Does anybody feel as let down by Airbnb as I do?
Their policy to give guests a 100% refund with OUR money, without any form of consultation and despite our cancellation policy is an absolute disgrace and betrayal of the people (i.e. hosts) that helped make Airbnb what it is today.
Not only is this policy unnecessary and grossly unfair it is also, in the opinion of our Lawyers, unlawful. Their Extenuating Circumstances Policy states that THEY (not us) MAY (suggests consultation) refund guests in such circumstances. If Airbnb choose to refund guests with their funds this of course is their prerogative but to refund with our funds is a very different matter. In our Lawyers words, this is a misappropriation of hosts' funds; we prefer to call it theft.
Their cavalier attitude towards hosts' funds has cost our business £thousands in just 3 days and will put many in the tourism industry in financial dire straights. It's just too much money for us to ignore, so we have instigated legal action against Airbnb.
We are very reasonable hosts and are prepared to refund guest amounts far in excess of that detailed in our cancellation policy but to receive nothing for reservations that we have already incurred costs to process and prepare for, without any consultation and very little notice is simply not acceptable.
This nightmare that the world finds itself in will impact on all our of us, physically and / or financially but Airbnb still have an obligation to treat everybody, guests and hosts alike fairly and with repect, so why they expect hosts to take the full brunt of this situation defeats me.
Travel insurance companies are paying out (providing policies pre date CV outbreak) for forced cancellations and most guests would expect to lose at least a deposit for cancelling booking, so Airbnb's policy is unnecessary and one sided to say the least.
We welcome the views of all hosts, for and against Airbnb's policy. Hopefully Airbnb will read and listen to the responses posted. As they have closed their phone lines and email addresses, this or post seems to be the only way to communicate with them.
Best wishes to you all, David & Hannah.