Last week we had a guest cancel at one of our properties. She was coming for her daughters wedding in August, which had now been canceled due to COVID-19. We made a personal decision early on, when this situation started to unfold, that we would to refund all guests who needed to cancel due to the impacts of the pandemic. So we refunded this guest in full at the time she canceled.
Yesterday we received the following message from Airbnb (quoted verbatim):
"We have recently heard from your guest and sadly, they can no longer continue their trip due to the current ongoing global health issues. As such, they are looking to cancel this reservation and get a refund in full.
Your guest has canceled their reservation outside our Extenuating Circumstance policy as such, we are bound to uphold you host cancellation policy.
We understand that situations affecting your guest ability to continue your reservation sometimes occur. In line with this, in light of this ongoing situation we would like to know if you are amenable to provide a full refund to your guest in the spirit of Airbnb.
Kindly respond to this message, so we can further assist you in the process.
Thank you for taking hosting to another level. Your Super host status speaks volume not just for who you are but how you are as a host in our community.
Looking forward to hearing from you soon."
"In the spirit of Airbnb" we checked the booking and saw that we had already given a full refund so we called the guest to find out what was going on. It turned out that Airbnb had not refunded their service fee to the guest, which came to several hundred dollars! The guest had thought that we had pocketed the money and did not realise that it was Airbnb who had kept the money.
So I sent the following reply:
"can you please confirm if Airbnb will also refund their service fees to XXX?"
In response they sent the following and shut the ticket:
"As per the cancellaiton policy she agreed on when she booked the reservation, free cancellation for 48 hours, as long as the guest cancels at least 14 days before check-in. Also, guests can cancel up to 7 days before check-in and get a 50% refund of the nightly rate, and the cleaning fee, but not the service fee.
As such, we are unable to provide her a full refund of the Airbnb fees.
It has been 72 hours and we still have not heard from your guest xxx. As such, we encpurage her to contact us again once they're able to provide documentation. Hence, we are closing this ticket for the time being.
Should you decide to provide a refund please refer to our Resolution Center to issue the funds to your guest."
Am I then only one who is appalled at the hypocrisy of this response?
Airbnb requested that I override my cancellation policy and provide a full refund to my guest "in the spirit of Airbnb" (which I had already done anyway, in the spirit of humanity) and then turn around and refuse to refund the guest their service fees, citing the same cancellation policy!
Is the "spirit of Airbnb" only applicable to hosts and not to Airbnb themselves. I feel that this attitude towards guests and hosts is disgraceful at the best of times but, in the current situation, it is really deplorable.
I have never posted anything on a forum before but this has upset me so much that I felt I had to voice it somewhere!