Airbnb Made Two Big Announcements Yesterday. The Biggest Victory for Airbnb Hosts So Far.

All right, welcome to today's video update for Airbnb hosts. My name is Enrico Schaefer. I'm an attorney representing hosts in a variety of different matters, including arbitrations filed against Airbnb, For violating the cancellation policy of hosts during COVID-19. So if you've subscribed to this channel, and I hope you do, you're gonna see that we share a lot of information for hosts from the legal point of view. It's though you have your own attorney, and we're providing a lot of free information for you so that hosts can navigate not only their business model of short-term rentals, but more importantly, the Airbnb platform, the terms that Airbnb has on its platform. Understand what those terms are. Understand what your rights are, and understand really what we are fighting for right now in arbitration and in court. So, let's jump right in and let's talk a little bit about some of the things that we're gonna discuss today. So, you know I love these mind maps, and we're gonna start with one today. We've got some huge news for you. I mean, this is really big. So, there was a big announcement yesterday. yesterday, October 30th, and it was a fundamental change in the terms of service. We have been complaining for 6 months that the terms of service are so poorly drafted that no host could reasonably understand what they were agreeing to. And then once we got into arbitration, what we realized is the attorneys were making these incredible arguments about what they believed the terms meant that no host could have ever guessed. Airbnb had intended. So we've pointed out all sorts of problems with the terms of service, and guess what? Yesterday, Airbnb, in response to what we've been arguing for 6 months, completely redrafted the terms of service, addressing almost all of the issues that we have raised in arbitration. So many of the ambiguities and inconsistencies that we've been pointing out to arbitrators have been removed from the terms of service. The terms have been completely reorganized in a way that can actually make sense. And so the good news is, look, I've been telling you for months now, we're making a huge difference, that we are a force to be reckoned with, that hosts finally have a voice that potentially could be meaningful for you in the long run. So sounds like good news, right? So it is good news. We pressured Airbnb into rewriting their entire terms of service. Huge win for hosts. But it's not all good, okay? There's some bad news here as always, and so let's take a look at the bad news. And the bad news is that the terms are still illusory and grossly unfair. It's just much more clear to the hosts how bad they're getting screwed by Airbnb, right? So you're gonna find that Airbnb has this incredible drafting technique. Their lawyers are really shrewd, right? They They tell you that they have all that Airbnb is going to take on all these obligations to you as the host. They're going to do all these things. They're obligated to do all these things, and that's what they do with the left hand. And then with the right hand, they come in with some language I'm going to show you in a minute, and they literally take away all of your rights and remove all of Airbnb's obligations. Okay, so the bad news is. Yes, the terms are much more clear. The bad news is that Airbnb really did intend, I suppose, the things that they've been arguing in arbitration. They intended to take your money as host payouts and be able to do whatever they want with them, including take them for themselves, act in self-interest, right? Do make any decision that they want whenever they want for whatever reason they want. And that's it. Under the terms, they say they have the right to do that. And so that's really where we get to the ugly here, right? Because the ugly is that Airbnb's attorneys are going to argue that they can do whatever they want without any accountability and without any transparency. And wait till you see— wait till you see these new terms. They look really good, but then the left hand giveth and the right hand taketh away. And you're going to see that in these terms. So we're making progress. I don't want you to be Completely disenchanted or disheartened. There's some really good stuff going on. We are moving the ball. All right, so let's take a look at some things here. And the first one is, I think, just fascinating because what we've been saying for 6 months is hosts want a seat at the table. Hosts want a seat at the table. We're arguing for a seat at the table, a seat at our own kitchen table. Well, guess what? Airbnb yesterday on October 30th issued this big public relations statement that says how we're giving hosts a seat at the table. Congratulations to you, right? Because they picked up on our phrase and they're actually incorporating it into their public relations and their marketing. And so look at— there's again some really good stuff here. Many of us are really big fans of Airbnb on a lot of different levels and for a lot of different reasons. But we do demand fairness, transparency, and accountability. And so we haven't quite gotten there yet, but we're going to show you how they've decided that they're going to try and help you understand what your rights are as a host under the new terms. And then they're going to essentially give you this big public relations spin in here about having a seat at the table. So they've created this thing called the Airbnb Host Advisory Board, and they've created a potentially multi-billion-dollar host endowment fund, which is going to fund things that they say are going to be good for hosts. So great. Look, we're not going to look a gift horse in the mouth. We appreciate that Airbnb has heard us, that they're going to start incorporating, or at least say they're going to start incorporating some of our opinions. So So let's take a look at some of this PR spin yesterday, and let's hope that it turns out to be more than PR spin. We won't know for quite some time. But they basically are saying here, right before they go IPO, we are committed to our partnership with the hosts and the hosts at the center. Now, partnership means you're working together. Partnership means that they're not trying to screw you at every possible juncture. A partnership means the attorneys aren't trying to draft a trapdoor. into every obligation they might otherwise have. So maybe their public relations team and their new head of hosting are trying really hard to make a difference. The lawyers on the other side are going to be taking away any good that's coming from some of these new initiatives that Airbnb has. So look at this host advisory board is gonna be supposedly a voice for hosts. down the line. Look, we'll take it. Let's, let's hope it's not only a seat at a table, but there's not a trapdoor underneath our seat. It's a start. We'll take it. You're gonna see that the— there's a lot of questions here, and you should, you should check this out. I'll put it in the, in the notes underneath here, the link to this particular post. But it answers a lot of the questions that they know hosts are asking, because we ask this every day of Airbnb in these arbitration cases. And so they say, how will we know that we're going to be heard? How are we going to know we're going to have a voice? What is the endowment? What is the endowment going to be used for? So all legitimate questions, no good answers here, right? No good answers, but it's a start. So you could take a look here as they're going to create a $1 billion fund out of the new IPO stock. So they hope to get a certain valuation IPO. Part of the stock from the IPO is going to be put into a fund. Supposedly for hosts. And I'm going to show you the, the real problem with this is Airbnb acts in its self-interest with your money, and it will with this fund as well if it is left in charge of the decisions, which it says it is going to remain in charge of the decisions as to what happens with the money. So just like with your host payouts, where they're supposed to be acting as a fiduciary for you, as a collection agent, where this money is supposed to belong to you, but then The lawyers, on the other hand, say, "But we could take your money. We don't have to tell you why. We can completely obliterate your cancellation policy for any or no reason in our sole discretion." Right? So same thing with the host endowment. Airbnb cannot be the judge, the jury, and the executioner on every issue. It just doesn't work. It's an illegal contract. Take a look at this. You'll see that there's really some some good framework here and some good questions, and. The beginnings of some answers. We'll see what the reality turns out to be down the line. All right, so seat at the table. Look it, we'll take it. We're winning the battle. We've now got at least them using the language that we've been using for 6 months. All right, so let's take a look now at, at something that is really the big news of the day, which is new terms of service. Note the date. Note the date, October 30th, 2020. Brand new terms of service. So, you know, the good news is that, look, it's gonna be clear what you're agreeing to. The bad news is what you're agreeing to is gonna be completely unacceptable. No business person, no host would ever agree to what they're proposing, but at least it's clear. So, a couple of things of note. We're gonna be in the next shows really getting into this, and I'll analyze all this language in the terms for you so you know the contract upon which you're building your business. You'll understand the legal structure and the legal terms upon which you're building your business. So, first thing you should know is they say last updated of yesterday, but what they haven't said is which terms are going to apply and to what claims, to what reservations, and when they take effect. They have to, under the old terms, give you 30 days email notice before they can apply new terms. So, even though I haven't received any yet, and I'll be interested to hear if you've received any. But the terms are supposed to become effective. Some hosts have received this language. Will become effective for current hosts on January 20th, 2021. The same day as their new extenuating circumstances policy takes place. All new users of the platform are immediately under these terms. If you're currently Part of the platform, then supposedly they won't take place until January 20th, 2021. What does this mean? Well, it means we got some time to continue to move the ball to get these to be redrafted yet again, which is what we're seeking to do. Some of the terms that give them sole discretion to do whatever they want for whatever reason without having to tell you why, those need to go, and we're going to be litigating those issues in a class action. So what you need to know about this January 20th date is that you need to file your arbitration if you've got any claims against Airbnb, including COVID-19 refunds. You have to file them now because if you file them after January 20th, 2021, Airbnb's lawyers are going to say that your arbitration is going to be governed by these new terms. You do not want that. So if you have COVID-19 refund claims ranging from hundreds of dollars to thousands of dollars, tens of thousands of dollars to hundreds of thousands of dollars like some of our hosts, you definitely need to take a look at the 10,000 Host platform, and you'll see here that this is the website that we've been using to help hosts file arbitration claims, 10,000hosts.com. Access this platform, contact us, I'll get you in the loop. We'll put you on our email list so you can stay involved, understand how you can file an arbitration against Airbnb in order to assert your rights before January of next year when those rights may be lost. All right, so let's take a look again here at some more aspects of the terms of service. Airbnb entities have changed. They've restructured maybe as part of the IPO, and so there's a whole new cast of characters in town besides Airbnb Inc. And you'll want to take a look at those, and we'll analyze those for you later. Table of contents. One of the things we've been arguing in arbitration is, why is there just a set of terms for everyone, whether or not you're EU, whether or not you're US, whether or not you're Canada? If there's a set of terms that apply to Canadian users, then put that in a Canadian terms of service. Same for EU, same for US. So, Same for guests and hosts. Separate the terms so that they're clear and easily accessible whether you're a host or a guest. So they've done that, and they've completely reorganized the terms of service. So you have guest terms, you have host terms, you have general terms. So some ones we're going to look at today: cancellations, travel issues, and booking modifications. There's your, your ECP. Your extenuating circumstances policy. And the other one is Airbnb's role. So paragraph 16 is brutal. It is the one part of this new terms that has to go away because it's illegal. Airbnb has a fiduciary duty when it's holding your money. It can't act in self-interest, and it has to be accountable to the obligations that it's taking on. in order for any of this to even be enforceable, right? So good job, lawyers for Airbnb. You've created this great trapdoor, which means Airbnb's not responsible or obligated for anything. But that doesn't work very well for hosts, does it? We're investing hundreds of thousands of dollars in mortgages, millions of dollars in mortgages. We're betting our kids' college educations on this platform and on the basis that you, Airbnb, are gonna be making good on your obligations. That we can rely on you, Airbnb, to fulfill your responsibilities, and that those are transparent, and that we can hold you accountable for those obligations. This isn't Facebook, where if you screw up, we don't get to see Cousin Jenny's photos of her baby. This is business, and the hosts have a tremendous amount riding on your platform. You need to stand up. Be accountable, be transparent. So let's take a look at some of this. You're gonna see there's gonna be some dispute resolution arbitration clause provisions in here. We'll take a look at those at a later date. Let's go ahead and take a look at this paragraph 7, cancellations. So here you go. This is, this is the— what we used to be operating under in the old version. Which was very poorly drafted. This is much better drafted. It's, it's much more clear than the old one, right? So in general, if a guest cancels a reservation, the amount paid to you is determined by the cancellation policy that applies to the reservation. Now really, it should just stop there because that's, that's it. Airbnb cannot have any role in what happens to the money under the rental contract between you and your guests. It just can't. And the reason it can't legally do that is because it can't be a fiduciary to your money. It can't be operating as a collection agent for you and at the same time decide whether or not any part of your rental contract is going to apply, and especially the cancellation part. And it can't then do what it has been doing and what it continues to do, which is then act in purely its own self-interest with your money. So here we go. So if a guest experiences an extenuating circumstance, right, then your cancellation policy may not apply. Now we think this needs to go away. Still in this version. But it doesn't sound as bad as the old version, right? Because it doesn't say, hey— at least it says it has to be an extenuating circumstance. There's an extenuating circumstances provision. There's a process Airbnb has to follow. Right? They have obligations, and they can't just— it has to meet the extenuating circumstance in order for a refund to be given. It has to be evidence, and it has to be accountable, right? So that's good, right? We don't have this fluffy stuff in here of, of, of, of, of, of yes, it can be extenuating circumstances or any other reason that we decide in our sole discretion. Oh darn it. That's going to be coming up here in a minute, unfortunately. But they separated it out so that you don't see it here, so that it looks like that you've got an objective standard that you're operating under. So you agree that Airbnb's guest refund policy, extenuating circumstances policy, and these terms preempt the cancellation policy in your situation where they allow for the cancellation of a reservation and/or issuance of refunds to guests. So They didn't have this in the old version, right? This— they— when we said, look, if you wanted to say what the lawyers are now arguing, then just say it in plain English, man. You got the highest-priced lawyers in the world, presumably. Say it in plain English so that a host in an adhesion contract who can't even negotiate the terms in a business setting such as this, at least they know what they're agreeing to. So they've now set it forth very clearly. The ECP can simply override your cancellation policy. All right, so, you know, I mean, not great, but better than it was until we get down to what I think is the, the one provision that makes all of this unenforceable and illusory. And that is anywhere you see sole discretion, you need to, you need to be, be careful, right? And so you'll see sole discretion pop up here, but really it's in this paragraph 16, Airbnb's role that things really fall apart. Where Airbnb's commitment to a partnership with hosts, to doing better by hosts, until this provision goes away, it is all bullshit. It's public relations spin that means nothing. So don't buy into anything Airbnb tells you hosts as to why you should use their platform, why, you know, why they're gonna do better. None of that makes any any sense, has no meaning with paragraph 16. Let's take a look at what it says. Members— you remember— acknowledge and agree that Airbnb administers its policies, such as the extenuating circumstances policy, the standards and basic requirements. It administers— you agree that Airbnb administers its policies, including decisions about whether whether and how to apply them in a particular situation at its sole discretion. So Airbnb, under this provision, can say that none of the terms of service that are here apply because it can say that its policies— whether its policies apply in a particular situation are in its sole discretion. Whether or not they're going to apply the ECP or go through the process or whatever else can simply go away in its sole discretion. This is what makes the contract illusory. Illusory is a fancy lawyer term that basically says a contract that promises nothing, right? Textbook definition. This contract promises nothing. Do you really want to be building your business and taking the risks that you're taking on a contract that promises nothing? But it's worse than that. It's worse than that. Because Airbnb, by taking control of your money and being able to do whatever it wants with it, including just take it for itself, right, without even having to tell you why, and then having no rights under this new January policy to arbitrate— their lawyers will say you've got no rights to get that money back, that they have no obligations to you— is that the kind of platform you want to build your business on? Do you want to risk your kids' college education and your mortgages on a platform that's not even willing to stand behind its obligations? No. But here's the real problem. The moment Airbnb takes discretion with your money, where it, Airbnb, is deciding what happens to your money between you and your guest, and it can act in its own self-interest in how it handles your money, it's a breach of fiduciary duty. It's a breach of their agency relationship with you. It's an inherent conflict of interest which violates All sorts of laws. So they need to restructure their business model, and that's one of the things we'll be litigating on behalf of hosts— restructure their business model to be a legal, lawful business model. And until they get there, you should be hedging your bets, right? You should be— you should have your listings on VRBO, on Booking.com, everywhere else you can do it, direct booking, because until Airbnb becomes accountable and transparent, it's risking too much. You cannot, you cannot rely on Airbnb, and you cannot rely on the public relations spin of Airbnb. All right, so again, what you want to do here is understand that this new terms is going to come into effect for you current hosts in January of next year. If you are intending on asserting your rights and becoming part of this movement, becoming part of the movement to not only get COVID-19 refunds which were overridden by Airbnb back, but also to become part of the movement to force Airbnb to redraft again their terms of service. This last 10 yards to get the discretion to go away, to get the conflicts of interest to go away. Come be part of that movement, and you can do that by coming to our website. You can go to 10,000hosts.com, and, and you can go all the way through the arbitration preparation process without paying anything. At the end, if you decide you want to get your arbitration documents and all the instructions, you just pay a small $150 platform fee. We'll get you all the materials to win your arbitration down the line, and you'll be good to go. So that's really a lot for one show. More has happened in the last 24 hours than I could have ever would have imagined could happen as a result of our arbitrations to this point. Airbnb is stepping up in its public relations to try and meet you halfway. They're trying to tell you you've got a seat at the table. We're gonna make them give you a seat at the table. We're gonna take away the trapdoor beneath your seat at the table. The terms have been redrafted. All the complaints and arbitrations we've been making to these arbitrators— I haven't gone through it in total yet, but a lot of the things that we've been arguing don't make any sense under the terms have been completely redrafted. That's huge for you because at least you know what you're getting yourself into. Good news is we've accomplished incredible things together. The bad news is we still have a ways to go because Airbnb still wants to be able to do everything that it wants to do without any accountability, without any transparency. That is not a seat at the table, right? That's a seat in the backyard at the kids' table at best. We're going to get to the main course at the main table before this is done. My name is Enrico Schaefer. We'll see you next time. Thank you.