Hosts are the underdogs during Covid19

[Ingrid51]

Ok, so a guest asks me what if they have to cancel due to a Covid situation,  I answer full refund only if your flight gets cancelled,  he says ok and books.

Fast forward 2 months government imposes a fully vaccination only rule to people flying in my country.  Guest asks for refund as not vaccinated I ask did you demand a refund from airline , probably not so why you ask me for a refund? You took a risk , so now I have to pay for it ? 

So Airbnb imposes a 50% refund even though I have a strict booking policy.  Is this fair? Why do we always have to suffer losses from guests poor decisions? Does Airbnb think we are all rich hosts who it does not matter when we suffer losses? Some of us have bank loans.  Some of us invest money so that apartment is frequently redecorated and kept in good standard. 

But who cares.  For sure not Airbnb.  Very disappointed.  

[Anonymous]

@Ingrid51  Under the Strict cancellation policy, the refund is 50% if the booking is cancelled between 7 and 14 days before the check-in date. I hope you're able to reduce the losses by re-booking at least some of the dates.

[Ingrid51]

Hard to get a new booking when living on an island.  People don't just drive to Malta or come by train. Flight tickets are expensive when purchased close to travelling date. 

[John5097]

@Ingrid51 That's the refund policy. One thing I've noticed is host with perfect or near perfect reviews don't complain about guest, but instead try to provide feedback for Airbnb to improve its policy.  Its just part of doing business. Likewise, I've also noticed that host with the lowest ratings and always having problems, also complain and ridicule guest the most, or think somehow other host who don't have all these problems are to blame. Don't get me wrong I don't like the recent changes to the Airbnb cancelation and refund policy but its not the guest fault, and its still up to the host to make any situation work. The cancelation policy definitely shouldn't be a deal breaker, although many STRs went to long term leasing in the past year.  

[Ingrid51]

I am actually blaming Airbnb not the guests.  Generally speaking,  I am a believer that everyone should shoulder the consequences of his/her decision,  it's a principle I try to live with  . In this case guest took a decision to book a flight plus lodging without being vaccinated.  It's not fair I have to suffer a loss . Airbnb is at fault here. Their cancellation policy is a joke.

[Louise0]

If you didn't agree with the terms of the cancellation policy you selected to apply to your listing, why did you make the decision to use it?  Were you deceived or coerced in some way?  Did you read the terms of the cancellation policy but not understand them?

Just trying to establish whether there is any reasonable basis for your gripe.