Airbnb host refuses refund when government places province in lockdown

[Angelica-Y-Jorge0]

 Hi Community,

I wanted to get your take on the below story that hit the news in Vancouver/ BC Canada. With all the marketing happening by Airbnb at the moment, I'm surprised they would let this hit the news over $250. It is creating a lot of bad press for hosts and Airbnb.

https://vancouverisland.ctvnews.ca/victoria-man-upset-full-refund-not-offered-after-b-c-travel-restr...

Summary:

Victoria, BC resident books birthday trip to Kelowna, BC in advance

The provincial government restricts travel outside of your own region

Superhost has a strict cancellation policy and guest is only refunded 50% when airlines and others refunded 100%. Airbnb was not helpful.

Would you give a full refund?

[Alexandra316]

@Angelica-Y-Jorge0 I think that if someone is still making plans now and being surprised when they're cancelled due to Covid, they are a special kind of idiot. The guest knew the cancellation policy when they booked: they could have chosen a place with flexible cancellation. But thy didn't. They chose a place with a strict policy, then were so butt hurt over the loss of $250 that they contacted the news media to try and shame the host. I think it's pretty gross. 

I will say that I'm quite surprised that Airbnb didn't just refund them, but they probably know it would set a bad precident.

[Ute42]

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@Alexandra316   

Under the airbnb „Extenuating Circumstances Policy and the coronavirus (COVID-19)“ , last updated on october 1, 2020, the guest is not entitled for a refund.

The policy says:

• Reservations made after March 14, 2020
  
  Reservations for stays and Airbnb Experiences made after March 14, 2020 will not be covered under our extenuating circumstances policy....... COVID-19 related circumstances not covered include: …......... changes to applicable law ….... The host’s cancellation policy will apply as usual.
  
  Our extenuating circumstances policy is intended to protect guests and hosts from unforeseen circumstances that arise after booking. After the declaration of COVID-19 as a global pandemic by the World Health Organization, the extenuating circumstances policy no longer applies because COVID-19 and its consequences are no longer unforeseen or unexpected. Please remember to carefully review the host's cancellation policy when booking and consider choosing an option that provides flexibility.

Unfortunately, the guest in this case failed to select a place with a flexible cancellation policy.

@Angelica-Y-Jorge0   

You ask: Would you give a full refund? My answer:

• No

Travel plans of guests can be impacted by a veriety of unforseen circumstances: Guest gets sick, grandmother dies and the funeral falls into the booking window, government regulations change due to COVD-19 or the wether is just bad.

My counterquestion to You is:

• Would You give a full refund if it's raining cats and dogs on the day of check-in?

In the link You've provided B.C. Solicitor General Mike Farnworth said "short term greed" would end up damaging B.C.'s economy in the long run. Is it really greedy just wanting to stick to the rules of a contract?

[Alexandra316]

@Ute42 the guest definitely isn't entitled to a refund: I totally agree. That doesn't mean that Airbnb won't give them one, particularly if they don't have to pay for it. They can be very generous with other people's money. 

[Ute42]

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@Alexandra316   

I agree, us hosts don't need the money, bc we're all indepentently wealthy.

I've seen several complaints on the german and english CC from guest not getting their money back under the cancellation policy quoted above. That means that airbnb is finally starting to live up to their published rules.

I understand that guests are always unhappy if they don't get their money back no matter what. But they may also not get their money back on other platforms due to similar policies. So here we have lost an airbnb guest who will now book elsewhere, but unhappy guests from other platforms will now switch to airbnb. I don't see that we are loosing customers.

I absolutely appreciate that airbnb is starting to stick to their policies. This will encourage me to open up more dates in my calendar than I did before.

Cc: @Lizzie @Stephanie @Nick  

[Angelica-Y-Jorge0]

Thanks all! I was interested in knowing what you would do. Before reading all the comments I would have given 100% refund. Now I think I would not give a refund, but offer a credit for a future booking.