Unexpected pregnancy & long-term stays

[Juan-Diego1]

We've booked a couple long-term stays well in advance, a two month stay in November, and another in January. We just learned of an unexpected pregnancy and decided it's best to stay home. Is it up to the hosts discretion to cancel the stay and offer a refund? Are there any other options?

[Gordon0]

Congratulations.

It really depends on what cancelation policy applies to. your bookings, @Juan-Diego1, but if they are in fact as per the Long Term policy, it's pretty clear:

• More than 48 hours after booking, guests can cancel before check-in and get a full refund, minus the first 30 days and the service fee

What 'other options' were you thing of? The reality is - by your own admission - you've had dates blocked out in the hosts' calendars for some time and while, ahem, 'unexpected', becoming pregnant isn't in extenuating circumstance.  

 

[Juan-Diego1]

I see. The portion that might be considered 'extenuating' however, is that my wife is considered high-risk category for pregnancy and thus requires more care. Also the second stay lands on the due date. I guess my next move would be to contact airbnb customer service.

[Colleen253]

https://www.airbnb.ca/help/article/1320/extenuating-circumstances-policy

@Juan-Diego1 

You can contact both hosts and explain the situation. Sometimes a host may decide to work with the guest, but understand that YMMV and no host is obligated to do so. Sometimes a host will offer to refund IF they get a replacement booking. How you approach the host on this will matter. 

[Anonymous]

@Juan-Diego1   Read the link posted by @Colleen253  carefully; personal life circumstances and medical issues of any degree are no longer considered "extenuating."

However, if you covered your trips with personal travel insurance (which I truly hope you did), your policy may compensate you for some portion of the losses. Hosts generally believe that they should not be treated as guests' de facto insurer, so if you request an exemption to the cancellation policy that you agreed to, I recommend humbly acknowledging that it's a special favor you're asking for rather than something you're entitled to. 

I don't see any good reason to contact customer service. This is purely a matter of the agreement between you and your hosts, not a technical or service issue.

[Anonymous]

@Juan-Diego1 Congratulations on the pregnancy. You're correct that it's at the host's discretion whether to offer a greater refund than the cancelation policy specifies. But you as the guest are obliged to cancel the booking. If the host cancels, Airbnb will penalize them and block the dates from being rebooked, so that is not a viable option. 

[Sarah977]

@Juan-Diego1  If a guest has a reason for cancelling, it is up to the guest to make the cancellation, not the host. And vice-versa. 

As others have suggested, talk to your host, and maybe they will consent to offering some refund, but you should be aware that they are under no obligation to do so.

Congrats on the pregnancy. Hope it all goes smoothly.