Cancellation due to coronavirus outbreak

[Garry97]

I'm flying from Beijing to Tokyo on Feb 9th and booked a place on Airbnb. I feel perfectly fine but I want to take precautions given the chance of contact with infected persons. I believing avoiding any non-essential traveling at this time is the responsible thing to do.

Is it possible for me to get a full refund on the reservation? I tried cancelling from my side and only a 50% refund is available. I have reached out to my host, but he informed me that cancellation from his side would result in a penalty for him.

I appreciate your response in advance.

[Quincy]

Hi @Garry97, I hope all is well. 

I was just wondering if you've contacted Airbnb about this? If yes, would you be able to share their reply here? Airbnb shared this article recently https://community.withairbnb.com/t5/Help/China-Wu-Han-pneumonia-issue/m-p/1223709/highlight/true#M26.... 

[Katrina79]

@Garry97 I am a host and the same thing happened with a guest of mine, although she was travelling from China to Canada. The reservation was for three and two of them had been working with a colleague who had travelled to Wuhan in the past week. As a host I was able to contact Airbnb and initiate a full refund under the extenuating circumstances policy even though the guest had already cancelled. Have yourself or your host contact Airbnb support through phone. Thanks for being a cautious and responsible guest! 

[Michael4807]

As a guest I cancelled a trip to Tokyo because of the Corona virus. AirBNB kept my $600. I got $60 back.

I feel like this is extremely anti-customer behavior in a time when I virus is aggressively spreading around the world.

[Michelle982]

Please keep in mind that the host has done nothing wrong, just as the guest has done nothing wrong, and by cancelling and expecting a full refund, you are taking money from the host that will feed their families and pay their mortgage. The guests getting a 100% refund is not fair on the host. Air BnB allowing 100% refund to the guest will send some hosts in to bankruptcy and it could even push some people further. Please keep the host in mind when you are asking for a full refund, and also remember that Air BnB never misses out, its not their money out of their own bank accounts being refunded. Air BnB usually keeps their fee in all of this mess.

[Kristin184]

Hi Michelle!

Thank you for this thoughtful response.  I am also a superhost and having my first experience with a guest looking to cancel their reservation due to the virus.  They are flying from California and their flight has not been cancelled, but want to cancel the reservation due to CA being in a state of emergency.  I have strongly encouraged them to reach out to Airbnb to see if they qualify for a full refund.  However, I am having a moral dilemma on my end, because on one hand I understand their reason for cancelling and would like to honor a 100% refund, but on the other, I don't really see their NEED to cancel (while understanding why they feel uneasy about traveling) and this is part of our income.  We will take a big hit financially if we are giving 100% refunds to guests that don't meet the requirements through the Airbnb cancellation policy regarding the Coronavirus.  It's a hard place to be in as the host as well.

[Michelle982]

Hi Kristin

I think it is very good of you that you are trying to help your guest in any way you can, which I'm sure most of us hosts endeavour to do, however, if it is going to put you under stress to be able to pay your bills and feed your family and it is within the cancelation policy that you and the guest agreed to within the Air BnB platform, then you shouldn't feel that you have to refund 100%. 

A guest receiving a 50% refund for their cancelled stay is much more than the airlines and other accommodations are offering and this should not send the guest into financial hardship. However, Air BnB forcing hosts to give up 100% of their income WILL put hosts into financial hardship.

If Air BnB stood by their cancelation policies that the host and guest agreed to then I believe that is the fairest on both parties. The host should be able to limp by on half of their income and the guest, by all rights, should claim through their travel insurance. If a guest chooses not to take out insurance as a traveller, then the host should not be forced to pay for that.

We are frequent travellers ourselves with a family of five and we have yearly travel insurance and it is worth every penny. I then don't have to feel guilty about asking innocent ma and pa parties ie Air BnB hosts like you and me to pay me money from their bank accounts.

I know I am ranting slightly here, but it is a very frustrating situation to be in. 

All the best with your guests, and lets hope this virus gets under control sooner rather than later!

[Heidi535]

I would give the guest 100% refund, this is a pandemic and people are scared to travel.  Is this for a booking in March in Maine?  It's not high season.  I can't understand why you wouldn't do it.

[Barbara2157]

It is important to remember that many guests are also facing a downturn in their livelihood as a result of the virus.  They may not have the funds to pay for an unused service.  If they are cancelling because of flight restrictions and an international pandemic, they should be entitled to a full refund.  It hasn't cost the host anything more than the missed opportunity to do business. The deposit paid in good faith for the use of a rental that never materialized should be refunded without question complete with service fees and cleaning fees.  That is simply good business.  This is not a situation where someone held you property when you could have rented it to someone else.  If everyone is in lock down, you would not have had other paying customers.

[Kurt196]

I'm going through the same thing now. It's too bad that Airbnb wants to punish people for doing the right thing during this exceptional time.

[Rob-and-Sam0]

Just thought that I would share a very disappointing result that I  experienced this week regarding the Corona-virus. I had a guest that was traveling from China book my listing for March. I reached out several times to the guest with no response. I also tried to reach out to Airbnb but was unable to hold over 45 minutes on the phone nor did I receive a response to several emails. I had guest booked just a couple days after this guest was to check out and I was just not sure if I could make my space safe. Long story short, I finally heard from the guest and ended up cancelling his reservation. I was then surprised to find out that I was being penalized for cancelling and being sent a notice about suspension. When I finally held on the phone long enough and spoke to an agent, I was told the guest was from Canada not China. I am not careless, when I get a reservation I write on a calendar the persons name, where they are from, the number of guests and the dates that they stay. I will now take a screen shot of their profile. I looked at this file several times. It  always said lives in China. According to Airbnb, the guest has not made any changes to their profile in over a year.  However, I can guarantee you, I would not have put so much effort or worry into a guest traveling from Canada. I was basically called a liar by Airbnb customer service and they did not even entertain the idea that I could be right. So whomever, gets this guest from "Canada" will have not idea that they traveled from China. Moral of the story- take a screen shot of guest profile when they book - Things Change!

[Bob39]

This is a breach of contract by AirBnB on its its contract with the hosts.

[Don3215]

 It’s about people losing their jobs not having the vacation time to go on their vacation like they did before the virus epidemic hit. Just make it simple Airbnb. If folks want to cancel  The reservations they should get a full refund for 2020 year.  Airbnb should step up to the plate and do the righteous thing. Refund  folks  100% !