Airbnb, Vrbo Host Shock

It’s been a tumultuous few weeks for property owners and hosts on Airbnb and Vrbo. Yesterday, Airbnb announced new house rules for hosts, beginning November 20, that bar them from asking guests to wash dishes at checkout, to strip bed linens, and take garbage off-site.

Airbnb hosts, with exceptions for local regulations, likewise can’t establish separate contracts with guests or collect and retain their IDs. All of these prohibitions come with potential penalties, up to deleting their Airbnb accounts for policy violations.

By the way, these policies are very good for guests. Why should guests jump though hoops on their vacations at checkout when they are already paying for cleaning fees?

Perhaps the host anger this has stoked takes a little heat off Vrbo, which starting October 29 raises hosts commissions from the current 5% to 12%. We reported exclusively that Vrbo is exempting some hosts from losing their non-commission based annual subscription plans, but Vrbo isn’t detailing publicly which listings qualify for the exceptions.

It will all blow over eventually. The platforms have the distribution power despite all the talk about direct bookings. AirDNA says direct bookings are not trending upwards. It’s doubtful hosts will act collectively to stem the tide.

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