leaving early because of COVID-19, paying extra, no reimbursement

[Alex6637]

I booked an accommodation (in Egypt) for 47 nights (14 April - 30 Mai), to follow up on the COVID-19 development, as the Cairo airport is closed.

Yesterday,  3 Mai,  Lufthansa announced a special, one-way, flight from Cairo to Germany for next week, which we booked today.

I wanted to cancel the accommodation therefore for 15 May, since we have no more use for it. The new total is 1 Euro HIGHER than the initial total (additional service fee & taxes) while the rental is 16 days shorter, from 47 to 31 days. It's 11 days from today to the anticipated cancelation date. (4. Mai - 15 Mai).

How can that be? And how do I get a reimbursement for the 15 days?

Thank you and regards.

In summary: I booked an accommodation for 47 nights and need to leave after 31 nights, giving 11 days notice,  how can there be there is ZERO reimbursement.

[Anonymous · Accepted solution]

@Alex6637  This would be consistent with the cancellation policy that was in place (and which you agreed to) at the time of booking. (The $1 difference is probably a quirk of currency exchange rates). All stays of 28 nights or more are subject to the Long Term Cancellation policy:  https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/1361/how-do-changes-and-cancellations-work-for-longterm-reservat...

In many cases, Airbnb has been overriding hosts' policies to fully refund guests who had upcoming bookings affected by the COVID crisis. But we were already in the midst of a full-fledged global pandemic well before your stay began, and I'm not aware of an exemption that applies to trips commenced after 14 March but cut short before the checkout date.

In short, your two best options would be to either pursue a claim with your travel insurer, or attempt to negotiate a partial refund offer with the host. Many hosts are amenable to refunding the calendar dates that they're ultimately able to rebook. 

[Alex6637]

Thank you, Andrew. This is very helpful advise. I just contacted the host and asked if he was willing to a (partial) refund. Being a super host, he immediately replied: "Of course, whatever you feel is fair for both of us".

There is hope! Thanks again!