New Rule of 6 in England

[Sandra544]

Hello

can anybody help as Airbnb support haven’t come back to me promised .

the new Rule if 6 due to be introduced in England from Monday September 14th renders the vast majority of our upcoming bookings invalid as our properties sleep 15.

how do I best go about cancelling them so as to ensure the guest gets a full refund and I do not get penalised in the process as it would now be illegal for those bookings to go ahead.

i cancelled one today but Airbnb refused to unblock the dates on my calendar post cancellation so I don’t even have a chance of taking a new booking that meets the 6 person rule. 
thanks for any help 

[Sandra544]

Hello Jerry
Yes we did  ...and once they ..finally..got in touch they were quite helpful.

they initiated all the cancellations of our bookings with full refunds issued to our guests and no host penalties to ourselves.
we now have empty calendars stretching through to 2020 on all our properties 😱

[Jerry250]

@Sandra544 @Catherine-Powell My response was very disappointing. Waited almost 5 hours to be firstly mistaken for the guest (!) and told the booking doesn't count for extenuating circumstances policy. And then:

"I do apologize as I thought you are the guest. For now, our system was not yet updated regarding this policy. We will surely keep all the users posted once we have release new updates."

Airbnb must help English hosts with booking +6 comply with the new law restricting gatherings of more than 6 which comes into effect Monday 14th September until further notice. Hosts and guests should not be penalised by this. The government's Competition and Markets Authority has said if service providers cannot lawfull provide a service the contract is 'frustrated' (voided) and the customer must be refunded in full without penalty. This should be offered even if a date change is on offer.

Catherine please help hosts hosting 6+ guests  in England comply with this new law.

[Sandra544]

I was eventually helped by a lady called Rhejane if that helps at all and she was very helpful in cancelling all our bookings without penalty to either side

[Jerry250]

@Sandra544 Thank you, also managed to get my guest cancelled without penalty to either me or guest this evening. Also received a very thoughtful note from support:

"Thank you for your prompt response. I really do appreciate your kindness, Jerry XXXX. Unfortunately sometimes our best laid plans can go awry and when a guest needs to cancel a reservation, we are always grateful to see our hosts embody the true spirit of hospitality by offering them a refund. I'll go ahead and processed full refund to your guest now."

Guest is really pleased as they didn't want to break the law by taking their trip as originally booked! I just have one more to deal with now, and really glad we didn't open our calendar for next year yet.

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Jerry250 @Sandra544 Keep an eye on your transactions page as some hosts have reported that the guest refund has been taken from their next payout rather than just being cancelled out as they should have been.

[Sandra544]

Thanks for the heads up and I will do, but I have a written assurance from Airbnb that that will not happen. And good luck to them should they try as our next booking, thanks to the Rule of 6, is in 2021 !!!

[Larry387]

Hello, how did you contact ABNB? I've tried calling but the phone line won't take any calls, it just sends a text message (to an outdated help page) and then drops. My case handler on message has been looking into it for 48hrs and still nothing. Last message I got was requesting evidence of the Rule of Six. Seriously!? ABNB's head in the sand reaction to this has been pathetic.

[Jerry250]

@Mike-And-Jane0 Thanks for tip off, but actually all looks good in my account and have received written confirmation guest received fee back to their original form of payment.

@Larry387 I selected the booking, need help, then typed my query - got a bot response, selected that didn't answer my query and sent a message. Just under 5 hours for first response and all resolved by 24 hours after that. I was really clear in my message that the guest couldn't legally stay with the group they originally booked for and that I was happy to cancel and refund them in full. I phoned the guest before doing this and outlined their options as I saw them 1. Move the dates 2. Only part of the group came (3 groups all from same extended family) 3. A partial refund of 10% if only part of the group came (they were sharing the cost) 4. I would help them get a full refund, including the booking fee, as they couldn't legally stay and therefore the contract was 'frustrated' / void as originally booked. I gave them overnight to discuss and decide. They decided going away together was what was most important to them and they would rather do that next year. As they had already paid Airbnb in full they were reluctant to leave their money to an unspecified future date and I immediately said I would help them get a full refund. I'm pretty confident they will book again next year, and we feel good about the decision even though it has cost us £2500 in the short term.

[Larry387]

Thank you Jerry. I went through all the same process, offering the alternatives but as I sleep 15 cutting down to 6 understandably doesn't work for any of my guests so they all want a refund.

My issue is trying to get the refund processed via ABNB. Customer support seems to be non existent at the moment and understandably both the guest and I want to get this settled asap. I have a booking arriving on Friday, at the moment I can't cancel it without penalties even though both parties are in agreement that it can't proceed. The later the cancellation is left the less likely it will be that I can re-let. I'm frustrated that ABNB have not been proactive at all, to my knowledge, in putting the pieces in place to deal with this situation. I guess all I can do is sit and wait until something happens on their end. This was their latest last night, complete with typo's:

I totally understand your point and I know how urgent this cae is for you. Do not worry, I will give you a solution once we validate the situation.

I may need to ask you some sort of documentation to support your claim.

If yu can send to me a link from your government stating the presence of this new Law. that would be very helpful for me to give you a solution. May you attach the link or documentation below please?

You must have had someone dealing with your case who knew what they were doing as I'm getting nowhere. As I've said I've tried calling too but it's impossible to speak to anyone, just bots and links to outdated help pages.

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Jerry250 Brilliant to hear the system just about works - Whilst we only host 6 people if lockdown returns in a more severe form at least we will be able to do the right (and legal) thing. I prefer calling for help in person but I guess I'll have to get used to bots and dealing on line in future.

[Hannah722]

My property only hosts 8 and whilst this does exceed the rule of six there exemptions such as if the party is a bubble... trouble is how I can be sure they are a bubble and not flouting the rules. 

Would I be liable and therefore open to a fine or is the onus on the guests to make sure they are following the rules? 

Thanks!

[Jerry250]

@Mike-And-Jane0 @Larry387 I received a mass email from Airbnb yesterday informing me of the Rule of 6 in England and outlining hosts can now cancel reservations without affecting superhost status. Here is the text of the email (mine ended up in spam, so check your spam)

Airbnb has continued to prioritise public health by working alongside governments across the UK.

In light of recent announcements made by governments in the UK we wanted to provide you with the latest information.

•	There are new rules on gatherings. From today, gatherings of more than six people are prohibited in England, bar key exemptions. This may impact how many guests you can accommodate going forward. If you cancel bookings, this will not affect your superhost status.

•	Parts of the country are currently in local lockdown, which may impact how you or your guests travel in and out of the area. Please check the latest official information and advice from your respective government, as this may affect how you host.

•	We’ve recently updated our UK Responsible Hosting Page with the latest information on VAT reliefs, lockdowns and quarantine measures.

For updates from Airbnb in response to the pandemic and how you can help, visit our Resource Centre.

[Margaret958]

Hi All

I also have reservations for 6+ in Wales during October.

I don’t seem to be able to get hold of Airbnb support at all.  It just says unless the booking starts within 72 hours you should try later!

Any suggestions?  

I see quite a few of you have managed to get help from Airbnb.

Many thanks

[Ian-And-Anne-Marie0]

@Sandra544 @Jerry250 

Copy and Paste from the Independent: (by Simon Calder)

We have rented a space for a big family get-together of 10 people which cannot now go ahead because of the “rule of six”. The property owner is offering us only half our money back, or a postponement. But the family event is not postponable, and we simply want our money back.

You could try citing the CMA ruling. Were I the owner, though, I might contend that the contract is not frustrated at all.

The fact that you are now limited to six people is regrettable, but you have simply rented a space.

This is legally questionable – but the fact that I have your cash strengthens my hand. (but not with Airbnb btw )  Again, resume negotiations with the owner.

Perhaps six of you could still hold a worthwhile gathering – in which case refunding one-third of the cost looks an equitable solution.

[Jerry250]

@Ian-And-Anne-Marie0 @Sandra544 Thanks for the link. I'm not a big fan of Simon Calder, he does tend to support the industry though, and has been urging people to travel throughout the pandemic (which I don't agree with). 

We had a booking for 9 via Airbnb due now. We have 'strict' cancellation. But in a pre-book enquiry I agreed with the guest if there was a lockdown or household restriction I would help (by rescheduling or refunding, hopefully with the fee). With the Rule of 6 they didn't want to go ahead (it was a family re-union). I respected this. I think if a guest books for 9 that's what the contract is for (not the 'space'). 

In October we have a further booking for 8, I offered them the option to cancel but 2 of the guests have decided to drop out so the booking can legally go ahead.

We did get a very short notice replacement booking for the cancelled 9 at £500 less. The replacement guest couldn't holiday in Northumberland as planned due to a local lockdown, so came to Norfolk.

We have helped all our guests this year - even guests who could have stayed but chose not to. We replaced all the bookings that were legally possible. Obviously we lost all the revenue in lockdown.  We hope they'll remember our approach, tell their friends and come in the future.

As another data point we got married 12 days ago (We've been together 20 years). The band we booked for our original wedding plans refused all requests to refund our £120 deposit. They said they could have played at our wedding of 9 guests (originally 75 guests, up to 30 legally now allowed) but it was our choice to cancel the band. I pointed out that under govt guidelines (even at a Covid-19 compliant wedding venue) dancing and singing is not allowed and ampilifed music that might make guests raise voices is also prohibited. I pointed out they were in breach of the CMA guidelines and the reply was - go on sue me in the small claims court. Nice.

That's why I wouldn't side with Simon Calder on this. It doesn't feel right and generally the travel industry isn't taking that approach.