Burned by Covid Cancellation Policy

[Deirdre12]

Hello fellow hosts,

This past Sunday I was on the sidelines of my 9-year-old son's first flag football game when I got a worrying message from my incoming guest. He had booked months ago, and was now due to arrive in 3 days from the UK, and stay for 11 nights, with a payout to me of thousands of dollars.  He and his family were flying in from the UK and they had just taken their required pre-flight Covid tests and their daughter had tested positive. Now, he wrote, they would not be permitted to fly for another 10 days.  Could I give him a refund or could he push the reservation to a later date? I have a "strict" cancellation policy that prevents last minute cancellations with refunds, so I wrote back that I really felt for him and I was so sorry he was stuck in England, but no, I could not refund or push the dates, as either way, I would be losing the money for the dates he had originally booked, and I rely on that money to pay the house's expenses, and I would be unlikely to find another guest so close to the check in date.  I suggested that he cancel as soon as possible to free up the dates so I could try to rent them to another guest, and if so, I would happily refund him for any dates booked, of course.

Well, stupid me, I was unaware that Airbnb has a Covid Extenuating Circumstances Policy that states that if you show a positive Covid test within 14 days of the trip, you may cancel without penalty or payout, no matter the host's cancellation policy.

So the guest just went to Airbnb, sent the positive Covid test, and Airbnb cancelled the reservation.  3 days before the check in date for an 11-day stay.  No penalty for him, no payout for me.  I got no help from Airbnb despite repeated calls, conversations and emails.  

I had long assumed, from a cursory read of the updated Airbnb policies, that a guest could no longer cancel by blaming Covid.  But I was wrong, of course. It turns out that the positive test is the only remaining way you can cancel.  But it's a VERY easy way -- just send in a Word document -- and it also guarantees that the cancellation will be last minute, which is the worst thing for hosts, since the test must be within 14 days of the stay.

It goes without saying that of course I wouldn't want someone who has tested positive for Covid to travel.  Of course.  But that doesn't make the consequences from a guest's pre-travel Covid test my responsibility.  Knowing he was flying internationally, from a place that has travel restrictions into the US due to Covid, the guest could have booked a house with a flexible cancellation policy, or he could have purchased travel insurance. He did neither. Instead he -- and more importantly Airbnb -- essentially expected ME to act as his travel insurance.

There was a lot of blowback in the early days of the pandemic after Airbnb allowed guests to cancel without penalty.  In response, Airbnb set up a fund to reimburse hosts for 25% of their cancellation policy, which was not much but at least something.  Post all that, Airbnb has talked a big game about trying to be better about supporting hosts.  But if they were serious about that, why didn't Airbnb just keep the Covid fund going if they were still going to allow guests to cancel without penalty due to a positive Covid test?  (You are not allowed to cancel due to other surprise illnesses or injuries.)  Why, as usual, are hosts expected to carry the entire burden of Covid on our shoulders? Why doesn't Airbnb just require guests to either purchase trip insurance, or forgo their right to get a refund due to Covid?  Or I am sure there are a million other ideas, any of which are better than making the host shoulder the entire cost. 

But what really worries me is what happens going forward. Because now I realize that there is a way for guests to easily circumvent my cancellation policy by either sending Airbnb a legit positive Covid test, or just sending a Word doc that looks like a Covid test.  So, what if someone books my house for weeks or months, blocking it months ahead of time, and then cancels with a positive Covid test 3 days before the check in date?   Sure, it may be unlikely that someone would do that, but my point is that Airbnb allows it.  And then I would have no recourse and I would really be in trouble financially. 

At the end of the day, this whole experience just once again makes me resent Airbnb and it makes me want to try to get bookings on other platforms that don't micromanage me and get in the way of how I want to do business.

Thanks for letting me vent and for listening. 

[Raveena3]

Hi , I just got burned as well, Xmas week cancellation 2 days before the trip! Please help to feedback on their Facebook or Twitter like I have, let's put some pressure so this doesn't happen to us again! 

[Huma0]

@Helen3 

Good plan. I am definitely asking for a negative test from overseas travellers, but should start doing the same for UK ones.

As for the policy of cancellations (either host or guest) due to having contracted COVID, that's fair enough, but are they actually asking for evidence? I am still unclear as to whether the 'attestation' thing still applies, in which case it's a farce.

[Huma0]

I totally agree that the time has come to stop including COVID in the cancellation policy. We all know it exists. We all know that travel restrictions are in place and can change at any moment. We all know we shouldn't travel if we have it. So, when we decide to travel, we are taking a risk doing so. Why should someone else pay for our choices?

The only thing that would worry me about getting rid of it is that, if like me, you often host local guests (I mean from the same country), what's to stop them from lying about a positive test if they think they are going to lose their accommodation and their money? The only way to prevent this would be to require proof of a negative test in order for them to check in.

[Huma0]

My main concern, however, is, as others have said, that guests will use this EC dishonestly. I learnt from 2020 that often seemingly decent, honest people, will say and do almost anything to get a full refund. I also learnt that CS reps too often have a totally nonsensical approach when it comes to COVID. It took a long time and a lot of persistence to get Airbnb to finally reimburse me after they refunded guests for days or even weeks that they had ALREADY stayed with me. They kept insisting they had acted within their policy, which obviously they hadn't! The guests, meanwhile, said they would pay me back and then funnily enough went silent.

So now, what happens when a guest decides to cancel and it's clear that it's not because they have COVID and they tell you this in the message thread, but later claim to have COVID when they realise they will not get a full refund?

Will Airbnb refer to the correspondence and realise that the guest had not tested positive when they asked to cancel, or will they ignore that? Will Airbnb ask for proper documentation and verify that, or are they still allowing guests to 'attest' to the fact?

[Huma0]

Here's a scenario...

- Thinking I'm being a good host, I let my upcoming guest know that the regulations here regarding day 2 tests have changed (you have to self isolate until you get your negative result). He's okay with that, especially as I have found him an inexpensive express test which means he could still check in as planned.

- He then starts asking if everything is still open. Perhaps it's not the best time to come if there's not much open. I explain that, as things stand, yes, pretty much everything is open and the government is avoiding another lock down at all costs, but of course I can't guarantee that won't change.

- Finally, he decides to cancel, not because of the above, but because if he tested negative, he would need to quarantine for 10+ days, which would be the majority of his stay. By the way, this is not new. That regulation was in place when he booked, so he should have been aware of it.

- He asked to change his dates to March, which I was willing to agree to, but he wanted to halve the length of his stay. I told him I would only change them if he booked the same number of nights. He decided to cancel instead.

- The guest is then due a 50% refund under my policy and I told him I would also refund him for any rebooked nights, but can't refund him Airbnb fees as that's not in my power.

- The guest then tells me his grandfather has COVID. I say I'm sorry, but I am glad to hear he is stable and hope he recovers soon.

- The guest then tells me he's going to get a COVID test the next day because he's coughing and sneezing more than usual and has come into contact with his grandmother, who has come into contact with his grandfather...

Maybe I am being cynical, but I can kind of see where this is going. Even if the guest were to produce a positive test result, he cancelled before taking a test and outlined his reasons for doing so (it's all there in the thread in great detail). So, one would assume that Airbnb would not refund him under the EC policy, right?

I am not so sure as I've seen much stranger things. I contacted CS asking them to clarify this point, but they had no idea what I was talking about and just sent me links to the EC policy, which of course I already understand. That was not my question. Eventually, I give up. Now I'm just waiting to see what happens... My payout is actually quite small and he may get some of that back anyway. I imagine it's the Airbnb fees being kept in full that's the issue here.

Anyway, I would not be at all surprised if Airbnb refunds him.

[Mary996]

Not too fair if @Airbnb keep their fee but decline to protect your dues per your cancellation policy of 50%.

@Deirdre12 @Allie228 @Huma0 @Richard531 @Max144 

[Huma0]

@Mary996 

Perhaps I was being too paranoid. I have not heard back from the guest since then, so maybe he wasn't trying to pull a fast one! Or, maybe he went for his COVID test in the hope that it would be positive (we're living in strange times) so that he could apply for a full refund. I don't know. The whole way the conversation panned out was a bit weird to me...

In any case, I am still happy to refund him extra for any rebooked nights but, although I am getting a fair amount of interest, it's all from guests who seem to have not checked the UK covid restrictions and who think that they will automatically get a full refund for any COVID related cancellation, even if that's simply, "I don't feel like going anymore because of COVID."

I do feel that Airbnb could do a better job at educating guests about this. It is taking up A LOT OF MY TIME!! It's not my job to educate them.

Had to make yet another call to Airbnb this evening about a guest that wanted to cancel due to worries about England going into another lockdown. Again, she assumed she would automatically be fully refunded if that was the case.

[Mary996]

I think youve summarised that well @Huma0. Lets hope things improve! 

[Allie228]

Welcome to the new Airbnb.  The guests always wins and the host always loses.   This will not be sustainable for hosts but it is the way it is. I  dont have these issues on other platforms but of course I can't afford to cut off airbnb off. But I am alway happy when I see a reservation come in from another platform because I know they are risk free. 

[Mary996]

Hi @Allie228 I'm curious about the policy on other platfirms. How do they address covid cancellations?

Hope you're well. Thanks for coming in!

[Allie228]

This is actually not a COVID cancellation. We had a window that had a broken latch and they refunded the guest in full after a 1 night stay. They also took our listing down even though everything was fixed within less than 24 hours of the time the guest checked in and they refunded the guests in full. I am LIVID

[Raveena3]

Hi @Allie228  , that is simply absurd! Can you share what other platforms you use? I would like to branch out as well since Airbnb apparently is not very host-friendly. PM me if you dont  want to put it in public.

[Jenny349]

@Deirdre12 

Thank you for taking the time to describe your experience in detail. I have just been stung in the same way as happened to you. As others have pointed out, it was a shock, because I thought Covid was no longer covered by the EC policy.
My guest, who is also a host, cancelled with less than 24h notice.

We have a strict cancellation policy and I simply cannot understand why we should take the full hit whilst the guest gets a full refund.

As others have stated here, I feel this option to cancel is wide open to abuse.

I exchanged many messages with Airbnb Support but to no avail.

perhaps the most « useful » advice I was given was to leave feedback for Airbnb. I have done that, even though I am not overly hopeful that it will achieve anything. Nevertheless, can I urge hosts who are affected by this outrageously unfair policy to let @Airbnb know their feelings ?

Happy holidays to all long-suffering hosts!!!👍🌸

[Mary996]

@Airbnb

@Jenny349 Agreed. Well done for offering your feedback in a respectful way. I try to do this too as often as possible and find the company to be receptive. 

[Jenny349]

Thank you @Mary996 ! I will certainly keep my fingers crossed and hope that others will add feedback too. No other option but to keep chipping away and hope that @Airbnb will take notice!