AIRBNB REFUSING TO PAY SERVICE FEES DESPITE ME BEING ELIGIBLE

[Maria12590]

I live  in Sydney and booked 2 stays in France...arrival dates 20 and 27 May.

Reservations were  made end 2019 before any news of COVID.

AIRBNB’s extenuating policy states -

A FULL REFUND WILL BE AVAILABLE INCLUDING SERVICE FEES IF  Reservations made before MARCH 14 With check in between 14 MARCH and 15 JUNE 2020.

When they first declined my request they asked for proof from an official site that I was unable to honour my reservation.

Official Australian Government Link I  sent to them states  INTERNATIONAL TRAVEL FROM AUSTRALIA is BANNED, with international travel not likely until next year

Their response was that my case does not qualify under their extenuating circumstances policy as travel restrictions apply only to MAY 10

I’m struggling to understand where they are getting their information from and why they won’t honour full refunds when applicable.

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Maria12590 

How weird. Airbnb allowed one of our guests to cancel for June when they were only travelling within the UK.

I suggest you contact via Twitter and/or just start a new case with hopefully a more informed customer service agent

[Gordon0]

I think you've come up against somebody who doesn't quite understand the rules, surely, @Maria12590. You look to be the perfect fit for the EC policy, especially considering the strict Australia rules. Additionally,  how would you get there as I'm pretty sure your airline has ceased their routes?

PS. Spent a week in Golf Parade earlier this year - what an amazing place you live in.   

[Ian-And-Anne-Marie0]

@Maria12590 

On the face of it it seems like you’ve been mugged!

You can call CS again - often needs 3 calls and a demand to speak to a supervisor before you get what’s due. Or you email. If you email, state what you have here and keep a copy. The first thing they ask will be for you tell them ‘all over again’ what you have already told them.

The only exclusion to this service fee issue would be maybe that you booked a Pro or Luxe listing? They have different cancellation policies.

please let us know how you get on.

[Maria12590]

Success! At last!!

Apologies for the delay with my update... an ERROR message displayed each time I tried.

In any case, I managed to get a full refund including all fees.  It was incredibly frustrating as my case manager didn’t seem to be actually reading my info and details provided.

In the end I felt like I was spoon feeding her, asking her to confirm if she had read the advice on the government’s website which stated DO NOT ENTER FRANCE.

I copied and pasted prod several times, and my lovely host in France contacted them too.

It would have been easy to give up but worth it in the end!