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Updated almost 2 years ago, 02/14/2023
Just had 2 AirBNB stays cancelled on me. Anyone know what's going on?
I have a STR on AirBNB. I just had two peopel cancel bookings on me for this month. One of them said they weren't using AirBNB as a platform any more. Anyone have any idea what's going on? Very frustrating.
Seeing similar things on social media and dug in a little bit. Here's what I've found so far:
-AirBnB generally leans politically left (relevant in this case)
-AirBnB has banned a conservative Canadian political commentator, Lauren Southern from the platform
-Sometime today or yesterday, AirBnB sent a notice to the family members of Lauren Southern, notifying them that they are banned from the platform for being related to her
General attitude is that it is becoming somewhat Orwellian and consumers of all political leanings are uncomfortable with the actions that AirBnB has taken in this case. Hoping that they take corrective action and walk this one back. Bad look on AirBnB as a company and platform to punish family members of those whom they disagree with.
My bookings have already been dramatically down through AirBNB. It got worse when they changed their recommendation algorithm (my STR is pretty vanilla, but has decent location). My Pandora ad feed is basically 100% VRBO attacking AirBNB. I don't need them launching me into the culture war to boot...
Talk about shooting yourself in the foot, AirBNB...
Quote from @Matt Moreland:
Seeing similar things on social media and dug in a little bit. Here's what I've found so far:
-AirBnB generally leans politically left (relevant in this case)
-AirBnB has banned a conservative Canadian political commentator, Lauren Southern from the platform
-Sometime today or yesterday, AirBnB sent a notice to the family members of Lauren Southern, notifying them that they are banned from the platform for being related to her
General attitude is that it is becoming somewhat Orwellian and consumers of all political leanings are uncomfortable with the actions that AirBnB has taken in this case. Hoping that they take corrective action and walk this one back. Bad look on AirBnB as a company and platform to punish family members of those whom they disagree with.
@Matt Moreland: That's important info to know. "it is becoming somewhat Orwellian". Only educated people understand this. It's a shame as we "slide into the world of George Orwell". (Animal Farm (1945) and Nineteen Eighty-four (1949) for those of you who want to plan your STRs.
Quote from @Jedidiah Link:
My bookings have already been dramatically down through AirBNB. It got worse when they changed their recommendation algorithm (my STR is pretty vanilla, but has decent location). My Pandora ad feed is basically 100% VRBO attacking AirBNB. I don't need them launching me into the culture war to boot...
Talk about shooting yourself in the foot, AirBNB...
@Jedidiah Link: What is a "Pandora ad feed"?
Quote from @Account Closed:
Quote from @Jedidiah Link:
My bookings have already been dramatically down through AirBNB. It got worse when they changed their recommendation algorithm (my STR is pretty vanilla, but has decent location). My Pandora ad feed is basically 100% VRBO attacking AirBNB. I don't need them launching me into the culture war to boot...
Talk about shooting yourself in the foot, AirBNB...
@Jedidiah Link: What is a "Pandora ad feed"?
Pandora - music channel. you can use it for free but have to listen to ads
@Account Closed the 30-second ads on my Pandora music feed. Basically, it's the Real Estate version of the Cola Wars. VRBO is attacking AirBNB pretty effectively about the 'shared space' listings ("Sharing a vacation rental with a stranger is like a horror movie"). Meanwhile, hotels are coming after the STR market pretty hard on Instagram (I've seen attacks on convenience, cleaning fees and 'house rules' that make you basically clean yourself).
The point is STRs in general - and AirBNB in particular - are under siege already. The last thing we need is for AirBNB to jump into the culture war and cost us even more customers...
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#3 Short-Term & Vacation Rental Discussions Contributor
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I don’t even notice or care when someone cancels. You guys are thinking way too hard about this.
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Quote from @Jedidiah Link:
I have a STR on AirBNB. I just had two peopel cancel bookings on me for this month. One of them said they weren't using AirBNB as a platform any more. Anyone have any idea what's going on? Very frustrating.
The problem is your using Airbnb and dealing with the people who use Airbnb.
I don't have these problems with Vrbo.
I noticed a decline and interest in my Airbnb / VRBO as well... I paused my availability and put them up on the mid-term rental market utilizing furnished finder and Facebook for advertising platforms and have been successful with far less hassle than a STR... The profitability for me at least is almost as much so it's a no brainer... I know it doesn't help your current situation but it could be a strategy to implement in the future!
Outside of all of this…the only control you have is to tighten your cancellation policy.
Quote from @Jedidiah Link:
@Account Closed the 30-second ads on my Pandora music feed. Basically, it's the Real Estate version of the Cola Wars. VRBO is attacking AirBNB pretty effectively about the 'shared space' listings ("Sharing a vacation rental with a stranger is like a horror movie"). Meanwhile, hotels are coming after the STR market pretty hard on Instagram (I've seen attacks on convenience, cleaning fees and 'house rules' that make you basically clean yourself).
The point is STRs in general - and AirBNB in particular - are under siege already. The last thing we need is for AirBNB to jump into the culture war and cost us even more customers...
I wonder if this is tied to the AirBnBust that has social media on fire. Seen a few youtube videos on this as well.
Quote from @Alvin Kwan:
I wonder if this is tied to the AirBnBust that has social media on fire. Seen a few youtube videos on this as well.
I think it might. One of my cancellations indicated they weren't happy with AirBNB - it had nothing to do with my listings or my service. That's what prompted my post. Beyond frustrating.
I imagine that you all got the host survey in the last few days? Had a lot of questions on it regarding host-to-guest interactions and how hosts felt about the support (or lack thereof) from Airbnb in regards to setting disputes. The fact that this has been sent out at least shows that airbnb is aware that there is an issue. Whether they improve the situation for hosts is another story.
On a related note, I had a booking with VRBO as a guest in 2019. The host asked me to go off site for payment at a discount and I refused. Overall we were good guests and left the place clean and didn't give the host a hard time about anything. Only thing I can think of was that we left some empty plastic water bottles (not a place with drinkable tap water) on the counter because the trash cans were full.
When I got my guest review, host gave me 1-2 stars in every category!!! I emailed her to ask her why and she said that her daughter was messing with her phone and must've done it . .. . mmm kay lol. Even then I still could not get VRBO to remove this guest review. So maybe VRBO favors hosts more?
Quote from @Matt Moreland:
Seeing similar things on social media and dug in a little bit. Here's what I've found so far:
-AirBnB generally leans politically left (relevant in this case)
-AirBnB has banned a conservative Canadian political commentator, Lauren Southern from the platform
-Sometime today or yesterday, AirBnB sent a notice to the family members of Lauren Southern, notifying them that they are banned from the platform for being related to her
General attitude is that it is becoming somewhat Orwellian and consumers of all political leanings are uncomfortable with the actions that AirBnB has taken in this case. Hoping that they take corrective action and walk this one back. Bad look on AirBnB as a company and platform to punish family members of those whom they disagree with.
I understand that it's not illegal to discriminate against people based on their political beliefs, but it's in EXTREMELY poor taste, imo. Regardless of political affiliations, everyone should be taking a stand against this type of behavior as it isn't good for anyone.
It may feel great in the short term when "your side" sticks it to "one of them", but in the end it's only increasing the temperature for everyone and I believe things are starting to get uncomfortable for everyone.
Quote from @Jon Martin:
I imagine that you all got the host survey in the last few days? Had a lot of questions on it regarding host-to-guest interactions and how hosts felt about the support (or lack thereof) from Airbnb in regards to setting disputes. The fact that this has been sent out at least shows that airbnb is aware that there is an issue. Whether they improve the situation for hosts is another story.
On a related note, I had a booking with VRBO as a guest in 2019. The host asked me to go off site for payment at a discount and I refused. Overall we were good guests and left the place clean and didn't give the host a hard time about anything. Only thing I can think of was that we left some empty plastic water bottles (not a place with drinkable tap water) on the counter because the trash cans were full.
When I got my guest review, host gave me 1-2 stars in every category!!! I emailed her to ask her why and she said that her daughter was messing with her phone and must've done it . .. . mmm kay lol. Even then I still could not get VRBO to remove this guest review. So maybe VRBO favors hosts more?
Keep asking them to remove the unfair review and use the text about kid playing with phone as evidence. Ratings are so important in these worlds.
Do you believe that the bookings/guests are better from VRBO than AirBNB? If so would you expand on that a little. I fairly new to the STR game would like hear your thoughts.
Thx
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Quote from @Eric Bilderback:
Do you believe that the bookings/guests are better from VRBO than AirBNB? If so would you expand on that a little. I fairly new to the STR game would like hear your thoughts.
Thx
I do beleive that based on my personal experience.
Vrbo - more responsibility people that are planners and book well in advance.
Airbnb - more last minute, mostly younger people. This is where the few issues I have had came from.
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Two people canceled on you. That's not unusual and it certainly doesn't signal a national trend.
- Nathan Gesner
1. Market saturation and competition
2. Too many terrible hosts looking for a quick buck and not concerned about building a long-term business
3. Nonsensical policies by AirBnB that harm the hosts and allow bad guests to get away with non-payment
4. AirBnB deciding to enter the political arena
Unlike Airbnb, Vrbo is a platform created for the real estate industry. It offers travellers an opportunity to rent verified and professionally managed homes for their trips, which can provide more peace of mind than renting from an individual on Airbnb. Plus, Vrbo makes it easy to contact owners directly with any questions you may have before booking. With this increased level of professional oversight, renters can rest assured that they're getting what they pay for. And with its wide selection of properties around the world, Vrbo is a great option if you're looking for a reliable and secure rental service. So if you're seeking a stress-free vacation rental experience, give Vrbo a try!
Quote from @Eric Bilderback:
Do you believe that the bookings/guests are better from VRBO than AirBNB? If so would you expand on that a little. I fairly new to the STR game would like hear your thoughts.
Thx
I've had the opposite experience than John. My biggest headache's have always been VRBO people, seems it's an older age class that generally expects that they're staying at the Plaza in New York. Have had a couple on Airbnb that weren't great as well, but in terms of percentage of bookings, VRBO has had a much higher ratio on the PITA scale. I'll continue to rent to both as I think it's silly to limit yourself to one OTA.
Don't worry about cancels, they happen.
Quote from @Jay Thomas:
Unlike Airbnb, Vrbo is a platform created for the real estate industry. It offers travellers an opportunity to rent verified and professionally managed homes for their trips, which can provide more peace of mind than renting from an individual on Airbnb. Plus, Vrbo makes it easy to contact owners directly with any questions you may have before booking. With this increased level of professional oversight, renters can rest assured that they're getting what they pay for. And with its wide selection of properties around the world, Vrbo is a great option if you're looking for a reliable and secure rental service. So if you're seeking a stress-free vacation rental experience, give Vrbo a try!
Great explanation of VRBO vs. AirBnB!!