Hello everyone,
We had a Covid Exempt reservation (Construction) that repeat booked with us on a non refundable booking who informed us a couple days prior to the next Checkin date they no longer needed the reservation. I’ll quote you the words “Re next week we have a change of schedule so we will not require accommodation as we will be elsewhere.”
I confirmed this with the guest expressing thanks for informing me. The guest a day before that Checkin date asked if he could have a refund, I explained this was a non refundable booking etc etc and never got a response.
Now our co-host cleaning company also sees these messages and took onboard automatically also this was a cancelled booking without having to ask myself as it was written pretty clear this wasn’t going ahead.
Come Monday just gone I was at the property putting some new furniture in giving the time I had free, and also Tuesday just gone I dropped off new cleaning supply’s. Seeing as on Monday nobody had checked in regardless if they had informed me, I see this as a fail to attend booking that is backed up by airbnbs terms of service on no show bookings? Please correct me if I’m wrong as the wording is a little vague, though i think if legally pressed on it states if you don’t turn up your booking is void.
Fast forward to Wednesday evening, I had a local appointment in the area and one of our guests in a property behind this current one required a clothes rail that we had spare inside this property. I arrived by Uber, got out and saw the lights in the apartment where on... At first glance i thought I had left them on the day before, though taking a further look i noticed flashing lights from the TV. (This is a huge room with dim Vintage lights so the TV shows up easily against white walls)
This property has a coded self Checkin which I hadn’t changed as we didn’t have a booking the next day, since the guest told me they can’t attend it didn’t make it priority to change the codes. At first i was going to call the police straight away thinking a break in, but who’s watching tv on a break in right? So i went up to the floor and confronted who was inside. I was told the lead booker had provided details to Checkin (he was a employee of his) as he had nowhere to stay that night, he was under the understanding this was a legit booking he could stay at.
Now i took this person at his word as he knew the persons name that was under the booking, I wasn’t going to kick him out especially when i knew he wouldn’t find anywhere to stay with Covid restrictions.
I messaged the guest, the guest refused to take responsibility and stated as he hadn’t pressed the cancel button on the reservation he could use the property at his will without issue. Now unless someone can prove me wrong, not only is this stated he cancelled as a action from himself, the law clearly states he would be trespassing on premises without a valid booking as this became void on the Monday after a no show. Not only this he provided Checkin details to an individual who wasn’t on the booking which I would class as fraud by misrepresentation?
Airbnb are backing up the guest saying as the booking was in place and not cancelled manually by himself then the booking is valid. Yet Airbnbs terms of service clearly state that if they don’t Checkin on the day of arrival its a invalid booking, while ignoring local laws regardless of lockdown strict restrictions we have to bide by.
UK Covid restrictions state accommodation services must shut unless in certain strict situations, these account for key workers, I.e NHS staff, construction workers, moving home or those in damage/distress. Even in these strict circumstances, as a business its our requirement to vet and make sure who’s booking is legit and will keep to the rules set out.
Breaking them can lead to huge fines or suspension of running that property. The fact the guest has stated he wont be using the property, yet provides Checkin information to another person in my view clearly breaches these restrictions in place which is a criminal offence.
The issue I have here is not only the abuse of power from the guest taking advantage of the situation given to him with access codes, is that if it wasn’t for myself attending that evening to the property we could have had a issue with any future guest Checkin in in the next day or at the weekend, as we would have expected the property clean. Guests would have turned up to a property that would have been not Covid safe, risking our listing, review process, any local government report etc etc.
