Airbnb is soon changing its terms for avoidable cancellations by hosts. Starting August 22, 2022, the booking portal will charge significantly higher fees for some cancellations by hosts. Read our blog post to learn what “avoidable host cancellations” are and how you can prevent them.
How cancellation policies on Airbnb will change for hosts
Maximum cancellation fee for hosts up to 10x higher
Previously, the maximum cancellation fee for hosts was $100; starting August 22, the amounts will range from a minimum of $50 to a maximum of $1,000.
The exact amount of the penalty fee will depend on the amount of the booking and how far in advance the booking was cancelled. It will then be deducted from the next payout.
The other consequences for hosts – such as a blocked calendar and an automatic notice in your listing – do not change. Learn more in our guide to cancellation policies on Airbnb.
What is an “avoidable host cancellation” on Airbnb?
Preventable reasons include, for example:
- Double bookings
- Cancellations because the host would rather accommodate friends or family members
- Delays because the room was not cleaned on time, etc.
- health risks that make the accommodation uninhabitable, such as mold
- the apartment does not correspond to the description in the listing (for example, there are fewer rooms than indicated)
Read more about the changes here.
Costs for hosts also possible for cancellations up to 72 hours after check-in
Additionally, since April 2022, hosts may also be required to refund guests up to 72 hours after check-in. This can happen, for example, if a guest does not accept the accommodation because it does not meet expectations. This can be because the room layout does not match the description, there is a pet present that was not pointed out in the listing, or there are problems with access to the vacation home.
What you can do as a host to avoid high penalty fees
By adjusting its cancellation policy, Airbnb wants to spare guests stress and unpleasant surprises. Because of course, no one wants to find out shortly before arrival that the accommodation is unfortunately not available after all.
We at Smoobu see it the same way and therefore have the following tips for you to prevent avoidable reasons for cancellation on Airbnb:
1. Avoid double bookings by using a channel manager.
2. Streamline the management of your cleaning team with an integration.
3. Check your listing: Is the description really correct?
4. If you need to cancel a booking for another reason, you can check if it is a valid reason. For example, if you have a burst water pipe in the accommodation, are sick yourself, or are concerned that your guests are having an unauthorized party in the accommodation, Airbnb will understand. However, you must be able to provide evidence.
Conclusion
The new cancellation policy for hosts on Airbnb is intended to give guests more security when booking. Other portals also want to avoid hosts canceling bookings at short notice and impose penalties for doing so.
On Booking.com, for example, hosts must even provide a replacement in the event of a cancellation. Especially for vacation rental hosts with few vacation homes, this can quickly become expensive, since a hotel room must be paid for if no other accommodation is available.
For you as a host it is therefore important to keep the highest risks for unnecessary cancellations like double bookings or bad coordination of your employees as low as possible.
Smoobu helps you to do this and also takes some work off your hands. If you don’t use Smoobu yet, you can test our channel manager for 14 days for free.
