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.

[Emiel1]

@Geoff86 

The "extenuating circumstances policy" related tot COVID has been changed in a way it only provides refund whenif the guest or host has to cancel because of being sick (COVID). Booking an accommodation in pandemic times is a risk for guests, like other bookings (fligths, holidays) , which they should seek travel  insurrance for. Or only book places at hosts which are not using the "strict' cancellation policy, so some refund.is possible when cancelled in time.

[Anonymous]

@Geoff86   Some countries have had several consecutive months without community transmission at various points in the cycle, but no credible body has deemed the global pandemic to be "over." Until that happens, all travelers should regard sudden outbreaks, snap lockdowns, and other disruptions related to Covid-19 as foreseeable events rather than extenuating circumstances, and take the appropriate precautions. 

That's a huge paradigm shift from the way we used to plan travel prior to 2020, but choosing to travel during a pandemic is very much an at-your-own-risk proposition. Accommodation providers who are willing to accept the burden of that risk are free to offer Flexible policies, and risk-averse guests would be wise to seek those out.

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Geoff86 Given that your laws are based on English law the the concept of a frustrated contract means that if no-one is at fault but the host cannot host then legally they must return the guests money. I think Airbnb understand this as I have used it to get a guest refunded but they don't advertise it. 

Inability to travel probably doesn't count as a reason for a refund.

[Louise0]

"the concept of a frustrated contract means that if no-one is at fault but the host cannot host then legally they must return the guests money" ....    No, not correct in this instance.  Frustration doesn't apply when there are contract terms that explicitly cover the circumstances which prevent performance of the contract, i.e. Airbnb's Extenuating Circumstances Policy in relation to Covid-19 travel issues. 

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Louise0 In the UK it would appear that the CMA (competitions and markets authority) disagrees with you as they are still forcing holiday companies to refund money to guests if the company cannot provide the service. No company in the UK is able to override the laws of the land with its own contracts.

Perhaps your laws are different but I very much doubt it as they are English law based.

[Louise0]

No, not so, and yes, Australian laws are largely based on UK laws.   The same notion of contract 'frustration' and application applies in the UK.  See here - https://www.pinsentmasons.com/out-law/guides/english-contracts-frustration-coronavirus

[Louise0]

FYI, Here's an extract from the opinion on which the contemporary interpretation of frustration is based:

The modern concept of frustration was stated in the following terms by Lord Wrenbury in Horlock v Beal [1916] 1 AC 486 at [525-526]:

“Where a contract has been entered into, and by a supervening cause beyond the control of either party its performance has become impossible, I take the law to be as follows: If a party has expressly contracted to do a lawful act, come what will – if, in other words, he has taken upon himself the risk of such a supervening cause – he is liable if it occurs, because by the very hypothesis he has contracted to be liable. But if he has not expressly so contracted, and from the nature of the contract it appears that the parties from the first must have known that its fulfilment would become impossible if such a supervening cause occurred, then upon such a cause occurring both parties are excused from performance. In that case a condition is implied that if performance becomes impossible the contract shall not remain binding.”

[Geoff86]

@Anonymous @Emiel1 These responses ignore the criticism that I made of AirBnB keeping all of their fees received from both parties even when the cancellation has been forced because of covid. If the host cancellation policy results in a part or full refund, it is reasonable that AirBnB should do something similar. There is no justification for them keeping the entire fee paid.

They also ignore the covid situation here in Australia because they do not understand it. We have been successful in eliminating the spread of covid and there are only occasional outbreaks. The Government encourages people to travel within Australia and covid is not considered to be a risk to that travel or too fees or deposits paid. So if there is a sudden outbreak and a sudden lockdown, no-one here would state that that was forseeable.

[Helen3]

They don't keep all the fees @Geoff86 . In the UK guests have certainly got full refunds including the Airbnb fee when they we weren't able to host because of government Covid lockdowns.

[Geoff86]

@Helen3 In australia, in our experience, they have kept all of the fees that they have received in the deposit, including even the host fee.

In the middle of the pandemic last year, when there was a world wide cancellation policy because of covid, they did refund everything but that is no longer the case, at least here.

[Helen3]

Then you should appeal . Airbnb clearly state on their Covid EC policy that they don't keep their fees but guests are refunded in full @Geoff86 

[Carol6427]

Hi Geoff and others,  I'm caught in the COVID cancellation circumstances again as I host in Blue Mountains. Just looking for options that might maintain some good will whilst not sending me broke.

Does anyone want to comment on a possible guarantee to cancelling guests for a reduction in the cost of their next booking (say within the next 12 months) by the difference between guest refund from airbnb and the host's original payout (excluding Airbnb charges). THat way a percentage is received by the host now and the guest is encouraged to book again.

Cheers

[Emma72]

This has been my experience too @Geoff86 . It is frustrating having to explain this to the guest when it is not our decision.

[Laurelle3]

@Geoff86 I agree with you about the fee from Airbnb not being returned. I have had about 10 cancellations with this lockdown in NSW this time. Also about 10 from Victorian ongoing lockdowns. If I can communicate with guests I have a flexi 24hrs cancellations, I state I will give them 100% back but warn themthat Airbnb keep the fee. I now offer them to book on another date and they dont have to pay the fee again. (I gained this information from the Airbnb community centre).

I try to keep the guest happy and be honest with them and most appreciate this and it exonerates me from the situation. Unfortunately some guest just cancel without contacting and I am unable to explain. I take the belief that you win some and you loose some or I can use another booking site.