** Airbnb queries & info **

Celly Smunt

Techmaster wrote: »

That doesn't sound right at all. Sure then there'd be no negative reviews whatsoever!

There are practically none, everybody is 4-5 star


The only negative ones you'll see are with hosts replying to it.

Curb Your Enthusiasm

Celly Smunt wrote: »

There are practically none, everybody is 4-5 star


The only negative ones you'll see are with hosts replying to it.

If that is the case, that is a ridiculously stupid system.

Celly Smunt

Techmaster wrote: »

If that is the case, that is a ridiculously stupid system.

The whole airbnb system has become a joke in its entirety really in terms of verifications and not releasing money on expiries etc etc.

A host could cancel the day before you arrive and you won't get your money back for days leaving you up **** creek. That's the only reason I pick host with loads of reviews, not because of the reviews themselves but due to the fact that they do this almost on a full time basis meaning they aren't likely to leave you ****ed.

keithclancy

Celly Smunt wrote: »

I'd have a chat with then and go from there. The review system is a little flawed on airbnb anyway since the host has to approve a review so basically negative ones can be filtered out.

Not true, I was a host on AirBNB and you cannot do that, you can either leave a guest review or not leave a guest review, one of them or both of them get posted anyway.

There is no option to 'disapprove' of a review.

There are also many bad reviews on AirBNB, I got some and I left some as well.

sandra_b

How deposit procedure works? Is it paid to him directly or through AirBnb payment system?

Celly Smunt

keithclancy wrote: »

Not true, I was a host on AirBNB and you cannot do that, you can either leave a guest review or not leave a guest review, one of them or both of them get posted anyway.

There is no option to 'disapprove' of a review.

There are also many bad reviews on AirBNB, I got some and I left some as well.

Not anymore, the guest has to wait for approval of a review. Airbnb shook up all their rules after the verification restrictions

sandra_b

Thank you all for help. I am not going to proceed with this one. I asked for his phone num - to call him on Monday. He replied that he works on Monday (?) and I can not call him because AirBnb blocks presonal emails and phone numbers.

???

keithclancy

Celly Smunt wrote: »

Not anymore, the guest has to wait for approval of a review. Airbnb shook up all their rules after the verification restrictions

Nope, there's a period (two weeks) where you have a chance to post a review. There is no 'approval'

If the host doesn't post a review then your review gets posted anyway after the two weeks and vice versa.

I'm still a host on airbnb

If you both post a review then they both get posted before the two weeks.

sandra_b wrote: »

Thank you all for help. I am not going to proceed with this one. I asked for his phone num - to call him on Monday. He replied that he works on Monday (?) and I can not call him because AirBnb blocks presonal emails and phone numbers.

???

Yes, AirBNB block numbers and e-mails until you make a booking, it's to stop people making a booking outside of AirBNB

jaybee1957

Did you look to see how long his property has been listed on Airbnb? He might be a newbie just starting out. If you did book with him and you weren't happy, you can report it to Airbnb, but you would have to find somewhere else to stay. Some Airbnb hosts allow same-day bookings, so you could still use Airbnb as a back-up plan. Although the 'help' section of Airbnb is a bit long-winded, you can find the answer to your questions with a little patience.

My wife and I have hosted our B&B on Airbnb for over two years and, although we were reasonably happy at first, things have changed quite dramatically since they separated European operations, which are now run from Dublin. Only ever got a handful of bookings through Airbnb, but generated much more business on other websites. Glad we don't have to rely on Airbnb - we couldn't survive!

I will write a post in the near future to compare costs/fees on Airbnb Europe with other websites, e.g. Booking.com. These guys seem to have a mixed reputation, but we do a hell of a lot of business with them. Their website is far easier to use, both as a host and a guest, and their method of calculating charges is simple and transparent (unlike Airbnb's, which is very complicated). Also they do a mobile app for guests, which generates the majority of our business with them. More info on these aspects in a future post!

jaybee1957

I replied a short while ago to a post regarding using Airbnb for accommodation, and I also noticed a lot of posts with respect to charges. I said I would write a comparison of Airbnb with Booking.com, which seems to generate very mixed feelings from users (although, I feel, unjustly so).

We run a B&B in Askeaton and, besides our own website, we are listed on 5 other websites (plus all their affiliates) as well as Tripadvisor. Airbnb and most of the other websites have consistently failed to generate even a reasonable level of business, whilst our own website and Booking.com comprise well in excess of 90% of our bookings. I am sure that some of these are leads generated by Tripadvisor (you can't book on Tripadvisor, but they recommend links to other websites, and you can leave reviews there also). The amount of business generated primarily though Tripadvisor is difficult to quantify, but we do ask guests how they got to know about us, so we can get a rough idea of where our business is coming from.

Anyway, let's get to the point. Airbnb recently separated their European operation which is now run from new offices in Dublin. As part of this move, they sent e-mails to all European hosts (with properties both in Europe and abroad), and non-European hosts with property in Europe. What I'm about to tell you in respect of the contents of this e-mail ABSOLUTELY STINKS!

All the hosts which fall into one or both of the categories above have had their details reported to the Revenue Commissioners by Airbnb. These details include, if I remember correctly, host names, addresses, property addresses, all amounts earned through Airbnb from mid-2014, means by which payments from Airbnb were made including names and addresses of recipients and financial institutions (i.e. bank accounts, paypal acccounts, names and addresses associated with those accounts).

In addition to ratting out all these hosts to Revenue, Airbnb now charge 23% VAT on host fees, which are added into a complicated calculation making it difficult to ascertain how much Airbnb actually makes on each booking (I will, however, explain later).

It's also worth mentioning that, according to Revenue's own website, VAT charges in the Tourism Sector were dropped to 9% some years ago in order to stimulate the industry, and this lower charge has been extended indefinitely, therefore it's still in force today. Hotel and holiday accommodation (including B&Bs and folks on Airbnb renting rooms), if they are VAT registered, should charge only 9% VAT, but Airbnb has chosen to charge 23%! Any business which is not registered for VAT cannot charge it (but cannot claim back any VAT from expenses).

Airbnb state that they are obliged to report all the details to Revenue, but I have trawled through Revenue's website, and I don't agree. There are some instances where a business which is charging commission on certain activities is obliged to report details about its customers to Revenue but, the way I understand what I have read, Airbnb does not fall into any such category.

Because this post is already very long, I'm going to break off at this point and submit another post. This will include a price comparison, and will show how much Airbnb is actually making on each booking - you may be surprised!

gordongekko

Airbnb reporting potential revenue fraud. fair play to them.

jaybee1957

OK, lets look at what levels of commission some websites actually charge for bookings. It's not uncommon to see charges of around 10% or above being paid by hosts or business to websites featuring their properties. In my opinion, 15% is a bit on the high side but, if these websites are generating a healthy number of bookings, it's probably worth it.

One of the websites on which we are featured charges a flat 15%, no hidden charges, no complex calculations, just a fixed, transparent and easily understood 15%. The charges aren't taken until after half-way through the following month. This means that you get between 15 and 36 days (approximately) before the charge is debited from your account. Nice, simple, easy.

Airbnb, however, charges twice. The guest is charged a fee when their booking is confirmed by the host. Then the host is charged a fee (which is deducted from the advertised price before they are paid out by Airbnb). The guest fee also contains a VAT charge of 23% (but NOT 9%, which is Revenue's advertised rate for accommodation). And, just to complicate matters even more, the guest fee varies according to the amount the host is charging.

The best way to understand what the charges are is to show 2 examples (one with the lowest possible guest fee, and one with the highest).

Example 1 -
Host advertises accommodation which (taking into account the total number of persons and the total number of nights stayed) is, for ease of calculation, 100 euro.

Host fees are 3% of advertised total price, or 3 euro
Guest fees are 6% (cheapest) or 6 euro
23% VAT on guest fee is 1.38 euro
TOTAL OF ALL FEES is 10.38 euro, or 10.38%.

Example 2 -
Same amount for accommodation, i.e. 100 euro.

Host fees are 3% of advertised total price, or 3 euro
Guest fees are 12% (dearest) or 12 euro
23% VAT on guest fee is 2.76 euro
TOTAL OF ALL FEES is 17.76 euro, or 17.76%.

In the cheaper example, fees already exceed 10%, whilst in the second example fees are a WHOPPING 17.76%!!!

What we should also do is look at these charges in the light of Airbnb's portrayal of itself on its own website and in the media. It uses phrases like ‘connecting people’, 'the sharing economy', 'community market place’, and ‘real connections with real people from all over the globe’. This gives you the impression that Airbnb is all about people and all about sharing. I think nothing could be further from the truth.

Whilst its true that Airbnb, through its hosts, does offer the opportunity for people to stay somewhere at very competitive prices, I think they are more interested in lining their own pockets. In my opinion, their move to Dublin is purely for corporate and commercial reasons - would the cheap rate of corporation tax in Ireland have anything to do with it I wonder? And I wonder how long will it be before we see Airbnb floated on the stock exchange?

jaybee1957

Thanks for your comment gordongekko. I admit that anyone who knowingly does not disclose taxable income to Revenue is an idiot, firstly, because they are committing an offence and, secondly, because if they get caught the penalties can be severe. I do not, however, agree with what Airbnb have done in disclosing private information which, as I understand it, they are not required to do. They may also be in breach of the Data Protection Act here, and I am going to research this further to find out.

I also take severe exception at the way in which Airbnb forced new 'terms and conditions' (yes, it's that ubiquitous excuse of a phrase which is a 'get-out-of-jail-free card' for all the big faceless companies and corporations) on all users of their website. You can't log on to conduct any part of your business as a host or as a guest unless you tick the box and accept. They had everyone over a barrel and they knew it, and that's how they forced people to agree to what they have done. How would you like it if a substantial source of income (which Airbnb is for some people) was used to hold you to ransom? Airbnb will never be the same again, and I'm sure that some people who may have considered using it will no longer want to.

sandra_b

We actually booked that apartment at the end There are now 2 reviews for his apartment - both very positive. I hope everything is going to be ok.

jsd1004

jaybee1957 wrote: »

Thanks for your comment gordongekko. I admit that anyone who knowingly does not disclose taxable income to Revenue is an idiot, firstly, because they are committing an offence and, secondly, because if they get caught the penalties can be severe. I do not, however, agree with what Airbnb have done in disclosing private information which, as I understand it, they are not required to do. They may also be in breach of the Data Protection Act here, and I am going to research this further to find out.

I also take severe exception at the way in which Airbnb forced new 'terms and conditions' (yes, it's that ubiquitous excuse of a phrase which is a 'get-out-of-jail-free card' for all the big faceless companies and corporations) on all users of their website. You can't log on to conduct any part of your business as a host or as a guest unless you tick the box and accept. They had everyone over a barrel and they knew it, and that's how they forced people to agree to what they have done. How would you like it if a substantial source of income (which Airbnb is for some people) was used to hold you to ransom? Airbnb will never be the same again, and I'm sure that some people who may have considered using it will no longer want to.

I agree. They are holding hosts to ransom and do not give two **** about them. A client recently cancelled a large booking with 2 days notice which would entitle them to a 50% refund by my cancellation policy (moderate). Airbnb decided to give them a full refund and me nothing. My correspondence with them went along the lines of "we can do anything we decide irrespective of your cancellation policy" and they referred me to the terms and conditions which they forced me to accept. They do not have to give you a reason and can cancel any booking at any time irrespective of cancellation policy if they wish!

jaybee1957

Yes jsd1004, I'm not impressed with their back-up for hosts. Since I have never been a guest on Airbnb, I don't know what support is like for that side of their business, but I think it favours the guest (to the detriment of the host).

I had an issue a long time ago where a new host in my area plagerised the content of my description, both in structure and in some of its content (word-for-word!). Of course I reported this to Airbnb, quoting their own rules on 'intellectual property rights', of which this was an obvious and flagrant violation. Guess what they did about it? Absolutely Jack sh1t! Didn't reply to my e-mails at all, obviously weren't interested. In the finish I had to contact the offending host myself and, thankfully they saw their error (and corrected it). This could have been a very nasty situation but worked out very well in the end for both of us. In fact we now network with each other, and if one of us is fully booked we pass business on to the other! That's more like the ethos on which Airbnb was founded!

I have also sent e-mails with specific questions regarding the new European set-up, and they sent 2 generic-type replies which give you the impression that they look upon you as some kind of moron or half-wit. One of the questions was the percentage VAT they were charging (23%, whereas it should be only 9% for the Hospitality sector) You know when they stop replying they are beaten, but they don't want to admit it.

My answer is that I don't really want to do any further business with them, but pulling my property off their website is like giving in to the bullies. I have left my listings open because it maintains my presence on the website (and on the internet), but I have put accommodation prices up by around 75% - so if I do get any business through them, the price increase offsets the hassle. I'm hoping it's obvious to someone looking on Airbnb that they can book much cheaper if they look for me on another website.

ballyharpat

Celly Smunt wrote: »

Not anymore, the guest has to wait for approval of a review. Airbnb shook up all their rules after the verification restrictions

Not true, I received a bad review, and it was with people that I was not happy with as their dog pi**ed all over the place and I cleaned it up-of course me being a dog lover, I took their dog for a walk and he ran off-night of hell it was-anyway, they were not happy, I was hoping if I avoided leaving a review, that there review would not be put through-no such luck….you have no opportunity to approve or disapprove a review.

jaybee1957

The system for reviews on Airbnb is as follows:
Both host and guest are invited by Airbnb to leave a review for each other. A time limit of 14 days applies. The content of the reviews is not revealed to the other parties until:

1. both parties have written a review and, in this case, both will be published as soon as both are written

2. If only one party writes a review, it will be published anyway after 14 days, even if the other party does not write theirs.

In addition, both parties have the opportunity to tell each other about positive or negative aspects of their experience (outside of the published reviews), but this is a private message which is not made public.

In this way, there is supposed to be no pressure on either party to keep their review positive if they had a bad experience. I'm not sure this works that well, because you read some reviews which are very short and contain no detail. I suspect these people are hiding something, and don't want to be critical of the other party.

jaybee1957

Good afternoon guys,

just a quick addition to the previous posts I have written with respect to Airbnb's bizarre behaviour following the opening of their new European Operations centre in Dublin.

By chance I was looking at the Irish Independent this morning and, lo and behold, an article telling folk how Airbnb have grassed up all their Irish hosts to the Revenue Commissioners. Just in case you didn't or couldn't believe what I was saying - these details are now public knowledge. To make it perfectly clear I will repeat 4 points I made on previous posts just to clarify my position, and before people start to make comments like "they deserve to be grassed up":

1. If you don't declare taxable income to Revenue, you are an idiot and you are asking for trouble

2. I have read a lot of info on Revenue's own website and, the way I understand it, Airbnb are required to disclose either NONE OR ONLY PART of host information and personal details they have chosen to

3. Airbnb are charging 23% VAT (doing Revenue a favour!) whilst the correct rate of VAT for the hospitality sector (including holiday accommodation) IS ONLY 9%!

4. All users of Airbnb were blackmailed into accepting these new terms and conditions by having to 'tick the box to agree' before they were allowed access to their listings on Airbnb.

As far as I'm concerned, the whole thing stinks.

friendlybee

For those who may not have heard

There's been news about taxes implications today and theres a public meeting for hosts this evening at 630pm at the airbnb office The Watermarque building, Dublin 2

gordongekko

jaybee1957 wrote: »

Good afternoon guys,

just a quick addition to the previous posts I have written with respect to Airbnb's bizarre behaviour following the opening of their new European Operations centre in Dublin.

By chance I was looking at the Irish Independent this morning and, lo and behold, an article telling folk how Airbnb have grassed up all their Irish hosts to the Revenue Commissioners. Just in case you didn't or couldn't believe what I was saying - these details are now public knowledge. To make it perfectly clear I will repeat 4 points I made on previous posts just to clarify my position, and before people start to make comments like "they deserve to be grassed up":

1. If you don't declare taxable income to Revenue, you are an idiot and you are asking for trouble

2. I have read a lot of info on Revenue's own website and, the way I understand it, Airbnb are required to disclose either NONE OR ONLY PART of host information and personal details they have chosen to

3. Airbnb are charging 23% VAT (doing Revenue a favour!) whilst the correct rate of VAT for the hospitality sector (including holiday accommodation) IS ONLY 9%!

4. All users of Airbnb were blackmailed into accepting these new terms and conditions by having to 'tick the box to agree' before they were allowed access to their listings on Airbnb.

As far as I'm concerned, the whole thing stinks.

You weren't blackmailed into anything. If you don't want to follow airbnb's rules then just don't use the site.

spurious

Re the Revenue - I can somewhat sympathise with the person who occasionally lets out a back bedroom for Air BnB, but I have no sympathy for people like one individual in my area who appears to be running at least four seperate houses, (none of which he lives in) as Air BnB places. Passing one of these on the bus, two sets of bunk beds in a small room are visible. Is this what was envisaged by those who started Air BnB?

In the old days, I used to be a couchsurfing host and at first thought maybe Air BnB was a formalised version of couchsurfing (where people allowed fellow travellers to stay overnight for free) but looking at the prices hosts charge and the conditions some renters are paying for, it seems just a racket where the only ones really benefitting are Air BnB themselves and those hosts who have managed favourable tax arrangements.

killbillvol2

AirBnB has moved a long way from its inception. There are people letting dozens of rooms on it and people employing agents to meet and greet their guests. One guy in Bangkok has 23 listings. Another is the apartment building manager!

At the end of the day they're a business and they make a lot of money. I'm not a big fan of the operation but I use it a lot. I've stayed in some excellent apartments hosted by some genuine people.

As to Revenue coming after hosts - if anyone thought they could publicly advertise and make money from it without Revenue coming after them they're idiots.

jaybee1957

I never thought that this post would precipitate so many comments and so much mixed feeling.

As a long-term host on Airbnb I agree with the comment that 'Airbnb has moved a long way since its inception', but I would add that the whole ethos of Airbnb's so-called 'sharing economy' is now in doubt.

Also, there's no doubt that some hosts are using the site to run operations that rival those of small hotels. However, the level of business a host wants to advertise and to run is entirely the host's choice. As long as it is allowed, then it's OK.

As for not being 'blackmailed', let's put this comment in perspective by giving a fictitious (yet highly probable) example:

Joe Public rents a couple of rooms in his house on Airbnb. He is retired but does, however, rely on this income to make a living. He doesn't need to file a tax return because it's his only source of income and it falls below Revenue's rules and regulations with respect to declaring income or submitting a tax return.

One day he tries to access his listing on Airbnb but cannot. He is told he must 'tick the box and agree' before he can undertake his normal business activity and access his business to generate his income. Having done so, he is told that the following (personal) information has been passed on to Revenue by Airbnb (with his 'agreement', because he 'ticked the box'):

Joe's name and address
Address of property at which his listing is located
Total of all monies received by him through Airbnb since mid-2014
Where the money was lodged, including
- name and address of bank or other financial institution which received the payment (even though its someone else's bank)
- number of account in which payment was lodged
- name of account holder
- address of account holder

Now, to make my point perfectly clear, I have trawled Revenue's own website at length, particularly the section in respect of intra-community supplies, weblink (SORRY, BOARDS WON'T LET ME POST THE URL FOR REVENUE). It is my understanding that whilst some types of business, which offer a service based in the EU to customers within the EU, are obliged to supply certain information to Revenue, Airbnb does not fall into a category that needs to supply all the information, or does not fall into some of the categories at all. (This is not true of a business based in the EU which offers services to customers outside the EU, because a much more comprehensive list of customer details is required to be disclosed in that case. That doesn't apply to Irish users letting out Irish properties.)

Now, how do you think Joe feels?

This particular example is actually very close to home for me, because Joe Public is essentially my business, which I run in conjunction with my wife.

Thankfully there are 2 differences which work in our favour - firstly, Airbnb is not the mainstay of our business (nonetheless, all details as shown above have been passed on) and secondly, because I share the business with my wife we can apportion income to each other, allocating half the profits to each of us and staying below the threshold. This is not, I hasten to add, a means of evading tax, this is actually suggested on Revenue's website.

Now perhaps you can see why my feelings with respect to Airbnb run so high; I'm sure that I'm not alone in the way I feel. I am also aware of the scheduled 'meeting' in Dublin, and I wish I was able to attend. I suspect it may descend into a near-riot given that the feelings of many hosts in attendance will be similar.

keithclancy

jaybee1957 wrote: »

Thankfully there are 2 differences which work in our favour - firstly, Airbnb is not the mainstay of our business (nonetheless, all details as shown above have been passed on) and secondly, because I share the business with my wife we can apportion income to each other, allocating half the profits to each of us and staying below the threshold. This is not, I hasten to add, a means of evading tax, this is actually suggested on Revenue's website.

Of course ... then it doesn't affect you.

If you declared the income on your return you have no problem.

zagmund

On the subject of being blackmailed to click . . . I know what it's like as a customer. I booked a stay earlier in the year and paid over my deposit. All fine and dandy. Then the host cancelled and I was due a refund. All more or less fine and dandy, apart from having to replan my holiday but that was the hosts fault and not the companies.

The problem came about when I went to get my refund . . . AirBnB decided at that point that it was absolutely essential that I send them my passport and social media profiles, despite not needing it to take my money in the first place. They couldn't possibly do business with me (by which I mean give me my money back for a service not provided) without me verifying to them that I was indeed me. I was essentially being blackmailed to agree to something (giving them more information than they required) if I wanted to get my money back in a reasonable time frame.

We had a few mails back and forth with them explaining that this was for my benefit and they appreciated my patience and other generic guff (while still holding onto my money) before they eventually gave in and agreed that they did in fact owe me money and they would in fact just refund it to the credit card it came from like any other merchant. It was fine that I could play the waiting game, but if I had needed that money right there and then (to book a different holiday) I would have been more or less forced to agree to their terms and conditions.

z

[edit] yes, yes, I know it's not blackmail, but when one side of the "negotiation" holds all the effective power (and the money) then when they say "click this button, or else", you can take it as being close enough.

jaybee1957

Last night's Airbnb meeting in the news. No-one there to answer tax related questions! What a farce! Also, interview with transport minister Paschal Donohoe, commenting on Airbnb and tax - so he's a tax expert in addition to his day job as transport minister? By the way, the interview isn't even worth a look - its just political flannel and waffle.

LeChienMefiant

jaybee1957 wrote: »

Airbnb state that they are obliged to report all the details to Revenue, but I have trawled through Revenue's website, and I don't agree. There are some instances where a business which is charging commission on certain activities is obliged to report details about its customers to Revenue but, the way I understand what I have read, Airbnb does not fall into any such category.

I only know about Ireland, UK and Australia for sure. But I think you'll find in all OECD countries that the tax office has extensive powers and rights. They are much more powerful than even the police. See this article for some examples:
www. irishexaminer .com/farming/know-your-rights-for-audits-by-revenue-132763.html

RainyDay

jaybee1957 wrote: »

Last night's Airbnb meeting in the news. No-one there to answer tax related questions! What a farce! Also, interview with transport minister Paschal Donohoe, commenting on Airbnb and tax - so he's a tax expert in addition to his day job as transport minister? By the way, the interview isn't even worth a look - its just political flannel and waffle.

It's not really up to AirBNB to provide tax advice to their partners, surely?

jaybee1957 wrote: »

Joe Public rents a couple of rooms in his house on Airbnb. He is retired but does, however, rely on this income to make a living. He doesn't need to file a tax return because it's his only source of income and it falls below Revenue's rules and regulations with respect to declaring income or submitting a tax return.

One day he tries to access his listing on Airbnb but cannot. He is told he must 'tick the box and agree' before he can undertake his normal business activity and access his business to generate his income. Having done so, he is told that the following (personal) information has been passed on to Revenue by Airbnb (with his 'agreement', because he 'ticked the box'):

Joe's name and address
Address of property at which his listing is located
Total of all monies received by him through Airbnb since mid-2014
Where the money was lodged, including
- name and address of bank or other financial institution which received the payment (even though its someone else's bank)
- number of account in which payment was lodged
- name of account holder
- address of account holder

Now, to make my point perfectly clear, I have trawled Revenue's own website at length, particularly the section in respect of intra-community supplies, weblink (SORRY, BOARDS WON'T LET ME POST THE URL FOR REVENUE). It is my understanding that whilst some types of business, which offer a service based in the EU to customers within the EU, are obliged to supply certain information to Revenue, Airbnb does not fall into a category that needs to supply all the information, or does not fall into some of the categories at all. (This is not true of a business based in the EU which offers services to customers outside the EU, because a much more comprehensive list of customer details is required to be disclosed in that case. That doesn't apply to Irish users letting out Irish properties.)

Now, how do you think Joe feels?

This particular example is actually very close to home for me, because Joe Public is essentially my business, which I run in conjunction with my wife.

I really don't see why Joe would have a concern in this scenario, unless his AirBNB income turns out to be out of proportion with his declared income.

The AirBNB information does not in itself create any liability or obligation for Joe. Liabilities only arise from the income itself.

zagmund wrote: »

On the subject of being blackmailed to click . . . I know what it's like as a customer. I booked a stay earlier in the year and paid over my deposit. All fine and dandy. Then the host cancelled and I was due a refund. All more or less fine and dandy, apart from having to replan my holiday but that was the hosts fault and not the companies.

The problem came about when I went to get my refund . . . AirBnB decided at that point that it was absolutely essential that I send them my passport and social media profiles, despite not needing it to take my money in the first place. They couldn't possibly do business with me (by which I mean give me my money back for a service not provided) without me verifying to them that I was indeed me. I was essentially being blackmailed to agree to something (giving them more information than they required) if I wanted to get my money back in a reasonable time frame.

We had a few mails back and forth with them explaining that this was for my benefit and they appreciated my patience and other generic guff (while still holding onto my money) before they eventually gave in and agreed that they did in fact owe me money and they would in fact just refund it to the credit card it came from like any other merchant. It was fine that I could play the waiting game, but if I had needed that money right there and then (to book a different holiday) I would have been more or less forced to agree to their terms and conditions.

A family member had delays in getting a refund when a host cancelled recently too, though I don't know if ID issues figured here.

I made my first booking recently, and I had to verify ID with a photo of my driving licence before they would confirm the booking.

whippet

@jaybee1957

just on your point re: VAT. VAT in ireland for the tourism sector is 9% (restaurants, accom etc) .. however, AirB&B are not providing accom, this is being provided by the host. AirB&B are providing a service, brokerage or referral business - whatever you call it and as such what they are providing attracts VAT @ 23% (I am open to correction on this)

While I understand your resentment towards AirB&B some of your points don't really stack up. In one of your calculations you say AirB&B are making 17% plus commission on a rental, however, you have included the 23% VAT in that figure. AirB&B collect VAT on behalf of revenue - this is not part of their commission. Deduct that from your calculation brings you back to approx 15% which by your own admission is inline with other booking service providers.

You seem to begrudge a Multi National company of 'being in it for the money' - I don't know how you feel about all the other companies out there but I can assure you the original motivation for 100% of companies is to make money and make as much as possible - as long as the market allows. Are you in the B&B game as a hobby and something to do at the weekends or are you in it to make money?

I personally think it is a great idea that revenue have access to the accounts, as a former landlord I had to declare my income and pay the extortionate tax on it and register with the PRTB so really no hiding place. Compliant hosts should have no issue with revenue being aware of their activities - only the tax dodgers will have anything to be concerned about.

BTW .. I have never used AirB&B, Booking.com, TripAdvisor (going direct from there) are my normal avenues to making a booking