Cancellations Outside of COVID Policy

[Meredith7]

I had an Air BnB reservation from 9 March to 15 March for a guest and his family to stay in my DC home.  The guest reported that he and his family were familiar with the neighborhood, had lived here previously, and were looking forward to returning to DC for tourist purposes and for a conference at Georgetown University.

As the pandemic was growing, I confirmed via message that the guest was still coming on 4 March despite the global pandemic situation with the coronavirus. 

 On 8 March, one day prior to check in, the guest canceled the reservation.  In accordance with my cancellation policy, no refund was issued due to the late notice of the cancellation.  The guest was not impacted by travel restrictions within the United States.  I was not made aware of any members of the family being sick.  The guest reported that the reservation was canceled because the conference that one member of the family was attending was canceled.  

On 11 March, the World Health Organization declared the coronavirus a global pandemic.  On 13 March, Air BnB announced a platform-wide change to its extenuating circumstances policy which allowed guests to cancel reservations from 14 March – 14 April. 

On 26 March, Air BnB sent me an email informing me that the guest had been issued a full refund, despite the fact that the guest did not meet the platform’s coronavirus policy, which only covered reservations beginning on 14 March.  I contacted the company by phone on the same day and was told that the reservation payout, $1158.18, would be taken from my future earnings on the platform.

Am I crazy? Is this happening to anyone else? Any advice?

[Sarah977]

@Meredith7 Yes, they seem to be refunding guests whether their booking and arrival dates fall outside the March14-April 14 policy. Plenty of hosts are in the same boat. Not much you can do about it, unless you want to join up with other hosts who are threatening legal action.

"On 8 March, one day prior to check in, the guest canceled the reservation. The guest was not impacted by travel restrictions within the United States.  I was not made aware of any members of the family being sick."

As far as that goes, it's irrelevant now- if people had been restricted from travelling earlier than they have been, there wouldn't have been as many infected and deaths. They should have started locking down a long time before they did. Just read today that one third of the world's population is now on lockdown.

[Chiara572]

Yes I'm having a real nightmare.

Airbnb issued a full refund for 2 weeks stay, after the guest checked in, slept here 2 nights and then decided that his money would just go further in this climate

They booked non refundable, entered my flat on the 14th march, cancelled on the 16th and filed a claim for extenuating circumstances, when instead they just thought the room was small for them.

I'm livid...I am stil trying to solve the issue

I had other guests calling me and asking to cancel due to covid and I absolutely understand that. With other reservations I did offer free cancellation.

But with this one no. The guest simply changed his mind! Also in the covid airbnb policy it clearly states that the extenuating circumstances are not applicable for reservations that already started...and the case manager completley ignored this bit.

I'm deeply disappointed and frustrated with airbnb protecting well more guests than hosts.

[Catherine2252]

@Meredith7 

you can sign the petition (17 230 hosts signed):

https://www.change.org/p/airbnb-airbnb-breach-of-contract-class-action-lawsuit-violate-cancellation-...

[Shantey0]

Yes, this happened to me with a guest that has been living in my condo since Oct 4, 2019.  Airbnb or her canceled the reservation on Mar 3, 2020.  I have an email that airbnb was going to cancel her if she hadn't paid by Mar 2nd and then I got an email apologizing that my guest had canceled on Mar 3rd.  Imagine my confusion and surprise to see that they gave her a full refund and show that I have a negative balance of $12,355.78 which is the amount that I have been paid for her staying there.  I had new guests arrive a few days after I finally got her out and instead of them paying me for the new guest, they are crediting it towards the balance so that now I owe airbnb $9328.41  All this with no explanation of why.  I have a ticket in now for a week.  I've called several times.  I submitted a claim for $3800 in damages and they are the only ones responding.  I'm freaking out as I need this money to pay the mortgage and HOA.  I have been out of work since March 19th and won't go back until the earliest April 30th, without pay as I'm self-employed.  No one seems to care.  Until someone contacts me, the way I see it is they have stolen from me and without a care in the world.  I mean, who gives a total refund to someone who's live in a place for 5 months without question?  You would think they would inform the host and get some answers first. They will never see that money again.  

[Meredith7]

Hang in there, @Shantey0 and let us know how the issue is resolved. I wish you all the best. Keep trying. That seems absolutely ridiculous. Meanwhile, Air BnB is encouraging us to consider long term rentals! Haha - no, thank you. 

[Shantey0]

Thank you @Meredith7!  Our HOA doesn't allow for us to rent to anyone for less than 30 days.  I've had good luck until this guest.  It's been a crazy ride with her until the end. So now, not only did I get screwed over by the guest, I'm getting screwed by airbnb who I protected throughout this whole ordeal prior to the cancelation as the tenant wanted to pay me outside of airbnb and I refused to.  What I have learned is to not allow for that long of a stay again.  She was to stay until May 1st but wasn't paying airbnb.  I want to evaluate my property to see how they are taking care of my place in between before I approve for another 2 months.  If airbnb doesn't make this right, I may not use them again.