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

[Susan17]

@Sarah977

Apologies, wrote that post at 5.30am - should read Feb 28, not Mar 28. Can't edit now. Nevertheless, the fact remains that the Extenuating Circumstances policy was changed since the Coronavirus outbreak. 

[Barbara2157]

@Susan17   Think about what you are saying.  It doesn't even make sense.  I don't have copies of EC policy dating back to 2017.  However, why would Airbnb ever protect those impacted by an endemic (if they knowing booked a trip to an area that had an ongoing/constant/usual disease like Malaria) but not cover an epidemic or pandemic, where the the disease would not reasonably be predictable and would impact travel to/from an area.  That isn't logical.

[Susan17]

I have no idea why they would do that @Barbara2157. Because they're idiots, maybe. I don't write their T&Cs. All I know is that they did, and I have proof that they did. 

You seem to know it all though, despite the fact you don't appear to be a host, so perhaps you can answer your own question. 

[Barbara2157]

@Susan17  No I am not a host.  I am not disputing if you have an old policy from some past period stating that they covered an endemic. I am just saying that makes absolutely no logical sense. All I know is that recently ( and by that I mean the window that your edit referenced, (Feb-now), it has said epidemic. I recognize that they have been editing this policy every few days so it is hard to keep up with what is current.  However, if they were using the term endemic at some point it is not relevant to discussions since COVID-19 became a global emergency.

[Paul60]

Mouthy and without substance. Such a delightful combination.   I am responsible for providing my guests with accommodation.  I am not responsible for providing my guests with free travel insurance where they can be refunded 100% should an issue occurs and prevents them from traveling. 

oh and you’re wrong in relation to your insertion.  Leave the discussions to us professionals if you don’t know what you’re talking about. 

[Barbara2157]

@Paul60 Not to worry, I have screenshots of the standing policy well before the window that Susan is discussing. It clearly says "epidemic" and excludes endemic.

[Cabo-Platinum0]

There are some very intelligent people in this chat.  I'm grateful for the insight shared and the incredible solutions to the problem at hand.  The future credit is the way to go and actually the best solution as that is what the rest of the travel industry is doing - why does Airbnb get to look like the hero, when in actuality it is not their money they are giving back.  In our case, it isn't even our money.  We represent homeowners and have to pay for the booking the moment we block the calendar; hence the reason for our super strict policy.  We have already paid this money out of our pockets and the homeowners are very committed to NO REFUNDS.  So in this case where we've had $70K disappear from our accounts, guess who the big losers are?  Our team that is working hard to help our partner Airbnb and make some money for our homeowners.  Many of our guests purchase travel insurance - this scenario is exactly what insurance is for.  If guest's didn't get the insurance, we'll give them future credit, but to just give money back is going too far down a hole that will never end.  I say this out of absolute respect and sympathy for what people are going through, but at the same time, I'm not ready to lose our company because Airbnb changes policies and instills fear in the hearts of people we've worked hard to procure.  

I'd also like to say that we have called and/or messaged each one of our future guests.  99% of them were fine with a future credit.  Then Airbnb released a statement saying guests could claim a full refund and that's when the account debits started snowballing.  

@Christopher187  @Adriano78 

[Dawn298]

Hi, @Christopher187, @Dee219, @the MelbourneHome0, @Adriano78, and many others going through these difficult times. I am in Toronto and I have many guests trying to take advantage of me and my policies. Please note that they are all outside the cancellation policy but they still want me to cancel in order for them to receive a full refund! I have offered to give a full refund if someone else rebooks their days, (but they need to cancel first), or to apply the cost they have incurred from their cancellation towards a rebooking when they wish to visit and stay at our place. One person has accepted this but others are trying to trick and manipulate me into getting their full refund. This is what I have to say to them and others that are insinuating that we as hosts are money-grabbing monsters, trying to take advantage of Covid-19.

I am following the rules. The initial guidelines were amended to compensate the traveler to the detriment of the Host which is very fair in that both parties share the financial burden. Now guests are still unhappy with this and they want us to further change the rules to fully compensate themselves further, again to the host's detriment. I'm afraid this looks like another form of hoarding... Instead of piling up goods in excess, some guests wish to take money out of the host's pockets without any regard as to what is fair. Let's be fair and both share the burden... And by the way,  I am not a corporation. I am a person who allowed you to reserve our home for a fair price. And when all is said and done I still come out with very little.  I am sorry but I will remain firm on this.

All my guests who have canceled have received 50% back and a promise to apply the other 50% toward a new reservation. I think that is fair! 

[Sky13]

@Dee219 

@Alex---Michael0 

This also happened to me this morning. I was notified of a guest refund due to EC policy. I verified that the retro active debit had been taken from my account. I verified that the reservation was canceled on March 12, the same day that Airbnb announced their new “100% refund” policy.

I responded with the following language and got the refund reversed:

“This reservation refund was already decided based on existing Airbnb policy and host cancellation policy at the time of cancellation. I object to the refund, and to the retroactive debit from my Airbnb account. Please escalate this action upward. I object.”

[Dawn298]

Thank you, @Sky13 ! I feel like we are being bullied on both ends, form Airbnb and now our guests!

[Alex---Michael0]

Hello @Sky13 ,

Lucky you! I'm in discussion with an agent and get all the standard replies, she is doesn't even go into the problem. 

[Huma0]

@Alex---Michael0 

Same here. I'm not sure what more I can say. I copy and paste lines from the EC policy into the messages to reiterate that the refunds were not in accordance with that policy and I get this response:

"Could you tell me exactly how much you want us to adjust the refund made to your Guest? What has been done by previous agent is reflecting our policy in this case."

You might think, well at least she's asking how much to adjust the refund, but she's not really, seeing as she closed the thread four minutes later, so I didn't have a chance to respond.

[Dawn298]

I now have guests that were happy with receiving a future credit demanding that I give them their money back! I haven't even received the money yet for their cancelations. I am also wondering if the 25% (from Airbnb) of what you would normally receive through your cancellation policy applies to Canadian Hosts or just to US Hosts? 

[Huma0]

@Dawn298 

I believe it applies to all hosts. I have not seen anything that says it is just for US hosts.

I had the same experience as you. A guest told me she would be happy with a future credit if Airbnb would issue her one, but once she spoke to Airbnb, they told her to hold onto her 1.5 month booking (did not qualify for COVID-19 EC at that time) and cancel last minute.

When I explained to the guest why this was not a fair solution for me as it meant I couldn't even try renting the room to a long-term lodger (had already promised to refund her if I was able to re-let it), she got very, very angry and accused me of trying to trick her into cancelling before she became eligible for EC. This is not true. Even if I had known Airbnb were going to extend the dates, which I didn't at the time (heard it from her, actually), I had not asked her to cancel! She had told me she wanted to cancel. Still, I'm the bad person, apparently.

[Dawn298]

@Huma0 

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.