covid cancelation.

[Sofia753]

good afternoon/morning

so a week again i had a little weekend planed. 

but 3 days before i decided to cancel due to covid 19 cases wrissing very fast in my city.

i did not want to put my health and anyone else in jeopardy.

i email the host back and forth to try and have a full refound since i havent been there. 

she was not cooperative and very vage with her answers.

i email her again yesterday trying one more time to explain to her the situation and how i feel. no answer from her part.

i was wondering if there is any way for me to involve airbnb direclty and explain to them the situation.

this is a very unpleasent event anad unfortunaly it is not the first time it happends to me. 

is there any way for me to get my money back or just contact airbnb and explain to them ?

thank you .

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Sofia753 If you are only cancelling because you are now scared to travel then you should accept that no money should be refunded to you. Even if you had taken out insurance they would not pay in these circumstances.

[Lawrene0]

Really, the only thing you can do if this keeps happening to you, as you say, @Sofia753 , is to book places with a flexible cancellation policy. If you keep booking places with a stricter policy, and then cancelling three days out, you don't have a case for getting your money back. 

[Johanna394]

Based on what you told there, I do not see the point of getting AIRBNB involved, because according to their COVID-19 EC policy, you are not entitled to full refund. You firstly booked after March 14th, way after the pandemic was declared, therefore making it longer unexpected or unforeseen circumstances. Secondly, you are not actually sick with corona, only afraid of it (understandably yes, but fear is not enough to qualify as a reason).

I understand that it is very unpleasant to lose money, but as others - and Airbnb's COVID-19 EC policy too! - have stressed already: you should always very carefully consider your options, and perhaps choose an accommodation which has more flexible cancellation policies, to prevent unfortunate loss of money.

[Sarah977]

So, you make a booking, which means you agreed to the cancellation policy in place, and knowing full well that the pandemic is still a huge threat (just because infections have recently risen doesn't mean they haven't been happening all along), then change your mind 3 days before check-in  ad expect the host to give you a full refund? You've blocked the host's calendar with your booking since whenever you made the booking, leaving her 2 or 3 days to try to rebook those dates, and you think that's fair or ethical?

Your attitude is very entitled. Do you think an airline would give you a refund on a non-refundable ticket simply because you changed your mind at the the last minute?  Cancellation policies exist for a reason. They are a contract you agree to by booking, not something that doesn't apply to you just because you don't want it to.

@Sofia753 

[Anonymous]

@Sofia753 It's very sensible of you to decide not to put anyone's health in jeopardy. But I don't understand why you feel that your host should have to accept a loss because you changed your mind. You knew what the terms of cancellation were when you booked, and you agreed to them - where did you get the idea that they suddenly don't apply to you?