Xmas Cancellation

[Kerry26]

Due to tier 4 regulations just introduced in UK my Xmas booking guests say they must cancel due to extenuating circumstances, my policy is strict. They don’t wish to move their booking but are guilting me to agree a full refund, yet at this late date I may not get another booking & have left heating on and prepared the 5 bed property plus real Xmas tree, decorations & gifts for their arrival in a few days. What should I do? 

[Kerry26]

Thank you @Nathalie-Et-Gilles0 

[Helen3]

You are once again missing the point @Nathalie-Et-Gilles0 

UK Covid legislation very clearly states that STR owners  in lower Tiers can only accept bookings from travellers from higher Tiers who meet travel guidance exceptions 

If we have bookings from guests in higher tiers who we can no longer accommodate because their reason for travelling doesn’t meet new legislation requirements Airbnb will refund ; no ifs, no buts.  (Whether your average customer services rep understands this is another matter). 

I am not sure why you feel you know more than people who have been operating within this legislation for many months?   Or why you keep throwing in the red herring of non existent booking deposits.

Of course no government legislation is going to mention deposits . Our government is not a holiday operator the legislation is there to cover under what circumstances people can travel, shop, gather, socialise etc. 

Bottom line you can’t expect to be paid for a service , which because of changes in government legislation you can no longer offer.

As hosts we all took the risk of keeping our listing open  - knowing if we use Airbnb they would refund guests no longer able to travel due to government lock downs if legislation changed. 

[Nathalie-Et-Gilles0]

There is a legal point you are missing @Helen3 

is who MUST cancel?

Host can still receive travellers (Ex for business).

When booking, they had the right to accept this booking.

So the contract is legal.

Travellers can be empeached to travel (ex : tourist) when travel restrictions.

And very important point : They knew the covid situation when they booked AND they had the choice too book a listing with flexible cancellation policy (no deposit) and to have a travel insurance.

It may not clear for you that this difference is important but it is obvious for any lawyer.

Legal matters are very precise.

In this case, as the traveller cannot come, he can :

- maintain the reservation (and not come or come when the travel restrictions will stop if the end date is not passed yet).

- cancel the reservation.

- negociate other dates with the host.

I don’t say you are wrong.

I suggest to hosts to clarify this point with a lawyer to know their rights and what to do.

Why do you think Airbnb changed again their policy and does not repay the traveller without host agreement for covid reason (unlike last spring) ?

Because American and French hosts sued them (after checking that point with lawyers).
They don’t have the right to repay travellers without host agreement.

You can thank these hosts who fought to have your rights respected.

@Mike-And-Jane0 

Hopefully written or non written constitution does not do any difference.

Here too case-law are an awful mess. 

It is a modest point of law well known by lawyers.

Breach of rental contract for a reason not wanted by the traveller (or host) is usual in this activity and many case law already exist (strike, flight cancelled, embargo, storm ...).

[Helen350]

@Nathalie-Et-Gilles0  You say English law can't be so different from French law....

Can you explain how your views tie in with the English 'Law of Frustration' or 'Frustrated Contracts'?

[Helen3]

Quite honestly you seem to deliberately want to misunderstand our legislation -  it is like knocking your head against a brick wall.

I will say it for the third time. Both guests and hosts can be penalised for breaking Covid legislation in the UK @Nathalie-Et-Gilles0 

Either the host or guest can cancel under Covid in the UK penalty free through Airbnb if the host cannot host and the traveller cannot travel.  End of. No ifs. No Buts.

But hey knock yourself out... you clearly understand our legislation better than we do.

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Helen3 I am sorry but you are wrong. I think you are mixing up what Airbnb are doing with what is law.

By Covid laws:

If the property is in Tier 2 then the host can host. In tiers 3 and 4 they cannot.

If the guest is in Tier 4 they cannot travel outside their area.

There is nothing in Covid laws saying that both hosts and guests will be penalised unless we are talking a 4 guest going to tier 4 host. The original post is tier 4 guest going to tier 2 host. In this case the host would not be breaking the law if the guest turned up.

By contract law:

If the host cannot host due to covid law then the contract is frustrated and a no fault cancellation is required where the host would have to repay any money received but the guest would not be able to claim any damages for non-performance of the contract.

The case where a host can host but a guest cannot travel it is unclear under English law whether the host can retain the money or not.

I think @Nathalie-Et-Gilles0 is quite accurate in a lot of what she says but there are definitely differences between French and English law

[Helen350]

@Mike-And-Jane0 You seem to know your stuff, so can I ask a question? - Genuine issue/dilemma, not wanting a fight!

Today I am in Tier 2. Tomorrow, I will be in Tier 4! (Annoying, as I am in Copeland, which has the lowest rate of Covid in England, but high rates in North East Cumbria & Carlisle have tarred us all...)

I have a nurse staying till Fri, when she goes off for her night shift. Tomorrow I'm expecting a Tier 4 couple who will be breaking their journey en route from London - Belfast, where hubby starts work on Monday! (Permanent house move - when they find one; they'll be in Airbnbs till they do!

So, according to your revelation, I can host as Tier 2, but not Tier 4. My question: Am I  allowed to host the  working night nurse and the house movers, just as they are allowed to travel under the exemptions list?

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Helen350 Re the people moving home the guidance is shown below - It suggests that you can host BUT that people must stay within their households which would surely not be possible in a shared home. Its not surprising we are all confused as the guidance is as clear as mud!!!!

• Hotels, hostels and other such public accommodation can be used by people to move home in all 4 Tiers. There is no guarantee a particular hotel will be open to provide this service, so do check in advance. You should still ensure you stay within your household and/or support bubble if this is required in the relevant tiers. Identify which tier you are in and which tier you are moving to, and see the guidance on support bubbles.

• Second homes and other private accommodation can be used to facilitate physical viewings of properti...

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Helen350 Regarding your nurse: It seems to be OK for her to continue her stay - see the fourth cause up from the bottom below.

Not sure if she can return though. Perhaps she should ask her employers.

Closure of holiday accommodation

14.—(1) Subject to sub-paragraph (2), a person responsible for carrying on a business consisting of the provision of holiday accommodation situated in the Tier 4 area, whether in a hotel, hostel, bed and breakfast accommodation, holiday apartment, home, cottage or bungalow, campsite, caravan park or boarding house, canal boat or any other vessel, must cease to carry on that business.

(2) A person referred to in sub-paragraph (1) may continue to carry on their business and keep any premises used in that business open—

(a)to provide accommodation for any person who—

(i)is unable to return to their main residence;

(ii)uses that accommodation as their main residence;

(iii)needs accommodation for the purposes of a house move;

(iv)needs accommodation to attend a funeral or following a bereavement of a close family member or friend;

(v)needs accommodation to attend a commemorative event to celebrate the life of a person who has died;

(vi)needs accommodation to attend a medical appointment, or to receive treatment;

[F29(via)needs accommodation for the purposes of access to, and contact between, parents and a child where the child does not live in the same household as their parents or one of their parents;]

(vii)is a carer of a vulnerable person or a person who has a disability and needs respite;

(viii)is isolating themselves from others as required by law;

(ix)is an elite athlete or the coach of an elite athlete and needs accommodation for the purposes of training or competition or, where an elite athlete is a child, their parent;

(x)needs accommodation to visit a person who is dying;

(b)to provide accommodation for any person who needs accommodation for the purposes of their work or to provide voluntary or charitable services,

(c)to provide accommodation for any person who needs accommodation for the purposes of education or training of a kind mentioned in paragraph 6(3) or, where that person is a child, their parent,

(d)to provide accommodation for the purposes of a women’s refuge or a vulnerable person’s refuge,

(e)to provide accommodation or support services for the homeless,

(f)to provide accommodation for any person who was staying in that accommodation immediately before the time when the area in which the accommodation is located became part of the Tier 4 area,

(g)to provide accommodation for any person who is staying in that accommodation in order to provide care or assistance to a vulnerable person or a person who has a disability who is staying in the same accommodation,

(h)to host blood donation sessions or food banks, or

(i)for any purpose requested by the Secretary of State or a local authority.

[Helen3]

Hi @Mike-And-Jane0 

I am not wrong. I work with the legislation every day.

1. I never said anywhere that a host in Tier 2 can’t host. I said they have to host within the legislation ie not to a Tier 4 travelling for leisure purposes as in @Kerry26  case.

2. under the legislation both accommodation owners  and guests can be fined up to £1000 for breaking  the legislation

3. the tier 2 host would be breaking the law if they accommodated a tier 4 leisure guest 

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Helen3 Please could you provide the legislation that you believe exists. I can't find it anywhere but I am happy to be corrected.

[Gabriel607]

Can you refer me to the links/write up to the lawsuits that challenged AirBnB decisions?

[Fred13]

@Kerry26 Keep in mind that Airbnb has continued to cancel guest reservations without explanation even traveling from countries with no restrictions and to places with few requirements throughout the world. Now they recently announced that as of January 20th, 2021 they 'wont do it again'. Really?

[Kerry26]

Thank  to everyone who is joining in on this thread. 
I believe our accommodation offered should be considered as potentially a solution for many in such a pandemic EG: for key workers, for those that don’t have adequate work from home space & need to rent, for families that need to isolate.. especially if hosts have gardens & land.. 

I do not know why our places get blocked off, we should be part of the solutions surely? & Hospitality should be consulted more by Gov.s to prevent the economic disasters occurring..  

[Helen3]

I understand your point @Kerry26  but as you know there is only an extremely narrow list of exceptions who can travel,  if you want to continue to host during the pandemic namely;

1. Those travelling for work/education including key workers

2. Those in-between main homes

3. Those attending a funeral

Quite rightly they wouldn't let people move to another area simply because they want a larger space to work from home or want to move to another area to isolate or else millions could claim this in order to break travel restrictions.  Allowing hosts to host people in these circumstances would sadly just make us part of the problem rather than part of the solution.

STR business owners are like millions of other businesses up and down the country who are suffering. Many in retail, hospitality and entertainment have already lost everything.  

With the covid innoculations now rolling out lets hope we will start to see an improvement soon so that our older people and those who are most vulnerable will have protection against this dreadful disease and we can all start to rebuild our lives.

Us being part of the solution is to comply with the legislation and not encourage visitors who aren't allow to travel.