Escalate a complaint

[Kumica0]

Due to a sudden rise in coronavirus cases, a 1 week lockdown was suddenly announced with little notice here in Melbourne, Australia last month. It was to commence later that night. I had booked a 2 night getaway, scheduled to check in the same day.

The hosts contacted me several hours before check-in, not long after the announcement was made with this message:

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Clearly they had cancelled my booking but failed to update it in the system, so my reservation went ahead as if I actually stayed there. By the time I realised they had misinformed me and hadn't cancelled the reservation despite telling me I couldn't come, the window had passed for me to action it.

Upon contacting the Resolution Centre, and having my case pass through 3 case managers, Airbnb refuse to do anything about the matter, advising me that the final decision is up to the host.

What makes things worse is that I get the feeling the host did this on purpose as not only have they stopped responding to me, but the explanation they gave Airbnb is completely untrue and contradicts the message they sent me.

Airbnbs policy states that if a host cancels, the customer automatically gets a full refund. It does not specify that the cancellation needs to be updated in the system, nor checked by the customer to ensure the booking status has changed to "cancelled". Clearly my reservation was cancelled by the host. I fail to see how this is not a clear cut case. Why is it my responsibility to ensure the host actions the booking on their end to reflect what they have communicated?

In addition, Airbnb's Covid19 policy also applies in this case. Although I would rather not, I am prepared to escalate this further and take legal action. This is my last ditch attempt to reach out to Airbnb in the hopes they will actually take a minute to investigate the situation and come up with a fairer resolution than  having the customer pay for a service that was cancelled on them. 

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[Sarah977]

@Kumica0  This isn't Airbnb. This is just a discussion forum for hosts and guests.

You say "clearly the host cancelled." No, the host didn't cancel. What is "clear" in the host's message you have screenshot is that they told you they were not allowed to host and for you to cancel or rebook your dates. So I don't understand why you would think that they cancelled when that is not at all what they said. They told you to contact Airbnb at the time to see about a refund, considering the circumstances. Which you didn't do. It seems you didn't do anything the host suggested.

The onus is on you to make sure that a booking is cancelled on the platform, not just assume it is. 

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Kumica0 I have sympathy for both you and the host. Due to Airbnb not wanting to give up their revenue easily they have left hosts and guests in difficult positions.In this case the host would have been penalised by Airbnb if they had cancelled so it was down to you to cancel which sadly you didn't do.

It needs hosts who are aware of the laws regarding frustrated contracts to hope they find a good customer support rep who will then cancel the booking penalty free. 

I fear you will need to take a legal route but this might fail as you didn't take the proper action prior to the check in time for the booking

[Kumica0]

Thanks for the info. I thought it might be something like that as I couldn't explain why the hosts would do something like that. Do you know what the penalty is for the hosts? Surely the covid19 policy would cover them? Having said that, it seems Airbnb are quite possibly using the excuse that because we're all aware of the pandemic, restrictions placed on us, however sudden (less than 12 hours notice in this case), aren't considered as "Extenuating circumstances" as we should expect it.. which I think is a little unfair. 

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Kumica0 You are right. Airbnb appear to be  taking the view that everyone knows there is a pandemic and hence Extenuating Circumstances do not apply. I think this is stupid because it means people just won't book properties as they can't find insurance to cover them. Taking our situation in the UK we could return to lockdown at any time but none of us can actually force when or if this will happen.

Penalty for hosts is USD50-100 plus getting the dates blocked in their calendars.

[Kumica0]

Oh, my mistake - not sure how I ended up here.

I did wonder if I somehow misinterpreted it but like you said, they advised they were unable to host.. is this not the same as cancelling my reservation? 

And why would they then tell Airbnb that the reason for not issuing a full refund is because they had offered me 1 night but as I didn't respond straight away, they didn't know whether to cancel the booking or not. It doesn't make sense.

I reached out to them to see if there was some kind of misunderstanding. No response.

I've never had to cancel a booking before so wasn't familiar with the process and there was no sense of urgency communicated. The reason I didn't action it immediately was because I had to check with my partner if/when we could possibly reschedule for. Given the property couldn't be booked for at least the period of the lockdown, it wasn't as if I was preventing any other potential bookings. 

I only realised my booking was still active when I received the checkout/review email. 

The fact of the matter is, they decided not to take any bookings during the lockdown period. Other Airbnbs were still available - I don't know the specifics of who could still operate and who couldn't, but in this instance, the hosts were not taking any bookings (irrespective of whether it was their decision or whether the restrictions prevented them from doing so), so why should they expect any funds at all?

[Sarah977]

@Kumica0  Advising that they were unable to host you is not the same as cancelling, no. Anything can be said in a message by either a host or a guest, but it isn't binding- in order for a booking to be cancelled, it has to actually be formally cancelled. If it isn't, it still shows as an active booking, and it still blocks the dates. 

I'm not sure what the lockdown encompassed in this case, but the way some of these Covid restrictions and lockdowns work is that while the hosts may be unable to host someone from outside the area, they might still be allowed to host someone who lives in the area. Also essential workers needing housing are sometimes excluded from the restrictions.

I don't understand why you are so sure they decided not to host anyone at all. If the booking isn't cancelled, the dates remain blocked and no one else can book it. So the hosts in fact might have been the big losers if you get fully refunded, because they might have been able to host someone local.

It sounds to me like neither you nor the host meant to be difficult, but there was misunderstanding. And they may not have responded when you asked about it, because they were just fed up with you not responding in a timely fashion to their offer to host the one night or move your booking to another future date. Even if you were conferring with your boyfriend and couldn't give an answer straightaway, it's important to let a host know things like that so they don't feel they are just left hanging, not knowing what the guest's intentions are.

Rather than continue to pursue a refund, would it be feasible to take them up on the offer to stay another time in the future? It certainly doesn't sound like they were trying to scam you or anything- you just didn't understand how this all worked and they probably didn't realize you didn't understand, so didn't take the time to explain. 

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Kumica0 Was the host unable to host by law OR were you unable to travel to the host by law?

If the former then google frustrated contracts and argue with Airbnb that as it was illegal to host you then you should be offered a full refund If the latter then you would need to rely on your travel insurance.