New cancellation policies... and increased host fees!

I will not block the dates, I will reply that due to the new policy I will not take any bookings more than 30 days ahead trough AirBnB.
And sign with my name and property name.

This way I will still get the exposure, will still keep my short reaction time, and no bookings more than 30 days away.

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Flipkey was blocking me if I signed with the name of my vacation rental. They would flag me, and after so many flags your are delisted. But, that was the only competent thing FK was capable of handling. Funny…huh?? Can’t answer a simple question from Indian CS, but boy are they on the ball when I link a website about fly fishing…lol

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The thing about keeping your calendar open and reject bookings requests is that this will harm your exposure as it will drop your acceptance rate, Even if people just inquire your place (not book) and you decline them, your conversion rate will fall and that will affect your future exposure too.

“Unfortunately”" I have IB turned on so I will need to block my calendar or become non-IB to keep it open.

You should not sign with a link.
Just with a name. If they are smart they will google you and find you.

That is the mistake, you should not decline, but send them a message.
From what I noticed, the clock is removed when sending them a message, and the inquiry stays indefinately.

It does not count as a rejection, but keeps the replytime low.

Oh…I wasn’t signing with a link to my website. I literally meant if I posted a link for fly fishing they blocked it. I was signing the name of my vacation rental after my name and they flagged me for providing personal info. I do let people know that FK charges the fee to them for booking me through their site. And that I don’t charge any service fees when guests book me direct. Once in a while someone will try to find me outside the system. But most people are clueless.

If you don’t send an approval or decline within the first 24hs you will lose exposure. Despite Declining isn’t rewarded as Approving someone, for Airbnb it is better than to leave that question open. They want you to let your guest know as quickly as possible if your space will be available for them or not.

In order from best to worst

  1. When you get a reservation request:

A. Instant Booking
B. Approve it as fast as you can.
C. Decline it as fast as you can.
D. Don’t do nothing and let that request expire.

  1. When you get an inquiry

A. Preapprove the guest as fast as you can
B. Decline the guest as fast you can
C. Answer as fast as you can and leave that inquiry open (neither Preapprove it neither decline it)
D. Answer past the first 24hs

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One step at a time!
For how much longer do you think Smart Pricing will remain optional?

They can t obliged to have the price they want.

The grace period being added in isn’t just for customers to make more bookings. That’s actually being added, IMHO, to help air cover the times when the guest is pissed and the host isn’t willing to bend, so air eats it. Moderate and strict policies are a greater risk for air and probably result in more customer service calls too. And they should really just say it, not make up something about how more guests will book. I doubt that more guests will book because of cancellation policies being more lax.

I mean, when you travel, is your first thought about a cancellation policy? Nope. So it usually isn’t for guests unless they’re not sure they’ll keep the reservation.

Hey cabin, what link is that on fly fishing; just curious, been doing it all my life.

You are probably right. Guests don’t book place based on our cancellation policy but they will if Air promotes this. If not, then why I was able to filter listings by Cancellation Policies. You will start seeing this a marketing campaign to gain more guests and some of them will see this as an open opportunity to book a place with the goal of taking out from the market to get more time delivering if that will the place they want to stay.

Smart Pricing will be the norm in the future, as it will IB too. I heard this from one of their staff employees.
Still, I believe, you will be able to define your price. Just set the price you want as the minimum in the Smart Pricing Range and for high seasons you can override the calendar’s price on a day-by-day basis the same as you can do it now.

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I don’t want to use air bnb tools, I prefer pricelabs

You clearly do not have a lot of experience hosting.
I think about 2% of my reservations try to cancel or go home early because of bad weather.

In the winter people tend to go home early when a snowstorm is predicted. Now they just write it off as a los, in the future they will claim the day back.

In the summer the same happens, if rain is predicted. A few weeks ago I had an AirBnB guests that called me, and asked if he could cancel because of the weather predictions. I told him I would not give him his money back, and that nobody can predict the weather 24 hours ahead in the mountains.
he ended up having perfect weather.

Under the new conditions, I would have lost the booking.

I got Thanksgiving week booked this year through Air. I consider Thanksgiving week and Christmas week to be prime holiday weeks, and one of the few where I require a 7 night minimum (even though it is not the busy season). I don’t even require a 7 night minimum during peak summer season.

The guest said she booked for the 7 nights (since it was required) but they will only be able to get off work for 6 - but they liked the place so much they will go ahead and lose that day.

I don’t know how Air plans to implement the whole “guest can leave early and get 50% back”- do they plan to allow guests to now get out of the minimum night stay that was required when they initially booked? In my scenario - would Air allow a 50% refund on the last night, even though guest was required to book 7 nights??

Simple answer: yes

They can cancel on the moring after the 6th night, and go home, and they wil get 50% back of the remaining day.

.

Again… Let’s not lose our heads yet. This policy has NOT been rolled out anywhere except Italy. Despite what reps tell us… It has not been implemented here yet… And may not, until we get the fateful email from them.

And if it does, I would imagine it’s not going to apply to bookings we already have, just to new ones??

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yeah, they can’t apply these changes retroactively, but it will be part of the “contract” between a host and a guest for all the new reservations…

Correct. All my existing bookings with Airbnb, about 100, all fall under different cancellation policies (7, 30, and 60 Strict) depending when they were made.

Hello Guys,
Please, sign up the petition against the new Airbnb policies

By my side, which I have experienced Airbnb both in place where ‘‘the season is always open’’ like London or other big cities or in other places like my island ( Sardinia ), where the season takes just few months.

For us, in Sardinia, those policies produce big inconveniences. Please, consider that the season starts in May and finishes in October
Usually the reservations arrived at the beginning of the year. From January til April.

Flight and shipping costs are quite high, then it is possible to arrange holidays here just with few months advance
To get last minute bookings is quite impossible. Then,with new policies, hosts here are going to be very damaged, No guarantees at all. That s unacceptable

This activity gives me the chance give wages to gardener and to a girl which helps me with cleaning and guest assistance. I cannot make plan for the season without guarantees.
This have a bad affects on my standard Hosting level

I feel like Airbnb is losing on the road, the ‘’ Sharing philosophy ‘’ which make it popular.
No more compromise between host and guests, which are always free to book properties which soft cancellation policies.

Guests are over protected like with Booking.com

Another thing which is really disappointing is that Airbnb is charging his guests depending on the cancellation policies you choose, like I have a different treatment from other host who prefer or can ‘‘afford’’ lighter
policies. While Booking charges the same independently

Please, guys sign the Petition
they are doing this in Italy for first , but then will be your turn, SUPPORT US AND YOURSELVES

Cheers
Enrico

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