Bed-and-Breakfasts, Hostels, Homestays Business Guide
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All 33 Documented Cases
Rückerstattungen wegen rechtswidriger Stornogebühren nach ACL
Quantified: AUD 5,000–20,000 per year in reversed cancellation fees, chargebacks and goodwill refunds for a small B&B portfolio; plus 40–80 staff hours p.a. on complaints and dispute handling.NSW Fair Trading explains that accommodation providers may only charge cancellation fees for ‘reasonable costs’ actually incurred, and cannot unfairly penalise guests.[3] If the accommodation fails to meet consumer guarantees (e.g. not as described, unavailable), guests are entitled to cancel without any cancellation fee and receive a refund.[3] Many B&Bs and homestays publish rigid policies such as 100% forfeiture within 14–30 days of arrival, or full loss of all monies if a guest fails to arrive, regardless of whether the room is re‑sold or what actual costs were incurred.[2][4][5][6][8][9][10] These blanket policies risk being considered unfair terms under the ACL, forcing operators to refund fees on complaint or after chargebacks, and in worst cases adjust historic bookings. For a B&B with average nightly rate of AUD 220 and typical policies charging one night or 100% on late cancellations, a conservative 2–3% of bookings resulting in disputed or non‑compliant charges can translate into AUD 5,000–15,000 per year in reversed revenue plus staff time handling disputes. Additional exposure includes potential penalties and enforceable undertakings if systemic non‑compliance is detected.
Verzögerter Zahlungseingang durch manuelle Rückerstattungsabwicklung
Quantified: 30–50 admin hours p.a. (≈AUD 1,500–3,000) plus AUD 900–2,000 p.a. in chargeback fees and write‑offs; additional 3–10 day delays in collecting valid cancellation fees on average.NSW guidance makes clear that where accommodation fails to meet consumer guarantees or where terms allow fee‑free cancellation, refunds must be provided and cancellation fees cannot unfairly penalise consumers.[3] In practice, many B&Bs operate with manually written policies requiring cancellations in writing and discretionary approval of partial refunds.[2][5][6][9][10] This structure forces staff to: interpret policy for each case, verify whether consumer guarantees are triggered, apply or waive fees, and then manually initiate card or bank refunds and reconcile them in accounting. Each disputed or exceptional cancellation can consume 30–60 minutes of staff time, and delays in decisions often lead to card chargebacks, which both reverse funds and add fees of around AUD 25–35 per chargeback, plus the opportunity cost of frozen funds during investigation (commonly 7–30 days). For a small property facing 3–5 contested cancellations per month, this can equate to 30–50 hours per year of admin time (AUD 1,500–3,000 in labour at AUD 50–60/hour) and AUD 900–2,000 in chargeback‑related costs and write‑offs, alongside lengthened time‑to‑cash on valid cancellation fees.
Unerkannte Erlösminderung durch falsch kalkulierte Belegungsabgaben
Logic-based estimate: For a Victorian B&B/hostel with AUD 240.000 in annual short-stay booking fees, fully absorbing the 7,5 % levy reduces gross margin by ≈ AUD 18.000 p.a.; even a 50 % under‑recovery (only passing 3,75 % through to guests) leaks ≈ AUD 9.000 p.a. For a smaller operator at AUD 100.000 of affected revenue, a 3 % pricing shortfall implies ≈ AUD 3.000 p.a. of lost gross profit.Victoria’s Short Stay Levy of **7,5 % of the total booking fee** applies to short stays under 28 days, including accommodation, cleaning fees, service fees and GST.[1][3][4] In the ACT, a **5 % STRA levy** will apply to the “consideration” for short-term rental accommodation from 1 July 2025, similarly calculated on a broad base including GST and fees.[4] Airbnb notes that, because the levy itself is included in the definition of the base (total booking fee/consideration), the *effective* levy is slightly higher than the headline rate.[4] Platforms like Airbnb will collect and remit these levies for bookings made on‑platform in the relevant jurisdictions, but for direct bookings, property owners/tenants must calculate and charge the levy themselves.[1][3][4] Many small B&Bs and hostels use fixed nightly rates set long before these levies, and when the levy commences they either keep gross prices unchanged (absorbing the levy) or only partially adjust prices, particularly for direct or corporate bookings. For a hostel charging AUD 120 per night in Victoria with 2.000 annual short stays (total booking fees ≈ AUD 240.000), the Short Stay Levy will be around AUD 18.000 p.a. If this is not fully passed on to guests via adjusted pricing, this becomes a direct margin reduction of about **7–8 % of affected revenue**. Even partial under‑recovery, e.g. only increasing rates by 4 % instead of the full 7,5 %+, implies **revenue leakage of ≈ 3–4 %** of gross sales on short-stay nights, i.e. ≈ AUD 7.000–10.000 p.a. for this one property. Because the levy applies only in some states (currently Victoria and, from mid‑2025, ACT) and only to stays under the 28‑day threshold, manual rate management across multiple locations and length‑of‑stay rules makes consistent recoupment difficult, particularly for operators without channel managers that are tax‑aware.
Umsatzverlust durch zu großzügige Stornierungsbedingungen
Quantified: 3–7% of annual room revenue, typically AUD 8,000–25,000 per small B&B/homestay, due to late cancellations with generous refunds and inability to re‑sell nights.Industry guidance for Australian holiday rentals notes that ‘too lenient’ cancellation policies lead to income loss, especially where high‑demand dates are blocked and then cancelled late.[1] Examples from Australian B&Bs show policies offering full refunds until 2–14 days before arrival, and in some cases discretionary refunds even closer to arrival.[2][5][7][8] When combined with manual refund decision making and lack of overbooking or wait‑list logic, operators frequently return deposits without reliably re‑selling nights. For a property with an average nightly rate of AUD 220, 70% occupancy, and 5–10% of bookings cancelling within the free‑cancellation window, even 1–3 percentage points of occupancy lost due to late, lenient refunds can equate to AUD 8,000–25,000 per year in foregone revenue. Additionally, tiered/seasonal policy complexity increases the chance that staff misapply rules and issue unnecessary refunds, particularly in peak periods.[1]