Host despicable conduct

[Laura4540]

I would like to share what happened to me and possibly get some advice. I made a reservation for an apartment in Athens on October 15 for a 3 week stay, so as to attend a course. Before I booked, I asked the host what were her feelings about the situation and her course of action in case there might be a lockdown. Her answer was her terms were strict but she would not stand in the way Shoul airbnb agreed on extenuating circumstances. I thought this was reassuring and friendly. In the following two weeks prior to my departure due on Nov. 6, I kept writing and asking about possible updates. No answers. Luckily I was in touch with the school and could get fresh information about the evolving situation. On Saturday Oct. 31 the Greek Government passed a pretty strict decree ordering the closure of almost everything except for schools. My host never wrote a word to inform me about this. The following couple of days the school informed me that a new decree was expected. When I contacted my host, SHE REPLIED SHE WAS NOT AWARE OF THIS and SUGGESTED TO WAIT AND SEE BEFORE TAKING A FINAL DECISION. At this point I realised I had lost my chance to get at leat 50% refund. However, I thought the host was trying to be optimistic, I was still pretty convinced she would refund the money in case of a lockdown. On Thursday morning I got a call from the school confirming the general lockdown for the whole of Greece. And I immediately informed the host who replied she was sorry about this. That very day I enacted the procedure to cancel my booking, and bad surprise,  the host decided not to refund any money, because I had been not cautious with my booking in such a delicate moment and she could have got other reservations. She is asking me now to contact airbnb and ask airbnb to,refund the money in case that is possible. However, airbnb doesn’t contemplate the pandemic in course as an extenuating circumstance, they have  retrieved my money for the booking service and have instructed me to negotiate personally a refund with the host. First of all: my host should have kept me informed about the rapid evolution leading to a general,lockdown. Had my flight been only one day before it was, I would now  be stuck in Athens with a new flight to buy to get back home. Secondly: she should have cancelled my booking so as to ease the refund, because that was in fact the right procedure to enact. I don’t want to give up my action, it’s a principle....please provide suggestions if you have any. Thank you. Laura

[Helen3]

It’s not up to the host to keep you up to date with travel restrictions of the country you are travelling to @Laura4540 it’s your responsibility. 

it was highly risky for you to choose to book a three week stay abroad in Europe in mid October knowing what we knew then about rising Covid levels across Europe. 

in your situation I would contact Airbnb share a copy of the relevant legislation confirming there is a travel restriction and ask them if they will cancel under EC

[Helen350]

@Laura4540 You say "my host should have kept me informed about the rapid evolution leading to a general lockdown."

-I'm not sure I agree with that; I think it's your OWN responsibility to keep abreast of anything that will disrupt your plans when travelling.

-It could be argued, that booking flights/accommodation during a pandemic is a known risk, and if you're not prepared to accept the consequences of events being cancelled, don't book!!

Secondly, I don't know what's wrong with your host asking YOU to cancel? If the host had done a normal cancellation, Airbnb would have charged her a $100 penalty, and stopped her Superhost status, so hosts do not like cancelling!

Personally, I WOULD refund a guest in those circumstances, and 2 days ago issued a full refund to a guest who KNEW she was booking illegally, but instant booked anyway. But I guess your host would argue she is just upholding her cancellation policy which you effectively agreed to when you booked?

[Laura4540]

Dear Helen, thank you for taking an interest. I did keep abreast, as I was in constant contact with the school. When I booked the apartment, nor Italy nor Greece were considering a general lockdown. Things precipitated. It was difficult to get fresh information about Greece, not even the Ministry’s page had fresh information on the web. the only source was the contact with whom lives there, namely the school and some friends I have. Let me remind you that airbnb guideline for hosts  recommends hosts to keep guests informed about relevant news and issues that may affect their safety. By the way, a host can proceed with cancelling in case of an emergency, without being penalized. I have checked the terms. Anyway, it seems you didn’t and wouldn’t act that way. That says it all. Thank you anyway.

[Helen3]

Both your assumptions are incorrect @Laura4540 

1. I remind all my guests to check regulations when they book and send them a link to my government website with the regulations.

2. I have voluntarily refunded all my guests who haven't been able to travel due to government lockdowns, I advise them to do what I advised you to do which is to contact Airbnb to cancel under Covid, Airbnb then ask me whether I am happy for them to have a full refund and I agree.

You are also not correct that Airbnb is allowing hosts to cancel penalty free under the current Covid lockdowns. The guest needs to cancel providing evidence of the lockdown.

[Johanna394]

There are couple things which stood out to me.

Firstly, correct me if I am wrong, but it seems that you expected the host to be the main source of information. Why did you not assume the main responsibility of this yourself, especially after the host proved to be not so responsive? Even if you do not live in Greece, surely there is information to be found online, and thus you could have indeed been more cautious and kept yourself informed about rapidly evolving situation. Good thing that you decided to contact your school, it was better than nothing!

Secondly, you mentioned that "Before I booked, I asked the host what were her feelings about the situation and her course of action in case there might be a lockdown. Her answer was her terms were strict but she would not stand in the way Shoul airbnb agreed on extenuating circumstances." So, you knew that her terms were strict and you still chose to book her place anyway? Although this situation is undoubtedly very irritating and troublesome to you, I do not see how the host's behavior is particularly despicable - is she not behaving exactly as she had informed you before you booked? She would have bowed down to Airbnb's EC policy, but since COVID-19 pandemic no longer qualifies (generally speaking) as an extenuating circumstance, she is upholding her own strict policy - and you agreed to this. It is not despicable to go as was previously agreed.

---

[Laura4540]

Dear Joanna, thank you for taking an interest. You are writing something I didn’t write. I wrote I expected my host to keep informed. I didn’t write I expected my host to be the main source of information. In fact, since information was lacking on her side, I was in constant contact with the school. Surely I expected my host to care about my safety and keep me informed. Are you a host yourself? Would you not do the same in a similar circumstance? Airbnb has informed me that if the host agrees to a refund, she can proceed with that. However, the host stands in the way. I hope this clarifies the situation. 

[Johanna394]

@Laura4540 

I got that relying impression from the text you wrote, and made an assumption. I did not mean to imply it was literally what you wrote.

Perhaps we are different in this regard then. As others have already mentioned, I do not either consider it a responsibility of the host to keep guests constantly updated about the destination country's situation. If I was traveling, it would be my personal responsibility (and perhaps partly organization's, if it was organization-organized trip) to stay as informed of the destination's situation, so I could make decisions accordingly. And, during these corona times, if I felt there was not enough info available, I personally would go with the assumption "It's probably bad enough" and again, act accordingly.

I am not a host myself, so I am not in the position to speculate what I would or would not do in the similar situation. However, again I point out - you agreed to abide by host's cancellation policy when you decided to book her place. They clearly stated to you that if Airbnb's EC policy does not apply, then her strict terms go. So, yes, she could give you refund, but it is not at all necessary, and it does not make her behavior despicable if she chooses to go with what you both agreed before booking.

[Lorna170]

I am a host.  In my opinion, the guest did not ask the host the correct question.  It should have been, "If my course is cancelled due to the school closing because of Covid or government restrictions, what would your refund policy be?  I did not initiate the cancellation of any of my guest reservations until my County Government told me to shut down my property.  I did not send a weekly note to my prospective guests saying "still open, looking forward to your visit".  Some of my guests sent me an official notice from their jobs or their locality stating that they could not travel, in which case I refunded, even though I was still open.

I think that the guest in this case should initiate the cancellation.  She should then ask for some kind of documentation from the school she was supposed to attend stating that they cancelled her course due to Covid/Government regulation.  She can then go to AirBnB and plead her case.  

[Anonymous]

@Laura4540   If you read through some of the discussions here, you'll quickly find that even among the most well-regarded and successful hosts, there's a lot of confusion and misinformation about what their local policies and travel restrictions are. Some may make an earnest effort to inform their guests of relevant updates, but it's entirely possible that the information they provide isn't accurate. Hosts don't have some special insider scoop on their governments' decrees; any information available to them is also readily available to you. 

With that in mind, I'm struggling to see what is so "despicable" here. You booked the place knowing that it had a strict cancellation policy, and the host explicitly said that she would uphold it unless Airbnb overruled her  (of course she wouldn't "stand in the way" if Airbnb decided to refund you under EC, because it's not actually possible to do so) . What she did in the end was completely consistent with this. You seem to believe that you deserve an exception to the terms that you knowingly agreed to, but if the only basis for this is that the host "failed" to spoon-feed you the local news, I don't think you have a winning argument.

[Sarah977]

"By the way, a host can proceed with cancelling in case of an emergency, without being penalized. I have checked the terms."

This is not correct. There are lots of hosts who have been penalized for cancelling bookings in these circumstances- if Airbnb doesn't consider a cancellation from the guest side to be an EC worthy of a full refund, then they won't consider it to be from the host side either.

If a guest needs to cancel a reservation, it's up to the guest to do that from their end, not ask the host to. 

@Laura4540 

[Jennifer1897]

@Laura4540  Despite what you believe "Should Have" been done, the cancellation policy was in place before you booked, so it is your responsibility to understand what this policy stipulates. The host even confirmed that she/he adheres to their policy unless overruled by Airbnb. 

You comment "Let me remind you that airbnb guideline for hosts  recommends hosts to keep guests informed about relevant news and issues that may affect their safety." The key word in here is recommend, not require. I do not mean to come off as rude, but a lot of hosts care greatly about their guest and business, but they just do not have the time to provide day to day updates for guest on current conditions. It is ultimately the guests responsibility to know the restrictions in place for the area in which hey are traveling to. 

I realize it is hard to lose money as a result of a pandemic and lockdowns, we as hosts have lost substantial bookings, so I do sympathize on that level. I stay quite often with airbnb as well and have learned to really go through listings with a fine tooth comb. I am also more proactive during this time vs reactive, as things are changing so quickly. 

[Lawrene0]

@Laura4540 , there is a way to avoid this outcome in future.

When you are planning a trip and you will need your money back if you cancel, the strategy is not to book accommodations with a strict cancellation policy and hope the host who has chosen that policy will turn around and decide to bear the cost of insuring your travel after all. The strategy is to pick a place with a flexible cancellation policy. 

I'm with those who say this host doesn't sound despicable. She said she would do what Airbnb agreed with its Extenuating Circumstances. She did. 

So knowing that is how things turn out, you can make sure it doesn't happen again.