Hello,
I have been a loyal Airbnb Customer for 5 years with a perfect record of praise from all my hosts.
I booked a trip to Europe long before the Covid19 Pandemic was declared by WHO.
Australians generally book European trips a long time in advance. Our trips to Europe are expensive and we generally travel for weeks and months. A weekend away in Salzburg makes no economic sense.
The host of my July 18 accommodation insists on charging a 50% cancellation fee even though I have explained to her since March 2020 that The Australian government has banned all overseas leisure travel and Qantas has cancelled all flights overseas indefinitely.
Her behavior is unethical and unscrupulous. I have not used her apartment. I cannot use her apartment. I am not allowed to leave Australia. I am not even allowed to travel to most other states within my own country.
The dishonest host will not be incurring any expense because of me. She however will be stealing $1,300 from me by taking my money for a service I will not and cannot use.
Airbnb should take the special circumstances of Australian travelers into consideration and formulate a special Covid19 extenuating circumstances policy for Australians who through no fault of their own cannot leave the country and keep their Airbnb bookings as originally intended. Airbnb owes this to its loyal and highly rated customers.
I would be most interested to receive your feedback.
Thank you.