AirBnb Natural Disaster Refund Policy – Who can I talk to?

[Liana1572]

I've been using AirBnB for several years and have generally had a good experience; however, I am very disappointed with the customer service from my most recent trip (that I didn't take) and am looking to get help or file a complaint against AirBnB. I was supposed to go to Tahoe City for a few days, but a week before my trip, the wildfires across California started. I live in the Bay Area, and the only path to Lake Tahoe is through Vacaville, where an almost-400 acre fire (second biggest ever in our state) jumped the freeway is still burning weeks later, making this drive unsafe. Additionally, the air quality in Tahoe City was considered "very unhealthy" during the time I was supposed to be there. I reached out to the host (a company called Natural Retreats) multiple times, and tried to contact AirBnb for days and was put on hour-long holds and finally reached them three days before the trip was supposed to start. The host was did not respond to multiple messages from me, but on the phone their customer support specialists told me to seek my refund through AirBnb but that they didn't see a problem with my ability to get my refund. The 4 or 5 people I talked to from AirBnb all advised me to leave the trip uncanceled and to not attend, as it wasn't safe to be there or to get there, and that they were sure I would get my refund. A week later, I finally got a note from AirBnb saying that Tahoe City wouldn't fall under the natural disasters policy because Tahoe City itself was not on fire. I tried to get help so many times before my trip, and wasn't helped until it was too late. I paid $1100 for a trip that I did not go on, when the host could have canceled but ignored my repeated messages and when Airbnb could have clearly told me before the trip that I would not get a refund. This is horrible customer service, and I understand that there are an overwhelming number of calls right now, but Airbnb should be liable for this based on how their natural disaster policy is publicly written and based on the information I received from 4 different people from AirBnb. I want to support this company, but if you can't refund me because you would rather that I had driven through a wildfire and stayed in a place that would cause permanent lung damage, then I cannot support you as you clearly do not support your customers. Please let me know who I can speak with about your natural disaster policy, and where I can formally file a complaint.

[Emiel1]

@Liana1572 

Sorry to hear about your bad experience.

But as you see in this information:

https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/1339/

You needed to cancel the reservation anyway, if Airbnb was not willing to do this for you.

Then a claim for "extenuating circumstances" could be filed.

I would also free up the calendee dates, so the host maybe could get another reservation.

Which is also important if  you would have asked the host for some extra refund, if no other options worked out (by cancellation policy or extenuating circumstances).

Best regards,

Emiel

[Liana1572]

Unfortunately, the four different people I talked to from Airbnb advised me not to cancel, as that could get in the way of my refund. I tried really hard to get help and it seems like all I got was bad information. Given that Airbnb records calls, I'm hoping that someone can look into this, as I clearly tried to do the right thing and wasn't able to get help.

[Sarah977]

@Liana1572  Yes, you should have cancelled, you were given incorrect info. Unfortunately, Airbnb customer service has fallen off a cliff lately, and no one, neither hosts nor guests, is getting good, prompt service. 

When a guest can't make the trip, for whatever reason, it is up to the guest to cancel. If the host can't host for some reason, it is up to the host to cancel. If the host had cancelled, they would have received extensive penalties- this is something guests need to understand- hosts don't decline to cancel just because they are being difficult- they can't do it without incurring fines and other penalties.

By not cancelling, you kept the host's calendar blocked so they couldn't get another booking for those dates. So you cost the host the loss of income for all the dates you had booked.

The host not answering messages is another issue- that is unacceptable behavior and a red flag. Personally, I would stay away from properties which are managed by a company, rather than individual hosts,  who tend to be more responsive to messages. 

I hope you are able to get some refund, and sorry Airbnb steered you in the wrong direction, which screwed things up for both you and the host. FY, although phone conversations are supposed to be recorded, I've read quite a few posts where hosts or guests said Airbb said they had no record of the conversation. I prefer to message them, so there is a written record.

[Liana1572]

@Sarah977 

Thank you! 

I figured that might be the case, which is why I was also messaging Airbnb a bunch, but as you said, their customer service isn't prompt right now and it took a week to get any response.

Although the host shouldn't be hosting back to back days as they currently are, I wanted to cancel for this reason to free up the days for them, but neither the host nor Airbnb could give me good information on this and the feedback they gave me was the opposite:( I certainly don't want to take money away from anyone, even a large company with bad customer service, but I was trying to follow the directions I was given to maximize my chances of getting a refund, as this was a special trip for me and I can't afford to lose the money on a trip I couldn't go on.

Based on what the Airbnb customer support has told me at this point, it seems like the only problem with my refund is that the area where this was supposed to be wasn't flagged as an area impacted by natural disasters, which clearly isn't accurate. They didn't even mention the fact that I hadn't canceled. Also, I did tell the host 6 times that I wasn't coming and to cancel the cleaning of the place, to which they replied "So are you coming?" (they clearly didn't read any of my messages). I'm hoping that someone can point me in the direction of someone who manages this specifically, so I can make the case for this falling under the natural disasters extenuating circumstance category, but I frankly don't know if anyone even manages their policy.

[Sarah977]

@Liana1572  "Based on what the Airbnb customer support has told me at this point, it seems like the only problem with my refund is that the area where this was supposed to be wasn't flagged as an area impacted by natural disasters".

I would think that it isn't a matter of Tahoe being quite smokey (which really isn't counted as a natural disaster)- your issue is that you only had one way out to go on this trip and that was a disaster area that you obviously couldn't get through. That's the angle I'd pursue if I were you when asking for an extenuating circumstances refund. Hopefully you could get some documentation of that to present to them.

Sorry, but I don't have any suggestions re getting Airbnb to respond more quickly- it's just how it is right now. Patience and persistence is the name of the game.

What lame so-called hosts, though! Don't answer any of your messages, then when they do respond, it's like they never even read what you wrote. And doing back-.to back bookings is such a no-no right now re COVID. Make sure you also let Airbnb know that these managers ignored your messages. I'd like to see those kind of hosts booted off the platform.

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Liana1572 I am confused if you were cancelling because it was a back-back booking or because of the fire. Its not clear in your earlier post. Also how do you know it was a back-back booking?