Cancellation, refund and rebooking options if there is another lock down

Suzanne769
Level 2
England, United Kingdom

Cancellation, refund and rebooking options if there is another lock down

As fears of another lock down in the UK are looming I have had a enquiry from a potential guest about offering a longer cancellation policy

 

I currently offer Strict: Full refund for cancellations made within 48 hours of booking, if the check-in date is at least 14 days away. 50% refund for cancellations made at least 7 days before check-in. No refunds for cancellations made within 7 days of check-in.

 

Air BnB is very new to me however it has always been my intention that if we have another lockdown I would definitely offer cancellation/refund or rebooking options as was previously an option in the first lockdown.

I presumed that this would be covered under a revised 'Extenuating Circumstances Policy and the coronavirus (COVID-19)' by Air BnB.

 

Please can anyone advise me on whether this would be the case - I will contact Air BNB too 

 

and also what policy I could offer to cover this issue if the former isnt the case?

 

many thanks

Suzanne

5 Replies 5
Mike-And-Jane0
Level 10
England, United Kingdom

@Suzanne769 Sadly Airbnb do not recognise English law and how it would be illegal not to refund money to a guest if you are unable to host them. We have written in out listing that if it becomes illegal to host then we will refund any money we receive to the guest. We cannot say what Airbnb would do but in the past I have explained illegality to them (Last November) and they gave the guest a full refund. We actually also say if it is illegal to travel then we would also refund BUT I am not sure whether Airbnb would refund in this circumstance.

What we have not done is go to a more flexible cancellation policy that allows a guest to change their minds.

Hope this helps

This is really helpful thanks @Mike-And-Jane0 

 

I have now amended my listing and also read that if I have a strict no refund policy after 48 hours Air BnB wont honour a refund.

 

I was also concerned to know whether I would have my host status effected if I cancelled  however I am hoping according to this article in the Guardian it wouldnt be ....

 

'It takes a different stance with hosts who cancel because of government rules. They can do so without incurring the usual cancellation fee demanded by Airbnb, or compromising their coveted “superhost” status.'

 

https://www.theguardian.com/money/2021/jan/17/airbnb-refuses-to-pay-refunds-for-getaways-cancelled-b...

 

Thanks again for your help 🙂

@Suzanne769 Plagiarism is rife on Airbnb. 🤗

Sarah977
Level 10
Sayulita, Mexico

@Suzanne769  It doesn't really matter what cancellation policy you have as far as refunding guests. If they aren't auttomatically refunded, the host always has the choice to refund if they want to.

Suzanne769
Level 2
England, United Kingdom

Thanks for your advice Sarah 🙂