Covid cancellation

[Bernardo195]

Hello as a host I have a question. I have a group of people that want to book my place. My cancelation policy is the "Moderada" (guests can cancel 5 days before). They are asking if they Cath covid after this 5 days if there is any Airbnb policy for them to not loose their money if they prove they're infected. Thanks

[Huma0]

@Bernardo195 

Yes, the COVID Extenuating Circumstances policy allows guests to cancel and get a full refund if they test positive for COVID. You would therefore not receive any payout. In theory, they need to provide proof.

https://www.airbnb.co.uk/help/article/2701/extenuating-circumstances-policy-and-the-coronavirus-covi... 

However, it seems that a lot of guests are using this as a loophole to get full refunds for other circumstances. The fact that they have asked you about this suggests they already know about the policy but want you to confirm this.

[Bernardo195]

thanks a lot for the info @Huma0 

[Stay-Casa---Antony0]

I am a host of multiple properties and have been finding that the guests are using this loophole lately to cancel their reservation last minute and getting a full refund.

I’ve tried to escalate this matter with higher management from Airbnb and was ignore.

All I am trying to explain is that “Airbnb  DOES NOTHING” to validate the authenticity of the documents provided by the guests. The only was they can do that is calling up the Lab (in the confirmation message) to verify the reference # matching the guest name or not. I can assure that they DO NOT verify the authenticity of the documents at all because some of my cancellation are at night when everything is closed and it is impossible to verify.

we always try our best to assist our guests by offering a full refund if it is genuine circumstances. 
However most cases the guests were  not able to provide the required documents contacted Airbnb and get  full refund straight away. This is absolutely a joke for all the host.

Upset??? Yes, I am more than upset about this. Loosing $10,000+ worth of reservation gone in just a few days because of people taking advantage of these loophole is far more than upset.

[Huma0]

@Stay-Casa---Antony0 

I am sure you are right. I cannot imagine that Airbnb CS are calling labs to verify reference numbers etc. When I asked them about it, they just said that the guest (or host) needs to provide a positive test result with their name on it. That's all.

I wonder also if this means they can take a home test and just send a photo of it... I assume in theory that should not be possible, but I wouldn't be surprised if some CS reps accept this as proof enough for a full refund.

On another thread, a host posted screenshots of a CS rep confirming that they would give refunds to people who had come into contact with someone who tested positive, even though this is NOT what is written in the EC policy.

[Stay-Casa---Antony0]

The point I’m trying to address here is not blaming the genuine guests who unfortunately contacted with the virus. 
We understand their position and have been/will be offering a full refund if they are tested  positive and providing the evidence.

We also have the responsibility to protect our staffs and neighbours too.

what I am trying to point out here is certain guests using this loophole to get the full refund last minute. We ask for the evidence which they could not provide or response. Then 5’ later, their reservation get canceled by Airbnb with a full refund. 
Airbnb claims due to privacy act, they’re not being able to share the documents provided by the guest. 
When I challenged about verifying the authenticity of the docs, they said they have their way of verify. 
Yep, a dude live across the globe speaking to me at almost midnight in my timezone  said that he verified the docs provided by the guest. What a legend!!!

when I escalate this to higher management and request a call back. It’s day 5 now and still nothing.

[Nancy146]

Do you know when this policy to refund for covid cancellations at the last minute? A new guest booking just alerted me to it, and I'm surprised.

[Angela--And---Naill0]

Free cancellation for travellers if related to COVID or any other reason is illegal as it is against the agreed upon policy for reservation by all parties. The traveller should be compensated by his insurance company and not by the hosting party.

[Felix401]

@Huma0 @Bernardo195 @Stay-Casa---Antony0 

I have been battling with Airbnb with a similar covid cancellation for almost 3 months.  Our situation was that the guests had actually checked in and stayed, but still got a full refund. We were not paid our cleaning fee and our listing was taken off for a week.

They have accepted that this is against covid extenuating circumstance policy, ie the full refund should not have been given.  After 2 months they have so far paid the night stayed and the cleaning fee. They have repeated closed our case. Our latest attempt to get an answer ended with the explanation that they are within their rights to alter the booking and issue refund even after check in.

They have avoided using the term 'cancellation' and replaced it with 'alteration' to the booking. I presume it is to distance their decision from the covid EC policy. I can't find any policy on this so called 'alteration' of course.

They have assured us no further action will be taken rendering our income to be unprotected by our chosen cancellation criteria and that the extenuating policy seems to be enforced (or not) and interpreted as they wish. 

I was encouraged by the forum to continue to pursue this issue.  But unfortunately have hit a dead end.

I thought this should be shared so hosts are aware this happens.  Whether we will have to put in place more preparatory measure like confirmation of test results, or stricter cancellation settings like full refund after 48hours of booking only. 

Any thoughts are welcomed. Especially if anyone has success with Airbnb with similar situation. 

Many thanks.

[Huma0]

@Felix401 

Thank you for posting about this. I was actually wondering about what would happen in this situation, i.e. the guest saying they tested positive AFTER they checked in. I am glad you got refunded the night they stayed and the cleaning fee, but I'm not at all surprised they were able to get a full refund for the remainder of the stay, given the circumstances.

However, from what I understood about the finer details of the COVID EC policy (not the details that are included in the main document, but in another, more hidden one that another host posted) that guests are not technically entitled to the full refund if they have already checked in.

If anyone else can shed further light on this, it would be most helpful!

[Nancy146]

This information says the guests have to PROVE they're covid positive. I found it on this page of their extenuating circumstances policy, which I tried to post, but it's not allowed for some reason.

If you booked after March 14, 2020, your reservation is eligible if all of the following are true

• Your check-in date is within the next 14 days
• and you haven’t already canceled it
• and you haven’t already checked in
• and you or another guest in your traveling party is currently sick with COVID-19

If all those things are true, you can cancel by contacting our community support team. We’ll ask you to verify this with documentation (such as a COVID-19 test result), where legally allowed. Your account will also be temporarily blocked from making new reservations, and any upcoming reservations within the next 14 days will be canceled.

If you’re not eligible and you cancel, your refund is determined by your host’s cancellation policy, and we’ll show your refund amount before you confirm the cancellation. In this case, host payouts and guest refunds are released according to the host cancellation policy you agreed to when you booked.

[Felix401]

@Nancy146 @Huma0 

This is the back bone of our argument with Airbnb as our guests have not satisfied 2 out of the 4 criteria listed. And a refund is eligible only if all 4 are true. Whilst I think the policy wording is quite clear and easy to understand, Airbnb chose to act against it.

The answer we got was Airbnb didn't see it as a cancellation, rather it is an alteration.  So the EC  'cancellation' policy does not apply.  To me it is the same scenario but using alteration instead of the term cancellation. Without locating where this 'covid alteration' policy wording is, there no way we can understand this policy. wording, however,  assured that this is within Airbnb's right to do thus no protection to the host after guests have checked in.

[FuQuan0]

I medaling with this now and seen a lot of lawsuits against airbnb in regards to these issues. They refund guest  that gave a late cancellation notice two weeks ago. They awarded the refund today. SMH. The policy states that now that it’s no longer a pandemic, the same cancellation rules do not apply, but yet they still refunded them. Not to mention the block days they canceled. So they are implying that if the guest cancel a day in advanced because they couldn’t take go care of them selves can do so and I get my days blocked and wages taking away? This is a scam. 

[Huma0]

@Felix401 

I can't find any mention of COVID in the Airbnb articles relating to alterations. Nor is there any mention of Airbnb being able to make or enforce an alteration that is against the host's cancellation policy, let alone without the host's consent.

I don't know if it will do any good, but you could keep sending them the page of the EC policy that @Nancy146 mentioned above TOGETHER with the alteration policy. I had success at getting paid for a couple of wrongly issued COVID refunds by repeatedly quoting the policy back to CS, but it was a really painful process!! 

[Felix401]

@Huma0 

I have done just that, so far I have repeated my case with the EC policy 5 times. My latest attempt of getting an explanation is the 'Alteration' policy. Upon asking them where I would find and read the alteration policy, I was told it is an internal policy not published for public viewing. This sounds dodgey as that means they can do whatever they want without follow the EC policy.

I am glad you had success with your case and thanks for your encouragement. However, we are at the stage that they are holding their ground and had invited me to serve them a formal letter from a legal representative. I have looked into that, but it is becoming more obvious that this is a David vs Goliath situation.