confident that Airbnb would refund what the guest has paid for our room charge. So far, no cancellations.
But most of them are booked for large-group events here that are likely to get cancelled.
I think we all have to do what feels right to us, this is all subjective. I’m in the refund camp and I know how I’d feel if I were the guest. But other folks have other principles and that’s okay too.
