ATTENTION - Cancellations that came BEFORE March 14th are now refunded retroactively by airbnb - STRIKE

[Alex---Michael0]

Until yesterday it was bad, now it is getting worse. Guests who canceled their trip (check-in between March 14th - April 14th) BEFORE March 14th were still subject to the regular cancellation policy, in my case strict. These cancellations were still paid out normally, in my specific case a booking for about EUR 2,200 with check-in date on March 15th, canceled on March 13th. As mentioned, I have received the full payment, but now I discovered in my transaction history that I have to repay this money. New payouts are simply retained until the amount is reached.

Meaning: airbnb has now also begun to refund legal cancellation fees to guests retroactively.

PLEASE CHECK YOUR TRANSACTION OVERVIEW

I wrote my concern to the airbnb support with an urgent request for clarification. I have not received an answer in days.

Does anyone know if that is legally possible? How can I defend myself?

Thank you for your help.

Michael

[Huma0]

@Dawn298 

Wow, I wish I could get that rep on the phone!

I have spoken to reps who seemed very helpful, seemed to understand fully my points and agreed it that was not right to refund guests outside of the EC policy. However, they either then dropped the matter, letting a less competent rep to pick it up, or came back later with excuses that there was nothing more they could do about it. In most cases, they left it to the guest to decide whether to pay me anything or not (guests outside of COVID-19 EC). So disappointing. 

I have recently been in contact with a rep who seems to have some clue of what she is doing, but I am trying not to get my hopes up because, every time I do, they are dashed again. Again, it has been left to the guest to accept my resolution request and who knows if she will? She was very happy to pay for the cancellation as her university was going to refund her anyway, but 2.5 weeks have passed while I've been trying to get a solution from Airbnb after they wrongly refunded her. Who knows if she has had a change of heart by now, but she has not answered my recent messages.

[Dawn298]

I am so sorry to hear how everyone, including myself, has been affected by all this. I realize that everyone in all areas of life has been blindsided experiencing great loss. 

The one thing that would make things less stressful and more acceptable would be for Airbnb to adopt a fair policy across the board that is fair to hosts and guests. As @Maria12494 stated in her post. This is an excerpt from her post, and I sincerely hope she does not mind me sharing it here. 

"I want this to be in writing when I declare that I do not wish for Airbnb again to override my cancellation policy after April 14th. Instead of that, I believe that Airbnb has the means to issue credit vouchers for future reservations that guests wish to cancel in order to be used for booking the same property within a specific time frame (let’s say 12 months). There is no better way to achieve a certain level of 'satisfaction' for all parties involved.

In this way when a guest decides to cancel :

1. he/she gets a credit voucher with the total amount of their reservation- that they already paid to Airbnb that can be used for booking the same property within a specific time frame
2. the host gets the 50% entitled by its strict cancellation policy (or whatever he/she are entitled by their cancellation policy or -my personal opinion- the BEST scenario is when Airbnb decides due to extenuating circumstances that all confirmed reservations so far and until the pandemic is over will be treated in the same manner (50%  equal percentage refund to hosts ) regardless of cancellation policy) . However, it should be noted that the host will have control of his/her pricing strategy and if there is a difference in the voucher and the actual amount of the future reservation (lets say because the guest wants to book in the high season) this should be paid from the guest. 
3. Airbnb can still maintain its service fee .

This is not something new , this is what most airlines are doing now when they cancel flights."

I have been trying to implement this strategy with all my cancelations. Most guests were happy to receive a credit toward a future booking with me until Airbnb changed things. Now I am standing firm for my rights as a host and I refuse to be trampled on by guests and their demands and off-center policies offered up by Airbnb. If Brian Chesky is paying attention he would see that 99% of the hosts are dissatisfied and feel abused and unprotected by his new COVID-19 EC put in place to make the "guests" happy. Giving any amount of money back to the guest should be up to the host. Most hosts are fair and generous, as I have been, but this still does not stop guests from taking advantage. Unfortunately, Airbnb has always slanted things in favor of the guests!

[Alex---Michael0]

An other guest of mine cancelled for a trip with check-in date June 20th. Airbnb fully refunded him on my costs and whatever I write to the agent, I just get standard messages that it is covered by their extenuative circumstances policy. Why should that be the case? Yes, they changed their policy again but it only covers dates until May 31. Airbnb is considered a NARCISSIST for me now!

[Huma0]

@Alex---Michael0 

And they are often so vague. Which extenuating circumstances policy are they even talking about?

If it's the COVID-19 one, no your guest is not covered.

If it's the normal one, did the guest have to provide evidence? Did it require special review? Or, did they just immediately hadn out the refund, as that's what I am finding?

I've said it before and I'll say it again. Airbnb is like the Wild West right now, with no law and order. Either that or the reps have been told from above to hand out full refunds to any cancelling guest, no matter whether they fit the criteria or not.

[Dawn298]

@Alex---Michael0 

Hello Alex, I also sent this message to Huma0, in response to being harassed by guests and Airbnb...

I agree with you, Huma. Guests that were happy with a future travel credit, (note: I offered this long before and outside of Airbnb's refund policy), are now calling me and demanding that I give them their money back! This one lady, in particular, has been very difficult and her booking was only for 5 days! She contacted a case manager at Airbnb and I was sent this message:

"Your guest is requesting additional payment for an issue related to their Toronto trip. You have until Sun., Apr 5, 2020 at 9:20 AM EDT to respond to this request. Hosts with multiple unresolved requests like this one may be subject to review" I was furious as I have never left anything "unresolved." And I don't appreciate scare tactics. 

So I decided to call, instead of message, and wait, hopefully, getting an educated case manager. It was worth the wait! I spoke to a very helpful case manager yesterday and he said, "As per Airbnb's policy, guests need to provide proof of extenuating circumstances, with documentation, in order to be provided with a full refund. Guests will receive a travel credit without documentation, (from Airbnb), and a full refund with documentation. But if guests have canceled before the new policies then the policy in place at that time will be honored." 

He went on to say that this CM that sent me this message was wrong and should not be addressing Hosts in this way. He told me that my guest had canceled before the new policy was in place and was not eligible for a full refund and walked me through the response to this request and the CM. He also responded to another guest that is pressuring me to cancel in order to get his full refund. This guest should be canceling "himself" and providing the necessary documentation. The host should not be canceling a stay unless they do not want to provide their place for stays. I found him very helpful and he told me not to be strong-armed by guests that will try to take advantage. I now think of these guests the same way I think of people that are hoarding toilet paper! LOL. 

I hope this response helps others that are dealing with difficult guests. Feel free to cut and past in response to their requests. 

[Dawn298]

I just received this message from Airbnb!

"Your guest is requesting additional payment for an issue related to their Toronto trip. You have until Sun., Apr 5, 2020 at 9:20 AM EDT to respond to this request. Hosts with multiple unresolved requests like this one may be subject to review"

I find this threatening and unsupportive from Airbnb. I have corresponded with this guest on multiple occasions and they canceled long before Airbnb's new cancelation policies. This guest wanted to rebook once her parents were cleared to travel again so we promised to give a full credit towards their next reservation. She received 50% of her reservation cost back as per our cancelation policy and a full credit towards future reservations. Airbnb is now bullying me into giving her a full refund back! Again no care for the Host, just as in the "no guest picture" issue and no info on the guest who is requesting to rent from the host. 

[Alex---Michael0]

I'm still fighting with agents over this issue:

Guest cancels his Berlin trip (worth EUR 2.200) on March 13th, his check-in is on March 15th and he even didn't ask for a refund as his company is paying it. I get my payout and now they are deduct it from my next payouts. The extenuating circumstances policy doesn't cover it as he canceled before March 14th. Here is the proof from airbnb directly:

airbnb.ie/resources/hosting-homes/a/250m-to-support-hosts-impacted-by-cancellations-165

See this passage --> "This policy will also apply retroactively, including any cancellations you may have had since March 14."

Agents are still only sending standard messages and don't reverse this issue.

Wild West it is!

[Paul60]

Hey Alex you will win this case as Airbnb are clearly in the wrong.  It just takes a lot of battling.  When they close the thread then reopen a new one. Just keep doing - obviously policy cannot be retrospectively applied unless all parties agree to it and obviously you do not.  

[Alex---Michael0]

And an other one. Cancellation came in on March 10th and is now retroactively refunded. Got the payout and now airbnb is taking it back.

[Alex---Michael0]

What an answer from an agent:

Greetings,

Joane is no longer on your case; I am attending to this matter.

It would appear that you did not read the email that we sent to you. Hence I am adding it to this message thread:

We would like to point out to you that the booking HMWWT4C5R2 was cancelled in accordance with our extenuating circumstance policy.

From 14th March 2020 and onwards the extenuating circumstance policy was universally applicable without any formal demands for documentation on our part, but prior to 14 March 2020, the extenuating circumstance policy with the attendant submission of required documentation could be invoked as well.

Your insistence on a contradiction on our part due to what you perceive as a retroactive application of our rules is a deplorable misapprehension of the actual state of affairs.

Our actions are well within the framework of Terms and Policies to which you agreed when you decided to join our platform.

We would also like to remind you that screenshots from online forums do in no way contribute to the strengthening of your case. Each case is annexed to a unique context; due to the stringent privacy laws, we cannot discuss with you the specifics of these cases, nor are we under any obligation to discuss these cases with you.

We categorically reject your claim that our 'judgement is wrong'. Any complaints or misgivings that you may have regarding this matter can be submitted on the following page:

https://www.airbnb.com/help/feedback

We thank you for your understanding.

Regards,
Dominic

[Alex---Michael0]

I would like to especially highlight this part of the agents message:

...nor are we under any obligation to discuss these cases with you.

Thank you airbnb for being such a NARCISSIST.

I'm a host since 2009, now with six apartments. This is enough airbnb. I just took my first listing off the plattform and there is one after the other following, if this is not solved.

[Alex---Michael0]

My reply and I'm meaning it:

[Sarah977]

@Alex---Michael0  Many, many hosts have had the policy applied retroactively. Probably tens of thousands at this point. I'm certainly not saying that's okay, but I think you're beating a dead horse. 

Airbnb doesn't care if you deactivate all your listings, so threatening them with that is pointless.

[Paul60]

I disagree.  Cancelation policy at the time of the cancelation can only be applied.

[Monica1645]

Hello everyone. I need directions or suggestions to solve my problem.
I am very disappointed with Airbnb and disagree strongly with them.
I am from Florence, Italy and I booked an apartment in The Hague, Netherlands for a whole month from mid May on. No reimbursement condition.
By late February Coronavirus outbroke strongly in Italy and I thought it will be lasting for a long time and lockdown was starting. I tought was no right to keep the reservation waiting for a policy from Airbnb and I contact via whatsapp the host asking to cancel and reimbursement. He accepted the cancellation and no claim or complain or saying anything else about reimbursement. On the contrary I was encouraged to do so which I did on March, 3rd. . At this time I had already asked a reimbursement using the Resolution Center which is pending until now.
Airbnb install its extenuating policy on March, 9th
Meanwhile I have talked to the host asking him if the host has received money from Airbnb and he said not but if does he will reimburse me. Time went by and before yesterday I wrote to Airbnb asking for a position. They replied to me saying they paid the host and because my cancellation was on March, 3rd and their policy was in placed on March, 9th I have no rights and suggested to contact their Resolution Center to ask reimbursement conflict which I had already done on March,4th and it is still pending and the host. Also they say the host has already been paid and they can not return the money to me washing their hands.
And yesterday I sent a message to the host in Airbnb site and he answered me he will not return the money.
I do not what to do I was mislead by the host.  I can prove it but Airbnb do not care because all conversation was by whatsapp and they do not consider it and they onle say my cancellation is not covered by their policy.
Sorry it is a long explanation. I appreciate any suggestion that could help me get my money back because I am an old man and this money will help me a lot.
Thanks in advance and be safe.