Full refund for guest who lied about a cancellation being "mutually agreed upon"

[Colette203]

I'm hosting in British Columbia which is currently experiencing a lot of wildfires. My listing, however, is not under threat. The highways are open. The are no evacuation alerts or orders. It's just smoky.

Today, a guest asked about getting a refund if they cancelled a reservation for tomorrow due to the smoke, and I told them, nicely, that we adhere to our stated policy - which is flexible and entitles me to a partial payout. So, my guests called Airbnb and told them the refund was "mutually agreed upon", when I was very clear it was not. The couple that cancelled are currently on "holidays" about 200km south of my listing in a town where the smoke and fire risk are just as bad if not worse. There are no extenuating circumstances. If people want to go on holidays in the middle of a firestorm, they should assume the financial risks, not me.

I've called Airbnb four times now explaining that the guest misled them, and just now got a message that they've closed my file and the refund stands.

I'm ready to shut down for the summer, or forever, at the moment if people can get a last minute full refund swith no proof or reasonable explanation for extenuating circumstances.

I'm looking at setting up on Booking.com or Tripadvisor, if only for the summer as their cancellation policies seem less guestcentric. Do any hosts here use either of them in addition to Airbnb? Which would you recommend?

[Colleen253]

@Colette203 I noticed in the news this morning that the BC Gov't had declared a state of emergency. I wonder if the guest was able to use that to persuade the CS rep into a refund. Gov't declared emergencies and natural disasters are covered. I could see where things might get blurred in your situation. That rep should have contacted you first, rather than go ahead and over ride your cancellation policy.