Strict cancellation policy

[Zoe-and-Fabio0]

Hello everyone, 

I couldn't find any previous threads on this topic, so I thought I put this forward to the community.

In a nutshell:

We have a strict cancellation policy. 

Someone booked in January for a weekend in February.

The day before her arrival the reservation was cancelled. 

This is what the guest said:

Hi, due to circumstances out of my control I am unfortunately going to have to cancel our trip.

Paul - our youngest traveller has contracted Strep A and is currently being kept in isolation in a Children's Hospital. Her hum and grandmother (both due to be on the trip) are also under observation due to the level of contagion. 

Unfortunately the little ones blood infection means he's had to be referred to Public Health England who will advise anyone (including me and my mum) who has come into contact with her to be tested. .... we can't possibly come.

Then underneath (Reservation cancelled by admin) 

Then the payout (as it was a large group quite a large sum of money) got issued. Today I received the following message from AirBnB (1 1/2 weeks after the weekend)

.... The guest was able to provide sufficient documentation of an extenuating circumstance and refunded your guest in full. As such, we will not be able to provide a payout for this reservation. 

As you have already been paid out for this reservation, we have applied an adjustment to your account of the amount paid out to you. This amount will be deducted from your next payout. (...)

Isn't this the reason why I have a strict cancellation policy in place, so I am covered in case one of my guests is having an unexpected issue? I wouldn't book a place with a strict cancellation policy if I didn't have a travel insurance in place that covers me in case I have to cancel. Shouldn't she make a claim with her travel insurer? The weekend she booked remained unbooked so I am out of pocket. I am deeply sorry about the trouble they are going through with their little one but someone's problem now turns into my problem which feels pretty unfair. 

Is there anything I can do and how much energy is involved in doing so?

Any help would be hugely appreciated. 

Warm regards,

Fabio and Zoe. 

[Paul1255]

@Zoe-and-Fabio0I hope you're well.

Airbnb's extenuating circumstances policy overrides a hosts cancellation policy unfortunately, so nothing you can do to fight it.

Yes guests should make claims on their travel insurance policies (if they even took out travel insurance) when problems like this occur, so hosts don't end up out of pocket for a reservation they were fully able to host.

I do feel for you, it's happened to me few times before and is frustrating to say the least.

Best wishes

Paul.

[Zoe-and-Fabio0]

Paul,

thank you so much for your quick and competent response. That's putting my mind to rest. 

Are there any attempts being made by the hosting community to challenge this policy that I could possibly support? 

Best wishes from Brighton to London,

Fabio

[Paul1255]

You're welcome @Zoe-and-Fabio0 

Challenging Airbnb's guest-centric policies isn't easy, even when a lot of hosts get stung and frustrated with them and push for change.

I think I shall send you a private message to continue 🙂

By the way your listing looks absolutely stunning.

Paul.

[Susan17]

@Zoe-and-Fabio0 

To force amendment of the Extenuating Circumstances policy, the validity of Airbnb Terms and Conditions under the laws of one's particular jurisdiction, would have to be challenged in court. 

This can be done, and has been done. On foot of the Norwegian Consumer Authorities taking a case to the EU Commission in July 2018, Airbnb was compelled to amend their T&Cs in relation to several of their policies. 

https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/IP_18_5809

[Emilia42]

@Zoe-and-Fabio0 In a nutshell  . . . There are no concrete cancelation policies on Airbnb. If a guest is savvy enough to provide documentation then anything is refundable. A simple doctor's note citing a cold will do. 

[Zoe-and-Fabio0]

Thank you so much for your kind words, Paul. And thank you for your message Emilia. 

Am I not better off offering a moderate cancellation policy then, and attract more bookings, if people can cancel a reservation even with a strict policy anyway? Is there any data available on how many more bookings I would get with a moderate cancellation policy and how positively it will effect my ranking? 

Thank you all again. Really good to know that there are people with similar issues and thoughts out there.

[Paul1255]

@Zoe-and-Fabio0 

I think you'd be surprised by the number of guests who don't even pay attention to the cancellation policies when they make a booking.

I don't think your cancellation policy has an effect on you ranking or appearance in search.

My listings are all set to strict. If a guest is aware of Airbnb's EC policy and Airbnb back them up in gaining a full refund, I would rather that be out of my hands- rather than giving it away with a moderate or flexible policy.

[Helen3]

I think you should have the cancellation  policy that works best for your business. @Zoe-and-Fabio0 

I have never had a host cancel under extenuating circumstances in the nearly five years I have been hosting and having had hundreds of guests. I have had five guests cancel under my strict policy and have received payment.

Although I don't love the extenuating circumstances policy - that works for both hosts as well as guests by the way. It is something I signed up to when I agreed to use the platform. If it annoyed me that much I would use another platform. To me the benefits of using Airbnb way outweigh the negatives.

I don't know of any data that purely is based on looking at the difference for a host based on cancellation polices they use in terms of income/bookings,.. There are far too many variables.

[Bridget228]

The problem is, the cancellation policy you choose through Airbnb does not affect in any way whether you get any money due to a traveler's "extenuating circumstances."  

I have been renting my home in California's Wine Country for 13 years now, and for many years, never had a cancellation.  When I booked directly with my guests, my policy was that 50% was due up front to secure the reservation, and it was fully refundable up to 30 days prior to arrival minus a 5% cancellation fee (to cover my merchant fees to take and then refund the money).  I strongly recommended travel insurance, and provided a link on my rental agreement to where several quotes could be found.  Never had a problem, and was booked solid all the time.  My agreement also mentioned that travel insurance was recommended because cancellation of a reservation less than 30 days prior to arrival, or shortened stays, due to weather, power outages, illness, and other "acts of God" situations which would be beyond our control, were not covered.  Never had a problem.  

Then we started renting on Airbnb.  For three years in a row, it's been nothing but "acts of God" situations and I am bearing the entire cost of travel plans beyond my control, and not a single traveler has travel insurance.  Three years ago, it was wildfires in our area during our peak harvest season.  Last  year, power outages during our peak harvest season.  We even bought a very expensive power generator so that we could continue renting as normal, and Airbnb even allowed a guest to check out midway during their weekly reservation with a full refund because there were area wineries without power!  I had to be financially responsible for our local businesses, too.  This year, six months of reservations affected by COVID.  I am bearing the burden of them all, regardless of my own Rental Agreement or my cancellation policy on Airbnb.  Whether I have a strict cancellation policy, including giving a 10% discount for a non-refundable reservation... it doesn't matter.  It's all an extenuating circumstance, and I'm giving a full refund, regardless of which option I choose.  It has been a huge financial hardship. 

If you offer a discount for a non-refundable reservation, it should be up to the traveler to USE THAT DISCOUNT to go buy travel insurance, or understand that the reservation is indeed non-refundable.  I cannot be everyone's travel insurer any more.   When I rent directly to guests these days, I offer a $100 discount with proof of travel insurance, which typically covers about half of most plans for our guests, depending on length of stay and distance traveled.  This way, we share in the burden of the unpredictable COVID situation.   I do that, because I then go on to explain that while a cancellation within 48 hours of making the reservation will be entitled to a full refund, no cancellation refunds are made after 48 hours  (with an explanation of why, and a link to the travel insurance quotes.).    So far it's working, and guests seem to understand why I have this policy.  Why can't a company as big as Airbnb figure something like this out?  We are able to rent again after being shut down by COVID for 4 months, but it seems like only a matter of time before we get shut down again.  I am not going to be able to accept reservations through Airbnb for our peak season any more, because of the risk.  It seems very unfair that the hosts must bear the entire risk alone, when that is what travel insurance was designed to do.  I hope someone with the power to change this at Airbnb will read this and consider some alternatives.  

[Erica266]

So Sorry this happened to you, I used to have no cancellation policie, that is what Airbnb recomend the most. (always looking out for the guest) and when I changed to moderate my bookings didn´t fluctuate one bit.

I know is not the same as some extensive data, but i thought it could help

[Susan17]

@Zoe-and-Fabio0 

The guest seems very confused about the child's gender in her message to you. Also, the details don't quite ring true at all, and considering the time it apparently took the guest to provide supporting "documentation" (you can get a fake doctors note on the internet for about £25), I'd say it's a safe bet that you've just joined the ranks of the countless thousands of hosts who have been swindled by their guests, courtesy of Airbnb's ludicrous Extenuating Circumstances Policy, which in effect forces hosts to act as guests' free travel insurance providers. 

[Zoe-and-Fabio0]

Thanks, Susan. 

Does anybody know whether or not a travel insurer has the ability to contact Airbnb and ask if someone claimed their money back from Airbnb? What I am trying to ask: What's stopping me from taking a travel insurance out - booking a really expensive place for a few nights - getting a doctors note - cancelling my trip and claim the money back from my host and then go ahead and make an insurance claim? You do that every other month and you have a nice little (illegal) operation going. Don't forget to switch your travel insurance every now and then. 

I kind of forgot about it all and then I had this phone call from Airbnb this morning asking me for my feedback which obviously only brought my frustration back up (I had the freedom of quoting you Susan). Now Airbnb is asking me to send them an email with my feedback and I don't know if I can ask to give it anymore energy but I will probably sit down and give it another 30 minutes of my time. 

Thank you all again for your extremely knowledgable responses. 

[Paul1255]

@Zoe-and-Fabio0  I would imagine the guest would have to prove to their insurer that they weren't refunded for their trip in order to make a claim on their policy.

I have just had a guest try and fail to claim a refund under EC- Airbnb didn't support the claim (surprisingly!) so the guest asked me to provide them a letter saying that I was refusing to refund them.

I referred them back to Airbnb. 

[Wina55]

Just wanted to say that I appreciate your multiple responses to other hosts questions. I too am a host with strict cancellation policy who is losing out on reservations being cancelled bc of covid. It’s very disappointing that airbnb doesnt honor the hosts 50% . I believe if they are offering the guest their full 100% from strict bookings under the EC  it should come from them only and that the host should still keep their share. It seems this has been an ongoing issue and I’m surprised no one has tried filing a class action lawsuit yet.