Host loses again!

[Robin4]

Here in Australia there has been a recent cluster of COVID-19 cases uncovered in a part of Sydney in NSW which resulted in the rest of Australia closing their borders with the Greater Sydney area until further notice.

Ironically I had a number of short duration bookings from Sydney guests over this festive season including 3 around the NYE period. Two of them have cancelled because travel to my state is now not possible without a 14 day quarantine period. One of them however, a booking for the night of NYE, the 31st, will not cancel, she is saying travel looks unlikely but, miracles do happen and will not cancel with Airbnb.

I have had an enquiry for a 3 night reservation over the New Year period from a guest not affected by the Sydney regulations but I am unable to proceed with that booking because of this confirmed one nighter that cannot proceed, yet the guest will not cancel.

I cannot get Airbnb's position on this and where I might stand if I cancel because, when I phone for support no matter what option I select I am directed to Airbnb's standard help pages which do not provide any assistance for this and I am not able to actually speak to anyone. And even more annoying it says..."If you are a host all the information is on your dashboard". No it's not, the only information on my dashboard tells me how to offer my listing cheaper.

It looks like Airbnb's position is, until the guest is personally informed officially by some government dept that her travel is not legally possible, her booking has to remain. I can cancel but could be subject to cancellation penalties. 

It looks very much like my possible 4 night window which has reopened to accept a reservation is compromised because of a booking in the middle of it which cannot proceed, and customer support are once again offering me none! 

Cheers........Rob

[Pat271]

I would think that a reservation that results in a blatant violation of a government order (they can’t quarantine for 14 days if their visit with you is less than 14 days) would be against Airbnb policy, and would be cancellable. Perhaps if you framed this as an “Extenuating Circumstance”, and pointed Airbnb directly to the policy that forbids travel from the guest’s region, Airbnb will cancel this on behalf of you, the host, without penalty. I would try a few different Airbnb agents in the hopes that one of them might concur.  I know that providing Airbnb with a direct reference to a government regulation has helped with Extenuating Circumstances cancellations in the past.

[Colleen253]

But @Robin4 can't even get ahold of anyone at Airbnb @Pat271 . It's really a shame we aren't yet seeing any of the promised improvements in support for hosts made by @Catherine-Powell.

Your suggestion would certainly be worth a try though, because even though the current EC policy only allows for cancellations if a guest or host is sick with Covid, and travel bans etc aren't covered, most CS reps don't know Airbnb policy.  

[Helen350]

@Colleen253 @Robin4 I've had to contact CS twice in the last few days; once to get a penalty free cancelation for guests travelling against regulations, and once to attempt to get (a different guest's) dates changed after check in time, which wasn't possible but CS rang to explain.

On both occasions, I messaged, then received a phone call back, in one instance straight away, and in the other after about 8 mins. Both reps were very helpful, pleasant  and polite.

When requesting the penalty free cancelation my initial message to CS was:

"This guest has booked 27-29 Dec.

He comes from Kent, a Tier 3 area. (Now Tier 4!)

It is illegal for people in Tier 3 to travel anywhere at present.

Can you do a penalty free cancellation and open my calendar for legal bookings?"

- So I got an immediate phone call saying no problem, followed by a message

"I already cancel the reservation  and lift the penalties because we are aligned on your government Tier 3 restriction in your country, etc, etc."

I WAS IMPRESSED!

[Colleen253]

@Helen350 Must have been a Christmas miracle.

[Anthony223]

This is good to hear, Helen, because the CS became almost non-existent over the past year

[Pat271]

@Colleen253  Current EC policy also protects hosts in areas with travel bans:

https://www.airbnb.com/resources/hosting-homes/a/what-to-do-if-you-cant-host-due-to-covid-19-restric...

Especially this section:

Hosts in areas with government-mandated COVID-19 travel and hosting restrictions can cancel upcoming reservations without penalty or losing Superhost status. If the reservation is at least 48 hours from check-in, you can do this directly on the reservation details page—without having to call customer service.

Let it be noted, however, that I personally would not cancel myself — I would call Airbnb, point them to this section (keep in mind that many Airbnb agents currently are inadequately trained to know where to find this information; you can help them!), and state that for this reason, the reservation should be cancelled.

@Robin4 The last 3 times I have called the Airbnb Superhost line, I have gotten in quickly, and have actually spoken to customer reps who had a clue! Perhaps success here is a regional issue?

[Colleen253]

@Pat271 You mean you've gotten through on the superhost line in recent history? 

[Pat271]

@Colleen253 Yes, 3 times, like I said, and I didn’t have to wait long at all to talk to someone.  Not only that, but that someone was competent all 3 times!

That is why I’m wondering if perhaps the CS staff differs depending on regional or time zone differences.

[Colleen253]

 @Pat271 "that someone was competent all 3 times!" Goodness, imagine that! maybe change is finally beginning to happen. 

You may be right about the regional differences. The superhost line definitely does not exist for all superhosts.

[Anthony223]

@Pat271  Great to hear this, Pat

[Robin4]

@Pat271 

Tried that Pat, the same result, my call just got directed to a help page link.

The situation here is as of midnight last night (11 hours ago) all travelers from the Greater Sydney area including the Central Coast and Wollongong NSW to South Aust are required to go into mandatory 14 day quarantine and be COVID tested on day 1, day 5 and day 12 of the quarantine. 

This woman keeps saying NSW government will make their decision tomorrow (Wednesday) as to whether their citizens can travel, but that has nothing to do with SA government regs. She cannot come here without quarantine but, she still will not cancel.......and I can't get any help from Airbnb!

Cheers........Rob

[Inna22]

I like that thought @Pat271   You are now less than 14 days from the 31st @Robin4  sje can not be in compliance at this point. You can even say her stay would be health risk for you. Have you tried to plea with the guests? I am sure there are plenty of other accommodations available. 

[Colleen253]

@Robin4 Can you tell her you will authorize a full refund only if she cancels immediately, otherwise she will be held to the cancellation policy she booked under? 

[Robin4]

@Colleen253 

Doesn't matter what I tell her Colleen, I have a flexible cancellation policy which means she can leave it to the 28th to cancel and still get a full refund.

I have had interest in a booking from the 30th to the 2nd Jan, a 3 nighter from a guest who is not subject to the current state government restrictions. I have explained to them the situation I am currently in where a single night booking which cannot take place is essentially stopping me from accepting their reservation but, we are keeping the lines of communication open. I have told them I will have this resolved in the next 24 hours and they are prepared to wait off for that amount of time but, they will put out accommodation feelers elsewhere as well. I don't like to bugger people around, but gee there isn't a lot of backing here.

This is generally a busy time of year and I am annoyed once again that Airbnb are not stepping up to the plate here with support. 

I try to be faithful to Airbnb but, by God, it's like banging your head against a brick wall, there is not a lot of soft spots!.

Cheers........Rob