"Extenuating Circumstance" for hurricane a thousand miles away

Kev0
Level 2
Arlington, VA

"Extenuating Circumstance" for hurricane a thousand miles away

I had a guest cancel a reservation in DC last minute, strict cancellation policy.  By the time of the cancellation the hurricane had already hit South Carolina many hundreds of miles away and there was no rain in the forecast for DC.   Airbnb automatically gave them a full refund because Washington DC was on some internal  and obsolete list of where hurricane Florence MIGHT hit that was generated several days before the cancellation.  In other words it seems that any guest in Washington DC had free reign to cancel for any reason because of a storm that didn't effect DC and at its most threatening had about a 10% chance of hitting.    The guest never said anything about the hurricane and says they are making the trip.  This is clearly an absurd abuse of the extenuating circumstances policy.  Have any other hosts had similar experiences with Airbnb?

 

The policy states:

Natural disasters that prevent the guest from traveling to or from the destination, or that make it unsafe to host guests. Examples include:

  • Severe storms
  • Earthquakes
  • Flooding
  • Tornados
  • Tsunamis
  • Wildfires
  • Blizzards or severe winter storms
 
12 Replies 12
Ana1136
Level 10
Ohrid, Macedonia (FYROM)

@Kev0 maybe he already was in an affected region and he couldn't get to you. Airbnb doesn't give much information about why was the policy enforced. I hope you get another booking for those dates, there is nothing you can do about it now.

Nope they were coming from Oregon.  They said on the thread that they were attending the conference in Arlington, Virginia, not that they couldn't make the trip.  Airbnb seems to be saying that they changed the functioning of the "cancel" button so that it allowed free cancellation to anyone traveling to DC.  

Paul154
Level 10
Seattle, WA

@Kev0 Very sorry this happened. But with Airbnb you are SOL.

They are very generous with our money 😞

If I were a smart, calculating guest, I too would cancel during a disaster, knowing that I could get another place now cheaper from desperate hosts with now cancelled bookings 😞

 

Of course, we the hosts pay for this. As this company matures, one day an insurance company will sell policies so that we may be able to insure ourselves against random and arbitrary lossses of income like this. Only a powerful insurance company will be able to get around Airbnb's Terms of Service and "train" Airbnb and usurous guests to treat hosts fairly and equally. 

Is it possible their flight was cancelled? That happened to my daughter when her plane was rerouted to other passengers, and to me when weather in one location caused a cancellation for my own travels.

Cherie3
Level 2
Cocoa Beach, FL

Curious.... We, as hosts, take a hit for hurricane cancellations for storms projected to hit within a range wether we are actually impacted or not.  Can we request in our contracts that our guests aquire travel insurance in the event of these unforseen circumstances?  

I'm sure you could ask, but I HIGHLY doubt anyone would take it seriously.  It would be impossible to enforce.

Kev0
Level 2
Arlington, VA

Why would anyone buy travel insurance when the extenuating circumstance policy is likely to give them a free out anyway?

@Kev0  And, my experience is that guests who have travel insurance MUST get as many refunds as possible before the insurance pays out. So, guest travel insurance doesn't help if AirBNB chooses to refund based on their criteria.

Zappa0
Level 10
Key West, FL

And I'm dealing with this now with Dorian. Guests cancelling even though we aren't in the NHC cone and weather this weekend perfect. They just call and say hurricane.

 

WE ARE THE TRAVEL INSURANCE. The extenuating circumstance policy is getting bigger and bigger to the point guests are going to claim anything. It is not fair to hosts. 

 

 

Nicky109
Level 5
Anna Maria, FL

I understand speaking to 3 supervisors at Airbnb that they have allowed every guest who was due to stay anywhere in Florida to cancel.  I am beyond furious.  We are on the West coast of Florida - we don't expect to be impacted at all and furthermore the storm is now not even due to arrive until next Tuesday/Wednesday.  I had guests arriving tomorrow and they just gave them a full refund.  Their so called experts monitoring the situation as far as I am concerned have made a huge error and clearly panicked rather than waiting and correctly assessing the situation.  I consider this price gouging hosts by Airbnb - always so quick to penalize us for canceling - now they just hand everyone their money back.  If they are going to act this way I suggest Airbnb don't take any reservations at all in Florida during the height of September and October.  I for one cannot operate a business in this way.  Any other hosts on here being treated this way by Airbnb - I feel like taking out a class action lawsuit.  If they want to make these sweeping decisions THEY need to be insured so they can pay us out when they make a mistake!

@Nicky109  they did it to me in Virginia too for a guest who was checking in AFTER THE STORM WAS ALREADY OUT TO SEA! The really crappy thing is I'm always willing to be generous with guests when storms threaten but AirBnB is taking it too far. Virginia Beach had no damage from Dorian and my guest was due to stay for a week so most of the reservation is well outside of any at all possible range of the hurricane. I'd encourage every host to log official feedback about it as the squeaky wheel...

Nicky109
Level 5
Anna Maria, FL

On further investigation I think Airbnb maybe contravening their own guidelines.

Under extenuating circumstances you will see the following:

Circumstances that require special review

There’s no required documentation for these circumstances, but our specialized team will review each case to confirm that you’re directly affected.

Open Homes reservations that have been cancelled. More info about Open Homes.

Severe security advisories for political or civil unrest in the area that the guest is traveling from, traveling to, or that the host’s home is located in. Examples include:

  • Violence
  • Increased military presence
  • Severe damage to the area’s infrastructure

Changes to visa or passport requirements that make it impossible to travel to the destination. This doesn’t include lost or expired travel documents.

Natural disasters that prevent the guest from traveling to or from the destination, or that make it unsafe to host guests. Examples include:

  • Severe storms
  • Earthquakes
  • Flooding
  • Tornados
  • Tsunamis
  • Wildfires
  • Blizzards or severe winter storms

It clearly states 'natural disaster that prevent the guest from traveling to or from the destination, or that makes it unsafe to hosts guests'.

In this instance there is nothing that prevents the guest from traveling to or from the destination.  The airport is fully operational and flights are running as usual. That is because there is NO danger from a hurricane here because we are not in the path of the hurricane.  So neither is it unsafe for guests.  7 day forecast has maximum winds of 22 mph next Tuesday/Wednesday when the hurricane will pass over the east coast of the state.  22 mph winds are not putting anyone's life in danger!  Neither will planes not fly.

As the guests can still travel and are not in danger I don't believe Airbnb had any right to invoke their extenuating circumstances clause.  It's a total over reaction on the part of Airbnb.  And moreover what gives them the right to fully refund a guest and not pay the host when none of these circumstances are in play?