Kauai wedding plans ruined, host will only refund half of $4200 stay

[Tom2776]

Hey Everyone!

Fellow host here and just wanted to see if anybody on here has any advice as to my situation with a host in Kauai.  I booked a stay for 14 of us to partake in my wedding ceremony on the north shore of Kauai.  Booked this back in February (no idea a pandemic was coming).  My host is not working with me regarding cancellation and full refund of my stay and instead is offering a future travel credit.  Well, now that our wedding is ruined and we are eloping here on the mainland instead, I will have no use for a $4,200 5 bedroom house in the future.  I kindly asked for him to understand and make an exception, but he instead gave me an ultimatum saying that I needed to cancel within 24hrs and he would give me back HALF of my money.  I suppose he was trying to pressure ME into cancelling so that he could get a rebook.  I get 50% back regardless of his hapless empty offer, so I don't know what he was thinking there.  Now, he hasn't responded to my last message where I mentioned that he would likely get a rebook if we agreed sooner rather than later for the full refund.  This was a month ago.  According to the state of Kauai, I can't even travel to Kauai without staying in a HOTEL first for 14 days to quarantine.  AND we can't have our 14 guests anyway because of a 10 person restriction.  So, technically speaking, I CAN still go to Kauai, I just need to apparently book a hotel for 2 weeks prior to this Airbnb stay, and I need to tell 4 of my guests that they can't go.  So therefore it doesn't sound like Covid extenuating circumstances policy will cover me since TECHNICALLY I can go if I do all of those things.  What do you guys think?  I should eat the $2,200 and accept only half refund?  I am a super host myself and have refunded EVERY SINGLE cancellation request 100% even though I have a strict policy.  Just seems like the right thing to do.  Now, it's not being played back to me unfortunately.  I'm upset that this guy isn't being so understanding- I first asked a month ago and there would have been plenty of time for him to rebook (check in is mid October)

Thanks much!

[Emiel1]

@Tom2776 

I assume the cancellation policy attached will refund 50% anyway, so there is no "offer' from the host ?

Maybe contact Airbnb for advise. It could be "extenuating circumstances for Covid-19" does apply, as reservation  is booked before 14 March and i guess check in is before 15 october ?

https://www.airbnb.co.uk/help/article/2701/extenuating-circumstances-policy-and-the-coronavirus-covi...

Quoted:

"In order to cancel under the policy, you will be required to attest to the facts of and/or provide supporting documentation for your extenuating circumstance."

"If you’re a guest, you can find cancellation and refund options by going to the Trips page and choosing your trip –find out how. "

Best regards,

Emiel

[Tom2776]

Yes, I would get the 50% anyway, so the host is mistaken when he tried to pressure me into "cancelling for 50% refund, offer stands today only" as he put it.  I understand its a business but he doesn't need to be like that with all things considered.  Yes, I see that I fall within the extenuating circumstances policy but that is pending approval after I show that travel to the region is "prohibited", which technically it's not.  I and my 13 guests just have to book an actual HOTEL for 2 weeks prior to checking in to the airbnb. And we can't rent a car.  And, it can only be 10 of us since that is the large gathering rule.  So, technically, I can still travel to the area and stare at the ceiling in a hotel for 2 weeks first at my own expense.  We will see how it goes.

Thanks for responding

[Mark116]

@Tom2776  I'm not sure why this wouldn't fall under Airbnb's COVID extenuating circumstances policy, in which case you would get a full refund regardless of the host's cancellation policy.  Have you contacted Airbnb?

[Tom2776]

Thanks for responding Mark.  Been trying to work with AirBnB for over a month now.  First, I wasn't covered because of the timeframe but now as of the beginning of the month it seems that they extended the dates of coverage.  I don't know if I'll qualify still though, see my lengthy explanation to Emiel above.  Fingers crossed

[Ann72]

@Tom2776   Like you, I was able to reimburse everyone who booked this year because I re-booked the dates.  It was so easy to do.  I told every guest that I would try to do it and it turned out I was able to.

The problem is that the work we do is more about contracts than it is about what is or isn't the right thing to do.  And I appreciate that.  If I couldn't refund, or didn't want to refund, I wouldn't want anyone telling me I had to because it was somehow more morally correct than the terms of the contract we all agreed to upon booking.

I'm not saying you're wrong to be upset.  I'm just saying that, as hosts, we want those contracts in place and we want them to be honored.  We want to be in control of as many conditions as possible.

I hope you can get something to happen through extenuating circumstances as @Emiel1 suggests because you booked well before March 15th.  

The other possibility, if you can't get satisfaction, is to move the reservation to next year and have a great anniversary celebration with your bride and your friends.

[Tom2776]

Thanks for responding.  Yes, I get that and I probably wouldn't refund a guest if it were less than a week or so away but I first asked over 2 months prior to check in.  Not to mention, I cannot even LEGALLY stay at his short term rental.  I would be breaking the Covid laws.  You're right that my argument can't be on moral grounds since that's purely subjective but It should most certainly be on legal/ethical grounds.  Interestingly, I have found that this particular host is operating illegally after speaking with the Kauai planning department.  Apparently he has complaints filed against him for other reasons pertaining to operating short term rentals and is prohibited from doing so.  Planning department head is trying to set something up with KPD and wants me to participate in some fashion, interestingly enough.  Waiting for KPD to call me today

[Ann72]

@Tom2776  But that's incredible!  Honestly would love to hear that you helped the KPD bring down a bad operator.  They make things worse for all of us.

Yes, great points about the legality of it all!  My Airbnb in Maine was closed to out-of-state visitors in June, but some near neighbors had plenty of out-of-staters in and out all month.  Illegal, unethical, and dangerous to the community.

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Tom2776 Unless I have missed something Airbnb keep extending the. date that allows for a full refund every 2 weeks or so. As a result with you booking before March 14th and your stay in October will soon qualify for a full refund. Read the current policy on Airbnb.com and see.

You should be able to get a full refund in cash although the system will try to persuade you to take credit.

The host is rightly annoyed as this Airbnb policy means he will only free up his calendar for other bookings a few weeks prior to the stay - His annoyance though should be with Airbnb and not you.

Hope this helps

[Tom2776]

Hi Mike and Jane, 

Thanks for chiming in.  I am hopeful that this will be the case.  I can TECHNICALLY still travel to kauai and stare at the ceiling in a hotel for 2 weeks quarantining prior to checking into my AirBnB.  I only hope they don't try to push that.  I may submit a charge back if AirBnB is unreasonable, we will see.