Refund Refusal: Coronavirus Cancellation

[David-W-1]

Hello! I'm an international school teacher currently stuck in Ghana due to the travel ban. I lost my job because of the pandemic and the school year is over. I originally thought I was going to have to vacate my school apartment until I could get out of the country and so I made an Airbnb reservation. However, the school changed its mind and is now going to let me stay in my school apartment to keep me safe from, among other things, the coronavirus. I made a "coronavirus cancellation" with the Airbnb host but he outright refuses to refund my money! I am hoping to get my money back, of course, but I can't help but wonder: Is this the kind of person Airbnb wants as a host? 

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@David-W-1 Of course the other point of view is does Airbnb want the sort of person who ignores hosts cancellation policies to be a guest?

At the end of the day you willingly entered into a contract when you made your booking so what is unfair about the host refusing to refund?

[David-W-1]

I've muted you two. 😉

[Lisa723]

@David-W-1 What do you mean by “coronavirus cancellation”? Did you specifically select the coronavirus option on your reason for cancellation? If so Airbnb is generally refunding those without regard to host cancellation policies, but Airbnb’s own policy on this has been inconsistent and frequently changing. If you can reach Airbnb by phone or chat you may be able to get a refund— to your host’s detriment of course.

[David-W-1]

Yes, I selected "coronavirus cancellation." I'll be contacting Airbnb by phone. Thanks! 

[Mark116]

@David-W-1  I'd be shocked if you were under a travel ban that airbnb would not give you a refund, no matter what the host policy is, that said, you should remember that hosts are losing thousands and thousands of dollars due to the pandemic and are in almost all cases taking a huge hit on their income as a result, you have no idea what kind of chaos the pandemic may have caused in the host's finances, so you might consider to be a bit more charitable.  

[David-W-1]

I'll be contacting Airbnb by phone. 

I'm still a bit shocked by the host's response to my request for a refund.

Again, my school realized that they're legally responsible for me so they want me to stay in their apartment. Coronavirus cases are rising rapidly here...if I left their care and I got sick they'd be liable. I apologized when I cancelled...even though it's not my fault! 😉

His response was "No." Period. I told him I'd complain to Airbnb and maybe talk with some legal reps. His response to that was "Since you complained, I won't consider a partial refund or anything else either." What??

I do understand that his Airbnb is idle...but since no one can fly in or out of Ghana, whose Airbnb or hotel  here isn't? He still has a job, he's not starving. 

Just shocked and disappointed at the lack of compassion/understanding during a pandemic. But then look at Mike and Jane's response above. Pretty cold-blooded stuff. 

[Lisa723]

@David-W-1 looks like there's a dearth of compassion/understanding all around. Your reason for cancelling isn't your host's fault either, but most likely he'll be the one who pays the price. Best of luck.

[Helen350]

@David-W-1 If I could reply from a not-taking-sides point of view, there have been umpteen discussions about this issue on these boards in the last 3 months. (See 'search' top right.)

Some hosts, myself included, have expressed the view that we would refund, & do not wish to be paid for services not rendered. 

Other hosts have argued that the guest has entered into a contract, & so should allow the terms  of the cancellation policy to stand. How much money back,  if any, depends on how long before the stay you cancelled, & whether your host chose a 'strict', 'moderate' or 'flexible' policy. https://www.airbnb.co.uk/home/cancellation_policies  

[Nanxing0]

@David-W-1 May I suggest that you provide some more information? Like what days did you book for the Airbnb stay? How many nights did you book? When did you contact the host for the cancellation? What was the host's cancellation policy? etc.

As @Mark116 mentioned, hosts like me have been having huge number of cancellations in the past 3-4 months and we have suffered tremendous loss as well. I'm providing full refund as much as possible as long as it's reasonable, but certainly not to all cancellations. For example I'm giving full refund to guests cancelling at a reasonable ahead time (2 weeks or more), but I certainly won't make any policy exception if the guest is cancelling last minute, or if the guest chose the non-refundable option by himself/herself.

[Sarah977]

@David-W-1  How is the school letting you stay on in the apartment a legitimate cancellation for COVID?  It's really not different than if a guest booked an Airbnb and then had a friend offer them a place to stay instead. Changes of personal circumstances or plans in your life aren't a valid reason for a refund of  reservation. It would be different if you had booked something in another country, and then couldn't travel because of COVID. But you booked a place in the same country, so how is it so much safer for you to stay in the apartment than the Airbnb?

[David-W-1]

Have I stumbled into some kind of Trump-base forum? You don't believe in wearing masks, you don't like Airbnb guests getting refunds??

The attitudes some of you have are appallingly callous and frankly, you're giving me the creeps. Lost my job, stuck in a foreign country. Tough, right?

Of course, I did make the mistake of getting into a "he said, she said" kind of discussion with a few of you.

I am entitled to a "coronavirus cancellation" and I believe Airbnb HQ will agree.

This is my first negative experience with Airbnb, but it has been a profoundly bad one so far. Hoping I can get back to the pandemic bringing out the best in people, not the worst. 

[Lisa723]

@David-W-1 

“Have I stumbled into some kind of Trump-base forum? You don't believe in wearing masks, you don't like Airbnb guests getting refunds??”

I hope your area of instruction is not logic.

[Lisa723]

“Have I stumbled into some kind of Trump-base forum? You don't believe in wearing masks, you don't like Airbnb guests getting refunds??”

[Nanxing0]

@David-W-1 I don't see it has anything to do with Trump and why you have to mention him. I guess you need to learn to understand that by making a reservation you are entering a contract. When you need to breach the contract and cancel your reservation you need to refer to the terms. Airbnb and hosts are usually exceptionally nice on cancellations and refunds, usually well beyond the contract terms, but obviously not all guests are entitled full refund when they cancel the reservation. 

[Sarah977]

@David-W-1  Yes, times are tough for a lot of people these days. What you don't seem to have even thought about it is that hosts have also lost their jobs in many cases. 

Yes, I totally believe in refunds for guests if they are fair and warranted. I had one guest left on the books when coronavirus hit- she was coming from California and I messaged her to say I didn't feel okay about hosting anyone in my home-share listing due to the virus. She agreed that travelling wasn't a good idea, and cancelled and got a full refund, which I would have given her even if Airbnb hadn't. But her booking fell quite clearly and squarely under the COVID cancellation policies.

I've also refunded guests of my own volition for one reason or another before the pandemic. 

And I most definitely wear a mask and social distance and am not presently hosting.