Si bien Airbnb respondió positivamente con reembolsos para los huéspedes que optaron por cancelar sus reservas a causa de la pandemia del COVID-19, no hizo lo mismo para con los host o anfitriones que se mostraron muy insatisfechos.
Frente a la reacción violenta por su decisión unilateral de reembolsar las reservas de los huéspedes y dejar a los anfitriones con las manos vacías, el cofundador y CEO de Airbnb, Brian Chesky, se disculpó con sus clientes y prometió un paquete de ayuda de Airbnb de USD 260 millones.
Así es que a través de una carta dirigida a los anfitriones y enviada el lunes pasado, Chesky dijo que la decisión, tomada sin consultar a los anfitriones, “no fue una decisión comercial, sino que para cuidar la salud pública”, de manera que los huéspedes no se sintieran presionados a registrarse cuando las condiciones de salud no fueran seguras..
“No obstante, y si bien creo que hicimos lo correcto al priorizar la salud y la seguridad, me disculpo por haber comunicado esta decisión a los huéspedes sin consultarlo antes con ustedes, como deberían hacer los socios”, escribió Chesky. “Los hemos escuchado y sabemos que podríamos haber sido mejores socios”.
Chesky agregó que sus anfitriones quieren acción y no solo palabras. “Si bien puede que no se sintiera así, somos socios”. Cuando su negocio sufre, el nuestro también”, dijo.
Por lo tanto, Airbnb se comprometió a un paquete de ayuda para los anfitriones que incluye:
- Airbnb pagará a sus anfitriones USD 250 millones para cubrir parcialmente el costo de las cancelaciones por Coronavirus. Para las reservas canceladas que estaban programadas del 14 de Marzo al 31 de Mayo, Airbnb pagará a los anfitriones una cuarta parte de lo que habrían recibido a través de sus políticas de cancelación, y los pagos comenzarán a realizarse en el mes de Abril.
- Airbnb estableció un Fondo adicional de USD 10 millones para anfitriones de alquileres y experiencias y al que pueden aplicar a subvenciones de hasta USD 5.000. Los empleados de Airbnb ya donaron USD 1 millón al fondo y los cofundadores de Airbnb Chesky, Joe Gebbia y Nathan Blecharczyk “están contribuyendo personalmente los $ 9 millones restantes”, dijo Chesky.
- Por último, Airbnb está fijando una forma para que los huéspedes contribuyan con dinero a los anfitriones con los que se han quedado anteriormente. En palabras de Chesky ya hay “innumerables” anfitriones que han expresado interés en hacerlo.
A continuación, la carta redactada y enviada por Brian Chesky, CEO en Airbnb.
Dear Host,
What a devastating couple of months this has been for all of us. Like many of you, I wake up every day distanced from friends and co-workers, wondering what the world has in store. As I see the news every day, my heart goes out to all the countries, communities, and families that are being overwhelmed by the scale and impact of this crisis.
Amidst all this, the global travel industry has come to a halt. Airlines are grounded and borders are closed. Most of us—including our guests—are on government advised lockdowns, unable to leave our homes. Travel as we know it is almost impossible.
On March 11, when the World Health Organization declared a pandemic, we were faced with a dilemma. If we allowed guests to cancel and receive a refund, we knew it could have significant consequences on your livelihood. But, we couldn’t have guests and hosts feel pressured to put themselves into unsafe situations and create an additional public health hazard. We determined that we had to allow your guests to cancel and receive a full refund—including all our fees. Please know this decision was not a business decision, but based on protecting public health.
On March 11, when the World Health Organization declared a pandemic, we were faced with a dilemma. If we allowed guests to cancel and receive a refund, we knew it could have significant consequences on your livelihood. But, we couldn’t have guests and hosts feel pressured to put themselves into unsafe situations and create an additional public health hazard. We determined that we had to allow your guests to cancel and receive a full refund—including all our fees. Please know this decision was not a business decision, but based on protecting public health.
However, while I believe we did the right thing in prioritizing health and safety, I’m sorry that we communicated this decision to guests without consulting you—like partners should. We have heard from you and we know we could have been better partners.
Although it may not have felt like it, we are partners. When your business suffers, our business suffers. We know that right now many of you are struggling, and what you need are actions from us to help, not just words.
Here are some actions we are taking to help you navigate the crisis.
We will pay $250 million to hosts to help cover the cost of COVID-19 cancellations
When a guest cancels an accommodation reservation due to a COVID-19 related circumstance, with a check-in between March 14 and May 31, we will pay you 25% of what you would normally receive through your cancellation policy. This applies retroactively to all COVID-19 related cancellations during this period. This cost will be covered entirely by Airbnb. These payments will begin to be issued in April. Guests with reservations booked on or before March 14 will still be able to cancel and receive a standard refund or travel credit equivalent for 100% of what they paid. You can go to airbnb.com/250msupport for more details.
We are creating a $10 million Superhost Relief Fund
This is designed for Superhosts who rent out their own home and need help paying their rent or mortgage, plus long-tenured Experience hosts trying to make ends meet. Our employees started this fund with $1 million in donations out of their own pockets, and Joe, Nate and I are personally contributing the remaining $9 million. Starting in April, hosts can apply for grants for up to $5,000 that don’t need to be paid back. You can go to airbnb.com/superhostrelief for more details.
We are making it easy for your previous guests to send financial support directly to you
We have heard from countless guests who are incredibly grateful for the flexibility of Airbnb hosts and are interested in supporting you financially. We are creating a way for guests to send a note along with a contribution to any of the hosts who they’ve previously stayed with. We expect this to go live in April. We know that even a little goes a long way during this challenging time.
We have worked together to secure support for hosts in the US Government’s recent COVID-19 Stimulus Bill
This legislation now allows for US hosts to take advantage of many relief measures, including small business grants, small business loans, and unemployment assistance. A huge thank you for the more than 105,000 calls and emails you made to members of Congress.
We are also working on other initiatives and we will provide more detail in the coming weeks. These include actively working with experts and epidemiologists on cleanliness standards to keep you and your guests safe, trip insurance for you and your guests, and programs to deliver demand to help rebuild your business.
My commitment to you is to rebuild our partnership. When we are working together, we are at our strongest and absolute best. I’ve seen an example of this happen recently in our combined efforts to offer housing for medical responders on the front lines. Together we are helping to house over 100,000 healthcare providers, relief workers, and first responders by providing housing to them for free or with a subsidy. Over 40,000 of you have already raised your hands to help. Visit airbnb.com/covid19relief to join them.
Brian Chesky, CEO en Airbnb
