Airbnb cancellation rate is 36%

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Ryan MoyerBusiness Member
Property Manager · Orlando Kissimmee Davenport Salt Lake City, Park City · Member since 2019 · 996 posts · 1k+ votes
14h

Sadly, this is by design.

When you log on to Airbnb as a guest Airbnb plasters you with ads to "book with $0 deposit".

Alongside that, Airbnb has all but eliminated cancelation policies that are reasonable for large homes.

Airbnb is essentially urging guests to book properties, hold the calendar hostage, and then decide later if they actually want to visit and just cancel last minute if they decide not to or can't find people to go with them.

For casual hosts Airbnb is fine, I guess. Anyone serious about STR that is not spending every ounce of their energy to reduce reliance on Airbnb and move more heavily into direct bookings is out of their mind.

The platform is a huge bane on the traditional vacation rental industry, as they continue to try to turn 5+ bedroom houses into hotel inventory and force them to abide by hotel rules despite them having no hotel competition.

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  • Andrew SteffensBusiness Member
    Tampa, FL · Member since 2022 · 3k+ posts · 3k+ votes
    14h

    What is your current cancellation term on Airbnb? We have different ones on different units. For example our small units that always book ultra last minute anyways are flexible and our Gulf front penthouse is strict.

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    • Collin HaysBusiness Member
      OP
      Property Manager · Gatlinburg, TN · Member since 2020 · 3k+ posts · 4k+ votes
      13h

      That's actually a good idea, Andrew. We have a uniform policy for all of our rentals, but perhaps we have more strict guidelines for certain properties. What is your criteria for more strict guidelines?

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    • Ryan MoyerBusiness Member
      Property Manager · Orlando Kissimmee Davenport Salt Lake City, Park City · Member since 2019 · 996 posts · 1k+ votes
      1h

      Strict doesn't exist anymore. Only on legacy listings and they will remove it from those eventually as well.

      Cosmic Vacations4.9174 Reviews
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  • Ryan MoyerBusiness Member
    Property Manager · Orlando Kissimmee Davenport Salt Lake City, Park City · Member since 2019 · 996 posts · 1k+ votes
    14h

    Sadly, this is by design.

    When you log on to Airbnb as a guest Airbnb plasters you with ads to "book with $0 deposit".

    Alongside that, Airbnb has all but eliminated cancelation policies that are reasonable for large homes.

    Airbnb is essentially urging guests to book properties, hold the calendar hostage, and then decide later if they actually want to visit and just cancel last minute if they decide not to or can't find people to go with them.

    For casual hosts Airbnb is fine, I guess. Anyone serious about STR that is not spending every ounce of their energy to reduce reliance on Airbnb and move more heavily into direct bookings is out of their mind.

    The platform is a huge bane on the traditional vacation rental industry, as they continue to try to turn 5+ bedroom houses into hotel inventory and force them to abide by hotel rules despite them having no hotel competition.

    Cosmic Vacations4.9174 Reviews
    WebsiteView Page
    2Reply
    • Jon Martin
      Member since 2022 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes
      4h

      All of That, and/or guests book to see if there is a better offer as the time nears. Strict/Firm (or whatever it’s called) or bust.moderate is still too lenient because at 5 days before they still have a lot of options.

      The large homes book further in advance, although the flip side of that is they are much harder to follow last minite as well for those same exact reasons.

      1Reply
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