Airbnb penalizing hosts with vaccination requirements in house rules.

[Kim937]

I’m issuing a word of warning to other host’s who have a requirement that guests be vaccinated. Even though I have a vaccine requirement in my house rules, that it’s stated in the first paragraph of my listing description and that it’s reiterated in the automated message guests receive at booking, a guest auto-booked who’s not vaccinated. We’re now within my moderate cancellation policy window, but they want to cancel and get a full refund. I contacted Airbnb. I received false information with the first customer service agent which isn’t surprising as it’s a common occurrence. (i.e. I’m not allowed to have a vaccine requirement per Airbnb rules because it’s discriminatory). Here is Airbnb’s own language regarding vaccine requirements.

"Hosts can set their own house rules, including specifying in their listing description if they require guests to be vaccinated or recently tested for COVID-19, unless prohibited under applicable laws or regulations."

I then spoke with a manager who informed me he would grant an exception and cancel the reservation penalty free to ME. That in typical situations Airbnb would consider it a cancellation by host with the penalties attached to a host cancellation. I was dumbfounded by this and asked repeatedly for clarification. He insists that if guests indicate they intend to break house rules in relation to vaccinations, we as hosts are subject to Airbnb penalties if we don’t want the reservation to go through. I countered that I consider this a “cancellation by guest” and that I should receive a payout, that this is akin to guests reserving with the intention of bringing pets or children to a rental with a no children or pet policy. Not only do they get off evading a cancellation policy, but we as hosts get hurt in the process. I asked him to reference the Terms of Service (TOS)) in regard to this, but he said there wasn’t any such language, that this was in the information customer service reps have on hand and not listed in the TOS. The convoluted message I received from this manager follows at the end of the post. I asked to speak with his supervisor but I’m not holding my breath.

To remedy this with further reservations, I’ve turned off auto-book. I don’t know how else to make sure that guests will adhere to my house rules. I am hopping mad at this point. Airbnb is penalizing hosts who are trying to protect themselves and the community from this dread disease, especially the highly contagious Omicron variant. I wonder if a local paper would be interested in hearing about it?

"Airbnb Support5:23 PM

Hi Kim,

This is Nickoyan, a Manager, from the Airbnb Community Support Team. As I told you on the phone, whenever a host would like to cancel a reservation because of a vaccination status, the reservation would have to be cancelled by host. This means all hosting penalties would be attracted to that cancellation (https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/990/). Please note, however, that I told you regarding your reservation (HMMYH5PJJP) with Hailee, that I would be willing to remove all penalties from this cancellation.

Regarding house rules, if it is that a guest breaks a house rule and the host no longer wants to host them, and the reservation has already started then we would alter the reservation and assist the host with removing the guests from their listing. However, if it is a guest who would want to violate a host's house rule and the host indicates this too us, and would want to cancel the reservation, we would be able to cancel the reservation penalty free for them. With that being said, we do not consider one's vaccination status as a house rule. Instead, it is a separate entity in which there is another policy, that guides how Airbnb agents are supposed to operate.

Based off of what I said, as I typed above, you are unhappy with Airbnb's policies and you informed me that you wanted my supervisor to call you because you wanted this exact information shown to you in the terms of service. I then explained to you that the information that agents would work from, is expounded from the terms of service and we would not be able to share this document with you.

To be clear, I agreed with you in that you may have it as a requirement to have your guests be vaccinated. However, where we disagree is how the cancellation of this type of reservation would work (because you view it as a cancellation by guest and I told you that this was a cancellation by host). Also, you would like to receive a payout from this cancellation, and you would want the guest to face financial penalties from this cancellation. In conclusion, I told you that I would be placing on the ticket, the policy in which I followed so that all may see the policy which refers to a situation like this."

[Sammy-L-0]

I am a former paramedic, and you misunderstand HIPAA. It applies only to medical providers and businesses such as insurance companies that have access to your medical records. It has nothing to do with an individual choosing to provide their own health information to any third party, and nothing to do with any non-governmental third party asking for information as a requirement for a nonessential service.

[Sarah977]

@Sharon683 " I have had many people in my circle who got vaccinated and still got covid-19 and was just as contagious as the unvaccinated who caught it."

It astounds me how uninformed so many people are when the information is readily available to all. 

Being vaccinated doesn't ensure that you can't contract Covid. It keeps people from getting really sick and requiring hospitalization. About 90% of Covid cases now clogging up the ICUs are the unvaccinated.

And no one has some inate right to book an Airbnb. It has nothing  to do with "fair". What isn't fair is putting a burden on the health care system, taking up hospital beds so there aren't enough for patients with other issues not Covid related, because one thinks their "personal freedom" is more important than the public health of all.

[Aria15290]

As someone who works in the hospital those numbers are a flat out lie. We have something called coding where we put in codes for any reason someone is brought in. If someone is having a stroke and they happen to be positive for covid we mark it as covid. So if people are contracting it, which most are and they are in the hospital for non-covid related reasons, it's going to appear as though everyone came in for covid and that's not the case. Educate yourself!

[Huma0]

@Kimberly557

@Sharon683 

There is an attitude that I've never understood (which pre-dates the pandemic) where a guest feels they have the 'right' to book my listings. No, they do not have the right. They are staying at my home and I have a right to decide who I let into my home. Of course, one should not discriminate, so I don't have the right to turn people away due to their race, colour, creed, sexuality, gender, disabilities etc.

But, I do have the right to turn away people with children because my listing is not child friendly and clearly states this. I do have the right to turn people with pets away because my listing is a no-pets one and I have cats who would freak out if people bring their pets. All clearly stated. I have the right to turn away people who want to override my maximum occupancy or hold an event or check in at some weird time. Everything is clear on the listing. And yet, I've always had guests who try to book with me thinking they should be the exception or the rules don't apply to them. Some of them get very nasty when you turn them away. Because they WANT it, they feel that you have no right to deny it to them.

However, if someone thinks that I will put myself and my other guests (my friends and family too) at risk because of their sense of entitlement, they are wrong. If someone chooses not to get vaccinated, of course, they have the freedom to do so, but I WILL exercise my freedom as well. 

@Kim937 

I feel like Airbnb is getting this absolutely wrong. I have written in my listing and house rules that people who need to self isolate/quarantine cannot do this as it's a shared listing. Are they going to override this as well and tell me that it's a host cancellation because they don't view that as a valid house rule? The stupidity baffles me.

[Sammy-L-0]

Our BnB is not in our home and for now it's the only one in the building. I haven't required vaccinations because there's no one else around. But, I do expect people to have the common courtesy to mask if we have to have any contact with them. My whole family has had both doses of vaccine and the booster, but I still mask to protect others and I expect others to do the same.

[Huma0]

@Sammy-L-0 

If you feel that your unvaccinated guests are not putting anyone else at risk by staying in your very contained listing, that makes sense. You are doing your best also to protect others. Even fully vaccinated people can still get the virus and pass it around, especially if they show no symptoms. 

I just don't know why people feel they have the right to impose their choices on others. If someone chooses not to be vaccinated that is their choice, but it's not their choice to do it in my house. If someone refuses to wear a mask on public transport for example, where here it is a requirement unless you are exempt, well I also have the freedom to avoid contact with them and sit/stand as far away as possible.

[Sammy-L-0]

It's maddening that so many people feel like they have a right to force their poor health choices on the rest of us. Their right not to be vaccinated and wear a mask stops where my right not to get sick begins 

[Lisa723]

@Sammy-L-0 @Huma0 @Sharon683 @Kimberly557 

We accept only vaccinated (unless medically exempt) guests even though our places are self-contained. Our reasons are

- to protect our cleaning staff (whom we also require to be vaccinated)

- to respect our small community by not bringing voluntarily unvaccinated people into it

- to reduce our chances of having to refund a last-minute covid cancellation

We do know that it's possible for fully-vaccinated people to transmit newer mutations of the virus. But they are much less likely to do so than people who choose not to be vaccinated, and to overload our straining healthcare system.

As @Anonymous said, there just aren't words for the heartbreaking self-centeredness and cowardice of people who see no need to do their little part to help us all get through this.

[Huma0]

@Lisa723 

Good points. If you have cleaning staff, you need to consider them too, as well as your community.

Last minute COVID cancellations are also a nightmare. I wonder how many of the unvaccinated who insist they have the right to stay in whichever Airbnb they choose (regardless of the host's wishes) would pay back the host in full if they contracted COVID?

[Sammy-L-0]

We're just starting so we are our own cleaning staff. I agree with you, though, in principle.  Some of the points I hadn't really considered.. unfortunately, my community has a pretty low vaccination rate -- only about 51 percent -- and I sometimes feel like we are the only ones wearing masks.

[Debra300]

@Anonymous,

On December 23, I received a message from a guest who was scheduled to arrive on December 25, and claimed that he had tested posted for COVID the week before his trip was to begin.  He asked if his non-refundable amount could be used as a credit for a future stay.  I responded telling him that we'd have likely been been able to get another reservation had he contacted us and canceled his booking when he first received his test results, and gladly given a refund, but since he still hadn't canceled the reservation that opportunity had passed.

I then contacted Airbnb CS, and was informed that guests catching COVID are eligible for refunds under the Extenuating Circumstances Cancellation Policy, but representatives are now instructed to request that guests submit copies of their positive test results as part of their refund request.  I stated that catching COVID should no longer qualify as an extenuating circumstance because it's a common occurrence.  He said that Airbnb is currently reviewing the COVID portion of the EC policy, and in the meanwhile guests must provide proof of test results.

In my situation, the guest did cancel and I received the payout per my cancellation policy.  So, I am guessing that a test result wasn't provided.

[Huma0]

@Debra300 

That's very interesting. Yes, sounds to me like the guest was not being totally honest and didn't have a positive test result because, if he did, he is still entitled to a full refund.

I had a guest who cancelled a stay due to start on 29th December. He only cancelled after I proactively contacted him to check if he was aware of the change in UK travel restrictions. He specifically told me that he wanted to cancel because, in the case that he tested positive on arriving here, he didn't want to spend 10 days quarantining.

However, once he realised he was not entitled to a full refund (he got 50% back and I offer to refund him rebooked dates), he started telling me his grandfather had COVID. Then that he had been in contact with his grandmother who lived with his grandfather. Then that he was going for a test the next day because he was coughing and sneezing more than normal. I was pretty sure he was angling for a full refund after reviewing the EC policy, but I didn't hear any more about it after that. I am assuming that, when he contacted Airbnb, he was asked for evidence. So, that's a good sign. I was also informed by two Airbnb reps that evidence is now required, not just an 'attestation'.

Interesting also that they are considering swapping that part of the EC policy. Let's wait and see...

[Sharon683]

I do not agree. If someone has tested positive for Covid they should get a full refund.  NO matter how many mask you wear or booster shots received people can still catch this little bug.  It is impossible to control getting Covid.  

[Sarah977]

@Huma0  "Interesting also that they are considering swapping that part of the EC policy. Let's wait and see..."

I imagine Airbnb is getting fed up with all the supposed "I have a positive Covid test" scammers, too. They have to spend time fielding calls from them, only to have them not be able to produce documentation. And I'd venture a guess some get quite snippy about it, trying to use the "my personal medical info is private" angle.

And if the guest does legitimately have a positive result, Airbnb refunds them in full, including the service fee, I think, so those are fees they aren't getting.  

So I can see them scrapping it soon, especially with the rate that Omicron is spreading.

[Huma0]

@Sarah977 

Sorry, I meant to say 'scrapping' not 'swapping'. I really feel like the autocorrect on the CC has gone mad. I used to think I was quite literate until I started reposting here recently!

Anyway, yes, that makes sense. It must be taking up a lot of their time and we are nearly two years down the line now, so COVID is a known factor to anyone planning to travel. How much longer can people expect full refunds because they decide to travel knowing that risk. After all, it's the 'new normal'.

Of course, I feel sorry for anyone whose plans are disrupted last minute, but I don't think businesses can continue to bear the brunt of other people's choices anymore. In the beginning, it was a surprise. Now it's a choice.

I have only booked an Airbnb once since the pandemic started. I did honour the booking because nothing went wrong, but I specifically chose a listing with a flexible policy just in case. That was my choice. Plus, I'm fully vaccinated and will follow any restrictions that I'm asked to, including the host's policies, so there's no reason for me to be turned away.

Of course, that puts hosts with less flexible policies at a disadvantage in terms of bookings, but that's okay with me. What I don't like is the assumption that a lot of people have these days is that, if it's anything COVID related, refund me in full or I will make your life hell and, if it's not COVID related, it's so easy to just pretend that it is to get my refund.