Full Refund In PANDEMIC Situation?

[Giedre-and-Andre0]

Here a word to all Complainer:

I live in NYC and let's face it:
There will be no tourists coming in for the next few months (in best case).

I refunded every reservation (and blocked the calendar)
until the end of April, and I'm prepared that the rest of

the year will be fully refunded and going to ZERO...

I did very well last few years,
and NO, ITS NOT AIRBNB'S FOULT,
people can't fly, going out or even leave the house!

IT IS NOT a change of Airbnb's policy, it is EXACTLY as I signed up:
Travel restrictions = Refund
Deadly Pandemic = Refund
POSTER CHILD SITUATION OF extenuating circumstances situation!!!!
NOTHING CHANGED.

NOT ONCE I TRIED TO CALL OR CONTACT BnB LAST 2 WEEKS.

Once Airbnb boosted my business going from 0 to 100 in 2 weeks
by providing a genius model and worldwide outreach to billion of guests.

For the few $$$ per booking taking from me as a host, THEY OWE ME NOTHING!!!
As long they have 10-Thousands of people on payroll,
I don't have ANY problems with there current policy,
and I don't care if they keep a small service fee or not!!!

I'm still on the lucky end, we have other sources of income,
BUT around us, restaurants, airlines and small businesses will going out of business.

BUT YES, I agree, we losing money: IT SUCKS!!!

And still, our own decision to be in Guest/Tourist Industry
with all the fun, money to earn AND risk to take..!

WEE ALL WILL GO OUT OF BUSINESS,
IF Airbnb LOSES THERE REPUTATION WITH GUESTS DURING THIS CRISIS!!!
LET THEM DEFEND THE BRAND, OTHERWISE: THAT'S IT FOR ALL OF US !

And OF COURSE: I KNOW Airbnb is/was not perfect at all, the review system needs to be improved...
I KNOW! I guess NOBODY IS PERFECT 😉

Stay Safe,
Greetings from Brooklyn, NY

[Sarah977]

@Gerhard4   "first hit when I google partner: either of a pair of people engaged together in the same activity"

You and Airbnb aren't "a pair of people".

Hosts and Airbnb are not engaged in the same activity. As a host, your activity is maintaining your listings in guest-worthy condition, and accomodating your guests. Your main focus is on earning money for yourself.

Airbnb is engaged in providing an online booking platform, handling funds, and dealing with issues that can't be resolved between the hosts and guests. Their main focus is on the company's profits, not yours.

2 different activities.

And those of us hosts who have been participating in this forum for awhile, not just posting and reading here for the first time over the COVID cancellations, have long been aware, by reading each other's experiences, that Airbnb has never, ever, been our "partner". 

[Sarah977]

@Gerhard4  "airbnb was already refunding in full, before it was a pandemic!"

No, they weren't!

What you mean is, before everyone was willing to believe it was a pandemic. There are still people who think it's some kind of overblown media hype, while the death count climbs higher, by leaps and bounds, every day.

[Gerhard4]

well, airbnb started before the W.H.O. declared it a pandemic, but if I have to respond to your message, it should not be refunded at all!! which is what I am saying too.. I am not following the hype, we only have 22 listings at AirBnB, other platforms refer to the cancelation policy the hosts have in place!  

back to your definition what is covered or not, insurance companies have guidelines, so far a number of them I contacted do refund if there is a legit reason you can not travel : airlines dont fly (even if the airline goes bankrupt) borders close so you can not travel, if you decide to travel when there is a not travel order , they will not cover you. a number of my airbnb bookings were cancelled just because the guest didnt feel comfortable, which is for the insurance no reason to pay!, a number of them could not travel , because the country they were traveling from was on the BAN list in the USA, that is a legit reason, and the insurance actually paid them out, I was willing enough to move them to a later date, (so basically they have a free vacation but at no cost to me!) others could also not fly in, and got the refund from airbnb and from their insurance!! ( which I dont think is fair , and airbnb is not absorbing any hit from this)

as comparing HIV and the COVID-19, you were the one referring that a pandemic is not covered. I was just mentioning this is not completely true, HIV is officially a pandemic, COVID-19 is also a pandemic, but if the word pandemic is mentioned in a policy, it specifies what part is not covered.. and I mentioned this above. if you travel agains guideline you will not be covered, the parts that are not your fault will be. many insurance agents will try to get out of it, but you can request details, and if they blame the pandemic clause, it has to be the reason of the cancelation , in most cases it was the airline / or country that decided . but again , we can argue about this.. my point is that AIRBNB is not judge and jury  to decide how to handle this !

[Sarah977]

@Gerhard4  "We only have 22 listings at Airbnb".

You know what I see? I see the hosts who have the most listings being the ones who are being the most vocal about their outrage at Airbnb refunding guests. The hosts who have been making tens of thousands of dollars per month on Airbnb for years. And nowhere do any of you so much as express one iota of appreciation for all the money you've made through the platform all this time. 

[Gerhard4]

we dont make that kind of money, I wish, but we also employ a number of employees , this does not just effect us personally and our business, but also all the others that depend on the tourism.
again if a guests books a trip, they do this because they have the money for the trip!
the make a financial commitment, and in return they get some enjoyment, and memories ! we can offer them the experience at another time! which I think is more than fair!
in the meantime we still can pay our staff and other people who also rely on me paying them, so hey can buy food for their family clothes for their children and what ever more.
now the traveler has  a problem, and they will have to postpone their selfie with Mickey visit disney world , and the Florida sun, but we offer them another chance. our workers now don't have any work, and thus no income, no money , and can loose their home, or what ever else they have financial commitments for....
this all because AirBnB stands with the traveler who should have protected them self with insurance ???  
Just to show how 1 can impact many!!
so please tell me What is it you see??? in your remark

[Gerhard4]

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@Sarah977 wrote:

@Gerhard4  I see the hosts who have the most listings being the ones who are being the most vocal about their outrage at Airbnb refunding guests. 

we open our homes every time people with pets ,needed a place when they had to evacuate during hurricane season, we like to help them!  these people are in need. people who book a vacation are NOT in need at that point. also when we open the homes, airbnb goes on TV taking credit for the " good things" they do during a crisis.. it is a bit hypocritical since they are not the ones taking the risk or the financial burden. they should come up with some compensation for the hosts they have hurt with this one sided action, 
But were going off topic, this discussion was about the full refund, while travelers could have protected themselves agains the loss.

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[Ian-And-Anne-Marie0]

@Gerhard4 

"...if you read the print if there is NO restriction for your travel , and you dont want to travel, it is not covered,

if your government (or the country you are traveling to) dont allow you to enter / travel /leave) it is covered."

THAT.

[Ian-And-Anne-Marie0]

@Sarah977 

Thats a pertinent question.

When even Insurance Companies won't even insure for it, where is it written that Hosts should underwrite it? It doesn't happen like that with other listing platforms, only Airbnb are making the Hosts pay in this respect.

[Edward485]

But how is it possible that hosts refuse to refund guests? 

I have requested a full refund for a visit to New York for a week with a family of six, but my host has not responded to any of our messages; he simply refuses the request. How do I go about getting my money back? I really want to visit New York when it is again possible to do so; I will need that money to be able to do so....

[Michelle1837]

Thank you for posting this! Having recently come back from Europe in the epicenter of the pandemic, I can't fault this effort to allow guests and hosts to cancel without penalty. I appreciate that as a host I have the option to protect my staff if a group might be traveling from a high risk area. It's not just about having a property in a low risk or unaffected area and telling guests they have nothing to worry about. It is not being understanding to complain that the problem in those cases is those guests may bring the virus to the area. I have spoken to many people from customer service based industries such as restaurants and small shops, many of them are either temporarily being laid off or not being paid for their recent work. This may be the case for many of our guests who cannot risk losing their travel funds if their livelihood is also on uncertain ground. I think we all could stand to be a little more understanding in this global economical and health crisis. Let's stand together a little more instead of bashing Airbnb and complaining that guests should carry all the burden.

Just a thought from a host that has also lost business. Time will heal all things.

[Ute42]

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@Michelle1837   

You wrote:

• …. and complaining that guests should carry all the burden.

Noone has proposed that guests should carry all the burden.

The proposal was to split the burdon.

[Kath9]

@Giedre-and-Andre0, yes, I completely agree and thank you for your post. I understand that people are looking for someone to blame, but the only thing we can really blame is the wild animal markets in China. This is not Airbnb's fault, and they are grappling with what is an extremely difficult situation for everybody worldwide. Looking after the guests in the short term can only be beneficial for hosts in the long term. Also, we are part of the gig economy, which is NOT the same as being an employee. I agree with @Donald28 here - I bet most of the hosts screaming about class action are those who have multiple STRs (creating a housing shortage in the meantime) and have put all of their eggs in the Airbnb basket. Those of us who are sticking to the original concept of Airbnb, renting out an unused space in our homes, will feel the effects, but it won't destroy our livelihoods or make us lose our homes. We just need to rein in our spending a bit (which we'll naturally do by virtue of not travelling or going out to bars and restaurants) and get through this crisis affecting all of us, everywhere. Stay safe, host family 🙂

[Ann489]

@Kath9   well said, Kath.   I have said time and time again that it is not wise to put all of your eggs in one basket.   I also have a difficult time drumming up sympathy for those who have bought up multiple homes and taken them off the LTR market.  Our area is currently experiencing a severe shortage of affordable housing, but we seem to have an overabundance of Airbnbs. 

We rent our little guesthouse whenever it is not occupied by friends and family.  Do I miss the extra money? Sure.  But luckily, we are not going to hurt financially.  I blocked my calendar through May for the moment to see how things will go.

[Jessica-and-Henry0]

@Giedre-and-Andre0 

EXACTLY!!!! 

We all knew and were aware of the extenuating circumstances clause..... the current situation is exactly what I'd expect Airbnb to do. And it's what all the airlines and hotels have been doing, even with non-refundable bookings. 

No one should be travelling right now, and probably no one will be allowed to travel anywhere for most of this year. Everyone is going to feel the financial impact of this pandemic. The sooner people face reality and focus on what they need to do to keep themselves and their families safe while financially staying afloat the next 6~12 months, the better. 

Traditional hosts STR-ing  spare space will experience some impact.... nothing we can't handle.

Others that host *for a living* will face the same challenges as any small business or company in the travel or hospitality industry. 

[Ute42]

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@Jessica-and-Henry0   

Hi Jessica, is this really You? You wrote:

• „We all knew and were aware of the extenuating circumstances clause..“

Yes we all know the extenuating circumstances clause. What we did not know is, that airbnb will once extend this clause to the entire world unconditionally, no questions asked.

The extenuating circumstances clause is nothing else than turning hosts into the guests travel insurance. And that's unfair. This extenuating circumstances clause is the reason why I have restricted my business with airbnb to a minimum level. I have only 2 airbnb bookings this year and they are already done. As per today I have no airbnb reservation at all. I'm renting through other distribution channels where I get 50% when guests cancel. So I have a loss of 50% and the guest loses 50% also. That's fair and that's allright with me.

I personally am not affected at all by the current financial disaster, I just feel for many of my fellowhosts who are affected.

For the future, let's be realistic. Noone should make airbnb the main source of income. How many times have we read on these forums „don't put all Your eggs into one basket“. If You did, don't do it again.