Host refusing to cancel and refund Me

[Allison530]

Hi, I booked a place to stay in Barbados for 6 nights and in less that 12 hours the host called saying that she’s not Covid-19 quarantine approved and I won’t be able to stay there. Now she is refusing to refund my money. I have to pay for the new place to stay and I’m out all that money and don’t know what to do. I find this very illegal to do and straight up BS. I keep reaching out to Airbnb and they are not doing anything about it. Please help! 

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Allison530 if the reservation is more than 14 days away you should have a 48hr free cancellation window. If closer than that then it is down to what the host's listing says. Did it say no quarantine stays allowed?

[Allison530]

It all happened in less that 12 hours and no the listing did not say “no quarantine stays allowed” which was my point to the host

and Airbnb. 

[Linda108]

@Allison530   What you have described in your post about the host reason you are not able to stay in this Barbados listing does not make sense given Air BNB policy about cancellation.  Did you meet the country covid travel requirements?  This is what I found on their website:

ALL travellers into Barbados, inclusive of those deemed fully vaccinated, are asked to review, and indicate their acceptance of the following:

ALL travellers must travel with a valid negative Standard COVID-19 PCR test result.

With specific reference to the type of PCR test required and accepted for entry into Barbados:

Specific Requirements:

1. The specimen taken must be a nasopharyngeal or oropharyngeal swab (or both) taken by a healthcare provider
2. The sample must be taken within 3 days prior to arrival.
3. The laboratory performing the test must be an accredited, certified or recognized facility

Please note that the following will NOT be accepted:

1. Nasal swab samples
2. Saliva samples
3. Self-administered tests (even if the sample was taken under the supervision of a healthcare provider)
4. Home kits
5. Rapid PCR tests

 I have read the requirements for travelling to Barbados

If you met these requirements then you wouldn't need to quarantine, right?  Perhaps there is more to this situation than you have provided.  Please clarify why quarantine was deemed necessary and if it wasn't then you would have good reason to call Air BNB and demand a full host cancellation refund.

[Allison530]

That is true if you’re vaccinated but if you’re not vaccinated or fully vaccinated you have to quarantine for 7 days plus have a negative test result before travel and twice during quarantine there. In which, we had no problem doing. 

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Allison530 All becoming clear now. The Barbadian rules for unvaccinated are

Unvaccinated arrivals will be quarantined at approved facilities (a designated holding hotel, approved villa or a government facility at your own expense) and undergo a second PCR test 5 days after arrival. You will need to remain in your hotel room and may be required to wear an electronic tracking bracelet until you receive the results of your second test. The government aims to return results within 48 hours, although return times can sometimes be longer than this. If the result of that second test is negative, you will not be subject to further quarantine.

Did you not read this before booking an Airbnb which is unlikely to meet the criteria above?

[Allison530]

I guess I didn’t I was rushing to book it so I can get there in time for my mom’s funeral. I booked it around 1am, went straight to bed and got the call from the owner the next morning. It’s unbelievably sad that you can lose $1000.00 overnight just like that. I would never do that to a person. 

[Huma0]

@Allison530 

Is the listing you booked a shared one? I state on my listing that guests are not able to quarantine here, but it should be blatantly obvious given the shared kitchen and bathrooms etc. Still, guests book my listing expecting to quarantine here and then get annoyed when I tell them they can't.

I will refund them if the cancellation is done quickly, but they won't get a full refund if I find out weeks or months later that they will need to quarantine. 

@Mike-And-Jane0 's point above is that you have a 48 hour grace period in which to cancel and get a full refund. However, this doesn't apply if your booking is less than 14 days away, which I'm guessing is what happened here. Personally, I would have refunded you, but the host probably isn't required to.

I am not sure if the host is required to state on the listing that it's not approved for quarantine, but I really think that it was your responsibility to check that before you booked. I don't know why people just assume that they can quarantine wherever they like.

[Allison530]

The booking was for the entire house and yes if I had booked months or weeks in advance I would have been more than happy to pay for whatever inconvenience. But all of this happened overnight, I booked at 1am in the morning, went to bed and got the call the next day of the owner saying she is not quarantine approved. Which is fine I had no problem finding another place but to be out $1000.00 that’s ludicrous and BS. 

[Sarah977]

@Allison530  I'm not sure how you interpreted the Barbados entry requirements of "quarantined at approved facilities (a designated holding hotel, approved villa or a government facility at your own expense) "  as meaning you could book an Airbnb for this purpose.

It clearly says an approved facility. Assuming that an Airbnb is an approved facility seems quite odd.

[Allison530]

Again this all happened in 12 hours. So you would be ok with paying $1000.00 USD to stay at a place and have the owner keep it because of a mistake??? 

[Sarah977]

@Allison530  It just isn't something I would consider to be a "mistake". When one is travelling internationally, especially during a pandemic when everyone knows by now that regulations and restrictions are always changing, isn't it the traveler's responsibility to inform themselves of the rules? How is the host responsible for a traveler not doing that?

As for me personally, yes, I would have refunded a booking cancelled only 12 hours after having been made.

But if I were a guest, while I would certainly be upset at losing money, I wouldn't find it appropriate to be angry at the host for upholding the cancellation policy I booked under, due to my own failure to pay attention to the country's entry requirements. I would blame myself, not someone else.

Hosts are not guests' de facto  travel insurers for their travel disruptions. That's what purchasing travel insurance is for.

[Julia0]

Why is this thread still here so prominently? Time to get rid please!

[Sarah977]

@Julia0  What do you mean? No one "gets rid" of threads here, unless the moderators deem them spam or otherwise against forum policy- they are always searchable and if someone clicks on it and comments, it goes up to the top of the list. But it can end up on page 4 within a day or two and more threads overtake it.

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Julia0 it is only prominent because you posted on it. It is now even more prominent because @Sarah977 and I have replied to you.