After the pandemic depleted Airbnb 's revenue worldwide, the company asked guests to donate money to their hosts.
More specifically, the platform has started asking guests to send “courtesy cards,” which will include monetary donations to their former hosts, who lost a lot of money due to the suspension of travel.
Airbnb's new tool appears to be another attempt to reassure hosts and ease their financial worries, this time by asking for contributions from former guests. A spokesperson for the rental company told Business Insider that 100% of the revenue from the courtesy cards will go to hosts .
“In the spirit of rekindling connections, we’ve developed a new feature that allows guests to send virtual cards with messages of support and encouragement to hosts who have provided exceptional hospitality. If they wish, guests have the option to add a voluntary financial contribution,” a company spokesperson said.
However, the news of Airbnb's new feature quickly sparked public backlash, with people quickly flooding Twitterto express their displeasure.
Most users pointed out that they were also affected by the COVID-19 and are in a similar situation. They report that they are also struggling to save money during the pandemic and wonder why it should be their responsibility to support hosts.
The hosts, on their side, have also directed their anger at the company, claiming that it implemented cancellation policies at the start of the pandemic, which cost them even more money. Airbnb announced in March that it will spend $250 million to compensate owners for visitor cancellations that resulted from the pandemic.
The financial situation is particularly dire for Airbnb’s large-scale hosts, some of whom have bought dozens of properties and built short-term rental empires that have been their main source of income. About a third of the service’s properties are owned by hosts who manage at least 25 properties, according to analytics website AirDNA.
We note that Airbnb representatives did not respond promptly to requests for comment on the matter.
