Post by High Priestess on May 5, 2016 18:39:25 GMT
Christy2 hours ago
Long Term Cancellation..... is this a joke, Airbnb?
So I had a 35 day reservation which automatically has the long term cancellation policy in effect. Person wanted to rent the other side of my duplex as well but I had another booking during that time. So she asked about canceling the reservation she already had. I offered to refund any monies I rebooked.
So today I get an alteration request she sent through airbnb (no personal message to me) wanting to reduce the reservation to 10 days. At the bottom of the request page there are two statements and I have to check one of the boxes. 1) Do I want to waive the current cancellation policy or 2) keep the current cancellation policy in effect. I choose 2, thinking I am still covered by the long term cancellation and accept the alteration.
Imagine my surprise when I look at the new reservation page and it shows the moderate policy in effect. All it did was charge her the long term cancellation (i.e. the first 30 days) and turn that into a ridiculously high nightly rate for the 10 days. Which she is now free to cancel 5 days beforehand and I am SOL!
I called Airbnb and had to interrupt the CX person when her first response was to try to say "oh, don't worry about it. I am sure since you were so nice to to accept the alteration she won't cancel." Really? I mean, really?? So that's what I am supposed to rely on...... ignore the fact that Airbnb made it appear by asking on the alteration that if I wanted to keep the long term cancellation in place all I had to do was check that box. So exactly how does the long term cancellation policy provide any protection? That is a loop hole you can drive a freight train through! Made 1,000 times worse by the fact that I thought I was being given the option not to create that loophole by Airbnb.
And CX said "this is unfortunate." I gave her a piece of my mind about what constitutes "unfortunate" and this isn't it! This is BS!!!!!!! And I asked her if I treated a guest like this, would Airbnb be ok with that? She at least had the decency to agree they wouldn't.
Grateful to come here to blow off steam. Should I twitter about it? Any other suggestions? Write Chip?
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Andrew
Andrewan hour ago
Unfortunately, this is a loophole that many Long Term guests have used to cancel bookings and escape being on the hook for the 30 day payment. Airbnb is aware of it, but they tend to be squeamish about enforcing the terms of long-term agreements. It is something that only hosts who are active in these groups tend to know about: the Long Term Cancellation policy is void if the reservation is changed to a period less than 28 days - even if this occurs after the check-in date.
None of your options here were good ones. You could have declined the alteration, but then you'd likely wind up getting harassed by a disgruntled guest who ultimately finds another way to get out of payment and you lose 100% of the payout. You could have kept the booking at 30 days but offered a partial refund, but your calendar would be blocked against re-booking. The best of the bad options would have been to ask the guest to cancel the entire booking, and agree to remit a partial refund under mutually agreeable terms. But there's no way you could have known that based on the info Airbnb provided.
The CX person who was "sure the guest wouldn't cancel" should be slapped. Unless she's prepared to guarantee your payout in the event that the guest cancelled, it was factually wrong and highly unprofessional for her to tell you this. By all means, mention this in your complaints.
Another thing to do is apply a Maximum Stay of 27 (or fewer) days. I say this over and over again, Airbnb is a great platform for short-term rentals but its benefits peter out at the 28-day mark. Its cancellation policy is too porous, it can't guarantee you payout if the money doesn't come through after the first month, and it doesn't have any vetting mechanisms that a long-term landlord would require to guarantee payment. I'd recommend listing your long-term property on a platform more suited to these, and tell Airbnb in no uncertain terms why they're losing it.
Personally, my maximum stay is 21 days and I will never again consider longer.
Reply Like 1 reply Delete
Christy
Christy10 minutes ago
Thanks, Andrew. Are there any platforms you recommend? I really like the longer stays and have had several now through Airbnb that have been great. I usually do some extra legwork like getting references but if they already have lots of good reviews, then not necessarily. I thought the same thing about no good options until the bottom of the alteration page where it said "keep the cancellation in place." I foolishly thought Airbnb had now come up with a better way to handle it and closed the loophole. I never considered they were just giving me an additional false sense of security..... or bait and switch as I see it! Appreciate your thoughts.
Deborah
Deborah33 minutes ago
I have written a post about this exact type of situation --- see here:
globalhosting.freeforums.net/thread/23/cancellation-games-guests-play
I always caution hosts to be VERY wary of accepting any reservation alteration which changes the cancellation policy of the reservation. In fact I would not accept such an alteration. One always needs to think about all possible ramifications of what one is doing in changing or cancelling a reservation, and the unintended ramificaitons, all the more so.
If any host is in doubt, come here and chat with the host community before you act. That is what we are here for!
Reply Like 4 replies Delete
Deborah
Deborah33 minutes ago
globalhosting.freeforums.net/thread/23/cancellation-games-guests-play
Christy
Christy5 minutes ago
Boy do I wish I had come here first now, Deborah!! I thought the language on the alteration page was making it clear that I was not giving up my 30 day cancellation policy. At least it seemed clear..... Hope this helps other hosts. Even more I hope Airbnb will actually change the policy to reflect what it appears you are agreeing to (i.e., agreeing to the alteration but keeping the long term cancellation policy in effect) which would be better for everyone -- hosts, guests, and Airbnb! Live and learn..... thanks for your help and the link!
Deborah
Deborahin a few seconds
I hadn't seen the exact type of document that you are referring to -- it almost seems like a trick played by AIrbnb to trick hosts into thinking they are not taking a risk. But for an experienced host such a document would raise questions, since Airbnb cannot apply a long term cancellation policy to a short term stay. So if one is being presented with that one would do well to ask questions and ask a lot. I have learned to trust my own experience and other hosts over what Airbnb customer service reps say, since they often do not know as much as hosts do about how things work on the site. HOsts are also much more oriented to knowing about the aspects of the system that could cause problems for hosts.
Deborah
Deborahin a few seconds
Actually reading your story again, your situation is unique and I have not seen that before - I think it is important for us alll to learn from this.
Long Term Cancellation..... is this a joke, Airbnb?
So I had a 35 day reservation which automatically has the long term cancellation policy in effect. Person wanted to rent the other side of my duplex as well but I had another booking during that time. So she asked about canceling the reservation she already had. I offered to refund any monies I rebooked.
So today I get an alteration request she sent through airbnb (no personal message to me) wanting to reduce the reservation to 10 days. At the bottom of the request page there are two statements and I have to check one of the boxes. 1) Do I want to waive the current cancellation policy or 2) keep the current cancellation policy in effect. I choose 2, thinking I am still covered by the long term cancellation and accept the alteration.
Imagine my surprise when I look at the new reservation page and it shows the moderate policy in effect. All it did was charge her the long term cancellation (i.e. the first 30 days) and turn that into a ridiculously high nightly rate for the 10 days. Which she is now free to cancel 5 days beforehand and I am SOL!
I called Airbnb and had to interrupt the CX person when her first response was to try to say "oh, don't worry about it. I am sure since you were so nice to to accept the alteration she won't cancel." Really? I mean, really?? So that's what I am supposed to rely on...... ignore the fact that Airbnb made it appear by asking on the alteration that if I wanted to keep the long term cancellation in place all I had to do was check that box. So exactly how does the long term cancellation policy provide any protection? That is a loop hole you can drive a freight train through! Made 1,000 times worse by the fact that I thought I was being given the option not to create that loophole by Airbnb.
And CX said "this is unfortunate." I gave her a piece of my mind about what constitutes "unfortunate" and this isn't it! This is BS!!!!!!! And I asked her if I treated a guest like this, would Airbnb be ok with that? She at least had the decency to agree they wouldn't.
Grateful to come here to blow off steam. Should I twitter about it? Any other suggestions? Write Chip?
2 comments
Following
Like
Delete
Hide
Andrew
Andrewan hour ago
Unfortunately, this is a loophole that many Long Term guests have used to cancel bookings and escape being on the hook for the 30 day payment. Airbnb is aware of it, but they tend to be squeamish about enforcing the terms of long-term agreements. It is something that only hosts who are active in these groups tend to know about: the Long Term Cancellation policy is void if the reservation is changed to a period less than 28 days - even if this occurs after the check-in date.
None of your options here were good ones. You could have declined the alteration, but then you'd likely wind up getting harassed by a disgruntled guest who ultimately finds another way to get out of payment and you lose 100% of the payout. You could have kept the booking at 30 days but offered a partial refund, but your calendar would be blocked against re-booking. The best of the bad options would have been to ask the guest to cancel the entire booking, and agree to remit a partial refund under mutually agreeable terms. But there's no way you could have known that based on the info Airbnb provided.
The CX person who was "sure the guest wouldn't cancel" should be slapped. Unless she's prepared to guarantee your payout in the event that the guest cancelled, it was factually wrong and highly unprofessional for her to tell you this. By all means, mention this in your complaints.
Another thing to do is apply a Maximum Stay of 27 (or fewer) days. I say this over and over again, Airbnb is a great platform for short-term rentals but its benefits peter out at the 28-day mark. Its cancellation policy is too porous, it can't guarantee you payout if the money doesn't come through after the first month, and it doesn't have any vetting mechanisms that a long-term landlord would require to guarantee payment. I'd recommend listing your long-term property on a platform more suited to these, and tell Airbnb in no uncertain terms why they're losing it.
Personally, my maximum stay is 21 days and I will never again consider longer.
Reply Like 1 reply Delete
Christy
Christy10 minutes ago
Thanks, Andrew. Are there any platforms you recommend? I really like the longer stays and have had several now through Airbnb that have been great. I usually do some extra legwork like getting references but if they already have lots of good reviews, then not necessarily. I thought the same thing about no good options until the bottom of the alteration page where it said "keep the cancellation in place." I foolishly thought Airbnb had now come up with a better way to handle it and closed the loophole. I never considered they were just giving me an additional false sense of security..... or bait and switch as I see it! Appreciate your thoughts.
Deborah
Deborah33 minutes ago
I have written a post about this exact type of situation --- see here:
globalhosting.freeforums.net/thread/23/cancellation-games-guests-play
I always caution hosts to be VERY wary of accepting any reservation alteration which changes the cancellation policy of the reservation. In fact I would not accept such an alteration. One always needs to think about all possible ramifications of what one is doing in changing or cancelling a reservation, and the unintended ramificaitons, all the more so.
If any host is in doubt, come here and chat with the host community before you act. That is what we are here for!
Reply Like 4 replies Delete
Deborah
Deborah33 minutes ago
globalhosting.freeforums.net/thread/23/cancellation-games-guests-play
Christy
Christy5 minutes ago
Boy do I wish I had come here first now, Deborah!! I thought the language on the alteration page was making it clear that I was not giving up my 30 day cancellation policy. At least it seemed clear..... Hope this helps other hosts. Even more I hope Airbnb will actually change the policy to reflect what it appears you are agreeing to (i.e., agreeing to the alteration but keeping the long term cancellation policy in effect) which would be better for everyone -- hosts, guests, and Airbnb! Live and learn..... thanks for your help and the link!
Deborah
Deborahin a few seconds
I hadn't seen the exact type of document that you are referring to -- it almost seems like a trick played by AIrbnb to trick hosts into thinking they are not taking a risk. But for an experienced host such a document would raise questions, since Airbnb cannot apply a long term cancellation policy to a short term stay. So if one is being presented with that one would do well to ask questions and ask a lot. I have learned to trust my own experience and other hosts over what Airbnb customer service reps say, since they often do not know as much as hosts do about how things work on the site. HOsts are also much more oriented to knowing about the aspects of the system that could cause problems for hosts.
Deborah
Deborahin a few seconds
Actually reading your story again, your situation is unique and I have not seen that before - I think it is important for us alll to learn from this.