Guest canceled now suing me

[Jody198]

Guest booked and canceled reservations. Originally court documents said suing for lost deposits on a strict no refund policy, amendment has been made now Visa returned her money ( not sure why ) now claiming she has to find another place and suing me for her emotional distress ??? Originally her claim was 1

&14,000 now $35,000 Canadian. How do courts allow such bs to be heard when she created her own stress upon cancellation!! 

I can’t even make this up shaking my head is confusion court starts June 2024 

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Jody198 I assume Airbnb is assisting you with this. I am surprised the guest is not suing Airbnb. Did Airbnb pay you?

[Jody198]

No unfortunately they said they won’t assist ! the guest cancelled  3 weeks  prior to check in  she lost her deposit and is claiming she need to find other accommodations therefore her inconvenience she wants loss of enjoy damages 🤦🏼‍♀️

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Jody198 I would talk to Airbnb again. If the Aircover liability insurance doesn't cover this I don't know what it covers.

[Jody198]

Thank you for reminding me in reached out again to them waiting for a phone call 🙂 

[Helen3]

The guest is being ridiculous.

I'm a little confused if the guest choose to cancel her booking three weeks before arrival and cancelled in line with your cancellation policy there is no case.  @Jody198 

Why did Airbnb not honour your cancellation policy?

[Jody198]

The guest booked a month in advance and with long her booking she was offered 10% discount on stay with no refund or no discount and 14 days before check in she would only loose her deposit which she lost after 48 hrs without cancellation. 
She tried to get her money back with Airbnb they said no and she fought her Visa and they according to court documents refund her Visa her lost deposit of 14,000 at the time of filing court documents her amendment changed to her now being out of pocket for needing to find another place plus plus loss of enjoyment ??? I’m still baffled as to how I’m remotely responsible…. Needless to say I have counter sued her with defamation holding up my Airbnb and lost wages of fighting such insane issues that she caused herself 🤷🏼‍♀️ court is scheduled for June 24 2024 stay tuned !! 

[Kia272]

@Jody198  I wouldn't even spend the time, money,  and effort to counter-sue. If this transpired as you say, then she has no grounds for suing anyone except herself. I have no doubt that this will never make it to court. People are such freaks!! 

[Jody198]

Airbnb paid me for cancellation she lost just not for entire booking as she booked without taking discount and cancelled just before she would have lost entire amount. 

[Jody198]

Although I don’t disagree with you I find people should be held accountable for making false accusations is important to discourage such behavior and hopefully stop this baseless court proceedings in the future. When someone makes these type of  claims, it can be damaging and costly. Hopefully it serve as a deterrent and ensure fairness in addressing accusations.

[Frances3408]

@Jody198. Jody, you just need to see it through to the first court appearance and make sure all your evidence is lodged- dont assume other parties will provide it (so get what you need from AIrbnb including the cancellation communications from guest). I am not a lawyer but assume its going ahead. My hope for you is that it will be thrown out at the first hearing.

Visa will refund where you can prove the goods or services were not provided. They often dont go into the underlying contract of the purchase itself. They would have asked Airbnb for proof that she paid the deposit. The rest then becomes a civil matter of the contracts.

So where is Airbnb in all this? MIA by the sounds of it.

As you are still hosting I did note your place (which is absolutely lovely by the way) may have been affected by the recent software upgrade. Looking under where you will stay shows the living room as a place to stay rather than one of the extra bedrooms you have. I had to fix a few things too in my listing as other hosts have noted.

Also, suggest you repost this under Host Circle as you may get a lot more useful feedback from experienced hosts. Then keep us updated.

Good luck.

[Jody198]

thank you  🙂  Airbnb said we can’t give you legal advise sorry your going through this ….

I managed to run the statement of claim through a lawyer for a quick check and it seems like she has no chance but tbh I’m not sure in my faith in legal system anymore!! 

Cancellation was Voluntary: The guest voluntarily chose to cancel the booking and seek alternative accommodations. The host did not force or coerce the guest into cancelling the reservation. The cancellation was initiated by the guest and was not a result of any There Misrepresentation by the host.

Punitive Damages Require Willful Misconduct: Punitive damages are typically awarded in cases involving willful misconduct, malice, or gross negligence. There is no evidence to suggest that the host engaged in such conduct. The cancellation and subsequent seeking of alternative accommodations were standard actions following a cancellation, and punitive damages are not warranted.

Mitigation of Damages: The guest has a duty to mitigate their damages by seeking reasonably priced alternative accommodations. Any additional expenses incurred should be reasonable and directly related to the cancellation. The host is not responsible for excessive or unnecessary costs incurred by the guest.

Loss of Enjoyment: Loss of enjoyment claims require substantial evidence of significant distress or harm caused by the alleged misconduct. In this case, the cancellation of the booking and finding alternative accommodations do not constitute sufficient grounds for a loss of enjoyment claim.

[Frances3408]

@Jody198. It sounds like you have delved deeply into the law and it is a ridiculous situation for you to be in.

As my co host said to me, the ball was really in Airbnb's court to fix: they could have rejected Visa's request by outlining the terms of the accommodation contract. 

Possibly the guest threatened them with legal action unless they refunded 100%. Would be interested to know if that happened. I hope you have the option to subpoenaed Airbnb for this and any pertinent information if asked and refused already.

[Kevin3348]

Having owned two marinas and 6 vacation rentals in Northern California on VBRO prior to Airbnb I've walked miles in your shoes. I even had one guy with his wife and two children squat on my property claiming tenant rights which in California are extremely bias to tenants and outright crippling to property owners. They tried to demand $5k by way of settlement offer which I refused.  Then they upped it to $10k. After 4 months with some help from several good friends we ended up hauling all their belongings out when they were gone for a few hours and changed the locks. We dropped their belongings off neatly in a box near a police station 20+ miles from the marina  They lost the case of course but by the time it was over it cost me a small fortune with no viable worthy recourse whatsoever. That was 15 years ago. I've always felt horrible sorry for their two boys.  You could tell those boys were extremely unhappy and unloved. 

Sadly racquets like these happen more and more often. They know they can't win and are often representing themselves Pro Per and getting free government legal services or even council. Or even worse they actually went to law school and spend their lives chasing the proverbial ambulance.

I'm surprised they haven't made a settlement offer yet. Don't be surprised if you receive one soon. Even more sad is that people or insurance companies often pay simply because it costs too much to fight them in court ultimately perpetuating the problem.

Sorry to say but your counter suit will likely not get anywhere beyond the satisfaction of being determined enough to fight back. They know this and can use it to drag things out even further.

It can be a seriously messed up world. Fortunately the vast majority of people are decent. 

Sorry this is happening to you.