Shame on Airbnb and Host

[Jeffery57]

Made a reservation to a property through Airbnb with host Island Park Reservation LLC. This was a planned stay to visit Yellowstone National Park. Been to the park many times and rented properties with outstanding hosts. Well as reported on the news Yellowstone National Park had a 1000-year flood that the washed-out road, and landslides, and the NPS closed the park. We watch the news and NPS webpage on a status where first "closed indefinitely" then "still closed with hazardous conditions" and other reasons not to go to the park this year. So we decided to cancel our reservation 7 weeks prior to the date reserved. This is where the host and Airbnb failed us as users of this service. The host first in an email and then on the phone that "you will not get a refund" . No service no refund really.

I contacted Airbnb and because of the 1000-storm in it would be qualified for the Extenuating Circumstances Policy.

Overview

This Extenuating Circumstances Policy explains how cancellations are handled when unforeseen events beyond your control arise after booking and make it impracticable or illegal to complete your reservation. This Policy applies to reservations for both accommodation and Experiences.

When this Policy allows for cancellation, it controls and takes precedence over the reservation’s cancellation policy. Guests that are impacted by an event covered by this Policy can cancel their reservation and receive, depending on the circumstances, a cash refund, travel credit and/or other consideration. Hosts that are impacted by an event covered by this Policy can cancel without adverse consequences, but, depending on the circumstances, their calendars may be blocked for the dates of the cancelled reservation.

Here is Airbnb's definitions for extenuating circumstances.

Natural disasters. Natural disasters, acts of God, large-scale outages of essential utilities, volcanic eruptions, tsunamis and other severe and abnormal weather events.

We consider the 1000-flood an abnormal weather event. 

Yes so beware of Island Park Reservation LLC if you are booking a property.

My solution is three-fold I will contest my credit card, file a complaint with Idaho State Attorney General and use my sources of social media to express my opinion of this property.

Here is Airbnb's reply to me "it unfortunate", "we are sorry" and we have no control over the host to refund your money. 

I have family members that are Super Host with their properties and say giving 7-week notice and under the situation of safety, they would understand and have refund guest money many times because it's the right thing to do. He was even shocked that Airbnb would not solve the situation based on their policy. 

So if anyone makes a reservation with Island Park Reservation LLC choose a host that is "Superhost".

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[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Jeffery57 I think the issue is actually the 7 weeks notice you are giving of cancellation. 7 weeks is a very long time to get the park repaired and it is highly likely that it will be perfectly safe to visit in 7 weeks time. 

[Kate867]

@Jeffery57   I agree with @Mike-And-Jane0  that the seven weeks may be the problem here.  Also, is the Airbnb actually in the directly affected area or is just near by and not affected?  That being the case then I can see why your request for a refund has been declined.  For example, someone books a place in the city to attend a concert.  The concert is cancelled but everything else is business as usual.  Guests would only be able to cancel under the hosts normal cancellation policy, not exceptional circumstances.

[Jeffery57]

@Kate867 Well if a service wasn't provided say a concert they refund the money at least here or they reschedule. In your situation, if the stadium was damaged because of weather or an act of GOD and the concert was canceled Airbnb has a policy that requires a refund. My situation is the same Yellowstone National Park (concert) and 1000-flood that has close the park with limited access. So in my situation, it's NOT business as usual in fact National Park Service limits entrance to the park that is open only with limited access 70% is closed. And you are wrong Airbnb has an extenuating cancellation policy that takes precedent over the "host" it's in writing.

@Mike-And-Jane0 you must have never seen a mountain slide, or a major river destroy the roads and bridges 7 weeks is the date the Natural weather event happened. Yellowstone National Park is a wilderness wondrous place it is VERY unlikely all roads and entrances will open.   

I don't fault you for protecting a host but the guest has a right at least here in the USA a refund FOR SERVICES NOT RENDERED. So hopefully other guests will share their experiences of the Yellowstone National Park flood and if their host did the same thing or the right thing. 

[Kate867]

@Jeffery57   My point being with the concert, is yes they would most probably be refunded for the event that was no longer happening.. but Not for the accommodation if it was booked separately as that accommodation is still available as described.  I appreciate that you and others may well have booked that location with a visit to Yellowstone in mind, but many people will also book it for other reasons.  I also appreciate that the basic access infrastructure to the park will take time to repair but am sure that work will most likely proceed quite quickly given the parks status.  Although it is unlikely that Yellowstone will be 100% open, there will still be many areas that will be accessible for you to enjoy.

[Tushar30]

I exactly had similar experience and the difference is I was planning to visit Island Park/Yellowstone when it was closed and Island Park and Yellowstone was flooded. My dates were 14th June to 21st June. 

I sent following links to AirBnb Support  which had flood warnings as well as actual flood news in Island Park where the property is located.

https://weather.com/weather/alerts/localalerts/l/deecb824ac8d96381c752ab52245ee8758fd01e7b8621b6b82f...

https://www.eastidahonews.com/2022/06/island-park-cleaning-up-after-rain-causes-massive-flooding/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Y6_q0ZpA_k 

I also sent them yellowstone NP links 

https://www.nps.gov/yell/learn/news/220613.htm
https://www.flickr.com/photos/yellowstonenps/52144418361/in/album-72157668680150793/

I did not want to travel with my family as we could get stuck due to flooding but AirBnb support actually made the call to close my case for refund due to extenuating circumstances. 

Here is snippet from their response 
=====>

We understand that this might not be what you’d hoped for, but we came to this outcome because if even though Island Park is very close to Yellowstone Park it is not covered in our EC.

=====>

This is all a scam and AirBnb seems to be not obligated to respect their policies. 

I am in process of filing complaint against AirBnb in small claims court and BBB. I will update the thread once I get an outcome.

[Jeffery57]

Thanks for posting that information. 

I live in Utah I have been to Yellowstone many times and three-time with family with Airbnb. Everyone knows that anyone staying in Island Park, Idaho side is there to visit Yellowstone. Previous experience just two years ago during the pandemic. Yellowstone was not close then we had a great time of course I book with a Superhost.

This is a totally different situation major infrastructure of the park is destroyed. One article I read said the flood rerouted the river. This is an extenuating circumstance it's about safety.

I don't post links but you can contact the Attorney General of Idaho and file a consumer complaint perhaps with you and others this host and Airbnb will decide to follow their policy. They have an online form you can fill out.

[Debra300]

@Jeffery57,

What did your travel insurance representative tell you?  Was it a covered event?

[Anonymous]

@Jeffery57  I've seen in the news that Yellowstone itself was closed for several days, and that much of it has since re-opened, but there are three relevant questions here:

1) Is the rental home itself currently under evacuation or fully inaccessible due to closures?

2) If so, are those closures still expected by local authorities to be ongoing 7 weeks later?

3) If not, is there currently an active and open-ended advisory against all travel to the region in general?

I'd expect that you need a solid yes on 2 out of 3 to get Extenuating Circumstances from Airbnb, but your travel insurance provider might have a better loophole available.

I can appreciate your generosity in giving 7 weeks of notice, and also the reasoning that you need that time to organize an alternate trip. But when it comes to weather events, a cancellation would have to be based on the conditions on the arrival date rather than what you fear they might be in the weeks prior. You'd have been better off either requesting a date change or waiting until the week of travel to make your decision (ideally with robust travel insurance locked and loaded). 

Finally, as others have pointed out, the closure of a nearby attraction or cancellation of a major event (such as a concert) do not qualify for refunds of the accommodation, unless access to that attraction or event was provided by the accommodation as a inclusive amenity (e.g. part of a resort package). Many hotels have chosen to become flexible on cancellations to meet market demand, but what I'm talking about is still the industry standard - not a scam.