Post by High Priestess on Nov 9, 2017 3:57:26 GMT
So there is another aspect involved in the strategy or method by which one may issue refunds.
This aspect has to do with the problems created when Airbnb fully refunds a guest for a cancelled stay, over and above the hosts' objections, when the extenuating circumstances DO NOT apply. As a reminder, these are the extenuating circumstances wherein Airbnb has given itself permission to fully refund a guest , beyond the cancellation policy that applies, regardless if the host agrees:
Unfortunately it happens too often, that Airbnb violates its own rules, as well as its responsibility to hosts, and indeed its own contractual agreement with hosts, when it fully refunds guests when the extenuating circumstances do not apply.
Many hosts are angered by this but figure that there's nothing they can do about it.
Sometimes it may help to argue your case with the Customer service person and demand to know how they can justify violating their own policy on refunds. But, if they wont' reverse their decision and still plan to fully refund the guest over and above your objections, then there is still something you can do about this problem.
And that is that you essentially view Airbnb as having a "debit" with you, for taking funds from you that, according to their own policy, weren't theirs to take. It is not actually a debit, since in reality Airbnb doesn't view itself as owing you anything, and you'll not be likely to get them to pay you. So this "debit" isn't literally a debit, but is rather what I will call a "mathematically quantifiable reduction in generosity." I will explain more about that...but for simplicity in our purposes in this explanation let's call it a "debit".
So, for each time Airbnb fully refunds a guest when you don't allow that and Airbnb's own contract with hosts prohibits them from doing this, then you keep a ledger of these debit amounts, and you apply these debits to any (all completely optional) future refunds to guests, as calculated in Part I of this refund issue strategy.
So let's look at an example.
Suppose a guest books a 8 day stay with you, (say you're on strict policy) and then cancels 4 days before the stay, for a reason that doesn't fit extenuating circumstances policy, and demands a full refund. You decline to refund the guest but the guest "opens a case" with Airbnb and demands a full refund and convinces Airbnb to fully refund them. Airbnb fully refunds them say $560 for the 8 days ($70/night). Your refund policy is normally (if you use mine as I articulate in Part I) that you will refund a guest for any days rebooked, less a cancellation fee. Say that cancellation fee is $75.
So let's say that of those 8 days, you manage to rebook 5 of them, and earn $350.($70 a night still...For simplicity's sake we will keep the nightly rate the same, but it may differ when a guest books over 7 days vs less than 7 days, in which case use the info in Part I to do calculations) Had you been able to refund the guest according to your own system, as you should have been, this would mean that the guest would obtain a refund of:
$350 income obtained from rebooking - $75 cancellation fee = $275.
Since Airbnb refunded them $560, instead of $275, that means that Airbnb has a "debit" with you calculated as follows:
$560 - $275 = $285.
THis means that Airbnb took $285 from you that wasn't theirs to take, and so now has a "debit" with you -- from your perspective.
So what you do now is that you apply this debit amount to any future optional refunds to guests who cancel.
So suppose the next guest to cancel has booked a 29 day stay, and paid $1675 for the reservation. Then they say they have to cancel, and again, extenuating circumstances do not apply. Say that you are then able to rebook the entire 29 days, maybe because the guest cancelled far enough in advance you were able to find someone.
So normally you'd refund the guest $1675 - $75 cancellation fee = $1600 after you had the rebooked guest come and go and not demand a refund.
But now, because Airbnb has a "debit" with you, this means that this second guest is not eligible for the same size refund as you normally would have given based on days rebooked. (It's important to note here, again, that giving any refund is optional -- you aren't required to refund the guest if you rebook the dates -- )
But now since Airbnb's debit with you is $285, this means the guest refund is lessened by that amount:
$1600 normal guest refund - $285 amount Airbnb "owes" you = $1315 revised refund to the guest.
SInce the guest isn't owed anything beyond what is stated in the cancellation policy, and any refund you give them over and above that is optional, you aren't "cheating" them if you give them less than you normally would -- rather, you're addressing an amount "owed" and in a way paying yourself back for what was wrongly taken from you by Airbnb in violation of its own company policy and its contractual agreement with you.
Some may say, well it's not the 2nd guests' fault that Airbnb refunded the first guest over and above your objections, so why is the 2nd guest paying for that?
But since the 2nd guest wasn't owed any refund at all, they aren't really "paying" for anything so much as experiencing your reduced generosity ( in this case, a mathematically quantifiable reduction in generosity) based on feeling "burned" because of your experience with Airbnb wrongly clawing back your income.
Of course, if Airbnb fully refunds the 2nd guest over and above your objections as well, this doesn't work and the "debit" amount might just continue to build. Hopefully there will eventually be a guest cancellation that Airbnb doesn't refund so you can then apply some of the "mathematically quantifiable reduction in generosity".
This aspect has to do with the problems created when Airbnb fully refunds a guest for a cancelled stay, over and above the hosts' objections, when the extenuating circumstances DO NOT apply. As a reminder, these are the extenuating circumstances wherein Airbnb has given itself permission to fully refund a guest , beyond the cancellation policy that applies, regardless if the host agrees:
What’s covered in extenuating circumstances
Death in the family
Serious illness or serious illness in the family (no, she doesn't have a serious illness, just needs medical care)
Natural disaster in the destination country
Political unrest in the destination country
Civil obligations
Death in the family
Serious illness or serious illness in the family (no, she doesn't have a serious illness, just needs medical care)
Natural disaster in the destination country
Political unrest in the destination country
Civil obligations
Unfortunately it happens too often, that Airbnb violates its own rules, as well as its responsibility to hosts, and indeed its own contractual agreement with hosts, when it fully refunds guests when the extenuating circumstances do not apply.
Many hosts are angered by this but figure that there's nothing they can do about it.
Sometimes it may help to argue your case with the Customer service person and demand to know how they can justify violating their own policy on refunds. But, if they wont' reverse their decision and still plan to fully refund the guest over and above your objections, then there is still something you can do about this problem.
And that is that you essentially view Airbnb as having a "debit" with you, for taking funds from you that, according to their own policy, weren't theirs to take. It is not actually a debit, since in reality Airbnb doesn't view itself as owing you anything, and you'll not be likely to get them to pay you. So this "debit" isn't literally a debit, but is rather what I will call a "mathematically quantifiable reduction in generosity." I will explain more about that...but for simplicity in our purposes in this explanation let's call it a "debit".
So, for each time Airbnb fully refunds a guest when you don't allow that and Airbnb's own contract with hosts prohibits them from doing this, then you keep a ledger of these debit amounts, and you apply these debits to any (all completely optional) future refunds to guests, as calculated in Part I of this refund issue strategy.
So let's look at an example.
Suppose a guest books a 8 day stay with you, (say you're on strict policy) and then cancels 4 days before the stay, for a reason that doesn't fit extenuating circumstances policy, and demands a full refund. You decline to refund the guest but the guest "opens a case" with Airbnb and demands a full refund and convinces Airbnb to fully refund them. Airbnb fully refunds them say $560 for the 8 days ($70/night). Your refund policy is normally (if you use mine as I articulate in Part I) that you will refund a guest for any days rebooked, less a cancellation fee. Say that cancellation fee is $75.
So let's say that of those 8 days, you manage to rebook 5 of them, and earn $350.($70 a night still...For simplicity's sake we will keep the nightly rate the same, but it may differ when a guest books over 7 days vs less than 7 days, in which case use the info in Part I to do calculations) Had you been able to refund the guest according to your own system, as you should have been, this would mean that the guest would obtain a refund of:
$350 income obtained from rebooking - $75 cancellation fee = $275.
Since Airbnb refunded them $560, instead of $275, that means that Airbnb has a "debit" with you calculated as follows:
$560 - $275 = $285.
THis means that Airbnb took $285 from you that wasn't theirs to take, and so now has a "debit" with you -- from your perspective.
So what you do now is that you apply this debit amount to any future optional refunds to guests who cancel.
So suppose the next guest to cancel has booked a 29 day stay, and paid $1675 for the reservation. Then they say they have to cancel, and again, extenuating circumstances do not apply. Say that you are then able to rebook the entire 29 days, maybe because the guest cancelled far enough in advance you were able to find someone.
So normally you'd refund the guest $1675 - $75 cancellation fee = $1600 after you had the rebooked guest come and go and not demand a refund.
But now, because Airbnb has a "debit" with you, this means that this second guest is not eligible for the same size refund as you normally would have given based on days rebooked. (It's important to note here, again, that giving any refund is optional -- you aren't required to refund the guest if you rebook the dates -- )
But now since Airbnb's debit with you is $285, this means the guest refund is lessened by that amount:
$1600 normal guest refund - $285 amount Airbnb "owes" you = $1315 revised refund to the guest.
SInce the guest isn't owed anything beyond what is stated in the cancellation policy, and any refund you give them over and above that is optional, you aren't "cheating" them if you give them less than you normally would -- rather, you're addressing an amount "owed" and in a way paying yourself back for what was wrongly taken from you by Airbnb in violation of its own company policy and its contractual agreement with you.
Some may say, well it's not the 2nd guests' fault that Airbnb refunded the first guest over and above your objections, so why is the 2nd guest paying for that?
But since the 2nd guest wasn't owed any refund at all, they aren't really "paying" for anything so much as experiencing your reduced generosity ( in this case, a mathematically quantifiable reduction in generosity) based on feeling "burned" because of your experience with Airbnb wrongly clawing back your income.
Of course, if Airbnb fully refunds the 2nd guest over and above your objections as well, this doesn't work and the "debit" amount might just continue to build. Hopefully there will eventually be a guest cancellation that Airbnb doesn't refund so you can then apply some of the "mathematically quantifiable reduction in generosity".