Omicron: and so it begins

[Gordon0]

Our PM has just announced all arrivals (into the UK) will now need a PCR test...but guests will also need to isolate until they have their results. I wonder how many of of my pre-Christmas (all-from-overseas) guests will pull the plug within the next 24 hours...  

The testing companies must be praising God (or the Omicron variant) for their good fortune.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/uk-59443504 

[Stephanie]

Hiya @Helen3 ,

Just heard back from CS, could you please contact them so they can open a ticket on these cases?

Thanks

[Helen3]

I will do thanks so much @Stephanie I will try to. Not sure if I can open a ticket on a cancelled booking though? Best Helen 

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Helen3 My guests were slightly different. They would have needed a day 2 PCR test but day 2, in their case, was Christmas Day which means realistically they would have been isolating until the end of their weeks stay given that the postal system pretty much shuts down over Christmas. So whilst the government allowed them to travel it seemed only fair to refund them fully.

[Gordon0]

I think I’d have done the same, @Mike-And-Jane0, but the test requirement is on or before day 2, so they could have had it done at airport on arrival. 

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Gordon0 Yes - thanks for this info. I had a lot of sympathy though having discovered it is near impossible to get travel insurance and the restrictions on getting back into, in this case, Switzerland are severe.

My personal belief is that Airbnb should now change the rules to allow guests to cancel if their trip becomes untenable. Without this and with travel insurance hard to find I believe guests will just not travel. Clearly Airbnb should not change the rules retrospectively.

I suspect a lot of hosts will be faced with decisions over the coming weeks as I see the USA is considering a 7 day quarantine for arriving travellers. 

[Stephanie]

Hiya @Helen3 , @Mike-And-Jane0 and other UK Hosts,

Thanks for sharing these concerns, I've gotten in touch with the team about this. I'll share back as soon as I can.

Thanks

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Stephanie To be clear mine wasn't a concern it was actually a thank you that the customer support folks did the right thing in my case.

[Dimitar27]

Even before the Omicron the situation here was sad enough.

Less then 30% vaccinated. Anti-vaxxers  everywhere, conspiracy theories are growing stronger and after the last elections (2 weeks ago), for the first time ever, one ultra-right populist party, who proclaimed against the vaccination and against all kind of restrictions, will be represented in the parliament with 13 members (of 240).
*Murphy's Fourth Law: "If there is a possibility of several things going wrong, the one that will cause the most damage will be the one to go wrong."

[Jessica2480]

@Stephanie Same here. Now getting cancellations on bookings that are non-refundable, yet, now guests who are cancelling are asking for a refund due to the circumstances.  Any advice on how to handle this?

[Gordon0]

You have to wonder who’s making up these rules in Airbnb’s HO. Choosing not to travel versus not being permitted to travel are very different scenarios.

[Gordon0]

Duplicate post.

[Helen3]

Hi @Jessica2480 

What is key is why a guest wants to cancel. If they are coming from abroad for a short weekend you can see why they would want to cancel as they need to isolate for two days. There are no change of circumstances that currently that would mean guests from abroad cannot travel here (except those travelling from Southern African countries). 

However these guests knew about Covid and had the option to choose not to travel during an uncertain travel period.

If Airbnb asks you to voluntarily refund you can just say no.

In my case Airbnb just refunded the guests without asking me. 

[Jessica2480]

Yea, they were coming for a short weekend, 4 days 3 nights, and now backing off due to the 2-day isolation rule, this is two days before they are slotted to arrive. They had opted for a non-refundable stay.

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Jessica2480 This is why I hate the non-refundable option. The guest just gets 10% off and then ask for a refund when things go awry.

[Helen3]

In which case I would enforce your cancellation policy @Jessica2480  they decided to take a calculated risk to get a cheaper price. They can't have it both ways.