Edinburgh Festivals Cancellation

[Lilian13]

ll 5 festivals have been cancelled this week. I have already had one guest cancel and request a full refund. Although the festival is cancelled it is possible that social distancing etc will be lifted by then and guests will still be able to holiday in Edinburgh.  A decision to fully refund must be made within 48h of the cancellation. What are the community's thoughts on this?

[David3267]

Hi @Lillian13 . I'm afraid I've become so cynical about Airbnb that whatever the community thinks matters not one jot compared to what Airbnb decide to do! Their half hearted attempt to reward some cancellations doesn't seem to be going anywhere too fast. I have yet to hear anyone has had any communication about this payout, let alone an actual pay out. Rest assured Airbnb will decide at the latest possible chance to give us hosts the least flexibility to do anything about it. Sorry, but feeling very negative at the moment!

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@David3267 

Do you pay business rates on your properties and get small business rates relief?

[David3267]

Yes, but no correspondence from our local council yet regarding grant! Please, I'm not moaning it's just what is said and reality are opposite ends of the spectrum in so many cases (esp in the case of Airbnb!)

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@David3267 

I'd suggest going to the local council website and applying. Letters should be sent soon but then there will be an almighty rush.

Re Airbnb it is so hard to tell truth from fiction on this and other forums - I can't believe we got lucky with our cancellation but who knows - The one thing we have not done is initiate (or even agree) any cancellation.

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@David3267  

Some info for you

When my last guest cancelled I got an email saying they had cancelled a part of which is shown below

I didn't do anything to either cancel or approve the cancellation. The guest is working on getting their money back - They will let me know how they get on.

Your guest Helen can’t travel due to the COVID-19 pandemic and they’ve cancelled their stay at your place.

Airbnb will share in the costs of COVID-19 cancellations

Even though your guest cancelled under the extenuating circumstances policy, we want to support you in these tough times with a payment from our coronavirus emergency support fund – it should arrive in your account within 4 weeks.

[David3267]

my emails don't seem to say this despite the strict cancellation policy I signed up for (but Airbnb decided was irrelevant!)

[Lilian13]

The Extenuating Circumstances policy at present only covers from 14 March until 31 May 2020. The Edinburgh Festival is in August 2020 and has been cancelled because of Coronavirus.  I am almost fully booked for August because of visitors coming for the Festival. Already one has requested a full refund.  This is the busiest time for all holiday lets in Edinburgh. Should I agree to full refunds for all guest during August?