Hosts in England, how are you dealing with bookings during the ongoing pandemic?

[Robbie54]

As London and parts of Essex will be in tier 3 from Wednesday it looks as though those hosts who are still fortunate enough to be in tier2 (or very lucky to be in tier 1) can only accept bookings from around 40% of the country for the next 4 weeks. This also means a lot of rearranging for those hosts who already have bookings from tier 3 locations in the next month.

When we found out the country would be in lockdown for 4 weeks in November I found it very stressful asking guests to move their bookings to a later date to avoid them being charged by my strict cancellation policy. Some moved dates straight away, others dragged their heels, I found it very unhelpful. 

How are other hosts dealing with bookings that have to be moved or cancelled to due covid restrictions? As Airbnb are being very unhelpful to hosts in not allowing us to cancel because of covid reasons (but allowing guests to do so) I feel we can only do so much. In my case either ask a guest to move their dates  free of charge or for them to cancel at their end, but then they'd lose out considerably.

Hosts, what are your thoughts? 

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Robbie54 We are allowing guests to cancel if the change in law means it would either be illegal for us to host them or them to travel to us. We also work with the guests to persuade Airbnb to refund their service fees. Why do we do this? Firstly because it's how we would want to be treated, secondly because its the right thing to do and thirdly because, in England, it means we are complying with contract law with respect to frustrated contracts.

One day soon I hope to see Airbnb being taken to court to challenge the approach they are taking as the law changes - I am very confident they will lose but I guess their lawyers feel otherwise.

[Robbie54]

@Mike-And-Jane0   How do you get on in persuading Airbnb to refund a guests service fee? I remember trying to do this before, way befor the virus hit. Airbnb asked if I could refund a guests stay, I in return asked Airbnb if they'd refund the service fee and their reply was "it's not our policy". 

From my point of view I dont have much sympathy with a guest if they decide to book in the middle of a pandemic and expect a full refund. For example I had a guest from London book only last Thursday for a 2 night stay this weekend.  I found it odd considering it was a sure fire bet that London would be in tier 3 by the end of the week. Low and behold it happened and the guest messaged me to ask what to do. I said the only thing they can do is move the dates, which they did. It was frustrating because those 2 nights could have been booked by a guest with a little more sense. Now I'm hoping for a booking for those 2 dates.

It's good to know your opinion on the matter 🙂 

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Robbie54 To get the service fee refunded the guest messaged us that it was illegal for them to travel and hence could they please get a refund. I then rang customer services (getting through with no wait) and asked if they could do a no fault cancellation with full refund as they would be encouraging breaking of the law if they didn't. The rep said it fell under the EC policy (it doesn't as written) and gave the guest a full refund.

I do agree with your point on people being stupid but also feel we re all losing out by Airbnb's policy as it discourages people booking now just in case the law stops them coming. Who knows which areas will be in which tiers by Easter.

[Helen3]

@Robbie54  I live in a tier 3 area . I wouldn’t dream of enforcing a strict cancellation policy as I cannot host and therefore provide a service.

airbnb will refund guests in full if you indicate you will provide a full refund because you can’t host them because of Covid restrictions 

[Robbie54]

@Helen3 @ I wouldn’t dream of enforcing my cancellation policy if I was in tier 3 either, however I’m in tier 2 and if a guest wants to book it’s up to them, I shouldn’t have to pay for it. 
I called Airbnb 2 weeks ago and they refused to cancel as guests stay as they were in tier 3, they said it was up to the guest. I told them it was illegal for the guest to stay and Airbnb would be setting a precedent by not cancelling, however the cs representative said he couldn’t do anything. It’s well documented on here that it really depends on who you speak to at Airbnb to which outcome you’ll receive.

in my opinion offering to move the dates is a fair outcome. 
This is Airbnb's policy regarding covid-

Reservations made after 14 March 2020

Reservations for stays and Airbnb Experiences made after 14 March 2020 will not be covered under our extenuating circumstances policy, except where the guest or host is currently sick with COVID-19. COVID-19-related circumstances not covered include: transport disruptions and cancellations; travel advisories and restrictions; health advisories and quarantines; changes to applicable law; and other government mandates such as evacuation orders, border closures, prohibitions on short-term rentals, and lockdown requirements. The host’s cancellation policy will apply as usual.

Basically they're saying it's up to a guest to book after March 14th but dont be surprised if the pandemic stops a guest from travelling. 

[Helen3]

There was some additional guidance Airbnb sent out regarding Covid cancellations to hosts I think last week which covers current Covid guidance in the UK. Might be worth having a look through @Robbie54 

A guest who is in Tier 3 cannot travel to you because of changes in legislation so is likely to be able to generate a refund under EC.

In terms of customers services it very much depends who you talk to. We can't expect their customer services to be familiar with Covid legislation for each country. That's why it's important as hosts we keep up with our constantly changing laws around this.

[Neil40]

This is helpful. I had a guest book via Instant Book last night but we will be in Tier 3 by then. They literally booked at the time the announcement was made and so I hadn't blocked out the calendar. Their profile also states that they are travelling from Belgium.

I am very uncomfortable about this booking 1. because I cannot host at that time due to Tier 3 and 2. because they are potentially coming from Belgium for 5 days and that is not a travel corridor (granted they may already be in the UK, but should not be travelling in and out of a Tier 3). How am I best to cancel them?

[Helen3]

Tell the guest it’s against UK law for them to travel to uk for less than 10 days as they need to quarantine for that time under our legislation. Suggest they contact Airbnb as they can ask for a penalty free cancellation.  @Neil40 

going forward it’s worth putting in a few lines about our legislation up front in your listing.