@Katy189
....so bad, I don't even want to say it out loud, because if I do, then that might make it true! ;))
It's already been a long tough winter for most small independent Dublin hosts anyway, due to gross over-saturation and the takeover of our market by commercial operators. St Patrick's week is traditionally our very best week of the year, and usually gets us out of a hole after the winter doldrums - but of course, that's not going to happen this year.
I didn't have many future bookings anyway, but the few I did have, are cancelling one by one. Almost every other host I know here is in the same boat, just a steady stream of cancellations, some well into the summer, and calendars being emptied. Everyone looking for full refunds of course,,regardless of cancellation policies - and the vast majority of them getting their full refunds (minus Airbnb service fees, despite the fact that the deluge of cancellations means that many hosts will be left with little to no income for the foreseeable future.
Challenging times, indeed. But there are people going through a lot worse, losing their loved ones to this pandemic, so our problems pale in comparison really.. but are personally, professionally and financially devastating, nonetheless. Those who are determined enough - and/or desperate enough! - will find a way through it, I guess.. somehow!
