I have covid 19 and need a full refund 3 hours before checkin

[Donald28]

Yup, this happened to me today. I msged the guest around 1030am asking what time they planned on arriving. Her response... "

10:21 AM

I hv a problem.. i tested positive for covid 19. I just got my results today...

I dont wanna give it to anyone.. i hv to self quarantine for 10 days.."

The conversation went like this..

Donald 1023 AM

That's not good. Understood. you're giving me 0 days to re-rent this.

But I totally understand it definitely don't want you here if you're sick.

10:23 AM

Well ill be glad to come...lol

Im just being honest with u.. my son is already crushed

I guess now I gotta fight for my life.. ughhh

Refund would be great. Ill just gv him the money instead..

Donald 1030 AM

855 424 7262 you're going to have to call Airbnb about a refund. Just tell them that the host refused a refund. Hopefully theyll give u a refund.

They will probably make you send them documentation showing you were notified today that you have covid-19. After that they should give you a refund.

** 1037 AM

Well im comin then..

I cant just give away 300 bucks.. noway..everyone will hv to risk it then

Donald10:46 AM

You know I can't let you on the property now that you've told me you have covid-19. Just call them tell them you have it you are notified today and they will most likely give you a refund.

** 1059 AM

Thanks.. I could hv said screw it and come anywayz. But decided not to put ur life in jeopardy I SHOULDNT BE PENTALIZED FOR SAVING YOUR LIFE..

I assume airbnb will side with ME since she is cancelling 3 hours before checkin and I have always had the STRICT cancellation policy. I call airbnb and act as a guest and say I need to cancel due to covid19. The computer voice asks me if i made my reservation before 3/14/2020 and I push #2 to say NO. The voice then tells me that any reservation made AFTER 3/4/20 is NOT eligible for a refund under the extenuating circumstances clause. I FEEL BETTER NOW ... but... an hour later I get a msg from the guest saying...

" 210 PM

I received a Full Refund...

With no hesitation..." 

I thought... well airbnb probably refunded the guest out of their own pocket since I have the strict policy and their own computer voice told me a refund wasn't due to anyone booking after 3/14/20. 

I look at my calendar and see that today is now open and shows this guest has cancelled. This is AFTER the 2pm check in time so I basically have zero chance of renting the night. I then realize that they took the money from ME!?!?!?!?!?!

I get on the phone and am told that trust and safety are the people I need to talk to. After 30 minutes of being on hold, someone answers, says nothing and quickly hangs up. 

I call again and go through another agonizing wait time only to be told that trust and safety lines aren't accepting incoming calls and the CSR will make out a ticket for me. 

So now I am out $233 on top of the $412 last month and airbnb doesn['t seem to care. 

How in the world can they refund in full a guest who cancels 3 hours prior to checkin AND TAKE THE MONEY FROM THE HOST TO REFUND HER when the host has a strict policy? 

I later responded to her without any reply... " I know u don't care but I lost $233. I now have a prime summer night open because you cancelled 3 hours before check-in. Airbnb took the money from me. I have a strict cancellation policy which clearly states no full refunds unless guest cancels 14 days prior to check-in date. By airbnbs own rules, you should not have rec'd even a partial refund and surely not a full refund. But it's all good. I get a night without a bunch of kids in my backyard and arcade. I'd rather have the money but this isn't all that bad.

**[Personal information removed in line with - Community Center Guidelines]

[Donald28]

I have 1/2 a mind to cancel every freaking future booking and see if airbnb might then notice me and care enough to stop crapping on me?! They're making about $75 a night in fees off every night I have booked and I'm booked nearly solid for 3 months... june july august. Sept is booking up now

[Inna22]

@Donald28 they will not notice, do only what is best for you.

I do not understand how she could get a refund. Perhaps she qualified under regular EC for being sick? In that case her illness should be bad enough that she can not travel as in being hospitalized vs just testing positive.  I thought that was the whole point of the 3/14 time line- everyone should now assume that their travel plans can be interrupted by Covid, the many forms of it- travel disruption, quarantine, positive diagnosis of self or loved one, lay off etc

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Donald28 @Inna22 I thought the Airbnb EC policy was clear that the only way to get a full refund for post March 14 bookings was to actually have Covid 19.

Whether this is right or wrong is a different matter. Personally I feel it is right as otherwise, as your guest proved, people will travel with Covid and spread it.

[Inna22]

There is a difference between allowing someone to travel with Covid and having the host take the loss. No, she shouldn’t be traveling but also shouldn’t be getting a refund. It’s actually against the law for her to travel with Covid  in most places. this is where travel insurance would’ve been the answer (yet again). Also, Airbnb doesn’t police travelers with other infectious diseases. You don’t have to submit a medical report proving that you don’t have TB prior to joining. I am just so tired of them pretending we have a choice in our refund policy. I am even more tired of myself falling in the same trap of believing them again and again. 

[Emilia42]

@Donald28 

Had this guest had a cold and got a doctor to sign off that she shouldn't travel, she would have been refunded in full. That is the Extenuating Circumstances policy and that is why hosts hate it so much. She put you between a rock and a hard place. Had you said come anyway or had she come and not discovered she was 'sick' until after she left and she told Airbnb she had COVID or presumed symptoms, they likely would have shut your listing down for a time and canceled future bookings. So it could have been worst. There is no getting sick any more; every cough, sniffle, or "ugh, I don't feel well" is attempted murder.

[Fred13]

The way I read it is: first, she is lying, she doesn't have Covid-19, otherwise wouldn't be so flippant about coming or not coming. Secondly, she probably didn't even have to show Airbnb anything except play the pity card to get a refund. Personally, I wouldn't have wanted her to come, because she sounds too weird anyway.

[Donald28]

Totally agree. She WAS lying. This is what makes me so mad. And you can lie your way to a full refund if you're a guest on airbnb. 

Otherwise, she wouldn't have been so quick to say she was going to come after I told her Airbnb would likely require documentation showing she actually tested positive AND found out that morning. She knew she didn't have that documentation so she was just going to come because she didn't want to lose her $300. If she WAS actually sick enough with covid19 to go get a test and wait 3-4 days for the result, she wouldn't have even wanted to travel. 

But at that point, even if she admitted she WAS lying, I can't let her on the property. She did NOT have to give airbnb documentation. I asked her! 

I don't mind hosting "weirdos" like this woman for a single night. Even if they're the worst guests ever, I'm on site and can quell most all situations before they get out of control. 

She'll probably leave me a negative review and screw up my superhost... which I could actually care less about because being a superhost is 100% worthless. I did leave her an honest review. 

[Fred13]

Her mentioning she will come ~IF~ not given a refund was more a threat really. The fact she can even leave a review is mind-boggling; what is she going to 'review', the fact her hustle didn't work, since she never got to see the place?. Amazing, only in the pandering-to-hustlers world of Airbnb this would make sense.

[Emilia42]

I got the impression that this was the "I'm not really that sick but tested positive" kind of COVID. In February 2020, she would have made the trip no problem. But not now. This is only the beginning. Hosts (and guests) are going to be seeing a lot of this type of cancelation in the oncoming months. 

[Ian-And-Anne-Marie0]

@Donald28 @Inna22 

The good news I read today was that up till now Arbitration against AirBnb has been 100% successful since their Terms and EC Policy changes to allow these things to happen have been deemed ambiguous, misleading and illegal.

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Ian-And-Anne-Marie0 Can you post the source of your arbitration data please.

[Ian-And-Anne-Marie0]

@Mike-And-Jane0 

I'm pretty sure the link would be deleted. You would need to search for Ten Thousand Hosts who are supporting the Airbnb approved arbitration route. Check out a newly issued video published this week.  "Airbnb's Archilles Heel, What every Airbnb Host need to know" You may find that on Youtube too.

[Inna22]

@Ian-And-Anne-Marie0 the data says that filings were successful, not arbitrations themselves. I am using someone else- LegalBnb

[David192]

Yes, she was absolutely lying. She didn't have Covid, she just wanted to cancel. You were far too polite to her, in my view. I have just dealt with a scammer who was able to send me a reservation request despite not having anything confirmed other than her phone number (if indeed it was a her). I accepted her request, and then realised my mistake. When I demanded to AirBNB CS why she had been allowed to send me a request, the booking was cancelled from her side. Where on earth are these lowlife people coming from? I never had a problem with this kind of thing before.