How To Deal With Airbnb Covid Cancellations
BY MIKEL HUBBARD
FORMER HGTV PRODUCER | CO-FOUNDER, THE HOST CO |
OWNER, TIMES EIGHT PROPERTY & DESIGN
Let’s be honest, bookings and cancellations have become a bit of a nightmare right now. Airbnb customer service is overwhelmed, guests are looking for guidance and hosts want to be able to plan but can’t.
We could complain about Airbnb not honoring our strict cancellation policy but we also don’t think people should feel like they have to travel right now, so we’ve resigned ourselves to this just being a loss. We understand if you can’t afford to do this and wish you the best of the luck in your fight.
Bout to lose it on these people.HOSTING FATIGUE
We gave up a long time and just moved to issuing full refunds for all cancellations in 2020 with a stock message because quite frankly, we’re exhausted. We eliminated our strict cancellation policy and switched to moderate because no one knows what the future holds. No matter how lovely the guest, hearing about how they need to cancel their reservation six months out is depressing and we’re dealing with so many bigger things… we quite frankly wish Airbnb would just cancel all reservations and start over with a new calendar when things open up.
It’s been a roller coaster of people wanting to book and then cancelling or wanting discounts and still not booking. They want clarity on government policy when there is none. They want to know if they need to make different plans this summer.
Frankly, everything except last minute bookings has felt like a waste of time. There is also often an underlying feeling of guests wanting to cancel and expecting a full refund with a demanding tone before we’ve even gotten a chance to respond. We know guests are in a scary, difficult position but we are too and constantly having to defend ourselves from uncertain guests while worrying about own financial futures can be some tiresome.
SOLUTIONS
Airbnb support via Twitter (@AirbnbHelp) has given us the best response. Airbnb has still not caught up with this pandemic as there isn’t a blanket Covid penalty free cancellation button for all cancellations, but you can reach out to their support team via Twitter with enough notice and get a response within a few days. You have to individually give them reservation numbers to cancel, but they will allow you to cancel reservations months out, penalty-free once you’ve gotten them to respond.
If you and your future guests have the patience to wait for Airbnb to extend their host support refunds to future dates, there is definitely a financial benefit. If you can afford not to, it’s definitely worth the peace of mind to just have it off your plate.
HALTING BOOKING REQUESTS
You do have the option to put your listing on snooze. Your bookings stay in tact but new bookings can’t come in. No one really knows how or when this is going to end, so stopping new bookings is one less future booking you have to cancel in our eyes.
We also like the security of this. There are plenty of scam artists looking to take advantage of this pandemic and having a gorgeous property with an open calendar on Airbnb seems like an invitation to thieves. Lock it down!