Starting this month, it will be highly unlikely for a host to either 1) cancel your Hawaii Airbnb reservation, 2) provide deceptive listing information, or 3) offer unsafe conditions. Why? Read on for the details that guests will find comforting.
We have both used Airbnb many times before, and one thing that turned us off a listing was seeing comments that the host canceled a reservation. When that notice appeared more than once, we quickly looked for another place.
While we have never had an Airbnb reservation canceled, you’ve reported in comments that it has happened to you. Nothing is worse than being left, especially near the last minute, looking for another place to stay in Hawaii. Airbnb will help you find alternative accommodations, but that may not always be to your liking.
Starting August 22, new rules will discourage Airbnb host cancellations.
And that’s excellent news. Because when you connect with a listing that you like and end up booking, the last thing you want is to have that canceled. Each Airbnb is unique, and the replacement may not completely match your needs.
Previously when hosts canceled a guest’s stay, they were penalized $100 for cancelations they created within seven days of arrival and $50 outside seven days.
New fines up to $1,000 per incident.
But now, hosts must pay up to $1,000 for those same cancelations when the issue was preventable. The amount depends on how much notice was given and can be 10% of the reservation with more than 30 days’ notice, 25% within 30 days but more than 48 hours before check-in, and less than 48 hours is 50% of the reservation cost.
Airbnb said, “When Hosts cancel on guests for preventable reasons—like accidentally double-booking or wanting to host friends and family instead—guests lose the confidence to book on Airbnb, and this impacts all Hosts and hurts our entire community. For these reasons, we’re updating our Host Cancellation Policy.”
When Airbnb hosts cancel for preventable reasons, the fee will be deducted from their future earnings. My next question is, who gets the $1000? Does it make Airbnb richer, or is that passed on to the guest who had their reservation canceled? Our feeling is the guest should be compensated.
Health risks and places that differ from listing descriptions incur the same penalties.
A fee will also be assessed when guests cannot stay due to significant health risks, including severe mold, or when the place “is substantially different from the listing description.” These are treated the same as last-minute host cancellations, and a penalty of up to $1,0o0 is applied against future guest earnings.
Have you experienced situations these new rules are intended to alleviate?
We have both had some problems like the above. At a Paris Airbnb, a washer and dryer were supposed to be within the apartment which for a long stay was an important feature. The listing didn’t say that the washer/dryer was actually located in someone else’s apartment on the floor below and that arrangements would need to be made with the guests staying there in order to ever use it. This came as a complete surprise for all parties. Can you imagine the surprise for the guests in the other apartment, when they suddenly found that their washer/dryer was shared with someone else? In the end, it turned out okay and everyone ended up being friends during the stay.
On another occasion, prior to Airbnb getting their photos under better control and implementing a photo verification process, we were surprised when a cottage, appearing beautifully large in its photo appearance and without square footage listed, had been shot with a fisheye lens and was diminutive in size.
If you use Airbnb, how do you feel about these new rules?
Disclosure: We receive a small commission on purchases from some of the links on Beat of Hawaii. These links cost you nothing and provide income necessary to offer our website to you. Mahalo! Privacy Policy and Disclosures.
Lea R says
This just happened to be. We booked a 2 bed/2 bath condo on the Big Island. When we arrived it was a 1 bed/2 bath. We had 3 teenagers with us! Airbnb only offered $300 off our 4-night stay (30% off the nightly rent) but none of their fees got reduced. I was livid as we didn’t have time to move. We could have the same day we got there but there was nothing we could book for same day check in after 4pm. Once we moved all of our stuff and food to the 3rd story (no elevator) we had the next 3 full days packed with things we wanted to do and see. Because we stayed we got a minimal refund. Airbnb did next to nothing to make this right.
Todd b says
I been a host for seven years I’ve never canceled on a guest. had my water heater explode a Sunday I immediately searched for a comparable Airbnb for my guest not to inconvenience them for not having hot water until Monday evening or I gave them the option of comping their entire stay
Alfredo says
Airbnb keeps the money, they are losing commission due to cancelled reservation and now have to deal with an unhappy customer through their call center.
Ray O says
Hosts have been able to choose their own cancellation policies on Airbnb for a long time. On the “strict” policy, Guests get no refund at all (paying for all nights reserved) for cancellations within 7 days.
Gayle M says
Horrible new rules. The owners have rights and the guests can cancel without penalty leaving the owner with a Vacant Condo. The Penalties need to be the same and equal for a Guest that cancels after they booked a Condo.
Madline C says
Although I have never had the unfortunate occasion of the mentioned problems,I agree and appreciate the new rules for airbnb owners. In one of the grips I am in on Facebook has had more than several people looking for accommodations at the last minute due to owners canceling at the last minute. I have always had good experience booking thru airbnb and don’t like hearing negative comments towards airbnb.
Thank you Airbnb….
RA says
Of course you like the new rules as a guest. It’s all positive for guests, all negative for hosts. Bad actors who carelessly disregard the reservation commitments they’ve made should be penalized. That goes for Both hosts and guests, but AirBnB doesn’t see it that way.
TammyB says
Every Airbnb property I’ve looked at has a cancellation policy for the guests. How is this a negative for the hosts when it’s specifically covering a host inconsiderately cancelling a booking?
Kevin A says
It should be the same for the guest as well. When a guest cancels and the host gets burned for last minute cancelations, rarely is there a refund to the host, typically it will be too late to rebook and the host loses out on cleaning fees and the booking.
Ted says
There’s no cleaning fee if there’s no guest. I had a experience in st. Louis where the host told me she couldn’t make it for several hours to let me in. I ended up canceling the reservation as I’d been driving all day and lost every penny of my $400. Then I see in the reviews she’d done this a number of times to other people.
You might be an honest host but this policy is necessary due to the dishonest ones.
Tracy B says
I think another item that should be addressed is a visiting pet (not overnight pet stays). It’s usually another money grab of a free $300. No fair and money was taken without even asking the situation.
Karen F says
I happen to be a owner of a Airbnb. I can’t imagine canceled someone stay. People spend months at times to plan their well earned family vacations. Hawaii is a especially difficult place to find last minute housing. Good change for the people we are serving. They should feel confident in Airbnb and what we represent.
Lisa B says
This exact situation happened to us. We had booked a condo through air bnb. About a month after we booked the host decided to allow the guests ahead of us to extend their reservation another week. It took hours of searching for a suitable place that ended up being a significantly higher rate and was not with an ocean view which was important to us. We could not leave a review that the host cancelled because we had not stayed there. I asked air bnb to add that a cancellation had occurred on the reviews but months later this still did not happen.
Kathy E says
I think Airbnb should do this on a global scale, not just Hawaii. I used to Only use Airbnb, but never again until that make significant changes.
Sm says
The biggest problem will be actually booking for the new requirement of 30 days.
Chris M says
I’ve used Airbnb many times in many states and never had a problem.
PegM says
I planned on using Airbnb once. A few days before our arrival (not Hawaii) they cancelled. The company basically told me “too bad, the owner has that right”. Because I did not stay there I was not able to leave a review. Basically no recourse. Obviously, never did that again.
TheRealDavid B says
Our Kauai home is a licensed “non-conforming” vacation rental (non-conforming meaning our neighborhood is not in a designated tourist zone, such as Poipu or Princeville. It is managed entirely by a local real estate brokerage, who advertises their listings on VRBO, and of course on their own web site. Some of our guests do somehow book through Airbnb, and there are extra fees involved, but we don’t pay them. IDK how it works, but we are not controlled in any way by Airbnb. The only time our guest reservations have been canceled is when we were forced to do so by the county for a period of 14 months after the flood, and of course, for the 14 months of “effective” COVID lockdown by Ige then Kawakami. That was a lot of cancelations.
Juan L says
You might want to take another look at your finically statements .
Airbnb takes their commission off so you’re paying fees, also by using their platform you agree to their TOS so they definitely control some aspects of your business
Kent W says
thanks for info on Airbnb
Would the rules apply to VRBO also?
Beat of Hawaii says
Hi Kent.
Airbnb only. Vrbo is an Expedia company and that is unrelated.
Aloha.
Gary L says
We dropped Air BNB as a vendor to assist with bookings. Their cancellation policies are not beneficial to Hawaiian Owners. They only benefit the guests, and now this policy goes lock step with putting the owners at risk. When a guest cancels 14 days from the stay, how are we supposed to recoup that cost. We lose potential thousands for the booking and now they want to screw owners again by making them pay exorbitant fees for cancelling. Who decides if it was preventable. I do not trust Air BNB to be fair when it comes down to determining. They say that guest will lose confidence in booking with Air BNB, well owners have lost that confidence as well. They are much better options for owners to rent their property than Air BNB.
Randy A says
Another example of AirBnB being focused on the guest rather than the host. Maybe there are hosts out there that are frequent abusers of cancellation policies, but the vast majority of us have an excellent history and bend over backwards to stand by a confirmed reservation. None of that matters, AirBnB is out to punish you. Stuff happens in rare occasions that is nobody’s fault, and as a host you try anything you can to make it right. I have no confidence that the process of “proving” to them that a cancellation is justified will be fair to me as a host. They will always error on the side of the guest because they want them to stay as customers.
Roy says
Good! It’s about time some laws and restriction be placed on Airbnb.
Aloha
Juan Li says
This is not a law or a restriction. It’s simply a new policy Airbnb itself is putting in place.
Sue S says
These are certainly welcome changes to the rule. While we’ve used AirBnB in Hawaii on several occasions – and have never had a problem-these changes increase confidence in booking thru them!