covid 19 cancellation refunds

[Geoff86]

Apparently AirBnB has recently decided that any booking cancellations due to covid 19 will no longer receive any refund because the possibility of a sudden lockdown should have been anticipated.

This is totally illogical as it presumes that guests are able to anticipate that the spread of the covid 19 virus in the community will reach such a level around the booking time that the government will be forced to initiate a sudden unanticipated community lockdown with very little notice.

It is also totally void of any understanding of the stress that is created for both host and guest as a result of events out of their control. Even worse, under the host's cancellation policy, AirBnB will keep all of their fees, even if there is a part refund applicable to the guest. Why not share the cost?

Here in Australia we are relatively free of covid 19 but we get spikes in the community and because it spreads so quickly, our state governments have no hesitation in locking down the entire state and state borders in an attempt, so far successful, to firstly limit and then eliminate, the spread. None of this can be anticipated, but AirBnB, in its wisdom, seems to believe that it can.

So it seems to me that AirBnB is a very poor corporate citizen and I suspect that the above lack of a cancellation policy due to covid 19 has more to do with fee income than anything else. And trying to contact them to get any sort of customer service on any matter is a waste of time.

So lift your game AirBnB, because you are here as a support for your many hosts and guests. Without them, you do not exist.

[Jodie115]

They keep the fees if guests have had more than 3 cancellations- I operate on the island of Tasmania- many guests will book a road trip and possibly 4 or 5 AirBNBs. A lot of people are now on their 3rd attempt to book a holiday. The issue is then the guests complain to us the hosts - so we do ALL the work of managing the booking- communicating with the guest and AirBNB makes all the money- hosts get nothing!

[Karen2906]

@Geoff86 This thread is interesting and as a guest I have just had a terrible Airbnb experience due to a COVID cancellation. Melbourne was recently put into sudden lockdown which meant it was illegal to travel to Sydney. My host refused to give me a refund and told me that for a service fee of $100 I could rebook but the only time available was at a 30% higher rate which I would also have to pay. Such an unsympathetic and unflexible response to something I had no control over. A really bad Airbnb experience and has made me want to avoid dealing with hosts who are professional rental agents and not the actual owner. My friends who were able to speak directly with owners received a much more sympathetic and understanding response.

[Indija0]

Firstly i think airbnb clearly favours the guest. I had a very stinker of a guest who asked me to bend over backwards block availability of other rooms without paying for them and vacate my own quarters for her privacy and much more!  and then cancelled on arrival without seeing inside. And airbnb while thankfully acknowledging my case, also refunded her FULLY, fees included, at their cost!  No sense at all!  So it is surprising they'd punish the guest by keeping fees, but unsurprising they make the host pay out refunds to keep their platform in the green. The customer is the cash cow. We hosts are just the breeding heifers. In the recent melbourne unforseeable lockdown the week 2 extension took out several bookings that were critical to me staying afloat. Im on a pension and operate at break even just to keep the property in my hands. To do the right thing by those caught within my no refund period i offered to reschedule. (A work around which could see a customer dodge your refund policy if they get wise to it. ) Because you cant sell a weekend twice so a date change is a full forfeit of one of the precious 52 weekends you have to sell. The overheads dont go away ( im paying rent on empty rooms). So while Each customer had only one tarrif to lose. As host I lost 6 or 8 of them in one wave of Premier Dan's hand. The losses to a host are much greater. It has cost us to have that pristine linen sitting there in an empty room. I feel for the customer but ive realised i need to put the risk back on them and split the losses.  Do you think 50% refund is fair too good too harsh? I think as long as i have Half of my portion they can petition airbnb for the fees and will probably be successful. I think its proprionate to how much of a stink they make tho.  Cos im one step from destitution i cant afford to prop up the middle class in a lockdown! 

[Emma72]

I'm also a host in Melbourne and I refund 100%. Guests are grateful and some re-book in the periods in between lockdowns. It's very hard to lose the money time and time again. It has been a huge financial strain for us and a source of stress but I don't see any way out of that for the meantime. 

[Helen506]

Hi @Emma72, 

I have a strict cancellation policy as we are a high end accommodation  and I don’t want people to book now because they think they can’t travel anywhere else over Xmas and then cancel me with a week to go. 
So far for all of my previous guests I have just managed to change dates and now one looses any fees. My Problem is my Xmas week is more expensive so what happens if we change them to a cheaper date? 

[Laurelle3]

@Karen2906 it was sad to read this, if the guest have chosen a date that is dearer I have worn the lose or explained that is dearer and will give them a discount because I could loose the deal altogether because of Covid. Maybe this person was a manager and they have a different concept from the owner or I call this greed.

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Karen2906 Another great example that when using Airbnb you are better off booking with owner-hosts rather than big rental agencies. If nothing else you cut out the middleman if something goes wrong.

With respect to your specific issue not being able to travel is not necessarily a fair reason for the host to refund you. You have stopped that host taking bookings from others and perhaps you should have chosen to take out insurance or only book a property with a flexible cancellation policy.

We refund if it is illegal to host or for people to travel to us but otherwise have a strict cancellation policy. I just wish Airbnb would make this option officially available.

[Indija0]

I agree its better to rent from owner hosts but not because they are a softer target. Remember when you do, that they are the more vulnerable host.  They will go under while the business savvy enterprises balance their books!

Good point abt insurance tho. I might suggest that to clients.  

[Jill196]

Thanks for raising this Geoff. With the 5th snap lock-down announced today in Victoria my guests had to cancel and received only a partial refund. I have the option to send them money now to cover the full amount but it seems Airbnb will keep both of our booking fees. But others' experience seems to say they refunded the entire amount. I'm loathe to refund the full amount to the guests as i might be losing out myself. 
And yes - Airbnb is impossible to contact. A far more user friendly Australian version is Riparide. Always available to help with glitches, extremely friendly and professional and charges lower fees. 

[Helen744]

@Helen744 as far as refunds go I make sure that the guest cancels not me.I run a tight ship and always have a flexible cancellation policy . 24 hours notice gets them a full refund .Most lockdowns we get a warning and 24 hours notice . I dont take money from people for something I did not give . The clean sheets can wait for the next guest.often in the scheme of things a cancellation brings a better booking . Make your gravy somewhere else .those people booking holidays deserve to get one even if we are only a small part of it and if not then please let them have their money back .some people say lately . What if we go into a "lockdown '? then they book because I  reassure then they will get their money .We have had this recent lockdown and my guests got their money back but others booked because of the flexible pricing . People are looking for flexible pricing  over and above everything else.Increase either your daily price or cleaning or another fee but keep flexible pricing . You will make more than you lose. All the best

[Jodie115]

Unfortunately many of my guests are now being charged 'service fees' by AirBNB as they have already had 3 cancellations even IF the booking policy is FLEXIBLE. I wasn't even aware that was a thing until guests started asking me if I could override the fee. I had another guest who questioned why the booking said 'free cancellation' in bold but then in the fine print was told he would be charged the 'AirBNB' service fee of $80 (due to the fact he had already had 3 lockdown related cancellations). He got creative and found another way to book with me - and he did end up cancelling due to lock down so I was on that occasion able to refund him fully.

[Emma72]

I'm a host in Melbourne (our property is currently in a lockdown which was extended again today) and after a year and a half of cancellations, it seems that there is no real streamlined process for refunds. I have always refunded 100% of my rental cost, but I end up with a stream of messages from each guest asking me to refund their Airbnb fees. I have to explain that I cannot refund money which I don't receive etc. The extra time spent in conversations with guests who continue to ask me to waive the fees is frustrating because I have no power to do this. Does anyone have any strategies for reducing the time spent on this? 

[Will2513]

If guest has paid deposit then we go into lockdown, I as the host are happy to refund them, however will Airbnb take any of the deposit money? Thanks Will

[Helen744]

The guest must do the cancelling before the flexible 24 hour notice comes into effect otherwise they are left with some fees. It is very clear when booking that a particular policy is in effect . Other booking sites have stricter policies but allow cancellation for covid reasons . I think the guest must take the responsibility to both cancel and provide reasons for doing so to AIrbnb not us . We need to tell them so because often they do not distinguish the two.