Hi @Anonymous,
Thanks for your reply and I appreciate the input.
@Anonymous wrote:
@Kenneth12 Was the host granted a no-penalty cancellation under Extenuating Circumstances?
They may have been but I have no reason to suspect that is the case.
It sure sounds as though you're winding up for a Discrimination complaint because you're hungry for revenge and/or compensation. I don't agree with this reading of what happened. The host may have acted out of an imperfect understanding of the ever-changing travel restrictions - particularly the policy that went into effect on 1 July - but it's not evident that this reflects a pattern of bias against Americans.
We don't need to establish a "pattern" here, do we?
The host had a moderate cancellation policy. Most listings I see in Paris now (which are alas, more costly and more spartan and most importantly, further away from the memorial service I'm there to attend), have a fully flexible cancellation policy.
The host frankly just became increasingly weird and combatative ...
In general I don't think hosts should assume the role of border guards, but Airbnb backs hosts into a corner when it grants guests full refunds even at the last minute because of new travel restrictions. And as governments shift priority from fighting the virus to rebuilding the economy, the decisions about how to reduce risk in our households, businesses, and communities are being left to individuals. As humans we're not very good at analyzing risk, so some flawed decisions are inevitable.
I also agree with you that hosts, indeed, should not be taking on the role of border guards. I'd have no problem in the end with a host reporting violations of local restrictions to authorities, but interpreting and enforcing goes a little far-- especially when you're wrong about the terms.
In this case, I made a reservation under moderate cancellation terms. Host accepted reservation (no IB). That's what I expected to get; I could have chosen a flexible choice but the host's offer was attractive enough in location for me to take moderate cancellation when many fully flexible options were available.
Days later, yes with then-coming July 1st announcement in the background, host became combative and wrote "you're from Chicago, you know you won't be able to enter?" (We have listings in Chicago, we live in Mexico City ... and I assure you, I know the rules and discussions far more than this host).
It went on from there and IMO became inappropriate and was getting to the point where I would have been uncomfortable staying, regardless, based on the host's aggressive and inappropriate messaging. This is a trip I could request use of a diplomatic passport for, (thus producing a lot of last-minute rush work for a lot of people including myself); when I book, I expect a host to follow the set rules, not engage in some weird form of 20 questions and providing odd moralistic and other advise and interpretation/argumentation about travel regulations that consumes my time and distracts from obligations.
I also get another few hours of searching for another appropriate place, while staring down various deadlines and critical projects, when I spent more time looking for the best-located, best-match place three-plus weeks ago. (Of note: the apartment has a critical health amenity which is hard to locate, and I'm unlikely to find at this point, which causes a lot of disruption).
I have FlyerTalk and other forums for that and the discussion is usually more respectful and certainly tends to be more accurate. Unless the host is asked for advice on local restrictions (a host might discretely inquire if advice is needed...), it's not IMO their place: just provide the service contracted.
Months ago, we also had quite a few people here talking about refusing Chinese travellers in a variety of circumstances, including merely based on their name or photo regardless of travel history. Frankly that was disgusting and in violation of inclusion principles. While the people involved may or may not have had any previous bias against people from China, such situations provide an opportunity to create and construct bias via discriminatory actions.
I will not begin to summarize statements on Facebook Airbnb forums, but they were not pretty. If I were a guest from China and a US resident, having listings in Florida closed to me, or a reservation cancelled-- and I assure you, that happened and hosts on FB forums talked about doing it-- would be a notable pain and loss, and is certainly the worst of discrimination.
Whatever the host's motivation, bias is systematic not personal and refusing guests based on the guest's perceived home country or similar seems to me both discriminatory, and a violation of ABB's inclusion and non-discrimination policies, however one tries to justify it.
You don't have the messaging in front of you, but my Spidey Sense, as we put it around here, was that it was weird and inappropriate. As a result of hosts actions, I'm going to wind up paying half a grand more, and being a 15-minute walk away from the single event we're there to attend, rather than a three minute hop.
So yes, mistakes and misinterpretations happen, but with the background of protests in the US, oft-times discrimination of all types is brushed under the rug as "just misunderstanding." (If a host isn't willing to accept their own cancellation policy, they shouldn't be using it; if they want strict then they should be using strict.)
Thus I have questions about whether the host should be on the platform and think that some compensation from them or ABB is indeed appropriate in the situation.
